1. If someone looked at your browsing history right now, what kind of things would we find?
You might find 007 kind of stuff! The Internet is a world of information, be careful what you wish for, I just might find it for you!
2. If you could write about any subject that is near and dear to your heart, what would it be and why?
Music! Why? Because I live and die for music, so of course I'd want to write about music and its industry. The music industry is changing so much every day, and music really is a universal language. I feel that right now there is a gap in music, as though something is missing. I say this because right now I hear only a handful of artist who are at the top of their game with a real broad spectrum of giving out a message that is not only positive, but somewhat spiritual in a sense, and in my opinion that is so important in this day and age.
Bands like Thirty Seconds to Mars, Linkin Park, and Thank God U2 are still around sending out great messages with their varied styles of music. Even though I've always been the smallest fish in a very big pond of the music scene, I’ve been everybody's best kept secret underground, the lowest of the low on all music business totem poles, and an underdog of all underdogs within the music scene. Anyone one who has met me and heard my music, from Atlanta, to Boston, London to Los Angeles, has heard the conviction I sing and play with when telling my stories of life and love. Many have told me they know just what I am speaking of when I sing and play. Yet, it seems over the last decade the music business has made the music scene more like the river of blood rather than the river of life with the cattle call of television competitions that have lead so many singers and musicians like cattle straight to the slaughter.
3. Do you have a favorite song, album, or playlist to write to?
When writing, I do listen to music and my playlist most likely spans 3 centuries. I listen to anything from Mozart to Johnny Cash, Late Night Alumni to traditional Greek folk music, and of course I love country music. For instance right now I am listening to the guitars of Strunz of Farah. When I write, I write from a place deep inside the core of my soul, and it's more about environmental ambiance and emotion for me. When I come home to write I like to experience the feeling that I've stepped into another world when I walk through the door. So, I've taken great steps to create a fantastically whimsical home. One would notice the flying dragon or flying frog or fairy hanging from the ceiling, or maybe even the little mythical beast running around, better known as my Chihuahua puppy, Rooney!
4. What was the first thing you did after the debut of the first book you wrote?
I was still pretty excited when I completed the project, as I had been working on that book for what seems like my entire life. I think I high five'd everyone I knew or met for a week. I was just happy to even have the chance to put a piece of my work out there to share with the public. For The Love Of Cyprus is a piece of Greek Cypriot history, and though it's historical fiction it is fiction based on truth. It took a while to finish the book. I'd written small novellas with whimsical childhood dreams of mine, but had never published because mostly they were homemade gifts to family members for holidays or birthdays. With my first book, "For the Love of Cyprus", I didn't want to do the one thing I have seen so many do, which is writing a book just to say they are now an author. I am modest person, and I wanted people to read my book because they felt is seems interesting and has a message, and for whatever reason piques the reader’s interest. I didn't want people to just read it because I said I was an author writing a book that I was going to publish someday. I thought it was very important to put out historical truth with cold hard facts to educate people, so I was very passionate about explaining the history of the 1974 Turkish invasion on the Island of Cyprus, and at a young age the only way I felt I could do that was to wrap that history around a fictional epic love saga that may or may not be true, only the God's (and my parents) know for sure. I was just happy to be able to publish it and get it out there for people to read!! I was 11 years old when I came up with the idea to write the book, but I didn't start typing the manuscript until I was 13 years old, because most of it was in a school notebook. I didn't finish and publish it independently until almost a Decade later. My Mother, who is my best friend, helped me edit it and publish the book and my friend and author, Noah Mullette-Gillman, inspired me to go ahead and put it out there. I felt lucky and blessed that I could do this in the United States. I mean after all, I could be working in potato fields, bare foot and pregnant with 14 kids like my Grandmother was at my age.
