The author writes under the pseudonym Iris Novak. She was born in the second half of the twentieth century in Slovenia, the northern part of the then Yugoslavia. She graduated in English and German and acquired her MA in Management and Ph.D. in Librarianship.
She worked in the international business, in librarianship, was director of a school for foreign languages, and finally established her own business: an employment agency and a college. The author lives in Slovenia, is married, and has three children.
Q.1 Tell us something about yourself not many people know?
A. Just my close friends and my family know that I love to cook and they say that I cook well.
Q.2 What inspired you to write An Independent Woman in Yugoslavia: A Memoir?
A. I adore reading memoirs and biographies (and I never find enough in the library), so I decided to write about the first half of my life.
Q.3 Are we going to read more from you in the near future? Any new project you’re working on?
A. I hope so. I would like to write some more biographies of women in Slovenia.
Q.4 How long on average does it takes you to write a book?
A. I think it is possible to write a book in about a year although I wrote my memoir for several years.
Q.5 If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
A. I would say what I have been saying all the time: be honest, be objective also towards people who hurt you.
Q.6 How did you deal with the emotional impact of a book (on yourself) as you’re writing the story?
A. Writing the book had a considerable emotional impact on me. It was not pleasant to write about my father’s violence but it helped me to better understand domestic violence.
Q.7 Why did you choose to write under a pseudonym?
A. I made so many mistakes in my life that I am a bit ashamed to tell that it was me who made them. And I am no celebrity, so it is not important that I write under my real name.
Q.8 What piece of advice you would like to share with aspiring authors?
A. Be objective, be honest, and make a good plan of writing.
Q.9 Is it vital to get exposure and target the right readers for your writing, tell us about your marketing campaign?
A. Yes, it is important to target the right readers. Not everybody likes memoirs and biographies. My marketing campaign is oriented especially towards women.
Q.10 What would you share with the folks who are skeptical of reading non-fiction?
A. Everybody has the right to read what he/she likes. I love true stories that happened to real people.
Q.11 Do you have any unique and quirky writing habits?
A. No, I don’t think so. I am a university teacher so I always first make a plan of what I am going to put down, then I correct and correct my writing (and I am never completely happy with what I wrote).
Q.12 Do you believe in writer’s block? If yes, how do you deal with it?
A. I have often read about writer’s block but never really experienced it. I wrote my memoir slowly because I did not have much time, but I did not find it a block.
Q.13 What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing this book?
A. I was surprised that I still remembered so many things from my early childhood.
Q.14 What is your favorite book from other authors and why?
A. Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina is still my favorite book. I admire how Tolstoy described Russian society and with what love he described his heroes, especially Anna.
Q.15 How do your family/friends feel about your book or writing venture in general?
A. They like it because my story will help them understand our past.
Q.16 What kind of impact would you like to make with your book?
A. In front of all I would like that the book influences all people that domestic violence should be completely aborted. I would also like to tell women that it is possible to have a family and a career.
Q.17 Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with good or bad ones?
A. Yes, I read them very carefully. So far the book reviews have been good. When reading them I often say to myself: yes, exactly, I should do just as the reviewer says.
Q.18 Who designed your book cover? How did you select them?
A. I hired a designer who produced the book cover and we had quite some work before we were both happy.
Q.19 What was your hardest scene to write?
A. It was hard to write about my father’s violence and about the deaths of the people whom I loved.
Q.20 Share the experience of your writing journey so far?
A. I have so far written mainly textbooks for my students; my memoir is the first work where I could not include citations and research analyses.
Share your social account links -
Website - https://www.leila.si/en/nase-knjige/
Q.1 Tell us something about yourself not many people know?
A. Just my close friends and my family know that I love to cook and they say that I cook well.
Q.2 What inspired you to write An Independent Woman in Yugoslavia: A Memoir?
A. I adore reading memoirs and biographies (and I never find enough in the library), so I decided to write about the first half of my life.
Q.3 Are we going to read more from you in the near future? Any new project you’re working on?
A. I hope so. I would like to write some more biographies of women in Slovenia.
Q.4 How long on average does it takes you to write a book?
A. I think it is possible to write a book in about a year although I wrote my memoir for several years.
Q.5 If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
A. I would say what I have been saying all the time: be honest, be objective also towards people who hurt you.
Q.6 How did you deal with the emotional impact of a book (on yourself) as you’re writing the story?
A. Writing the book had a considerable emotional impact on me. It was not pleasant to write about my father’s violence but it helped me to better understand domestic violence.
Q.7 Why did you choose to write under a pseudonym?
A. I made so many mistakes in my life that I am a bit ashamed to tell that it was me who made them. And I am no celebrity, so it is not important that I write under my real name.
Q.8 What piece of advice you would like to share with aspiring authors?
A. Be objective, be honest, and make a good plan of writing.
Q.9 Is it vital to get exposure and target the right readers for your writing, tell us about your marketing campaign?
A. Yes, it is important to target the right readers. Not everybody likes memoirs and biographies. My marketing campaign is oriented especially towards women.
Q.10 What would you share with the folks who are skeptical of reading non-fiction?
A. Everybody has the right to read what he/she likes. I love true stories that happened to real people.
Q.11 Do you have any unique and quirky writing habits?
A. No, I don’t think so. I am a university teacher so I always first make a plan of what I am going to put down, then I correct and correct my writing (and I am never completely happy with what I wrote).
Q.12 Do you believe in writer’s block? If yes, how do you deal with it?
A. I have often read about writer’s block but never really experienced it. I wrote my memoir slowly because I did not have much time, but I did not find it a block.
Q.13 What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing this book?
A. I was surprised that I still remembered so many things from my early childhood.
Q.14 What is your favorite book from other authors and why?
A. Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina is still my favorite book. I admire how Tolstoy described Russian society and with what love he described his heroes, especially Anna.
Q.15 How do your family/friends feel about your book or writing venture in general?
A. They like it because my story will help them understand our past.
Q.16 What kind of impact would you like to make with your book?
A. In front of all I would like that the book influences all people that domestic violence should be completely aborted. I would also like to tell women that it is possible to have a family and a career.
Q.17 Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with good or bad ones?
A. Yes, I read them very carefully. So far the book reviews have been good. When reading them I often say to myself: yes, exactly, I should do just as the reviewer says.
Q.18 Who designed your book cover? How did you select them?
A. I hired a designer who produced the book cover and we had quite some work before we were both happy.
Q.19 What was your hardest scene to write?
A. It was hard to write about my father’s violence and about the deaths of the people whom I loved.
Q.20 Share the experience of your writing journey so far?
A. I have so far written mainly textbooks for my students; my memoir is the first work where I could not include citations and research analyses.
Share your social account links -
Website - https://www.leila.si/en/nase-knjige/
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