Paul Kirtsis Book Spotlight and Author Interview

Paperback: 306 pages
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (September 17, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0595449565
ISBN-13: 978-0595449569

Book Synopsis:

Hermetica: Myths, Legends, Poems (September, 2007) is a homeric journey into the night where the world of dreams and symbols has sculpted our mythological past.

Using the language of alchemy, astrology and magic this tome seeks to reconstruct the lost bonds between old myths contained in the oral folklore of Ancient Egypt; stories which once served as the backbone of a religion centred around Osirian ritual - the cosmic cycles of death, dismemberment and resurrection.

It also contains a sequel to the popular Middle Egyptian tale, The Story of the Shipwrecked Sailor; a visual and dramatic interpretation of the passion of Osiris; an astrological allegory of the war between the heavenly bodies and a hermetic saga between a white witch and her mirror. The accompanying collection of poetry is a homage to the alchemy of love.

Author Interview:

Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?

That’s a tough one! I’ve only just started out, so it’s still premature for me to say that my work has been specifically influenced by anyone. I read rather widely; from poetry and non-fiction to autobiography and fiction. Fiction is probably the genre I least read. The two books that I’ve published so far, a poetry and literary collection, have as their prime focus the ancient wisdom and philosophies of Greece and Egypt so it’s probably more correct to say what has influenced you rather than who. And the whats are rather many!

Do you write everyday?

Not really. Despite the fact that I try to carry a pen and notebook wherever I go, there are periods of dormancy where nothing comes but then there might be a stretch of two to three months where I sit on my laptop for hours on end and just write away. You can’t really plan creativity. It just comes when it wants to although I will disclose that I find it better writing at night. Thoughts and emotions just seem so much more expressive, dramatic and exaggerated during those ungodly hours!

What has been your greatest achievement as a writer?

So far it’s probably been my Reader Views literary awards for Hermetica: Myths, Legends, Poems (2007) I won in the categories of Global-Australia and Fiction-Poetry. I hope that the ball keeps rolling for me in the years to come. I guess I’m one of those people who measures success through the genuine approval and admiration of others.

Have you always wanted to be a writer, or did you aspire to be something else growing up?

Well when I was a 10-year-old I wanted to be a builder and drive a bulldozer but that idea quickly went ashtray. Growing up in high school, I excelled in English and English Literature and always knew that I wanted to do something in those fields, though I never had a specific occupation in mind. In the few years preceding university I remember having made my mind up to be a journalist but I soon found that the extroverted and nosy personality required to be successful in that line of work didn’t really agree with me. So then I finally settled into the world of academia and the refuge of writing.

Are you currently working on anything?

Yes I am! I’m writing a memoir about my travels through Greece which is turning out to be a rather lengthy affair. Most of it is about my own personal experience of the country but the immense amount of research that I’ve had to unearth at libraries and bookshops to write this thing has been so exhausting! I’m past the half way mark at the moment. I’m also writing another collection of poetry under the rough title of Fifty Confessions. Use the creative right side of your brain to guess what that might be about!

What authors do you enjoy reading?

When I was a teenager, I loved reading horrors and thrillers. Dean Koontz, Richard Layman and Stephan King were some of my all-time favorites. Now I actually prefer non-fiction. I’ve recently become engrossed in some of theorist Graham Hancock’s books and Lobsang Rampa’s adventures in Tibet which have sent my mind racing at five hundred kilometers an hour and my imagination working overtime. There’s a lot of very interesting material out there for those who possess an open mind.

Is there a particular author/s (yourself excluded) who you feel don’t get the recognition they deserve?

Look to name one and not the others would be an injustice in itself so all I’m going to say in reference to that is that writing is a fiend in which perseverance and improvement are mandatory. The ones that gain commercial success are the ones who have most likely put in the hard yards on the writing desk, the library and in downright hardcore study. Naturally, luck plays a part in all of it too (as it does with everything in this life) but you can’t really expect too much too soon. Hell, some writers become superstars decades after their deaths though that’s probably one fate I wouldn’t wish on any poor soul. It’s nice to be alive to reap the rewards of all your ceaseless laboring.

What is your favorite book?

I can’t really answer that. That’s like asking Olympian Zeus to pick amongst his beautiful lovers, each one lovelier than the next! But two that have remained in my consciousness for at least a decade or so are Dean Koontz’s Phantoms and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. What impressed me about the former was Koontz’s ability to formulate a menacing and frightening theory that tied together events in recorded history. The latter was just a masterpiece from a literary great. Her horrific vision of the future, of a regressed, fundamentalist dystopia whose patriarchal core reduced women to child-bearing vessels gave me nightmares for months!

What is a book that has been highly acclaimed but you haven’t liked?

Um…probably The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. I can’t say I was that impressed. Many people liked this book but for me it was simply a New Age mélange of ‘follow your heart’ and spiritual alchemy. Stark in its simplicity, I don’t think the 160 pages offered anything more to the reading audience than a pretty obvious life-lesson that they already know to be true. (Especially if they’ve fine-tuned their philosophical selves.)

What word or phrase do you feel is overused?

There are a few! I hate “Don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched,” “cool,” “super,” “yeah man” and “yes mate.” Get over them already!

About the author:

The son of Greek immigrants, Paul was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1979. He has completed degrees in both the behavioral sciences and professional writing and currently works for drug safety services in the inner city region. His keen interest in mythology and literature began in childhood and later sprung into a full-fledged investigation into folklore and poetics. Many of his poems have appeared in periodic anthologies. He is the author of the books Origin: Poems from the Crack of Dawn (2006) and Hermetica: Myths, Legends, Poems (2007), the latter having won a literary award very recently. The release of his next book, a memoir of his many travels through Greece, is tentatively scheduled for late 2008. He regards travel, reading and fitness as his greatest passions.

You can visit his website at http://www.paulkiritsis.com/.

HERMETICA VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR '08 will officially begin on August 4 and end on August 29. You can visit Paul's tour stops at http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/ in August to find out more about him and his book!

Paul's virtual book tour is being brought to you by Pump Up Your Book Promotion and choreographed by Dorothy Thompson in conjunction with Rebecca's Reads.