TRANSCRIPT OF MY INTERVIEW BY RITA CHAPMAN

 

Guest Author Questions 2014

from www.ritaleechapman.com

 

Hi Evi, Welcome to my website.  Please introduce yourself and tell us something about your books.

 

My name is Evi Routoula. Ever since I could remember myself I wanted to write. I was also very much attracted to the legal professions. That is the reason I became a lawyer. Even though I have been writing all my life, only recently I started publishing works of my own. I have written a collection of short stories, all of them have to do with the London tube. Each story takes place at a certain station. The title of the book is: “London Tube: Seven stations, seven stories”. Recently I have finished my second book which is a guidebook about London, based on historic eras. Its title is ”Historic guidebook of London and Outskirts”. The Greek edition can be purchased online, while the English edition will soon be at the stores.

 

What genres do you write in?

 

My first book has fictional stories but with historic elements. The second book is of course mainly historic, even though it is a guidebook. The third book, which I am writing now, is a historical novel. So, I guess that history plays an important role in all my writings.

 

How did you come to write your first book and how long ago was it?

 

I wrote my first book a year ago. The fist short story was written some years back, but it took me a long time to decide to actually publish my work. London Tube, 7 stations, 7 stories was written because I love the tube of London and I always wonder about the private stories of its passengers. That is why I wrote short stories. I wanted to get “closer” to the passengers of the tube and their lives.

 

When you sit down to write a new story, do you know what the ending will be before you start or does it evolve as you write?

 

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Sometimes the pre-decided ending changes, not by me, but by my characters. They tend to “take” their “lives” into their own hands sometimes.

 

Are you a self-published author?

 

My first book was published by Akakia Publications. The second book I decided to publish it on my own, with the help of Amazon. So far I am very satisfied with my decision!

 

Which is the hardest part about being an author – the writing, the editing or the marketing?

 

I think that the hardest is the marketing. Writing is the creative part of the job, editing is making the work even better. Marketing is rather hard, especially nowadays. You need knowledge that you don’t have, unless you have majored in marketing. A writer’s job is to create a story, to edit a script and not to promote it. It needs too much time and energy and special knowledge. I hope that at some point I will be able to afford a professional to help me in that field. Right now I have to do everything by myself.

 

Have you won any awards for your writing?

 

Not yet, but I guess it is too soon. Of course I haven’t taken part in any literature contest.

 

What do you do when you are not writing or reading?

 

I love cinema, theatre, travelling and spending time with friends and family.

 

If you could holiday anywhere in the world, where would you choose and why?

 

I have travelled to all the continents of this world and I was lucky enough to have visited all the places I wanted to. Of course the world is huge and I like seeing new places, but I have seen all the places I really wanted to see. I would like to visit Africa again. I would also like to visit New Zealand as I have not been there and at the Cook islands, as I have heard they are fabulous.

 

How would you describe yourself?  Are you athletic, competitive, studious, a homebody or an adventurer?

 

From all the above- mentioned characterizations I think that “studious” is what suits me most.

 

What is the most adventurous experience you have undertaken?

 

Generally I am not particularly adventurous. The things that I have done and consider to be adventurous are: going for safari in Tanzania, riding an elephant and riding a camel.

 

If you have owned pets, do you have a funny story you would like to share with us?

 

I used to have a yellow labradore and a black cat, both male. They were good friends. The cat loved eating raw potatoes. He was sneaking to the neighbour’s balcony and he was stealing potatoes from there! One day, the neighbour had bought quite big potatoes, so Blacky (the cat) could not steal them. He went to the dog, he mewed, the dog barked and disappeared. After a few minutes the dog came back holding a huge potatoe between his teeth and he happily placed it at Blacky’s feet!

 

I guess, like most authors, you are an avid reader – who are your favourite authors?  Do you read many books by indie authors?

 

I have a lot of writers that I love. Some of them are Charles Dickens, Jack Kerouac, Jack London, Karagatsis, Isabelle Allende and many more. From indie authors I love the works of Richard Clark and Deborah Stevens.

 

Where do you normally source your reading material – from your local library, a bookshop, Amazon or somewhere else?

 

I get my books from bookshops and from Amazon.

 

What is the biggest factor for you when selecting a book to read?

 

There is no biggest factor but many different factors. Some books just “call” me to read them, I buy books that have good critics, books that I am interested in their subject, books by my favourite authors, books by my friends....

 

Do you have your own website?

 

I have recently created a blog, I use it to promote my work and to post articles about different cultural events and subjects. The URL is: http://evi-s-corner.webnode.gr/ . I will be happy to see you there!

 

Are you working on a new book at the moment?

 

Yes I am writing a historic novel. It is a rather ambitious task since it will cover different historic eras and therefore it needs a lot of research, but I am enjoying enormously.

 

Do you have any events or book promotions coming up that you would like to tell us about?

 

I plan to present my books in Athens and Syros (a Greek island) but I have not certain dates yet. I will let you know about the presentations at my website.