Clarissa Johal: Guest Blogger Friday

Friday, July 13, 2012

Guest Blogger Friday


Welcome to Eleni Konstantine, my guest blogger this week and author of the short story collection, Enchanted Realms.

Finding Inspiration by Eleni Konstantine

Enchanted Realms is my first short story collection, and my first release with Musa Publishing (http://musapublishing.com).

I wrote the stories long ago when I was studying writing by correspondence part-time and working as a librarian (funny, years later, I’m studying part time and am a writer and my alter-ego is a designer).

Part of this writing course was to submit 20 pieces of work to publishers or competitions. Two of the stories where ‘Angel Eyes’ and ‘Stormy Divide’ (then named Thom’s Guest).

I’ve never had too look to hard to find inspiration. I find it all around me. People, situations, books, movies, TV, music, photography, art - the world itself, they all can inspire different aspects.

For Stormy Divide, I entered a short story competition that had to be a max of 1000 words. Inspired by tales of Robin Hood, I pictured a forest and woodcutter. Initially my heroine was going to be on the run and had slipped back in time (love Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series). But she suddenly pulled some technology out of her ear, and it became set in the near future. Inspiration for that? Star Trek with the universal translator. I wanted a reason why she could understand the hero, and hey presto, it popped in my head – or the heroine’s ear to be more exact.  J

Angel Eyes came to me pretty fully formed. A woman obsessed by a man only in her dreams. I was actually on an inter-library loan run. I used to go to the local university and photocopy selected articles, and suddenly in the middle of finding a journal – the idea struck. Actually it was the eyes that got me first. Dark eyes. Eyes that I could understand why someone would obsess over. And they looked a little like this...

 And no, it wasn’t the Angel character because I could see this character smiling as he does at the end.  (And there is another reason why the character is called Angel Eyes, so that’s coincidence).

Funny, I had totally forgotten about that as, of course, the character doesn’t look like the actor in my head. But it does show how something can spark off an idea.

I also wanted a heroine who was a loner, and her having an obsession of her dreams made perfect sense for her character. She’s brave in a way that’s quiet, and that’s not always shown as being strong.

And the final bit of inspiration – I had done a short course on dreams.

So there you have it – the inspiration behind Enchanted Realms. **


Blurb:

STORMY DIVIDE

Thom may be used to the dangers of the forest, but nothing has prepared him for this. When he stumbles across a woman dressed in weird clothing lying on the ground during a storm, he has no choice but to help her.

Ellie finds herself in another world, having traveled through time and space thanks to what Thom calls, The Rifts. The question is whether she will ever be able to find her way back, or if she will be stuck in this new world forever. Or if she will even want to go home…

ANGEL EYES

Vera’s dreams are haunted each night by a man she only knows as Angel Eyes. He feels more real to her than anything else in her life, including her fiancĂ©. Vera must try to forget her childish dreams of soul mates and happily ever after… but are they really only dreams or can she find a way to be with Angel Eyes forever?

Leave a comment to go in the running to win a copy.

~Eleni J

Author Bio:

Eleni Konstantine is Fantasy and Paranormal fiction writer, and has had a number of shorts published. Her stories range from flash fiction to novels. She blames her mother for her writing bug because as a child she was given many books, including illustrated fairytales. That, and a love of Greek mythology, and Eleni was destined to become a writer.
Eleni lives in Adelaide, Australia, with her family and feisty American Staffy.

Blog: http://eleni-konstantine.blogspot.com/ 



** David Boreanaz photo used with permission from Wikimedia Commons


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, Eleni,

As you know, I already have a copy of Enchanted Realms and I loved both your stories. I just wish they were longer!

Eleni Konstantine said...

Ah, then my job is done, Sandy - leaving you wanting more. Thanks for popping in.

Eleni x

Unknown said...

Hi Eleni,
I'm a new writer, but haven't had anything published as yet.
Congratulations on getting your short stories published. Like you, I was brought up to love reading, my parents buying many of the Reader digest childrens books. I also love Greek mythology and fantasy and am very interested in how you have managed to incorporate them together into stories. I don't yet have your books, but look forward to reading them soon.
Again, congratulations on your first publication and I hope it does well for you.
Jenny A

Peta said...

Hi Eleni,
I love how you can still remember the inspiration for your two stories even after quite a few years had passed. They sound fascinating. Congratulations on finding a home for them with Musa and getting them out into the world .

Emmeline Lock said...

Hi Clarissa & Eleni!

Great post, ladies. I love hearing about inspiration--it reminds me of how different we all are, and how similar.

I can't wait to read your novellas, Eleni. Congrats on their release!

Em.

Joanna Lloyd said...

Hi Eleni...Congrats on the publication of your short stories, I love the blurbs on them. I also love your cover. Beautiful. Good luck with the release.
Jo

Eleni Konstantine said...

Thanks Jenny - I really havent' thought about how I've incorporated mythology and fantasy into my stories. I think it's in that well called inspiration.

Peta - you know some bits I remembered and other bits I looked into my files (that's how I found the David eyes).

Thanks Em. Totally agree.

Joanna, thanks so much, and yes, I'm so happy with my cover.

Unknown said...

Eleni,

Great post. It's always fun to hear what inspired a story,

Eleni Konstantine said...

Hi Nancy, I too find it fascinating to read re inspiration. Thanks for popping in.

Eleni Konstantine said...

I've used the ever trusty random.org to select the winner and it is - Joanna Lloyd. Congrats!

Joanna email me at eleni@ elenikonstantine.com

Thank you to everyone for commenting.

Joanna Lloyd said...

Woo Hoo!!! Go the random.org!! Thanks so much Eleni, can't wait to read it...both stories sound wonderful.
Jo

Eleni Konstantine said...

You're very welcome. Enjoy!

:)