Interview with Effrosyni Moschoudi

Today I'm delighted to welcome author Effrosyni Moschoudi to my blog. Her debut novel, The Necklace of Goddess Athena, was a #1 Amazon bestseller. Her romance, The Lady of the Pier - The Ebb, was an ABNA Quarter-Finalist. Effrosyni is a member of the writer's groups eNovel Authors at Work, ASMSG, and the Fantasy & SciFi Network.

INTERVIEW WITH EFFROSYNI MOSCHOUDI






Where does your inspiration come from?

First and foremost, I write books for people who love Greece. I believe every author should write about what they know best, or about things they have a passion for. This is the only way, in my opinion, to move the reader with your work, because it’s the truth in the pages that works this kind of magic. The beauty of my country and the fine qualities of its people move me greatly so it was inevitable that these should inspire my writing. I set my debut novel, The Necklace of Goddess Athena, in Athens – the city I grew up in. Then, I set my trilogy, The Lady of the Pier - The Ebb, in Corfu to record memories from my many holidays there with my grandparents in the 1980s. I intend to set most, if not all, my next novels in islands all over Greece. For example, I have family roots in Limnos, Lefkada and Crete and I hope to set novels there one day after doing a little more research in my family history. Basically, I am moved and inspired by my own true experiences and passions.



Are there any sites you could recommend for promotion advice?

Yes, definitely! I have two and I never miss their blog posts. The first is Bookbub Insights: https://insights.bookbub.com/ where you’ll find golden advice on every aspect of publishing, formatting and marketing. The other one is the blog of my writer’s group, eNovel Authors at Work. The founder, Jackie Weger, having tried and tested all the promotional sites out there and having researched Amazon TOS and the best ways to run Amazon promos and to present your books on the product page, blogs unmissable advice that helps you avoid:
-online scammers targeting authors
-getting into trouble with Amazon for violation of their TOS
-making rookie mistakes of all kinds.

Plus, Jackie Weger blogs cracking promotion tips that every author should hear. Personally I never miss a post on the above two sites. I’ve thanked myself more than once for my persistence on this point!

I've never read those blogs. I'll check them out :)

Tell us about your work in progress.

My next book is called The Amulet; it’s a supernatural romantic comedy set on the Greek island of Sifnos and some of its characters are angels. In the process of writing this, I fell in love with the characters and expect I’ll write a couple of other books where some of the angels can reappear. It’s certainly a joy to write about the Cyclades, this stunning, typical part of touristic Greece. The Amulet is now in the editing stage and soon I’ll have it ready for my beta readers. I hope to publish it towards the end of the year.

It sounds fascinating!


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Who does your cover design? Is there anyone you’d recommend?

My designer is a talented Greek from Veroia, Greece called Alex Saskalides. He has recently done the cover for The Amulet and has also made the one for my fantasy, The Necklace of Goddess Athena. Over time, the latter has impressed many among my followers on Twitter and still does! Alex is a breeze to work with; he understands the concept of the cover I want and delivers exactly what I had in mind. In my experience, some designers can be awkward to communicate with, so I still can’t believe my luck I found Alex. Your readers can see samples of Alex’s work (and may contact him) on his Facebook page, 187Designz

Apart from writing, what are your favourite pastimes?

I love movies with passion as well as British TV series. I like to watch something every evening with my meal, and in the weekends, especially during winter, I wind up playing a lot of movies at home. It’s the cheapest and most magical way I can think of to free my mind and to escape the daily routine. I also love to cook, as it relaxes me. And when I have guests, it gives me great joy to offer them wholesome meals and desserts I make at home from scratch. More often than not, I prepare Greek meals. Your readers can browse through some of my best recipes here: https://effrosinimoss.wordpress.com/c...

Mmm... those look delicious :)

What’s your favourite film?

Being a movie junkie I always find it hard to answer this question because there are so many different genres I enjoy. So I hope you will forgive me if I name two movies, simply because I can’t decide. Dead Poets Society is one of my favourite movies ever, for the inspiration it gave me when I watched it in my early 20s. It shook my world, and I left the cinema theatre overcome by grief and clutching a hankie, but my heart was swelling… The other movie was The Matrix (the first one) which I love every moment of. Back in 1999 it was the most astounding plot I’d ever heard of and the best camera work I’d ever seen. Of course, the gorgeous Keanu Reeves was a great asset to the movie! I still dream of Neo from time to time, actually. Hopefully he’ll get in that phone booth one day and it’ll be me he’ll call to awaken next, LOL!

Hahaha!

What was the last book you read? Was it any good?

It was House at the Edge - a Gothic romance by my author friend, MM Jaye. It was set on the Greek island of Alonissos, but during winter. I utterly enjoyed it for being so different to the typical Greek romance. Maria is a wonderful writer and I’ve enjoyed her other work too, but found this one particularly atmospheric. It had a bit of everything. Tantalizing romance, crime, suspense, mystery, and a touch of the paranormal. It makes sense that it won an award. I highly recommend it.

Do you have a pet?

I have a four-year-old cat called Felix. I never planned on having another pet since I lost my beloved dog, Nerina, but the neighbour’s cat wound up having her kittens in my garden. The neighbor didn’t want them so I kept them and Felix was the runt of the litter; so tiny and timid, and he ate very little. I wasn’t sure he was going to make it. In time, we gave away all the kittens but kept him as he was our favourite. He turned out to be such a cuddly, loyal thing. Hardly ever leaves our property, but he’s terribly naughty. He likes to lie in my flower pots or flat out on the table in the porch. And every time we open the front door he rushes in, so we have to chase him and chuck him back out. We allow him indoors for small periods of time only, because he tends to make a real mess. He also runs off and hides in the bedrooms. I swear, he does it just for the fun of knowing we’ll be running behind him to catch him. Still, it’s hard to be mad at him as he’s so damn cute! And he seems to be particularly attached to me. He follows me around the garden and when I am in the kitchen he jumps up on the window ledge so he can be close by – meowing every time I talk to him. There used to be five flower pots on that ledge, but in time he smashed them all down to the floor. All in all, a very troublesome creature but I love him to bits!



He's gorgeous :)

Thanks so much for joining me here, Fros, and for sharing your tips and recommendations. I wish you continued success with your books.

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Author links:

Website & blog: http://www.effrosyniwrites.com
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/effrosyni
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoreffrosyni
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/frostiemoss
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...