Tell us about yourself.:
I am a writer, digital marketeer and transformational leader who
recently completed a circle of lessons around artificial intelligence.
My first book back in 2004 was entitled “Mathematical Models”. I have
been thinking of literature since I existed in the army. I still
remember the first script I wrote back then and I would feel delightful
to bring it to life at its original dimensions, perhaps it can work as a
screenplay! I am passionate with books and my library, reading all
sorts of things. I have self-published 2 projects, a romantic drama
entitled ‘The Words of Emily Logan’ and a fairytale fantasy entitled
‘When Magic Truly Happens’. The Words of Emily Logan is a screenplay. I
have also completed the first draft of a second screenplay entitled
‘Krista’s Instinct’. Though I believe I can have lots of alter egos in
art, I also believe in homogenizing all these multiple identities
including my education in one, that is the belief in the world of
letters.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?:
I grew up in a city of Athens, Byron, in Greece. If it is to search deep
in my childhood to answer this question, I would say that our country
is our childhood years. Nevertheless, here I will put emphasis on the
family and private school aspects. As a result of both of my parents
working, I spent a lot of time with my grandmothers and aunts. Exciting
years that I still remember very often nowadays, full of love,
adventures, protection and religious experiences. In terms of my parents
the atmosphere and love were partly the same. There was joy, safety,
plenty of excursions and wonderful Christmas experiences at home and in
hotel occasions where I still remember the discussions with Santa
Clauses. At home, my dad used to ring the bell at the balcony when the
gifts were under the tree to make me believe Santa Claus came for
Christmas. The beloved atmosphere was accompanied with the fact that
during my first 6 years at school, I had been given the role of one of
the best students that is actually one of the main themes of this
question’s answer. The themes of love, Christmas, school performance,
religious messages and feeling powerful as a child are present in both
of my published books. Having been given the role of the best and
getting accustomed to different data have been motifs for both of my
books where the characters not only achieve goals while children and
teens, but prove the difference that growing up in the real world
outside the home experiences requires resilience and durability when
they actually realize how tough the world is and that they may not be
always the best. Where data start to differ… Conclusively all the above
elements took me 42 years to even dare to reimagine but have been
present in my writing in terms of portraying the beautiful side of the
world and not themes that may be dark, metaphysical, purifying and often
revolutionary!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Things that you own end up owning you… As a web creator dealing with
time management, I should focus on being less intellectual and more
kinesthetic, meaning to deal with the entire, social, organic sense of
being a writer, acting or even better predicting and not just trying to
understand everything before by studying it…
What authors have influenced you?
I grew up in a city of Athens, Byron, in Greece. If it is to search deep
in my childhood to answer this question, I would say that our country
is our childhood years. Nevertheless, here I will put emphasis on the
family and private school aspects. As a result of both of my parents
working, I spent a lot of time with my grandmothers and aunts. Exciting
years that I still remember very often nowadays, full of love,
adventures, protection and religious experiences. In terms of my parents
the atmosphere and love were partly the same. There was joy, safety,
plenty of excursions and wonderful Christmas experiences at home and in
hotel occasions where I still remember the discussions with Santa
Clauses. At home, my dad used to ring the bell at the balcony when the
gifts were under the tree to make me believe Santa Claus came for
Christmas. The beloved atmosphere was accompanied with the fact that
during my first 6 years at school, I had been given the role of one of
the best students that is actually one of the main themes of this
question’s answer. The themes of love, Christmas, school performance,
religious messages and feeling powerful as a child are present in both
of my published books. Having been given the role of the best and
getting accustomed to different data have been motifs for both of my
books where the characters not only achieve goals while children and
teens, but prove the difference that growing up in the real world
outside the home experiences requires resilience and durability when
they actually realize how tough the world is and that they may not be
always the best. Where data start to differ… Conclusively all the above
elements took me 42 years to even dare to reimagine but have been
present in my writing in terms of portraying the beautiful side of the
world and not themes that may be dark, metaphysical, purifying and often
revolutionary!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I can drill this advice from what I am doing this period. The case, my
artistic debut, my first project in other words, has been submitted to
the best Hollywood office, to provide script coverage and foresee in the
long run its movie potential… The advice, if you writers believe that
creative success comes without hard work, without torturous advices and
plenty of sweat, pressure, notes, tones and lots of transformations, you
are completely mistaken, even if we’re talking about the first or your
sixth work. Writing is all about rewriting!
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
Be yourself! All other roles are taken…
What are you reading now?
I am not actually reading but planning to read the book of a Greek writer, Helen Galinou, ‘On a black background’.
What’s your biggest weakness?
I always try not to be heterogeneously defined… To not quest my fairytale into the stories of others…
What is your favorite book of all time?
The Little Prince of Antoine de Saint-Exupery. A book with lots of
messages about vanity, children and grown-ups, death and resurrection,
numbers, the fact that the universe listens, passions, although being
written for children it can speak to the heart of everyone!
When you’re not writing, how do you like to spend your time?
Reading, the web and plenty of thinking.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
A Greek writer named Pashalia Travlou had written the essay “Lovers of
writing”. I use the phrase writers are lovers! It talks about the
mapping of complexities of the creative process. A journey to the soul
of the lover of writing. It’s been years but I still remember notions
such as diligence, psychodynamics, the difference between the writer and
the litterateur, the characters that are our avatars in parallel
universes. Although written with a folkloric attitude it still is the
best mirror of where I embarked on, when I decided to start writing.
What has inspired you and your writing style?
I am deeply inspired by the stuff that dreams are made of. My visions,
my hopes, my dreams for the future, my alter egos, my personal chemistry
with my characters, my avatars in parallel universes denote to me the
fine line of my materials, the piece of art that if being written, it
will make me proud. Nevertheless, I believe that inspiration can come
from anywhere; a photo, a feather, a book, a landscape, nature, by
believing in the world’s fairytale. These last thoughts depend
especially on the temperament of the writer and it is essential to
filter stimuli to come up with selective and quality material.
What are you working on now?
Although the first draft of Krista’s Instinct has been completed and I
will come to that in the future, I decided to quest my cinematic dreams
by submitting The Words of Emily Logan for screenplay coverage
evaluations at WeScreenplay, Hollywood’s #1 script coverage business.
So, evaluations, my thought laboratory and rewriting have been my recent
thoughts. I am also looking forward for my next project.
What is your favorite method for promoting your work?
Being an omni-channel campaign builder has been my creative initiative
so far, including using tools and websites targeting digital marketing
efforts. Some will say that writing the next project is the best
marketing method, even though I’m fond of creating a balance of lots of
things.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Having dealt with three projects and being entangled with the thoughts
of five, I believe reorganization is where I should focus after.
Meaning, to think of the future, of how I’d like to proceed and what it
means to be a writer is important.
How well do you work under pressure?
Focus is still an issue…
How do you decide what tone to use with a particular piece of writing?
Positive or negative tones and their fluctuations exist as a result of
the written word, not the physical communication because there, you
can’t hide. I try to have a well worked mind before I combine the two.
If you could share one thing with your fans, what would that be?
There comes a time where we have to choose between what the world wants us to be and who ‘we’ truly are…
Menelaos Gkikas’s Author Websites and Profiles
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