What inspired the idea behind this book?
Kythera! It all started with me falling in love with the little Greek island below the Peloponnesus and above Crete, when I was still in my teens. I went to school in Brisbane with some girls whose parents were Kytherian, and when I was 19 I went there with them. I lived there again when I was 21 and it sort of glowed in my mind ever after.
I went back for the first time after about 40 years when one of my novels was translated into Greek. Then, when voluntary redundancies were being offered to journalists like me, and my two sons left home, I began to think of returning to full-time writing. I thought I might be able to eke out a living in Greece – but the only problem was my mum, who was 85 at the time. I couldn’t leave her, so I asked her if she wanted to come. She said yes.
What are you hoping the reader will take away from reading your book?
I hope they’ll fall in love with Kythera, like I did. And I hope it will resonate with any reader who has a difficult relationship with their mum. You can love them, and be willing to lay down your life for them, but they can also drive you nuts.
What was the most challenging part of writing this book?
Being honest as a writer, but also not wanting to hurt or betray my darling mum. And of course there are always two sides to every story, so I tried to picture everything from her perspective too. I think she was really brave to come, and she was so very strong and distinctive, I wanted to be true to that too. I hope she would have been proud of what she did, and my book.
How did you think of the title of the book?
According to some versions of the myth, Aphrodite was born in the waters off Kythera, then sailed in her shell to Cyprus. Even though the Cypriots claim Aphrodite as their own, the Kytherians do too, so she was a constant reference point. Plus, the “breath” refers specifically to something in the book so— no spoilers—you’ll have to read it to find out!
Who are some of your favourite authors?
Too many to mention! Australian- Helen Garner, David Malouf, Matthew Condon, Charlotte Wood, and contemporary international Sigrid Nunez, Rachel Cusk, Deborah Levy.
If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would it be?
Write, write, write. Don’t talk about it, sit down and do it until it’s done. Best advice anyone gave me is to get a first draft finished. It might be garbage, but it’s garbage you can make something from— you need to have some version of your idea on the page before you can do anything.
Leave a Reply