Today, I am thrilled to welcome a Greek-American author from New York, Effie Kammenou. Effie’s debut novel is Evanthia’s Gift, a dramatic family saga that’s responsible for my recent bouts of insomnia… I’m finding it impossible to put it down. The more I read, the more I am intrigued about what happens next. I will be reviewing it when I’ve finished, but for now, here is the stunning cover before my chat with Effie begins!

 

In the year 1956, Anastacia Fotopoulos finds herself pregnant and betrayed, fleeing from a bad marriage. With the love and support of her dear friends Stavros and Soula Papadakis, Ana is able to face the challenges of single motherhood. Left with emotional wounds, she resists her growing affection for Alexandros Giannakos, an old acquaintance. But his persistence and unconditional love for Ana and her child is eventually rewarded and his love is returned. In a misguided, but well-intentioned effort to protect the ones they love, both Ana and Alex keep secrets – ones that could threaten the delicate balance of their family.

The story continues in the 1970’s as Dean and Demi Papadakis, and Sophia Giannakos attempt to negotiate between two cultures. Now Greek-American teenagers, Sophia and Dean, who have shared a special connection since childhood, become lovers. Sophia is shattered when Dean rebels against the pressure his father places on him to uphold his Greek heritage and hides his feelings for her. When he pulls away from his family, culture and ultimately his love for her, Sophia is left with no choice but to find a life different from the one she’d hoped for.

EVANTHIA’S GIFT is a multi-generational love story spanning fifty years and crossing two continents, chronicling the lives that unify two families.

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Hello Effie and welcome to my blog!

Hi Fros! It’s great to be here!

Tell me, is Effie short for Effrosyni by any chance?

No, actually, my name is Efthemia!

Oh, a lovely Greek name! What has inspired you to write your book?

The inspiration to write Evanthia’s Gift came from a couple of sources, but it was my mother’s passing that put me on the path to writing. In 2012 my mother passed away after battling pancreatic cancer for two and a half years. I was trying to be the strong older sister, a compassionate mother and aunt, and a supportive daughter to my grieving father. I never allowed myself to fully express my emotions. One night I sat at the computer and just started writing. It was my way of working through my grief.

I’d heard stories all my life of my mother’s childhood in Athens, and her experiences during WWII as a child. My father had his own stories growing up in NYC, his tales of how his family came to America and for what reason, and his own experiences as a flyer in WWII. I took all those stories and gave life to several characters.

I knew there was a lot of truth in this book! It’s palpable as I read; I believe the best books are those that contain honest feelings and true experiences from their authors… Yours embodies both. Do you see yourself in any of your characters, or do any of them have traits you wish you had?

I see myself, or parts of myself in several of the characters. As an author, when you develop a character, their voice comes from within you. Sophia lives in my timeline and has had some of the same experiences that I had. Her emotions come from me, although her traits and talents are modeled after one of my daughters. Anastacia is my mother, and the inspiration of the story. However, I do see parts of myself in her as well. Most of the characters, even some of the men, have a tiny piece of me—a trait, a point of view, or an experience.

Which are your favorite authors, and what do you love about them?

I have a background in theatre and studied all the classic playwrights from ancient Greece to modern day, but Shakespeare still holds my heart. As for fiction, I love the classics there as well. Jane Austen and John Steinbeck are my two favorite classic authors. I enjoy women’s fiction and contemporary romances. Nora Roberts, Jude Deveraux, Sophie Kinsella, Adriana Trigiani, and Sylvia Day are among the novelists I read most often. But the one contemporary author who has captured my attention more than any other is Sylvain Reynard who wrote the Gabriel series. His beautiful use of language is breathtaking, and he keeps me intrigued with his knowledge of literature, religion, art, history, and culture.

You mentioned a couple of my favorites, Effie. And thanks for the tip about Sylvain Reynard! Do you have any advice for other indie authors?

I continue to take all the advice my fellow authors are willing to share with me. But I will say this: I have never met a community of professionals so willing to help each other. Every author I’ve reached out to has responded, and was more than willing to help and steer me in the right direction. My advice? Reach out to authors. They will help you. But the most important piece of advice I can give anyone looking to publish or self-publish, is not to rush. Take your time and do everything as it should be done. Make sure your manuscript is ready for publication. It took me almost three years to write EVANTHIA’S GIFT. It’s a long book – 548 pages. Get a critique partner and beta readers. Their suggestions will improve your work. When you think you are done and you think you have tightened your manuscript as much as you can on your own, get a professional editor. And don’t skimp on the cover. Get a professional designer whose work you admire.

