Anna Maria Athanasiou
Waiting for Summer is a story based in Cyprus about a 43 year old woman whose life is changed when she finds out her husband has been unfaithful. As the story develops, she’s faced with tragedy and has to make life changing decisions. It’s her journey through this rough time in her life and how a chance meeting turns her life around.
At what point did you decide that you would put one of your stories in your head down onto paper?
It took me seven years from the day the idea came into my head. I’d just developed that first initial idea and kept building on it.
Why was it important for you to write something that people could relate to and feel empathy for the character?
Personally I love stories that I can say, ‘that could be me’ or ‘I know how she/he feels’. I enjoy most books but the ones that make the biggest impact on me and the ones I read again and again are the ones that evoke that reaction. The feedback I’ve had back has been exactly that. Everyone has said that they could related to certain parts of the book.
What made you set the book in Cyprus?
Well it’s where I live and summer here is just so fantastic, it’s actually a good six months of the year and my most favourite time. I wanted the story by the sea because I love being by the sea and the beach. It has a wealth of culture which I felt would be a perfect backdrop for a story.
Why did you want to explore the themes of infidelity and bereavement?
Throughout my life I have seen men and women who have either been unfaithful or have been betrayed. Some have worked through it and some have not. Most of them have been good people who’ve made mistakes, it happens. So I wanted to address that. None of the characters in my book are particularly bad people, on the contrary, they are normal likeable people who’ve made bad decisions. I wanted the characters to be as realistic as possible. As for bereavement everyone at some point loses someone, sometimes it’s tragic. Again I’ve witnessed this and wanted to explore how different characters react to it. It’s all part of life.
How have you written characters that the reader could imagine living next door to?
Well a lot of my characters are a mix of people I know or have known. I have a very large family and have met a huge array of people over the years, so I really had a wealth of material right there.
Who are your favourite authors?
I have a list and all very diverse from Enid Blyton to the Brontes and Jane Austen, George Orwell to Paulo Coehlo, Dan Brown to Jeffrey Archer, Tolkin to Stephanie Meyer... the list goes on.
This is your debut novel so do you have plans for another?
Yes, the second part to Waiting for Summer is already written and will be out around April next year.