Today I have co-creator and Mind’s Eye series author, Maria Savva on my blog.
Bio:
Maria Savva works as an administrator at a legal advice centre in London. She studied Law at Middlesex University and The University of Law. She is a solicitor, although not currently practising law. She writes novels and short stories in different genres, including drama, psychological thriller, and family saga. She has published five novels, the most recent of which is Haunted, a crime fiction/psychological thriller. Far Away In Time is her sixth and most recent collection of short stories. She’s also contributed short stories to the BestsellerBound Anthologies (most of which are free to download on Amazon) and she is one of the founders of The Mind’s Eye Series. In addition to writing fiction, Maria is a music blogger for the UK Arts Directory.
- What genre do you write?
I write novels and short stories in all sorts of genres and never really stick to one genre within a book or even within a story.
Most of my books and stories have elements of romance, mystery, and the paranormal in them. I also have recurrent themes that tend to run through many of my books and stories, including relationships, dreams, regret, guilt, secrets, and lies.
- Have you always wanted to be an author?
I think it’s something I always wanted to do, yes. I’ve always been a bookworm. I started reading when I was very young and have always loved words; I used to do lots of crossword puzzles when I was younger, for example. I asked for a typewriter when I was about seven. My dad got me an old typewriter, the kind where you have to replace the ribbon. I don’t have it anymore, not sure what happened to it… Whenever I watched films that were based on novels, as a child, I’d always say that one day I’d like to write a novel and have it made into a film. That’s always been a dream of mine. I had lots of other interests when I was growing up, though, so writing wasn’t something I concentrated on.
As for always wanting to be an author, I wouldn’t say that has been my sole aim. I started off when I was younger wanting to be an actress, then a teacher, then a make-up artist, then a hairdresser, and I had other dreams like wanting to be a musician or a Wimbledon tennis champion LOL. But I suppose you could say, reading and writing have always been part of my life in some way.
I studied to be a lawyer, which involves lots of reading, and worked as a lawyer for about 15 years. Much of my legal career inspired a lot of my fiction. I met lots of different people. Working in a job like that, you meet people from all walks of life and you get to know a lot about them. It certainly gives you an interesting insight into human nature.
- Tell me 3 things about yourself that your readers don’t know.
I think my readers probably know all there is to know about me as I’ve done lots of interviews in the past few years. Anything I haven’t revealed in interviews is probably a secret anyway LOL.
In case people haven’t read my blog/interviews:
- I lived in a haunted house from the age of 5 until the age of 9 and this has inspired a lot of the paranormal/ghost elements in my novels and stories.
- I had a catheter ablation to cure my SVT (Supraventricular tachycardia) over 4 years ago (I was born with an extra pathway in my heart and wasn’t diagnosed until I was in my late thirties). My heart used to randomly start beating at nearly 250 bpm for sometimes up to 3 hours or more. I’m glad to have put that behind me!
- I can’t swim.
– Tell me a bit about your stories.
For “Triptychs” I wrote 2 stories. The first one I wrote is called “Glimmer Siluridae”. It’s a fantasy tale. (I’ve found that the Mind’s Eye Series has been bringing out the fantasy writer in me! In “Perspectives”, I wrote a fairy story.) Glimmer Siluridae is the name of a mermaid who appears in the story. That tale is lighthearted but also deals with the subject of life after death. It was inspired by one of your photos, Helle, the one with the sun reflecting off the water.
The second story I wrote for “Triptychs” took a bit longer to come to me. “Lost in You” is quite an introspective, dark piece of work. The main character is a troubled soul. This is a twisted story about lost love. It nearly made me cry when I first read it over. It’s quite a tragic tale. It was inspired by Martin David Porter’s photo of a harbour.
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