Mikhail Mekaelian of Lake Bluff wrote “Choose to Rise: The Victory Within,” a novel set in the two years before the Armenian genocide that started in April 1915. Mekaelian self-published the book in early April.
Q. Prior to this book, what is your writing background?
A. It’s really been limited to articles in local newspapers and short stories, some of them published and some of them not. This book is my first major publication.
Q. How long did it take you to write?
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A. I wrote the whole book in three years, and for three years after, I was editing, making the cover and checking and double-checking my facts to make sure I got the history correct.
Q. How did you research the history?
A. I read a lot of first-hand accounts and newspapers of the time. I wanted to capture the lifestyle of Armenians in the 1913 Ottoman Empire. When I was researching, I had to be observant of what language they used and what they mentioned. I created a timeline of events that I would intertwine with a fictional story later on.
Q. What is the novel about?
A. Generally, it’s the story of the Armenian genocide. It follows two brothers from 1913 to 1915. It paints the full story about how it happened, what caused it and why it happened. There were 1.5 million Armenians killed.
Q. Why this topic?
A. I knew I wanted to write a book. I’m of Armenian ancestry. I figured the easiest thing to do would be to research the Armenian genocide. When I started researching it, I realized how huge this crime was. I thought it would be easy (to research). It wasn’t.
Q. Did you time the publication to coincide with the anniversary of the event?
A. No. It was completely unplanned.
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