I know you were born in Australia, and now live in Greece. What was the reason for moving?
Well, my step father is Greek and my parents and I had traveled from Australia to Greece for holiday every two or three years since I was two years old. It really became like a second home to me. Just before I graduated from university, I decided I wanted an adventure and resolved to move to Greece for a year or two to teach English. (I completed the last semester of my degree via correspondence, because I was impatient.) I guess that year or two has now turned into almost ten. Funny that.
How long did you live in Australia?
For the first 20 years of my life.
What was the hardest part about adapting to another culture?
Oh, don’t get me started. Let me just say that the bureaucracy here makes life more complicated than it should be. Let me give you an example. I don’t have any Greek blood, and for me to live here legally and obtain a residency permit, my step father had to adopt me. So that he did. But because I was no longer a dependent when it happened (over 18), I had to prove that I could pay my own way. So I needed to find a job in order to stay. But guess what? I couldn’t get a job without health insurance. And I couldn’t get health insurance without a residency permit. And I couldn’t get a residency permit without a job … erm, so what happened, you ask? I think it involved some sort of bribe … . Only problem now is, I have to renew it every two years for quite an expensive fee. And after ten years, I still can not get used to the fact that the people in the public sector, that deal with immigrants, constantly get their facts wrong and send us running round in never-ending circles. I could go on and on, but I think I’ll stop now before I say something that gets me kicked me out of the country for slander.
What do you like best about living in Greece?
This:
and this:
Do you think you’ll live there for the rest of your life? Why or why not?
I truly don’t know. I’d love to go back home to Melbourne, Australia. I miss my friends and family there a lot. But it’s a long way to go for many reasons I won’t get into here. Greece is suffering a pretty hard recession at the moment. The country announced selective default back in July (bankruptcy). We’re thinking of moving elsewhere in Europe to get back on our feet financially. Who knows what the future entails. I think I just have to go with the flow. Otherwise it stresses me out.
Did you begin writing before or after you moved?
I began writing novels after I moved, but I’ve been writing poetry and lyrics since I was twelve and short stories since university.
How has being an expatriate influenced your writing?
In every single way possible! I don’t think I can answer this without writing a book, but I will say that body language is very interesting to me. It varies so much from culture to culture.
In your writing, where do your settings take place?
String Bridge is set in Athens, Greece and Melbourne, Australia. My second novel, Bitter Like Orange Peel, is set in Melbourne, Australia and Seattle, USA. And my work in progress, Muted, is set in Arles, France. All realistic settings.
Quick writing questions:
Plotter or panster? Both. Depends on my mood.
Quiet or music? Funnily enough, quiet. Being a musician makes it difficult to allow music to linger in the background or set a tone. When I hear music my brain switches into a totally different mode.
Laptop or desktop? Both.
Mac or PC? PC
Coffee or tea? Both. Depends on the time of day.
Wine or other? Wine and Martini Bianco and Campari.
Day or night? Night.
Thank you so much for having me, Theresa! J
Connect with Jessica:
String Bridge: http://www.stringbridge.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/jessica_bell
Website: http://www.jessicacbell.com/
Blog: http://thealliterativeallomorph.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/author.jessica.bell
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MsBessieBell
Publisher: http://www.luckypress.com
Available as e-book and paperback:
Buy String Bridge for the UK HERE
Please TWEET and/or FACEBOOK this post using #StringBridge!
Happy Halloween!
I want to thank all of you who have read and commented on my blog. I especially want to thank the many of you have supported me in little and big ways.
Last year, I hosted a Halloween Haunting .
This is how it works:
From 10/31-11/02, leave a comment:
1) Tell us about your blog.
2) If you’re a writer, what genre(s) do you write?
3) Are you looking for a critique partner(s)?
4) Please advertise the Halloween Haunting. (*See below.)
Then haunt at least 3 other the blogs from the comments section.
*Advertise my HALLOWEEN HAUNTING on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or your blog, and you could win a copy of FANGTALES!
If Book Depository delivers to you, you are eligible to win.
I’ll choose a winner on 11/07.
Happy Haunting!
The lovely Len Lambert is hosting me on her BLOG where I talk about hometowns and inspiration for settings.
Please visit LEN as part of my Fangtales tour.
Thanks, LEN!
P.S. I'm sorry I've been posting and commenting less. Papers have been due. I spilled tea on my internal mouse, so using my computer brings new challenges. And so on. I'll try to be a better blogging buddy. xo
Greg Fishbone has been a fixture at the New England SCBWI conferences since I began attending in 2007. In addition, my daughter giggled when reading his Penguins of Doom book. When I heard he'd gotten the go-ahead for a new series, I cheered him on. And when he asked for people to guest host Greg for his blog tour, I signed up.
I signed up when my blog was still called "Substitute Teacher's Saga". Although I no longer sub (thank goodness) I still recall subbing gym fondly. In fact, I filled in for one P.E. class with 7th-graders last week. It was fun. I swear.