I couldn’t agree more with all the points you made! Choose a male and a female character from your book and tell us which actor and actress you’d cast to play them in a film adaptation.

This is an amusing question for me because where I work we spend much of our free time casting the movie version of the characters in the books we are reading. It’s a little more difficult with my own work since I have visions in my head that are not inspired by movie stars. The other issue here is that the book spans fifty years. So, do you use two different actors for each character, or simply age them?

For the adult Anastacia I could possible see Melina Kanakaredes. I see both of them as elegant, beautiful women. For the teenage Sophia I see Mia Sara as she was as a teenager. She is actually exactly what I had in mind. Dean is harder for me. Maybe Zach Efron or Stephen McQueen (Steve McQueen’s grandson). I would rather the reader have their own vision and not be influenced by the appearance of stars, unless of course the book was made into a movie.

Zach Efron as Dean sounds ideal, so thanks for that, I’ll remember when I resume reading tonight, LOL! Tell us about your website/blog. What will readers find there?

I do not have an author blog or website at this time. I do write a food blog where I not only share recipes, but also traditions and stories that reflect the food. Between some of the chapters of Evanthia’s Gift, I’ve added recipes, ones that will enhance the Greek experience for the non-Greek reader. Since publishing the novel, I have been posting these recipes on my blog with an excerpt from the story that refers to the food.

Well done, Effie! I also find that recipes work well to promote fiction. People love to try new tastes so you get a lot of interaction from readers on the blog and on the social media. Next question: If you could have one superpower what would it be?

I would like to have the power to speak every language. The idea of being able to communicate fluently in every country would be not only useful, but also enlightening. How wonderful would it be to fully immerse yourself in a culture?

What a wonderful answer, I love it! What were your most and least favorite subjects in school?

Without a doubt, Drama and English were my favorite subjects in school. In my last year of high school, an Independent Creative Arts Program was piloted. It was a wonderful experience. The theatre group within this program performed children’s plays for the district, improv theatre and classic plays—all of which were produced, directed and acted by the students. In college, I was a theatre major and I enjoyed the literature classes as well as the acting classes.

The subject I liked the least was science. It was my weakest subject, which is ironic since my dad was a chemist. This was also the reason I did not do well. I would ask him a simple high school level question and get a PhD-worthy answer. His answers were way over my head, and it wasn’t until I stopped asking him questions that I started to do marginally better.

If you could choose another profession, what would that be?

Without a doubt, I would be an actress. It was what I went to school for, and had always hoped to be. I think I needed a lot more nerve and a thicker skin at the time, and I never pursued this dream properly.

I can see you’ve come with lots of photos! How delightful! Can we have a look?

Sure!

Oh! This one looks intriguing! Is there a story behind it?

Yes! The girl in the grad. cap is my niece, Athena, who had always struggled in school, but my mother encouraged her to go to college. When she was fighting through her pancreatic cancer, my mother spent time with each grandchild. She told Athena not to quit, no matter how long it took to finish. She made Athena promise to graduate. If it wasn’t for her yiayia she would have given up. She put that message on her hat because she thought she would see it from above and be at her graduation in spirit.

Oh that’s so sweet… and what about those two stunning young ladies at Paramount Studios?

They are my daughters. Eleni, 29, is a 6th grade teacher, ballet teacher and tennis instructor. She is currently doing her PhD in administration. Alexa, 25, is a graphic designer and video art director for Real Simple Magazine. She has aspirations to someday work at Paramount or Disney studios.

I hope she succeeds. Best of luck! And this one’s in the States too?

Yes, that’s me, my sister, Athena, and Alexa at EPCOT food and wine festival. The other photos are various ones with my husband, friends and family.

Love them! Thank you for sharing these and for this wonderful chat, Effie!

Thank you for this opportunity, Fros, to talk about my work.

Effie Kammenou is a first generation Greek-American who lives on Long Island with her husband and two daughters. When she’s not writing, or posting recipes on her food blog, cheffieskitchen.wordpress.com, you can find her cooking for her family and friends.

Her debut novel, EVANTHIA’S GIFT, is a women’s fiction multi-generational love story and family saga, influenced by her Greek heritage, and the many real life accounts that have been passed down. She continues to pick her father’s brain for stories of his family’s life in Lesvos, Greece, and their journey to America. Her recent interview with him was published in a nationally circulated magazine.

As an avid cook and baker, a skill she learned from watching her Athenian mother, Effie incorporated traditional Greek family recipes throughout the book.

She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theater Arts from Hofstra University.

Visit Effie’s Amazon page  US   UK

Visit Effie’s food blog

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EffieKammenou?ref=bookmarks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EffieKammenou

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26069535-evanthia-s-gift

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