interview – Harry A. Mavromatis about his Cyprus memoir LOST EDENS

How would you describe your book to a new reader and why should somebody read it?  

This is a book about Cyprus the decade before it gained its independence from Britain.  The perspective is that of an adolescent who comes to the island with his parents from the United States, and consequently experiences a clash of cultures.  It is worth reading partly because the author’s family had connections at the very highest levels of Greek Cypriot and Greek society, and hence the author saw and heard things at first hand and describes events that are not common knowledge.  Additionally it is worth reading because it describes very candidly and graphically several of the islanders, and how life was like before Cyprus achieved a flawed independence that precipitated the Turkish invasion and occupation of its northern third.

What inspires you to write? When and under which circumstances do you find yourself writing? What does your writing environment look like?    

I write about things or people I have a feeling for and at the same time feel deeply about, and finally I write what I believe is worth setting to paper.  The writing environment is not very important.

When you sit down to write, do you have a page goal or time goal?  

I sit down to write when I feel an inner drive to do so.  When this happens the words flow freely. I do not write when I do not feel this inner drive, this powerful urge.

Do you ever have a writer’s block?  

Already answered in 3.

What has been the hardest part of writing?    

The hardest part of writing for me is to make what is clear in my mind and moving to me, crystal clear to the reader.  If it is not clear to, and at the same time does not move the reader, it is a useless exercise.

What have you learned from writing this book?    

Many of the details in this book I thought I had forgotten, but were there in my subconscious waiting to be retrieved and set to paper.

Is there something you would like to ask your readers?    

If they are not already familiar with Cyprus it may be a bit difficult for them to piece things together at the start.  However, indirectly I give historical details wherever this is appropriate or unobtrusive.  Hence, I ask them to be a bit patient at the beginning.

Is there anything specific you would like to tell them?   

I hope you find Lost Edens pleasant reading, and at the same time interesting, informative and additionally at times moving.

Do you have a favourite quotation?      

Several of the quotes in the book, and there are two at the beginning of each of the book’s four sections, are among my favourites.  Thus, there is Socrates’ remark: “It is not living that is important, but living rightly”.  This says it all.

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Kindle and paperback versions of the book are also available on amazon.com and amazon.co.uk