Marathon D’Écriture Q & A

In the solitude of his room, Alan Bland confronts the shattering loss of his enigmatic best friend, known only as X. Armed with a typewriter and a heart on tenterhooks, Alan embarks on a marathonian six-day, six-night challenge, pouring out a torrent of memories to unravel the man who was both his confidant and rival.

Introduction to the Interview

While we were all working on the publication of Marathon D’Écriture, Alix shared with us that when she first read the manuscript over a year ago, she was immediately captivated. She was able to immerse herself in Marathon d’Écriture, delighted to uncover an intellectually provocative tale, crafted with sharp wit and literary finesse. As of July 22, 2025, Cybirdy’s special edition of Marathon D’Écriture has been available for less than a month and has already earned three reviews, with a buzz steadily growing. For those considering whether to dive into this remarkable novel, we reached out to Andrew Komarnyckyj for an exclusive interview. He graciously answered our questions, offering insights without revealing any spoilers. Here is the transcription of the interview.

Cybirdy: Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

AK: I live with strangers. Not literally, I’m talking about the characters in my novels. They are magnetically good company. If you want to get an idea of how compelling their company can be, check out my latest novel, Marathon D’Écriture. Hopefully you’ll find the book as captivating as those who have already experienced it.

Cybirdy: Interesting that you should use the word ‘experienced’ rather than ‘read.’

AK: Yes, that is deliberate. With Marathon D’Écriture, I aimed to create a totally immersive experience for the reader, rather than to simply write a novel.

Cybirdy: How did you go about achieving such a lofty ambition?

AK: By the best means possible in a novel. Which is to say, the only means possible in a novel. From the opening page, I invite the reader to explore the inner landscape of its main character, Alan Bland. Alan is a conflicted individual, and he narrates the story. The reader cannot help but be drawn into Alan’s world, due to the inherently fascinating nature of Alan’s hopes, desires, disappointments, dreams, and fears.

This is the very essence of what makes a novel immersive: the total engagement of one person with the mind of another.

There are many in the field of literature who believe that the hallmark of great writing is stylistic innovation. I am not one of those people. I regard stylistic innovations as no more than parlour tricks; for me, true greatness in the world of fiction is signified by writing that addresses the Human Condition, and says something about morality, about the choices we make, and ultimately about the eternal battle between good and evil. Of course, that is not all that is required of a great novel, but it is fundamental to it, at least to me. That said, any novel which aspires to greatness must, also, at the very least, present you with characters who live on in your mind long after you have turned the final page of the book. I like to think I may have managed that with Marathon D’Écriture. Early reviews suggest I am right to feel that way.

Cybirdy: Do believe Marathon D’Écriture is a great novel?

AK: While I would love to believe it is a great novel, no-one who produces a work of art in any field has any business believing their own work is great. They should have confidence in it, enough confidence to subject it to public scrutiny, but after that they should have the good sense to stand back and let the world decide how good, or otherwise, it may be.

Cybirdy: You say you think that stylistic innovations are mere parlour tricks, and yet you have used some unusual narrative techniques in Marathon D’Écriture. These include a fractured time scheme, and punctuation which is used at the beginning of the book as one would expect it to be used, but develops in an unexpected way. How does that fit in with your writing philosophy, the one you have just expressed to me? It seems a little contradictory.

AK: Any and all stylistic departures from the norm in Marathon D’Écriture are aimed at depicting Alan Bland and his state of mind as accurately as possible. They are not style for style’s sake; rather, they are style with a purpose, if that makes sense.

Cybirdy: It does, thank you. Without revealing too much, can you tell us if any of the three characters—Alan Bland, Amara, or X—were inspired by someone you know?

AK: That would be telling!

However, I will reveal this much.

I have, on occasion, encountered charismatic individuals like X. The sort who seem naturally and effortlessly to be able to impress and influence others, and who become mentor figures to those around them. I have also encountered their polar opposites, the Alan types who lack confidence and need buoying up. My experiences of many such people contributed to the depictions of Alan and X.

In addition, Alan and X, in their own different ways, may both, to some extent, represent different sides of my own nature.

I am an introvert who shies away from talking to strangers, and often from talking to friends.

At the same time, I never feel so alive as when I am holding court with a group of friends.

This, of course, leaves one character to be accounted for: Amara, the fascinating woman at the apex of the love triangle which the novel is about. I have met such a woman. She was not in the least promiscuous, but in other respects she had Amara’s qualities. That is to say, she had a magnetic personality, social skills that far exceed my own, breathtaking looks, and a deal of artistic talent. She still has those qualities. I still know her. I hasten to add, we have never been in a love triangle!

Cybirdy: What genre would you say your novel belongs in?

AK: All of them! Seriously, it can’t be categorized. You could call it Literary Fiction, and I suppose I if pressed I would, but it’s really something of a mash-up, and it’s a lot more fun than your average work of literary fiction. I am proud of the fact I make a far greater effort to engage the attentions of the reader than most writers of Literary Fiction ever make. It is as if most Literary Fiction authors are saying: ‘I am brilliant, so I don’t have to care about trying to get you lot to like what I put in front of you.’ Over the decades, Literary Fictionistas (if I could call them that) have connived with this approach, going so far as to praise boring books for the depth and quality of their insights. With respect, it is possible to have deep insights of quality without being boring while doing it. If you have to be boring in order to deliver a quality insight, you have failed in your task as a writer. The writer’s primary purpose is to be interesting and entertaining while delivering (if that is his or her aim) insights into themes, human nature, and so on.

Cybirdy: What has been a major influence on your writing?

AK: Anything and everything.

Let me explain. I’ve read, and continue to read, very widely. I read every genre from literary fiction to crime to horror and even chick-lit; and I read a lot of non-fiction, too. Then there’s my life. Every experience I’ve ever had, and everyone I’ve ever met, has been an influence, or will be sooner-or-later.

Cybirdy: What are the books and films that helped to inspire you as an author?

AK: There are so many I find it hard to single any one of them out. If I had to name one, it would be: It Happened in Boston? by Russell H Greenan. It’s a book you can’t classify into a single genre. It’s a mash-up (a bit like Marathon D’Écriture – now there’s a coincidence!) It’s horror, crime fiction, noir, literary fiction, and God-knows-what-else, all rolled into one. It’s about an artist who has a doomed love-affair with a woman who betrays him, and who ultimately goes in search of God. I read it in my teens and it continues to inspire me even now, many years later.

I think it was the idea of the main character searching for God – he does so quite literally - that most inspired me. It instilled in me a sense of wonder. I hope I may, with certain aspects of the story, instil in readers of Marathon D’Écriture something of that same wonder that I experienced those many years ago while reading It Happened in Boston?

Cybirdy: We’re sure you will! Having read Marathon D’Écriture ourself, we know exactly what aspects of the story you are talking about when you refer to that sense of wonder you hope to instil in readers. Thank you for your time today, Andrew.

AK: And thank you for yours! It was good talking to you all.

End of interview