ΑΛΦΑ ΠΡΩΤΟΣΕΛΙΔΑ

LIANA METAL

Live life! And the only way is by being creative!!!

Liana Metal lives in Greece, on the island of Corfu. She is an EFL teacher (MAEd -Applied Linguistics), book reviewer and freelance writer. Liana is also an artist. Her paintings along with her kids’ book, The White Snail, can be found at several shops in Corfu town. Anna Arsenis from Alfa Greek Australian Magazine contacted Liana who found time to share a little of her current work with us.

4 INTERVIEW BY ANNA ARSENIS

Liana thank you for your time in having this online interview. Can you please tell us a little about yourself?
Thank you Anna! As a mother of two, I spent most of my time raising a family and working full time as a Language teacher while painting and writing in my free time. When my kids grew up I decided it was high time I followed my dream to become a writer. I have self-published e books and two print books for my students, and a great number of my articles are both in print and online magazines. I started by writing children’s stories and educational material, and then created e books of both fiction and nonfiction. My articles, reviews and e books can still be found at my older sites http://lianametal.tripod.com and at http://liamet.tripod.com (now I use only my blogs).

How did you get started as an author?
I have been writing children's stories for as long as I can remember; I was in the primary school when I used to create comics with my own characters. At a time I thought that would be my future career. But I had to work in another field first, as a Language teacher, to find my way back to my first passion. I have never stopped working with kids--a job that I've always enjoyed greatly-- all this time, and they were my inspiration, along with my childhood memories. Working in my own Language school in Corfu, I gradually realized my long-awaited desire: to write children's books. Thus I started creating books more than ten years ago and distributing them to my students. The kids encouraged me and even helped with the activities that I also created for them. So, finally, I got The White Snail published by a local publisher and promoted it myself.

What is your latest book, about?
The White Snail’s basic theme is self-esteem that develops from early childhood. The hero of this story believes that he is not equal to the other snails just because he is different. This story is about the differences among people or peoples generally. It caters not only to young kids but also to adults, parents and teachers.
The White Snail is BILINGUAL: GREEK/ENGLISH, so it caters to a wide audience worldwide. It is the first of a series of books that aims to encourage children to read stories, while at the same time learn about nature. At the end of each book there are educational activities.
This series also aims to highlight some of the small miracles of nature that we usually take for granted. The White Snail encourages the reader to notice snails closely and learn some facts about them via the educational activity at the end of the book.

What inspired you to write your book?
My students…I have been watching the kids’ behavior in class all these years so I wanted to focus on a quite usual problem, self- esteem. Also I wanted to make kids learn about nature and love all the creatures. I have written stories with spiders and frogs, ants and crabs, whatever attracts my attention! Every single species is important!

What would you like readers to know about you?
My beliefs about kids; kids are very important since they are the citizens of the future; ultimate care for kids and moms should be top priority of every nation. Also, I am nature aware; that's why I mostly use small, insignificant-for-most-people animals in my stories. I believe that every single live species is worth mentioning and noticing.

Do you have a specific writing style?
Third person, clear and simple I would say…and I love dialogue.

How did you come up with the title?
Mm…as far as I can remember I was watching a tiny white snail strolling on a lettuce leaf of my salad! Garden snails are brown so the little one was different and so cute! So, the main character was created and helped me make up the story.

Is there a message in the book that you want the readers to grasp?
Every human being is unique and important, and nature is our environment and we should protect it.

You obviously have promoted the book and read it with the children in the classroom... Did they enjoy it? Is it possible to share with us some of their emotions/reactions?
We all enjoyed it…After each reading children drew snails and some of them even invented their own stories, they made a snail comics story, drawing bubbles and adding the words. The very young ones loved painting snails in various colors.

Can you include your favorite part of the book so our readers can have a 'taste' of the content?
It’s a tiny book, so there isn’t much text to include, but here is a little bit…
‘He sees a small raindrop. It is crystal clear, like a mirror. He looks inside, and there he suddenly sees himself.
"Oh," he says, "that's me! And this is my white home!"
He thinks for a while, then he says:
"I don't like it. I don't like my white home! I want to have a brown one, like all the other snails in the garden!"
And from this day on, the white snail is sad.
"How beautiful the other snails are! And I am so ugly!" he says to himself over and over again.
Every time he looks at his white home he becomes very unhappy.
But one bright day, he has got a bright idea!
"Wow!" he says.’
Read more about the book here http://toasprosaligari.blogspot.com

What books influenced your life most?
Classics, like Little Women, Pollyanna, and eventually Chocolate Factory!

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Roger Hargreaves definitely!

What book are you reading now?
Greek Mythology…once more! I want to get inspired and create a series of paintings.

Do you see writing as a career?
If it is combined with illustrating, yes…For me these two go together. I definitely enjoy creating children’s books!

Can you share a little of your current work with us?
I am currently having radio shows about eco problems on the island, especially the lake area which is a precious wet land that needs protection, please visit http://ecokerkyra.blogspot.com to get a taste of the lakes. This means writing long texts about the environmental problems…
My recent work news usually appears on my art blog http://lianastories.blogspot.com

What does being a writer mean to you?
Getting a message across…and at the same time, feeling alive during every new creative challenge I encounter. Is there anything better than spending the day in a productive way that gives you joy and satisfaction? For me, there is not! So, I would tell you this: let yourself be creative! It’s highly rewarding!

You are also an artist. Recently you held an art exhibition. Can you tell us a little about your work?
Well, my first art endeavors date back to age six or seven when I was trying to copy Disney cartoons and other pictures from magazines. In the years that followed I used oil colors and a variety of mediums to depict nature. Now I work mainly in acrylics and pastel. Acrylics are vivid and allow me to give the impression I wish, especially in space images.
My art keeps evolving …from Corfiot scenery to cartoons and abstract…At this time I am fascinated by the galaxies, so my recent display was a trilogy: The Universe through a telescope, Cartoons and Corfiot landscapes. The cartoons included mainly mermaids, one of my favorite themes. More on my blog http://lianaskerkyra.blogspot.com

What is your life philosophy?
Live life! And the only way is by being creative.

Liana thank you for your time. Would you like to add something?
Yes, thank you. The bilingual White Snail book is only available locally at the moment. It might be possible to order it via a local bookstore, I guess, if anyone would like to get it. I can be contacted via email iliana3000@yahoo.co.uk

However, The White Snail is included in Storytime, (English only) available at Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Storytime-Liana-Metal/dp/1409224511/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1#

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/storytime/3622932

Also, for comics’ lovers, I have written Summer Love, a love story set in Greece, which is an e book here
http://www.myromancestory.com

I write as Liana Metal (author)
Thank you so much for hosting me!