Self-published author Maria Vermisoglou dropped by The Nerd Daily to tell us about her debut YA fantasy novel, The Cursed Girl and how it came to be!
Tell us a little about you as a person!
My name is Maria Vermisoglou, I live in Greece and I am a librarian. I love reading, walks with friends and travelling. Or maybe I should say I love books too much and I read too much. I can’t really say much about myself because I am just starting out and I am young for a writer. Sometimes, I make handcrafted items like bracelets, keychains or candles.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I always loved to read and “travel” in the places the books took me. I never considered myself as a writer until this story came to me. I had written some stories in the past but abandoned them because I couldn’t feel them. Eva’s story was magic, I lived it: I laughed and cried. I started writing Eva’s story but not seriously. During a summer vacation ideas hit me—it was like the book was writing itself and I knew what to write.
Readers sometimes accuse writers like “why did she kill that character?”, but what readers don’t consider is that writers feel more pain than readers sometimes because they have to kill their own characters. Writers have a special bond with their characters because they created them, it’s part of them.
How did you find the writing, editing and publishing processes? How long did it all take you?
It was difficult and required a lot of research. I had to use the internet because my book was in English and in Greece there are no publishers that would publish it. People asked my why I would publish it in English—I don’t know why it just came to me that way. Maybe I just like challenges. Editing was hard because I knew nothing about the book process. I know how to search and catalog books, but the process of making a book? Not really.
First, I wanted to publish traditionally but after research I found that I needed an agent. I didn’t want to go down that path since it was my first try so I published through Createspace and it was pretty easy. The hard part was finding the right people for the job I had in mind: editor, beta readers, and illustrators. I can say that all in all I was lucky and the people I found or who found me were great and professional. When the book was finished I have to say I knew more about the English language than when I started the book some years ago. It took me more than half a year to finish the book process (editing, format, cover etc) but I eventually got there.
Do you have any advice for writers and those trying to get published?
Write, write, write. Even if you think it’s rubbish or unimportant! You’ll see a mountain in front of you but you will reach the top eventually so believe in yourself and in your writing. You might get a thousand rejections from readers, agents or others, but you shouldn’t let that stop you and push forward until you get there. A thousand authors before you started as nobodies and now everyone knows them. If they can do it, so can you.
The Cursed Girl has an intriguing premise. Where did you draw your inspiration from?
I can’t really say from where I drew inspiration from because I knew how the story was supposed to be. When the idea came to me I knew what I had to write. I know this is not really an answer, but when writing books there isn’t really how or why. It is just the way it is.
However, I love books so when I love a book or obsess about it like any fangirl, I make up stories in my mind. I take a piece from the beginning, the middle, the end… and I make up stories except I never wrote them down. The inspiration for The Cursed Girl was mainly The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, the television series The Witches of East End and a few other books I had read.
How did you create your main character Eva? What inspired her personality?
So, one day I finished City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare and I was disappointed because it was the end with no more books after that. I was thinking, what if Clary was a witch? That’s how Eva was born. In the beginning, Eva looked exactly like Clary, but then she took on her own shape and appearance. One odd thing though is that I knew she had to be called Eva.
Her character is based on people I know and the fact that I believe that at the beginning of our lives we start small and then evolve. Eva at the beginning is unsure of herself but then evolves into a person who will do the right thing even if that means breaking every rule there is to save the ones she loves. She is a closed character and doesn’t trust easily, but she will walk through hell and fire to save her loved ones and strangers too. She is a storm. She loves helping people and that is what makes her stranger than other witches. She is quite an unusual witch!
What can we expect from The Cursed Girl?
Everything. Friendship, love, family, and twists at every turn. War, betrayal, and backstabbing. Happiness, pain, and sadness. When I wrote The Cursed Girl I saw it with my own eyes and felt it. I hope my readers will love it as much as I do and see it. Also, I have to apologise to them for the cliffhanger at the end, but I will say that this is not the end! It’s only the beginning!
Are you working on anything else? If so, will it be fantasy based?
Currently, I am working on Eva’s next adventure, the second volume of The Cursed Girl. I have many projects in mind but all related to fantasy or science fiction.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for us?
Tough question. I have a lot of recommendations for anyone who has time but I am just going to recommend one book now: “Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores.” This book is hilarious, maybe it reminds me of all the strange things I have heard as a librarian.
If you would like to get in touch with Maria, you can find her on Facebook!
Will you be checking out Maria’s novel, The Cursed Girl? Have you read it already? Tell us in the comments below!
Buy on Amazon | Book Depository
Sixteen-year-old Eva is a witch who lived in Spain, in the year 1230. She met a boy named Jonathan who would become her whole world. Everything was normal until she was faced with challenges that will change her life forever. As a healer, her job is to help people, but there are forces that will try to prevent that. There is a war coming and Eva and her friends must do everything they can to survive. Can they fight their way against the dark forces that are surrounding them? Her wits and inner strength helped everyone who encircled her to survive but will she be able to survive herself? Supernatural creatures, royal backstabbing and many more await you in this thrilling novel that will take your breath away.
