Frequently Asked Questions
1. Where did you get inspired by, in order to write your books?
From anything beautiful that surrounds me, from the love I receive, from a beautiful movie I’ll watch, from Greek mythology, but above all from music, and especially from symphonic metal, which I like the most. I was drawing some illustrations in the beginning, and then I came up with a story.
2. Who are your favorite writers and which are your favorite books?
I love William Shakespeare, Hans Christian Andersen, Victor Hugo, Oscar Wilde, Washington Irving, Stephen King and of course Agatha Christie. My favorite Greek writers are Alexander Papadiamantis, Yiannis Ritsos and Georgis Vizinos. My favorite books are mostly fairy tales of brothers Grim, Agatha Christie’s “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,” Stephen King’s “ The Shawshank Redemption”, Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables.”
3. Who is your favorite artist?
Tim Burton, definitely. I deeply admire him, because he’s a good illustrator, script writer, storyteller, producer and director, and he shows all this talent and imagination in his movies. I think he’s unique, and it would be the dream of my life to work with him.
4. Who is your favorite character of your book?
It’s Azarus, for many reasons. He’s a figure of a good old man, completely innocent and benevolent. He loves life and everyone around him. He has the soul of a small child and the heart of an angel. I would love him to be my own grandfather.
5. Why are the merfolk so good?
My book is a romantic fantasy tale, but it’s also symbolic. The merfolk represent a society of people who are sensitive and innocent, without thinking treacherously. For me, the merfolk reflect Heaven, a heaven I always wanted to exist in our world. They are amazing, dreamy creatures. I would like to shape this world a lot, and try to maintain that innocence and love in every part of my book.
6. Will there be any sequels to ‘Antara’? If so, how many?
‘Antara’ is duology, here is the sequel and final part ‘Ninemia’ . Many people ask me why it’s not a trilogy: I understand that trilogies have become a trend, but I wasn’t feeling that ‘Antara’ should be concluded in a third book.
7. Why did you choose to write a story with mermaids, instead of some other mythical creatures?
Because I liked mermaids since I was a child. I remember myself from a small age drawing mermaids and reading stories with mermaids. My grandfather was a fisherman, and many times he used to tell me stories with mermaids when we were going together for fishing here in Greece. So it was definite that my first story would be mermaid-related. I love the sea, as I have grown up close to it, and I’m completely fascinated by these creatures.
8. Would you like your book to become a movie? What actors would you choose to play the main character roles?
Everyone would love their book to become a movie; that’s my biggest dream. For the role of Asteria I would like Evangeline Lilly, for Orestis I’m undecided yet, and for Azarus, definitely Anthony Hopkins.
9. I absolutely love having actually copies of books, but the books on Lulu are pretty expensive. Have you thought about trying to find a cheaper why to publish the books to get them in the hands of people who love having physical copies?
Of course I’d like my book to be cheaper, but that’s impossible. The paperback version of Antara includes 26 illustrations, and the entire book is printed in full color, and unavoidably in more expensive paper ( print on demand). Even is the book is that expensive, my profit for each sale is about $1. A B/W book wouldn’t be an option for me, because it just doesn’t do the artwork justice. Print quality is first and foremost for me. Alternatively, someone who doesn’t care about quality, could always buy the ebook version.
10. What made you choose self publishing vs going through a publisher?
Many people often ask me why I’ve chosen the path of self-publishing. As many of you know, Antara is a book written and illustrated by me. There isn’t any similar style of book in the market. There are children’s picture books and graphic novels, but scarcely someone would come across an illustrated novel. The rarity of this kind of book has prevented me to find a literary agent to represent me. If in the US there are 1000 literary agents, only 30 of them would represent author/illustrators, and the ones I’ve contacted rejected my book because that kind seemed unusual to them. A lot of people say that excuse was unfair, and yes, I believe the same thing as well. But life is unfair many times (so I’m not going to nag about that). In the process, I tried to contact a few publishing houses directly but that turned out to be impossible; No one of the large publishing houses accepts unsolicited submissions.
Therefore, there was but one solution, to self-publish my book, so that Antara wouldn’t wreck. Sometimes I read articles where some are against self-publishing, but they would do the same thing if they were in my position. In no occasion would I let my dream fade. I worked very hard for Antara; the illustrations took me almost 2 years, I wrote the story in Greek and I paid for the Greek-to-English translation myself, and all of this because I didn’t want my effort to be wasted. Ιf I chose the difficult path of self-publishing, I’m still looking for a literary agent or publisher to make my life easier.
11. Are you going to write any other story apart from those two books?
I won’t stop writing; I have already started to write a story very different from ‘Antara’. But unfortunately I can’t say more than that, yet.
12. Give a piece of advice to prospective writers.
1. If you write, do so with your heart, not for fame or popularity, necessarily.
2. Try to be authentic and spontaneous, both about your story and your writing style.
3. Bad critics make us stronger, and under no circumstances should a bad critic affect you. Carry on with your dream, and remember that opinions vary and are subjective. There are many books, some good and some bad-written. Try to touch the heart of the reader; the journey and the imagination is what count the most. That’s the art of literature, and that’s the success, in my opinion.
4. Remember, the one who persists, finally wins.
Truly yours,
Marilena
Antara – Illustrated Saga
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