Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
This is the question where people can tell about their self-publishing experience or the series they have been working recently. I admire mother-tongued writers for how productive they are. In my case, the ability to write came recently, with the level of the language. I have a single book that I started to write immediately as soon as I got to that level, maybe even a bit too early. But I had to, as a student, and then for being motivated to share my story.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Zealand Tale. The inspiration is something I could talk about for hours. If I want to explain short which I am wary to do, the key point was maybe that there was a lot of change happening around me at the time when I started. I picked up a lot of memories in New Zealand during the exchange and the trip and it became extremely difficult to share it with friends in this environment, at least to go as deep as this country worth it. And then came the dinner story in the prologue and I really got pissed off. I started to write the next weekend.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
One hour every day, that might be called unusual. It might sound as little effort but when you get home from a day when you worked all day on your doctoral study, that page can feel a pain in your butt. But one hour was okay, listening to the music of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I think the soundtracks brought a lot of inspiration and motivation. I love the work of Howard Shore.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
It is difficult to give an answer as English is my second language. From Hungarian literature I could mention János Arany for his terrible landscape descriptions, and how he put people in the landscapes. We were often familiar with the places for Hungary being such a small country. For English literature, I could mention the books of Dan Brown, but rather for noting and translating all unfamiliar words in little booklets. That has been a steep learning curve.
What are you working on now?
I am not planning other books. The next will come as spontaneous as the first if it does.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I shall see yet. I am on InstaFreeBie, and started with a book giveaway not that long ago.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I got somewhat into self-publishing tips before the release and found a lot of authors whos advice would be several books more credible. But what I can say is to be very regular with writing and do it in an environment where you can open up. For me, this was alone in my very tiny flat in the evening which had a calm and contemplating atmosphere for the otherwise busy location in Lyon.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
This might be very specific for me but to tell the truth, this I read in an article about the rights of people who appear in a non-fiction book. So, let this not to be a secret anymore, but Charlotte and the other main characters in the book are actually wearing another name. There was one scene where I had to avoid detailing what happened. That is still one of my favourite adventures but I had to face it that it will never be shared in the book.
What are you reading now?
Torturing myself with Shakespeare’s MacBeth. I say torturing even tough I love Shakespeare. The text is extremely difficult. Luckily my brother bought me Arden Shakespeare where you have explanation of many expressions – you can imagine half a page of monologues and the other half is decoding parts that might be difficult for mother tongued readers. This is a brilliant help to follow the storyline but I lose my temper when there are spoilers.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I want to hold the paperback in my hand.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Surviving, Sailing and Navigation and Edible Plants of Stranded Desert Islands. I know some of these titles might actually exist. Otherwise I’d bring The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. The Lord of the Rings had so much more than it promised after seeing the movie. Tolkien was surely a mastermind and I found his trilogy an appealing and easy reading.
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