Vibrant Imaginative People

April 2022, Issue No. 8

Your VIP Newsletter from Soulla's Writing Room

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Hello my VIP

I hope those of you who have just celebrated Easter have had a wonderful time. For my family and I Easter is this week and I am so looking forward to spending time with my family after having had two Easters in the past two years where we have not been able to meet up.

Today I am making flaounes - traditional Greek Cypriot Easter breads - which is why this is a bit late getting to you. I will post photos on my social media accounts so please look out for them

I have also bought a fun colouring set for my granddaughter, bunny face masks and Easter bonnets so I'm also looking forward to involving my little nephews in making these. Look out for these photos too!

How did you spend the Easter weekend? I hope you had a lovely time. I'd love to hear about some of your Easter traditions or what you got up to so drop me a line when you can.

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Let's Write Together

“Life is better when you write, so let's write together."

What’s your passion? Are you making time every day for that which makes your heart go boom?

If you live in north London and are looking for a space to write alongside other passionate writers then please let me know. I’d love to support you and I’m looking to launch a new face-to-face writer’s group where you can write, share critiques of each others work and move forward with your writing and publishing journey.

It’s scary. It’s overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. I’ve been where you are and have done it and there's nothing more motivating than working with a trusted group of like-minded people who are serious about their writing.

Whether you're just starting out, have a story you're working on, are stuck with a piece you've been writing for a while or would like to learn something new, I 'd love to hear from you.

I have three published books under my belt and I'm really looking forward to supporting you. So what are you waiting for? Just send me an email so that I can share more details with you.

Writing can be lonely but nothing can be achieved alone so let's write together.

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The London Book Fair 2022

The beginning of this month saw thousands of people migrate to Olympia, London, over a three-day period for the return of The London Book Fair.

It was an exhilarating but equally exhausting three days and the generosity, kindness and warm hospitality of the people I met across the industry was inspiring.

The highlight for me was meeting two wonderful ladies from Soloneion Book Centre in Nicosia, Cyprus who recognised my name and introduced themselves to me. The shop has stocked copies of The Summer Will Come since last year and so to meet the people connected to helping me widen the book's distribution and reach was a fabulous moment. I also met a Cypriot author who has written a story in the same time period as The Summer Will Come and we talked together about her book's translation from Greek to English. It was a fascinating conversation and I'm glad to have met her.

I would also like to give a shout out to the following people and organisations who took the time out to talk to me about publishing, new platforms for reaching new markets, book cover design and illustration, rights and licensing, the craft of writing, translation and what's new in the world of books. If you don't know any of them, please look them up.

Colin at Falcon Oast Graphic Art - for all your book publishing needs

https://www.falcon.uk.com/

Margaret at the Alliance of Independent Authors - a supportive writing community

https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/

Alicia at Audio Quants - audio book recording and services

https://www.audioquants.com/

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Jewelled Fabergé Eggs at the Victoria & Albert Museum

Earlier this week my two sisters and I spent the afternoon at the beautiful Victoria & Albert Museum marvelling at the jewelled Fabergé eggs, jewellery and timeless enamelled trinkets from public and private collections. Photography was not permitted and so I have included the link here where you can see some of the exhibition highlights.

As we walked around the exhibition I learnt so much about the history of Fabergé and the way the workshops were organised in teams; such a forward-thinking practice for the time and it meant that no one piece was produced solely by one craftsman. I was fascinated by the intricacy of the craftsmanship, the meticulous attention to detail involved in creating the glittering pieces. I have never seen so many diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls and sapphires set in dazzling rose and yellow gold, platinum and silver in one place. It was a an uplifting experience and the history of Imperial Russia and the Romanov Royals was particularly interesting and a part of history which has intrigued me for a long time.

If you get a chance to go I highly recommend it. Lunch in the cafe, surrounded by the tiled walls and painted fresco ceilings, was just so indulgent and the best part was being with my sisters. Just the three of us; we laughed, we cried and we talked... happy days, happy life.

Have you visited an exhibition or museum recently? What impact did it have on you? What did you take away from it?

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VIP Member Spotlight

The VIP Member Spotlight falls on an author whose genre is not one I would readily read but editing his stories has pushed my comfort zone and I have enjoyed getting inside his head and finding out how he comes up with his story ideas and characters. It's a wonderful thing being part of a writing community which is so diverse.

Marios has been writing for three years and in that time has produced four short stories featured in the Harvey Duckman Presents anthology series by Sixth Element Publishing.

“I met the amazing Gillie Hatton at the MCM Comic Con where we discussed books and writing and she asked me to write a short story which I did. The story was accepted and I have never looked back. Sixth Element helped me so much and especially when it came to releasing my independent novella, The Unwanted Guests.

I have also produced three short stories in a series called Unexplained Anomalies, which I am now collating as a paperback.

I have been lucky enough to work with the amazing Soulla Christodoulou who has helped me with my confidence in writing and my writing technique. She has helped nurture my creative talents with online and face-to-face mentoring sessions and informal chats which have greatly supported the development of my writing skills.

She has also made up writing focus and writing-thought templates to help me with managing my edits and processing the changes I need to make to my work and my dyslexia. I am proud to be a dyslexic author and I am proof that being dyslexic does not matter if you have the right support and keep persevering.”

If you would like to read Marios’ books or connect with him you can do so on any of the links below and if you’re dyslexic, and would like to find out more about how I can support you and your writing, then please give me a shout.

Twitter @marioeracleous 

Instagram @eracleousmwriter

TikTok authorme

Author page https://marioseracleous.wixsite.com/authorpage 

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Until Next Time...

Please get in touch if you have any content ideas for future newsletters or would like to be in the VIP Member Spotlight. I'd be happy to accommodate.

The sun's out and I'm going to go and have a cuppa in the garden. Until next time, stay safe, keep creating, read as much as you can and enjoy life to the full and if you're celebrating Orthodox Easter this weekend Kalin Anastasi.

And thank you for reading my newsletter. It means so much to me.

Lots of love and hugs

Soulla

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