5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Watching people who go from relationship to relationship looking for some kind of self-happiness is probably my biggest pet peeve. I’ve watched people go from boyfriend to boyfriend, girlfriend to girlfriend, wife to husband rebound and back, how do they do it? That’s just not the shape of my heart and I feel it's a vicious cycle that corrupts the soul. I think it's really sad and I have seen it happen a lot. Sometimes I think I should have been a love/sex therapist, though I probably am better at doing that kind of thing through my music and books. I think people need time to heal and soul search after a break up, especially before they go making more soul ties with another person they could potentially screw up for life because for personal self-gratification or for simple excuses such as, “I am lonely.” Lonely? That’s what friends are for, but that doesn't mean you have to get it twisted. I think many of the people I love and care for have been a little guilty of this at one time or another. I think if they would give themselves a little time alone to heal they might find their soul mate waiting right around the corner. I’ve been that girl on the other end of someone else’s baggage, though details are not my cup of tea and this is not the place to go into it. Still. It hurts. Yet my biggest pet peeve is the stuff some of the best novels and songs in the world come from. OH and let's not forget, guys who try to date me online. That’s the runner up pet peeve. Lol.
6. Do you have any guilty pleasures?
It's a secret and I can't give all my secrets away. *winks*
7. What was your favorite book as a teen?
Bram Stoker's Dracula. Dracula's love for Mina was so passionate, the telepathic love connection so deep that not even death could kill the true love their two souls shared. The spiritual bond between them was unbreakable and that is what made it so romantic.
I also enjoyed “The Silver Kiss” by author Annette Curtis Klause. I always had high hopes for some vampire boy with blue eyes to come woo me away in the middle of the night with his guitar under a full moon in a big city by the beach.
8. If an aspiring writer asked for advice what would you tell them?
Write from the heart. Research your theme. Get a good grammar checker and a good program with a good spell checker. And, no matter how long it takes, two words a day is better than no words a day. Go for it, you’ll never know until you try. Just DO it! Write On!
9. What is the one thing that scares you more than anything else?
I can’t even say what my greatest fear is because I can’t even imagine it. Being without my family... I can’t even say it because it makes me want to cry, too. Without my family it would be a world without love and some kind of comfort somewhere sometimes for me.
10. What book are you reading right now?
I am re-reading The Urantia Book for some research for my writings. The Urantia Book (sometimes called the Urantia Papers or The Fifth Epochal Revelation) is a spiritual and philosophical book that discusses God, Jesus, science, cosmology, religion, history and destiny. It originated in Chicago sometime between 1924 and 1955. The authorship remains a matter of speculation. The authors introduce the word "Urantia" as the name of the planet Earth and are self-described as superhuman personalities delivering the book as a revelation.
11. Favorite Meal:
Anything Greek, Italian or Indian as long as there are no snails involved, I don't eat snails, or things that move, that are slimy looking and live in a shell.
My family in Cyprus eats them and it grosses me out when they slurp them from the shell...eww the sound.
12. Favorite Drink (alcoholic/non-alcoholic)
I love me some sweet ice tea!!! Southern sweet ice tea, none of this fake sweet ice tea with fake lemon in it.
13. Sweet or Salty snacks?
Both with a little spicy! I am in LOVE with those sun dried spicy chili mango's from Trader Joe's
14. All-time favorite movies
My all-time favorite film is Legend. This is a quick rundown of it taken from IMbD. “Once, long ago in a world of unicorns, elves, fairies, goblins, and demons, the Lord of Darkness beseeches Mother Night for her protection, lamenting his isolation, exiled underground by an unseen force. He senses the presence of the Two Unicorns who safeguard The Power of Light, and bids his goblin servant, Blix, to find and destroy them. They are to bring him the horns, to create an eternal night of cold darkness, so he can roam the lands freely and ensure sunshine's warmth never returns to the realm of Light.” I also have to tip my hat to stories like Labyrinth and The NeverEnding Story, because those films really helped me perceive and understand the difference of supernatural beings of Dark & Light and decide what path I was going to go down in my life. And of course one of my all-time favorite movies My Big Fat Greek Wedding only because I can relate so well to the culture of the Greek family in the story.
15. Best book to movie adaption
I believe Mario Puzo's movie “The Godfather” only because the film went right along with the book.
I'd love to be able to say “Lord Of The Rings”, but I only read “The Hobbit” and “The Silmarillion”, while yes the movie trilogy was well put together and one of my favorites I'd have to give that nod to Mario Puzo's “The Godfather” as the best, very good book, very good movie.
16. Worst book to movie adaption
V.C. Andrews Flowers in the Attic, while still a fantastic movie, if you have never read the entire series and even still entertaining for some who have, was anticlimactic for me. Who do I have to beg in Hollywood to remake this movie into a movie trilogy? I found this series of books to be captivating, horrific and romantic all at the same time.
No comments:
Post a Comment