ABOUT ME
Ever since I was little, people always thought of me as a strange child. I enjoyed playing on my own, pretending I was someone else, trying on new dresses, new faces, new characters. Through fairytales at first, books later, I could live hundreds of different lives. It gave me a sense of freedom. As a teenager, I realised I wanted to create my own stories. Being a novels author became my life's dream. And so it began. A journey to the unknown. An exploration. A new adventure every time. And the happiest feeling in the world.
PERSONAL FACTS
Having lived much of my life in Piraeus, the largest port city in Greece, I learned to adore the sea, the ships in the harbour, the notion of travelling and blending in with different kinds of people, all that it means to grow up in a port city. With an origin from the island of Corfu, an ancient cultural hub, with a long tradition in literature and music.
Being a novels author while single-parenting a little boy and having a regular teaching job is a challenge, and I often find it hard to combine family, work and writing. But where there is a will, there is a way, I believe that. And, eventually, I always manage to find time for my writing passion, even though
it's often at the expense of my own rest and sleep!
STUDIES
Studied English Language and Literature, as well as Communication and Media, and got a master's degree in Conflicts in Communication from the field of Social Psychology which interests me greatly.
A one-year course in screen-writing and hundreds of seminars on cinema history, film-directing and editing, opened up new horizons for me.
LANGUAGES
I speak modern Greek and English at a native/bilingual level. I say modern, even though my speaking and, especially, my writing style are often considered old-fashioned and abstract. Complex language structures fascinate me. I sometimes picture language as a lace edging you pick for your favourite garment or your inherited grandmother's tablecloth. I've always been the intricate lace kind of person.
I also speak some basic German, to which I was drawn owing to my obsession with WWII and my addiction to German cinema and TV series.
Oh, and I wish I could speak French; I don't know why on earth I never got around to studying it! But it speaks to me! After all, I have spent thousands of hours watching French films and listening to Frech music...
INTERESTS AND IDEAS
I sing, I paint, I cook, I like to tinker around with things in the house. I enjoy good food, relax with a glass of fine wine; I am charmed by a gentle fragrance, aroused by a delicate texture. Music inspires me; books, theatre and cinema nurture my soul.
Obscurity intrigues me, I rarely see things black and white: gray is the colour of truth (yes, I confess, André Gide said it first!)
I believe in the value of the human life and
I am sad to see that, in our postmodern times, economy has taken over from society, when it should be in its service. People are called upon to individually solve problems that surpass their strength and capability.
It is imperative to bring humanity back in the foreground.
Novel & Short Stories Writer
As a writer, I like to experiment with different types of creative writing. Depending on the inspiration and the trigger idea, a short story, novel, short or feature screenplay or even stage drama may come to life. I even write lyrics at times. Creativity can rarely be contained into one single form. Even when not intended for the screen or stage, my stories usually have a strong cinematic character, which is why I often call them movies on paper. It is overwhelming, the power of image, even if it is only the image of a simple word, phrase or sentence. After all, images, gestures and sounds were there long before spoken or written language was created. It is the way of our nature. Thoughts and feelings all create images and vise versa.
When I write, I may find inspiration in just about anything. A dream, a musical piece, a conversation, the news. Something I’ve read in a book, or seen in the movies or at the theatre. I like to watch a good novel adaptation for the cinema or TV, and I find it extremely educating to read the scripts of films or the texts of stage plays I’ve enjoyed. Again, it is all about the power of image and how it can be transformed into different shapes, colours and textures.
WWII stories are one of my favourite topics to work on. Especially if they are located in my favourite place in the world: Paris. My first WWII novel, WINTER PALE, has already began its journey through the world, and it laid the groundwork for my next novel in this series: SIMONE'S PASSION, the forbidden story of Simone and René. But I’m pretty sure I’m creatively not yet done with this so intense and fascinating era or the Winter Pale World.
Primarily a short-stories and novels author who enjoys investigating human behaviour in times of crisis, I write about how people's struggles to survive, while discovering themselves inside History. History will often crush people, but it will just as often give them the opportunity to put themselves to the test, offering them a chance to grow and become a better person than before or, at least, a changed person. I find this challenge a most intriguing subject to explore and write about.
But, in essence, what I am is a Storyteller, and stories can generate from anywhere, while taking all kinds of different forms. Either for print or ebook, movie and TV, or stage, when the idea of a new story sparks, it pretty much dictates to me the course and form it wishes to take. Children of the Muse, stories are born with their own volition.
And the best a writer can be is their faithful disciple.