What is the ‘back story’ to your book cover and title?


I’d already had a book published—a terribly British perspective on an open marriage—but the book wasn’t doing as well as my publishers believed it should. The title ‘The Husband Swap’ indicated that the memoir was more erotica than relationship psychology and they thought, hit the wrong market. As we prepared to publish the sequel, they proposed that the two books should have a theme and after some discussion, we decided to choose quotes from another memoirist who had been in an open relationship —Anais Nin. We renamed 'The Husband Swap, ‘A World in Us’ and it’s sequel ‘Necessary to Life’. So when as this one matured, and since it is a prequel (but in no way refers to an open relationship) it was natural to choose a fitting Anais quote.


“Monotony, boredom, death. Millions live like this (or die like this) without knowing it. They work in offices. They drive a car. They picnic with their families. They raise children. And then some shock treatment takes place, a person, a book, a song, and it awakens them and saves them from death. Some never awaken.” – Anais Nin


The book covers the week of realisation, during which time I awoke. The book covers themselves take inspiration from Vladimir Nabokov’s work (author of Lolita), specifically this edition (see image in google drive) of The Enchanter. That a memoir is a subjective reality, a story of real events assembled into a narrative by the mind means that the ‘comic sketch’ idea represents a one-dimensional perspective on those events. Some Never Awaken takes place in the Caribbean hence the blue/sand background and represents the theme of freedom—invisible, but much longed for, beyond the horizon.


What made you want to become a writer?


I became a writer because I had to. My voice, such as it was, has been suppressed during my childhood. I conformed to the norm, studied hard, got into university, was gainfully employed and then got married according to the pattern I had been taught was necessary to be regarded as acceptable Writing, at first in secret and then anonymously, was the only place I could be truly myself. But as I’ve grown into my shoes, being truly myself has meant the loss of my normative values, as well as my gainful employment. Once a finance director, I am now studying a masters in journalism.


PHF Magazine January 2017


Did you employ an editor for the story- line, proofreading or editing?


The editor who worked on my other books worked also on this one which gives them a pleasing sense of continuity along with the covers which are also synced.


Are you self-published or traditional/ Why did you choose to publish this way?


This story was the first book I wrote but is the third to be published. I self-published it since the subject matter was not in line with what my publishers wanted, and I was unwilling to suppress my younger self's raw pain in a way that made it acceptable to other publishers. As anyone who has survived an abusive relationship might tell you, being able to speak up without fear is one way to self- assert, to declare that it's okay to be who you are. And who you, are doesn't deserve to be abused.


Pictures Courtesy of Louisa Leontiades 4


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