My first writing was back in Greece at the age of 12 when I copied a 10000 verse poem, called Erotokritos. I still have it as handwritten in my possession.
How did you become an author?
I wrote my first short story back in the 60ties, in Greek if course. It is part of a book of short stories to be published someday.
What was your first published piece?
A short story, based on my first novel, Petros Spathis, published in 2008, by libros Libertad.
Where was it published?
It was published in the Canadian Fiction Magazine, in Victoria, BC, on their translation issue of summer 1976.
What did you do before embarking on your writing career? Was it an asset to your writing? How?
As an immigrant I worked in various jobs over the years and that reflects in my writing. I retired as a stockbroker back in 1998.
What inspires you?
Everything and anything although I usually concentrate on how people interact with each other. Love, Eros are very important elements in my work. These days as I mature in years my attention is evidently turned to the aging etc issues.
Please share one of your successful marketing techniques
I don’t have any specific ways. I do what others do: readings, mailing promotions, etc
Parting words
What I have discovered by writing and especially by translating Greek Poets to English, is that us immigrants spend our lives to learn the new language in order to find our footing in the new society we have chosen to live, and at the same time we forget the original language we came to the new land with. That way we never truly speak the adopted language perfectly and we don’t speak the original language perfectly any longer. Which means we speak both languages with an accent…go figure. Advantage
Or disadvantage? It depends on the way we look at it.
Some people believe it is to our advantage that we have met another world and have learned from it while others believe that missing the original and losing part of it is a heavy price to pay…
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