The image encapsulated in my logo reflects what I believe writing is and what it should set out to achieve. The lyre, as a symbol of music and of creativity, creates beautiful, soul-inspiring music that in turn creates none other than a scroll filled with words—words that uplift, transform, inspire; words that create rational arguments and philosophical ideals; words that have the potential to change the face of humanity for the better.
Words that are as sweet and beautiful as the strains of the lyre.
I am also inspired by the image of weaving. A scroll is being woven into a majestic piece of art. The sounds are the threads, and the act of writing is the weaving.
‘Sing in Me Muse…’ The ancient Greeks Poets would look to the Muses as sources of their inspiration. The Muses were goddesses of song, poetry and the sciences, with each assigned a particular artistic sphere: Cleio, for example, was the Muse of History, whilst Thalia was the Muse of Comedy.
Calliope was the Muse of epic poetry, music, dance, song and eloquence. As the Muse for poetry and of story-telling, she is intimately connected with the creation of Homer’s masterpieces; Iliad and The Odyssey. She was depicted, in ancient art, holding a lyre. As the leader of the Muses, she was believed to have influenced kings and princes by enabling them to speak with gracious words and govern with justice. She, too, inspired my logo.
All of this ties in with the notion that writing, storytelling and the ‘arts’ have something of the otherworldly and divine about them. In the Christian tradition, Christ is the Word made flesh; and in one of my short stories, I imagine the Spirit who is inspiring my character to write words on a parchment, to break free from the letters and the syllables—to leap off the page and circulate throughout the world and in the hearts of people.
Writing is the imparting of grace and beauty, even if the story being told is tragic and brutal.
Through my writing, I hope to take readers into another realm of existence, perhaps into a world they have never known or imagined . . . To make them think differently, to challenge what they believe and to enrich them. I would like to inspire and entertain and edify and, ultimately, to stand within the tradition of my Greek ancestors . . . if I dare to.
ABOUT ME
I was born in Australia of Greek heritage, a first generation Greek-Australian and strongly shaped by my Greek cultural heritage as well as my Australian upbringing.
I am a person of the Diaspora; a member of an ancient community forced to leave a homeland due to economic instability. The quest for riches in the New Land was too great a temptation for my people; many left land and kin for the better life.
Whether they obtained this better life is, of course, highly subjective.
Grief, depression and creativity are inextricably connected for me. I started writing fiction as a form of therapy—to help me deal with that nihilistic agony that plagues me. Writing is my voice in a world that doesn’t seem to care and that engages in the superficial and the trivial. Well, certainly in my eyes.
I have a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor and Honours of Theology and a Diploma of Education. I entered the chaotic world of high school teaching and, after many fruitful and maddening experiences, left it. For good? Only time will tell.
My fiction and non-fiction writing reflect my Greek-Christian heritage as well as my love for poetry, literature, theology and history in general.
In the last ten years, I have been working on a novel that traces a young woman’s journey back to the motherland (Greece) and is largely based on my experience.
This novel will now become a three-part book series, with the first part--Daughter of Odysseus: Ithaka Calling—now available.
I was born in Australia of Greek heritage, a first generation Greek-Australian and strongly shaped by my Greek cultural heritage as well as my Australian upbringing.
I am a person of the Diaspora; a member of an ancient community forced to leave a homeland due to economic instability. The quest for riches in the New Land was too great a temptation for my people; many left land and kin for the better life.
Whether they obtained this better life is, of course, highly subjective.
Grief, depression and creativity are inextricably connected for me. I started writing fiction as a form of therapy—to help me deal with that nihilistic agony that plagues me. Writing is my voice in a world that doesn’t seem to care and that engages in the superficial and the trivial. Well, certainly in my eyes.
I have a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor and Honours of Theology and a Diploma of Education. I entered the chaotic world of high school teaching and, after many fruitful and maddening experiences, left it. For good? Only time will tell.
My fiction and non-fiction writing reflect my Greek-Christian heritage as well as my love for poetry, literature, theology and history in general.
In the last ten years, I have been working on a novel that traces a young woman’s journey back to the motherland (Greece) and is largely based on my experience.
This novel will now become a three-part book series, with the first part--Daughter of Odysseus: Ithaka Calling—now available.