Myron Edwards
Cyprus
Age 67
Athina Paris lives in South Africa but spent her formative years in Mozambique, where she was born and went to school. Years in convents and boarding schools prompted a deep curiosity and the need to liberate her mind, which quickly developed into an avid interest in reading and storytelling and led to a lifelong obsession with the written word and books. By fifteen she had read most of the classics, discovered ancient civilizations and became fascinated with various mythologies; a love she has kept to this day. Raised in a culture where meddling is seen as ‘caring’, she became a spectator of human nature. Quiet and shy, she preferred recording conduct rather than participating in what she calls familial mass hysteria, and so built a treasure-trove of relationship observations from which she eventually drew backgrounds for the characters in her romantic novels. She studied Interior Design, but soon felt the pull of her dormant talent and turned to Creative Writing, as she realized the significance of those note books packed with ideas. She soon followed it with Scriptwriting. Set in faraway and exotic places, Athina’s epic romantic work takes her characters on voyages of self-discovery while dealing with catastrophic love lives and an imperfect world. A stint as a high school English teacher polished her skills. However, she has recently vacated the position to concentrate on her professional goals of writing, editing and proofreading. Athina has joined RockHill Publishing LLC as the Editor-in-Chief and author.
For Richard Cole, ex-veteran of the First Gulf War, the memories of conflict have become the nightmares of his reality, and only by confronting them can he begin to live again.
He returns to the Island of Cyprus some twenty years later to where it all began, for a vacation with his wife, Julie. But a chance discovery places him in a dilemma, as he learns that Greek Gods and mortals should never mix.
Now, with Richard powerless to stop the momentum of a phenomenon that tests him to his limits, challenging all that he knows and loves against a fantasy of myth and legend, he must struggle to find the truth between what is real and what is not; but at what cost?
On the island of love, one man’s obsession turns to possession, as his mind, body, and soul are trapped between two worlds and two women.
‘The Mistress of the Rock is a very possessive spirit; she does not give her affections lightly.’ As Richard Cole is about to discover.
Romelia: WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF YOUR ARTISTIC PROCESS?
Myron Edwards: Finding time to sit and write. Life tends to get in the way, so I have to be disciplined.
Romelia: DOES YOUR FAMILY SUPPORT YOUR CAREER AS A WRITER?
Myron Edwards: They try too.
Romelia: IF YOU HAD TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENTLY AS A CHILD OR TEENAGER TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER AS AN ADULT, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Myron Edwards: Do my English A level I only got an O’ Level.
Romelia: HOW LONG ON AVERAGE DOES IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE A BOOK?
Myron Edwards: It depends on how much research I need to do, and what DESIRE I have to keep writing. I think the fastest I wrote one was in 3 months.
Romelia: DO YOU BELIEVE IN WRITER’S BLOCK?
Myron Edwards: That is not such an easy question, I think it’s a matter of attitude AND DESIRE. It’s too easy to become distracted, and find excuses not to write. I think if you image Writer’s block as a set of Stairs, you climb each step one at a time. As you climb the next one you take away the last one so you cant go back you have to keep climbing. Using the metaphor means in order to continue you have to keep writing.
Romelia: AT WHAT POINT DO YOU THINK SOMEONE SHOULD CALL THEMSELVES A WRITER?
Myron Edwards: If you mean when they are published or if they finish their book. Writing a book is an accomplishment in its own right. What you do with it, that is the real question. If you want people to read it as most do you need to either find a Literary Agent, find a publishing house or Self-Publish. Option 3 is the most likely as breaking into the publishing world requires a great deal of perseverance and luck.
Romelia: WHAT DIFFERENCE DO YOU SEE BETWEEN A WRITER AND AN AUTHOR?
Myron Edwards: It depends on the subject. If it is Non Fiction then generally you are relaying facts in a story. If it is Fiction then you are telling a story from your own imagination.
Romelia: HOW DO YOU PROCESS AND DEAL WITH NEGATIVE BOOK REVIEWS?
Myron Edwards: Not to boast about it, but I haven’t had so far any negative reviews. I know it sounds conceited but those who have read my work have been nothing but complimentary. When someone whom you have never met before takes the trouble to send a review saying they thought “My Book was fantastic.” It is like an adrenalin shot in the arm for any writer.
Romelia: WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF YOUR WRITING PROCESS?
Myron Edwards: Making sure the story flows and the characters are believable and the plot innovative.
Romelia: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WRITING OR WHEN DID YOU START?
Myron Edwards: My writing career really began when I was working in Television and Radio in the 70’s as a freelance script writer. My credits included TV. “The Two Ronnies” “A kick up the 80’s” with Tracey Ullman – “Marti Caine Show” Radio – ‘Hudd Lines” “Weekending” And then I became a copy writer For JWT in LONDON. In Cyprus where I live now I was a Creative Director for a leading ad agency.
