Gold Rush in Literature

The first snow of the new year was pouring like clouds over Sofia. A young sun was blurry upon Vitosha Mountain.

We were trying to understand what novelist, Ludmila Filipova, telling us, while having a hard time to walk on the snowy ground of Vasil Levski Boulevard.

“But how could it be?” said the most impatient of us. “An author from Wisconsin stole your novel idea based on Bulgarian legend and published it in US?; besides, she sold its film rights and now is rich, isnt she?”

Ludmila smiled bitterly instead of answering. In fact, she was bewildered, too.

“You wrote a novel after three years of study and reserch about Orpheus legend, the oldest mysterious Balkan civilization, lost 5000 years ago, angels and niphelims, and now it belongs to some American people. It’s incredible!”

“It looks like, she answer, but without the story about the first human civilisation, which is too difficult to copy without aditional historical knowledge and reserch.”

In fact Ludmila Filipova's novel "The Parchment Maze" was published in January 2009 and became phenomenon and best selling novel in Bulgaria for 2009. In March 2010 was signed a contract for its movie adaptation.

It is a full with facts story for a discovery about nephilimes, angels and humans, living in our and their world; about a secret society which keeps their ancient secret; about the mysterious Devil's Throat Cave, the Orpheus legend kept for thousands years in Bulgaria, and about the first ever exiting civilization disappeared 5000 years ago at the lands of Orpheus.

But a week ago the Miami movie producing company "Prosperitas Entertainment", bought the film rights of Filipova's novel, just heard from colleguse that, in movie industrie there is a too much similar novel. And they tried to find out what is the exact situation and to fight against the movie and book gigants making already business with their story.

And here there are some of facts they discovered: The Ludmila Filipova’s novel "The Parchment Maze" was published in January 2009, and its second part “Dante’s Antichthon” - February 2010. The “Angelology" was published in March 2010.

Daniel Trussoni visited Bulgaria exactly at the time the novel of Ludmila Filipova was a total bestseller in the country. Trussoni started to work with the same editor and publishing director in CIELA Publishing of Filipova and who knows Ludmila’s story in details and who have the finished manuscript of Ludmila and the unready of Trussoni. Also, Trusonni's husband is a Bulgarian writer.

The common points between the two novels basically are: The isolated cave in the Bulgaria, "The Devil's Throat" (considered to be the entrance to the Underworld); the secret society that trying to keep its secret; the Orpheus legend; the story and tragedy of nephilimes; the mysterious manuscript discovering the secret of the story.

Also the key to the mystery in the books are exactly the Orpheus legend, which never before was of interest for a novel until “The Parchment Maze”. And immediately after, Trussoni write about it.

Also one of the key to the mystery in the two novels is the lyre of the Orpheus.

The most interesting characters in the two novels are the creatures called nephilimes, living nowadays in our world and the underworld to which the entrance is one and the same in the two novels: The small cave in Bulgaria called "Devil's Throat". It’s strange how nobody ever before Ludmila wrote about it, until ”The Parchment Maze”. And again imidiatly after her Trussoni repete it in her story in the same connection with Orpheus, angels, niphelimes, Underworld

In both novels the story follows the haven spheres in metaphoric way; the 2 books tell the stories of the children of angels and humans - niphelims, their drama and anger to the 2 worlds of their perants.

The difference between the two novels are that Filipova’s story connect all the above stories to one additional and important story for the whole world - the first ever exiting civilization mysteriously disappeared 5000 years ago at the lands of Orpheus.

Also the Filipova’s novel is deeper, include historical facts and additional links and there is a unique virtual Museum of Traces of the Filipova’s book www.mastileniat-labirint.com where the reader can find every artifact and photo conceited to the story.

If we read the two novels, we can say that it’s a miracle how common they are. But obviously there were too many reasons for this situation. And the result is that Trussoni sold the synopsis with the idea for the novel to Columbia Pictures and one and half year after the Filipova’s "The Parchment Maze" she published her version.

Snow was pouring in great whirling clouds upon Vasil Levski Boulevard. The American producer of movie based on Filipova's novel wrote to some American newspapers but it was no use. Nobody wants to fall out with Penguin Books and Colombia Pictures.

“There is nothing to do.” said she, sniffing her red nose because of cold weather. “I can’t afford court expenses. The American media don’t want problems with the gigants in the book and movie industry. And my idea is not original anymore after Trussoni published her version of it worldwide. Because she is American writer”

This means, some Americans who want to be rich may browse around the world from Balkans to Africa and sack novel ideas which are not in English yet. Since one would come across the same adversities, this situation can be a real demolition for national litterateurs.

I see colonialists breaks into Aztech temples, sacks African mines and levies Iraqi oil. When they colonize the world literature, it means the literature part of the globalization is done. Then there is nothing to do for us!