Paranormal Central

                                     Linda Metal                                                         Pontikonissi

Linda is an author, teacher, artist and freelance journalist living in Greece on the beautiful island of Corfu. When she isn’t painting, teaching or publishing children’s fiction and nonfiction, then she is likely writing articles on travel, health, lifestyle and food for various sites on the net.

Her latest challenge: ebooks!

I recently sat down with Liana for a chat, and I asked her what was new. Here is what she said.

"Εθελοντικός Οργανισμός για τα Παιδιά, συμπληρώνει φέτος 15 χρόνια δράσης, έχοντας πάντα ωςπρωταρχικό στόχο την παροχή φροντίδας και προστασίας της υγείας και ασφάλειαςχιλιάδων παιδιών σε όλη την Ελλάδα."

Frankly, it all sounded a bit Greek to me.

Of course, I am only kidding. Actually, it went something like this.

Dana: Liana, hi and thanks for joining me today. I wanted to ask you, you are involved in so many different things, writing, painting, photography, teaching; where do you find the time and what motivates you to wear so many different hats?

Liana: Time has always been a difficult issue!  I never seem to have enough time to do what I like.  But I always find time in between during the day …or night.  I remember once I stayed up the whole night to complete some paintings. I can be very productive at times but then I may as well be quite lazy for many days! I love flexibility and variety of tasks so I usually get involved in 2-3 tasks at the same time.  When I get bored working on one, I just turn to the other one; this can be very relaxing for the mind and quite inspiring at times. I usually work on two different paintings and a writing project simultaneously, but teaching is set at regular times and reminds me that routine is not a good thing at all! Life needs some twists and I dare to be unpredictable whenever I can!

    The White Snail

Dana: Tell me about “The White Snail”.  It sounds darling. What inspired that book?

Liana: The White Snail is about differences in people, racism, low self esteem and courage to change.  Working with young kids and observing their reactions gave me the main idea, and then it was my daughter and our first cooking lessons that helped the plot and the characters develop. Also my love for nature and all little creatures that we take for granted. It was fun creating this little story and observing the kids’ reaction! This book is on sale in Corfiot book stores only at the moment.

Dana: Will there be more books like The White Snail?

Liana: I have written a couple of books like that and I intend to complete the illustrations and publish them in the near future. They all feature creatures such as spiders, crabs and mice and all of them are educational. There is a quiz at the end of the book so as the kids to learn about the animals and become aware of nature.

                                The Hostel

Dana: You know, I look at your artwork and I am charmed by your versatility in both oil and watercolors.  At what age did you start painting and do you prefer one medium to the other?

Liana: I started painting very early, in my primary school years, and my first large oil painting was a portrait, which you can see here along with my other paintings. http://liametal.tripod.com/myartalbum/

At first, I started with watercolour but then I tried other mediums such as oil and pastel. I prefer pastel as it is fast and I can complete a work pretty soon, while oil needs time to dry.  But I love the smell of oil and the whole technique! I actually love all mediums and whenever I have time, I work on whatever is available. Currently I prefer acrylics as they are fast drying and have vivid colors.  I also work with pastels on tinted paper and my next exhibition will include both acrylics and pastel.

Dana: When did you have your first art display?

Liana: It was long ago, in the70s and it was not a formal display. But I sold all of my work. The display included nature scenes, especially olive trees and cottages and most paintings were oil on canvas or wood and pastel on paper. My first formal display was at Viros in October 2009, with acrylics and pastel works.

 A Street View in Spring

Dana: I love your painting titled, A Street View in Spring. Is that a real place on Corfu?

Liana: Yes, this is a view from my balcony. I sometimes take pictures from places I like and then paint them indoors. But this one was created on the spot. I do a sketch and then work with colors.

Dana: With so many irons in the fire, Liana, I think our readers would like to know what’s next. What are you working on these days and is there anything else you would like our readers to know about you?

Liana:  I am currently working on an art theme titled Cosmos, which will feature galaxies and stars from the universe in acrylics. I intend to blend the images with space music at the display, probably taking place in early summer. I have a couple of offers from Corfiot galleries and one in Athens.

I would also like to revise my young adults novel, The Hostel, and republish it online, and translate it into Greek. It will take me some time though and I don’t really know if and when I can complete it. At this time of the year, painting comes first…

Thanks for your questions, Dana. and thank you so much for hosting me!

My Pleasure, Liana. Thanks for your time.

Sunset at the Port

Liana's Forthcoming Projects

Visit Liana’s ebooks site at http://liamet.tripod.com

Liana’s drawings/paintings can be found both online at www.aggelia-online.gr and at the Bazaar shop located in Corfu town(at Spirou Vasileiou 23 in Karteria, Kefalomantouko. Tel: 26610.21713 /6936.873700).

To contact the artist visit http://LianaMetal.tripod.com or her blog at http://LianasKerkyra.blogspot.com Η Ηλιάνα Μεταλληνού διδάσκει Αγγλικάστην Κέρκυρα, γράφει άρθρα και ιστορίες για έντυπες και ηλεκτρονικές εκδόσειςσε όλο τον κόσμο και ζωγραφίζει. Μπορείτε να την επισκεφθείτε στην ηλεκτρονικήδιεύθυνση http://toasprosaligari.blogspot.com

Thanks again Liana for taking the time to chat with me. This interview is part of an ongoing project at VBT Writers on the Move, where member authors take turns spotlighting and promoting new and famous authors through online Tours such as this.

Please stop by and check out the wealth of information and resources offered there. Support your online author. Read an ebook!