Iva Dimitrova's Blog - Posts Tagged "interview"
First Interview
With excitement and a bit of nervousness—perhaps because it's my first interview—I'm sharing it with you.
TheIndieView, thank you for the opportunity. Your questions were very interesting. They made me reflect on the journey I've been through and the obstacles I've overcome—something I haven’t really done in such a concise way before. It felt a bit surreal to summarize it all—it’s almost hard to believe that I actually did it, I thought to myself 🙂.
To read the interview, follow the link: https://www.theindieview.com/2024/08/...
From the interview:
Ideas are everywhere around us, as long as you’re observant. Have you heard that before? Well, I’ve come to believe it’s true. I began writing this book with one idea—the theme of redemption and unpredictable repercussions of even the smallest choices.
The idea struck me years ago when, as a journalist, I was conducting interviews with underage youth serving sentences for various offenses—ranging from theft to murder. That’s when the idea for ‘I didn’t mean to’ started to take shape. One of the boys I interviewed coined the phrase, but it could be seen as an unintentional summary of all the interviews. They didn’t mean to do what they did, they would say. It happened almost in an instant, as an uncontrollable consequence of unforeseen circumstances. But what has happened is a fact.
In Bulgarian, ‘I didn’t mean to’ is often used by children when they want to excuse their actions. The young people I interviewed were between 14 and 17 years old. You could say they were still children, which is why they would say ‘I didn’t mean to.’ Children, but old enough to commit horrifying crimes.
At the time, that struck me deeply. I started the book. As I mentioned, I went through a long process where I developed sub-themes of the main theme or added others related to it. I think the ideas for them stemmed from one another as I wrote. For me, the driving questions have always been: To what extent do we have control over events?..
TheIndieView, thank you for the opportunity. Your questions were very interesting. They made me reflect on the journey I've been through and the obstacles I've overcome—something I haven’t really done in such a concise way before. It felt a bit surreal to summarize it all—it’s almost hard to believe that I actually did it, I thought to myself 🙂.
To read the interview, follow the link: https://www.theindieview.com/2024/08/...
From the interview:
Ideas are everywhere around us, as long as you’re observant. Have you heard that before? Well, I’ve come to believe it’s true. I began writing this book with one idea—the theme of redemption and unpredictable repercussions of even the smallest choices.
The idea struck me years ago when, as a journalist, I was conducting interviews with underage youth serving sentences for various offenses—ranging from theft to murder. That’s when the idea for ‘I didn’t mean to’ started to take shape. One of the boys I interviewed coined the phrase, but it could be seen as an unintentional summary of all the interviews. They didn’t mean to do what they did, they would say. It happened almost in an instant, as an uncontrollable consequence of unforeseen circumstances. But what has happened is a fact.
In Bulgarian, ‘I didn’t mean to’ is often used by children when they want to excuse their actions. The young people I interviewed were between 14 and 17 years old. You could say they were still children, which is why they would say ‘I didn’t mean to.’ Children, but old enough to commit horrifying crimes.
At the time, that struck me deeply. I started the book. As I mentioned, I went through a long process where I developed sub-themes of the main theme or added others related to it. I think the ideas for them stemmed from one another as I wrote. For me, the driving questions have always been: To what extent do we have control over events?..
Bulgaria as a Setting: Ellis's Stories and My Novel – The Unexpected Experience of Sharing Impressions of Your Homeland with Another Author, Especially a Foreigner
I had the pleasure of interviewing Ellis Shuman for jeyranmain.com. It’s truly an unusual experience to exchange impressions with another author about your homeland—the setting for his stories in "Rakia" (this is a traditional Bulgarian alcoholic drink—my note) and the plot of my novel "I didn't mean to, but...". 
Ellis lived in Bulgaria for two years—a time that turned out to be sufficient for him to get to know our traditions, culture, folklore, and nature. From our conversation, you will learn what impressed him about my homeland so much that he chose it a second time as a backdrop for his stories, referring to his previous book, "The Burgas Affair." I asked him what his writing process looks like, how he creates characters and plots, how and why he started writing, and why he chose to be a self-published author. Additionally, Ellis shared more about himself, which is also interesting. So I recommend getting to know him, his book, and gathering more impressions about my homeland, Bulgaria.
If I were to insert something about my book, it would be that I believe aspects of the Bulgarian national psychology shine through in the characters and storylines, as well as in the themes explored. Of course, my characters are by no means a representative sample of society in Bulgaria. They may represent a part of it, although I believe that anyone reading my novel, regardless of where they are from, will find common ground with people they have met or have only a fleeting impression of, because I also address universal human questions and themes in my book.I would also add that even if you haven’t visited Bulgaria, reading "I didn't mean to, but" can give you an idea of the processes accompanying the transition from a communist regime to democracy, marked by corruption and the emergence of criminal organizations, which is the feedback I received. I didn’t intend that. I believe these processes significantly influenced future generations or at least certain segments of society, shaping their behavior and thinking patterns. How exactly, I leave for each person to determine for themselves.
link to the interview: https://jeyranmain.com/2024/10/20/int...