So here's Greg on using his Galaxy Games ideas on unsuspecting students:
Thanks to Theresa for giving me space on Substitute Teacher's Saga to discuss my new sports and science fiction series, Galaxy Games! Substitute teaching is a great way for children's authors to get a close-up view of how kids today act and talk, what interests them, what worries them, and what they like to read. While I was writing Galaxy Games, I actually spent two weeks as a substitute gym teacher and came up with a kid-playable version of Galaxy Games that proved very popular with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.
In my books, the Galaxy Games are played between teams from different planets. For our school games, I set up half of each class as Ossmendians and the other half as Mrendarians, to reenact a famous game that leads up to the events in the series. The Ossmendians are blocks of living stone with metallic legs, whle the Mrendarians are squishy squidlike creatures with slime-coated tentacles. Each team had fun picking a planetary slogan, cheer, and color.
Our Ossmendians and Mrendarians lined up on either side of the game board. In the books, each team was represented by a captain who makes all strategic decisions and team members who carry them out. Players in our version rotated positions so that everyone got a turn at being a captain. There were some captains who chose to consult with advisors during their turn, but I insisted that a captain's decision was final.
stand-up comedy.
Everyone had fun with the games, especially me. It was fun for me to see at least one aspect of my book brought to life, and I even got an idea or two for future stories in the series.
Greg R. Fishbone, Author - gfishbone.com - Twitter @tem2
The Challengers - Book #1 in the Galaxy Games Series
Follow the Galaxy Games Blog Tour, all October long!
“Give me a word – give me a sign
Show me where to look – tell me what will I find?
Lay me on the ground and fly me in the sky
Show me where to look – tell me what will I find?
Oh - Heaven, let your light shine down”
- Taylor, Steve; Furler, Peter. Song “Shine” by Collective Soul
I have news about one of my favorite writer friends:
She’s a hard-working teacher who squeezes in writing time when she can. She’s queried. She’s received rejections. She’s received requests for partials and fulls. She’s been rejected again. Then she had an almost.
But now she an AGENT! YaY!
Go over and congratulate her HERE .
While you’re there, you can read my musings on submitting short stories for publication. Shannon is a stop on my Fangtales tour.
But Shannon is the actual STAR.
Shine on, Shannon.
I'm interviewing the ultra-talented Rose Cooper on my blog today:
I’ve heard a few rumors about you. Is it true that you have three children, a full-time job, a publisher, an Etsy business, and a Doodle Diva card line?
If it’s true, I’d like to talk to you about balance.
How do you carve out time to write and illustrate?
It wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for my husband. He takes care of the kids when I’m on a deadline. I usually start working in the early evening once I get home from work. On the weekends my husband and I work in shifts.
Do you work when the kids are awake or asleep?
My husband watches them during the day. But if I have extra work to do or it’s close to the end of my deadline, I’ll continue working into the night after the kids are asleep. Extra stuff I do on the side, like The Doodle Divas or Etsy, I do it while the kids are asleep.
Do you have a routine?
When I sit down to write or draw, I always have to have my cup of coffee (flavored) next to me and music cranked up. I always have to check Facebook first to see what’s going on, then my emails. Oh, and sometimes Twitter. Then I get down to business!
Do you receive support from your family in order to make time to write?
My husband is the absolute best. I don’t know what I’d do without him. My kids love to support me by making the most noise possible during a deadline.
What do you prefer to do, write or illustrate?
My first love is, and always will be, writing. I’ve been writing my entire life. Well, okay, since 6th grade. I started drawing at a young age too, but stopped after a certain period of time while I continued my writing.
Did you go to school for writing or illustrating?
I went to school for medical assisting and took many accounting classes. If I could do one thing over, it would be that. Those courses were so boring for me and I would spend time writing when I wasn’t studying. That should’ve told me something, I know.
When did you begin writing and illustrating seriously?
Well, with writing I was submitting to publishers when I was 12yrs old. So back then, I thought I was pretty serious about it! It wasn’t until about ten years ago when I really started thinking about it as a career and decided to query agents. I only started back up with the drawing after I got my first book deal.
Where do you find inspiration?
I find it everywhere! In dreams, talking with my kids, people watching, or even random moments when I least expect. For instance, the inspiration for Gossip from the Girls Room hit me when I was at Starbucks doing homework for my business law class. Totally unexpected.
Your first book was Gossip from the Girl’s Room: A Blogtastic Novel, which my daughter LOVED. Your next book is Rumors from the Boy’s Room: A Blogtastic Novel, which came out on 10/11. Do you have other Blogtastic Novels in the works?
The third Blogtastic Novel in the series, Secrets from the Sleeping Bag will be out Summer 2012. I’m working on the revisions for this now, I’m super excited!
Quick writing questions:
Plotter or panster? Panster
Quiet or music? Music. Loud!
Laptop or desktop? Laptop for writing, desktop when doing illus.
Mac or PC? PC, baby.
Coffee or tea? Coffee!
Wine or other? White wine.
Day or night? Definitely night.
Rose is EVERYWHERE:
Doodle Divas (She's got Halloween cards for sale now.)
