Like so many people, I came to teach in Greece. That was my intention, and that’s what I still do. Besides that, fifteen years ago, I started writing too – children’s books to begin with… none of them what you’d call good… I just kept trying and didn’t give up.
Eventually, three teenage novels later, I arrived at Eva Brandt and it soon became apparent that this was going to be a different kind of book. Although Eva’s character is purely fictional, it needed a lot of research. Eva’s son has Down’s Syndrome; he is killed for that reason. In order to tell his story, I had to try and understand how the euthanasia programmes for the handicapped were considered acceptable practice in Germany at the time. With such dark subject matter, the story risks being quite painful, but it’s saved by Eva’s character which keeps the book racing along. I’m not really sure how I found her – she’s a nightmare a lot of the time – but she’s got this natural energy which really draws you in. The book is narrated by Eva’s daughter, Marthe, who describes her mother’s rise and fall from her own childish viewpoint and this lends a certain poignancy to every simple act. Finally, there is redemption. The ending is uplifting... but I mustn’t go and spoil it!
As a debut author I am grateful to digital publishing which gave me the chance to Kindle publish. Mission accomplished. I sit back and wait. My life… I still have one... goes on. My writing has come full circle and I’m back to children’s books again. Which might be for the better. Might. Time, I suppose, will tell.
Sallieanne Lewry-Spanou runs an English school on Naxos where she lives with her family. Her Kindle eBook The Lieblich Eva Brandt is available from Amazon.co.uk
Publisher: New Age Publishers (24/1/12)
Language: English
ASIN: B0071MMUGM
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