Romelia: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A WRITER WORKING ON THEIR FIRST BOOK?
Myron Edwards: Do your research and read it a lot. Maybe ask someone else to read it too. Don’t try to be clever. Make the characters real and believable.
Romelia: WHAT, TO YOU, ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF GOOD WRITING?
Myron Edwards: Don’t bore the reader with too much detail, make sure the story flows without hesitancy. Make it a page turner.
Romelia: WHAT COMES FIRST FOR YOU – THE PLOT OR THE CHARACTERS – AND WHY?
Myron Edwards: Maybe I am different from other writers, but I can’t write unless I can picture each scene and each character in my mind, I write in pictures. If I see the scene unfolding I can put the characters into it.
Romelia: HOW DO YOU DEVELOP YOUR PLOT AND CHARACTERS?
Myron Edwards: The best way for me is to write chapter by chapter, knowing I already have a beginning a middle and an end. This is my blue print. I write each chapter adding the research as I go along. This way I pad the story and am able to return to check each chapter to make sure the flow is good.
Romelia: WHEN DID YOU FIRST CALL YOURSELF A WRITER?
Myron Edwards: I think anyone can call themselves a writer when they have completed their work and had it published and it is on sale.
Romelia: HOW DO YOU USE SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN AUTHOR?
Myron Edwards: I find social media is a good tool when I want to tell people about promotions of my books. Plus I also use it for building up a data base of contacts who could be useful to my works.
Romelia: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE AND LEAST FAVORITE PART OF PUBLISHING?
Myron Edwards: There’s no greater thrill than seeing your work published in whatever form – EBook- Paperback –hard copy, the difficult part is making sure people see it too. If you with the big 5 publishers they have huge departments to take care of this. If you aren’t then it is all done to you and how you market yourself and that is not easy.
Romelia: WHAT WOULD YOU TO AN AUTHOR WHO WANTED TO DESIGN THEIR OWN COVER?
Myron Edwards: If you have the skill set why not. Personally I just make suggestions as to how I want the cover to look. I leave the art work or design to the experts.
Romelia: HOW MANY BOOKS HAVE YOU WRITTEN AND WHICH IS YOUR FAVORITE?
Myron Edwards: I have written three in my Trilogy Mistress of the Rock two are published with the third out next year. But I also have two unpublished books, to present and three draft books that are not yet edited. One is a children’s book.
Romelia: WHAT PART OF THE BOOK DID YOU HAVE THE HARDEST TIME WRITING?
Myron Edwards: I don’t think at any time I had any issues with the writing, my reservation was would people like the story. And was I good enough to write it.
Romelia: WHAT PART OF THE BOOK WAS THE MOST FUN TO WRITE?
Myron Edwards: I think the most fun was some of the humor I included as well as the way the character’s developed as individuals.
Romelia: WHICH OF THE CHARACTERS DO YOU RELATE TO THE MOST AND WHY?
Myron Edwards: Some people have suggested that I have traits of Richard Cole the hero of the piece, personally I don’t think so. In many ways the characters are a mix of people I have known rather than just one individual, with perhaps just a dash of me in there.
Romelia: IF YOU’RE PLANNING A SEQUEL. CAN YOU SHARE A TINY BIT ABOUT YOUR PLANS FOR IT?
Myron Edwards: The sequel SCYLLA The Revenge is already published. Book 3 Alpha &Omega the return is due to be published next year. This book features Julie Cole, Richard’s wife who embarks upon a journey that plunges her from her own reality into an Odyssey of myths and legends.
Romelia: TELL US SOMETHING FUNNY ABOUT YOUR ADULT LIFE.
Myron Edwards: I was a child of the 60’s and 70’s and probably never grew up.
Romelia: describe yourself in a few sentences. Tell us something we do not know about you and something you hate about the world.
Myron Edwards: I have three children a loving wife and a good life on the Island of love. I like to think that I never give up, even when the odds are against me. I keep challenging the odds. Something you don’t know about me, I have three crooked toes. They bend round and touch each other. What I hate about the world, in a writing sense apathy. So many times I encounter apathy. Whether it’s about my books or ideas, or just the fact that there are so many brilliant people out there who will never be given the chance to prove their worth. And there are some whose value is worthless in the bigger picture yet they achieve recognition simply by being a celebrity.
In The bigger question: What I hate about the world is the neglect of people. There are so many people struggling and particularly this year, yet there remains a higher echelon that shuts its eyes and closes its doors, to those who need it most.
Books for Life 