Saturday 25th of October 2014
On 6 June 2014, I signed a contract as 'author' for my first book, The Good Greek Girl. The contract was signed five years after I set out to write my memoir about living with mental illness and growing up as the rebellious daughter of Greek migrants.
On that day, I literally skipped out of the offices of Jane Curry Publishing, giddy with elation and jubilation. It had been 5 years dotted with self doubt, procrastination, frustration and occasional periods when the words flowed and created magic on the page.
Along the way, I learned about the obligation of a memoirist to emotional truth and authenticity; accepted writing was a messy, jagged process which challenged every bureaucratic bone in my body; and was continually asked ‘what is this story about, no really what is this story about? by writing mentor extraordinaire Lee Kofman.
I discovered the soothing power of salted caramel ice-cream when wrestling with structural stumbling blocks; explored the intersection between memory and imagination; and became part of a writing community with workshops at Writers Victoria, a residential at the J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice in Adelaide, and a glorious week at Varuna, the national writers house in the Blue Mountains.
This blog will explore my road to publication with occasional forays into my other passions: mental health and public policy. I hope you will join me by checking back in or subscribing to my e-newsletter.
Yia sou.