🍷 The Weekly MAsh Season 2 Q&A | Effie Kammenou

1. Let’s start at the beginning. Who is Effie Kammenou in your own words? 

Good question. I think like all of us, I’m ever-changing and evolving. I’m someone who needs a creative outlet in one form or another. In my youth it was acting. When I was a young mom, it was crafting, and making decorative cookie favors for special occasions. Or writing and directing a children’s play for my child’s class. I’m a person with a ‘glass half full’ attitude, and depending on the circumstance, I can be an extrovert or an introvert.

2. You are a first-generation Greek-American living on Long Island. How does your heritage influence your writing?

Since all of my books are set on Long Island and Greece, I’d say it has a huge impact. But it was my mother’s passing which made me pick up the pen, or rather tap away on the keyboard.

3. Your novels often explore themes of tradition, family, and love. Why are these important to you as a writer?

After my mother’s passing, I didn’t want her legacy to die with her. I created a character based on her love for her heritage, the traditions she shared with us, and most of all the deep, everlasting love she had for her entire family. She had such a strong connection with all six of her grandchildren and it struck me that there is so much the younger generations can learn from the older members of their family. They were young once. They loved, lost, struggled, been through wars, and hardship. Times change but basic human emotions do not.

4. Your latest novel The Magic of Robola releases January 30th. What inspired this story?

This one came mostly from my imagination. Though my mother was born and raised in Athens, the family was from the island of Kefalonia. She shared stories of her summers there as a child. It’s a beautiful island, one I felt a strong connection to the minute I set foot on it. There’s a wine grape, Robola, that is indigenous only to Kefalonia. The east end of Long Island is home to over 50 vineyards, and I love visiting them. Each one has its own unique atmosphere and vibe. Mind you, this is coming from someone who can’t finish a full glass without getting drunk! But I love vineyards. The Gift Saga Trilogy  features family members who own vineyards on Long Island. I suppose I’m a bit obsessed. I even went to the Champagne region in France for research on the third book in the series. So I combined my love for vineyards with Kefalonia with a second chance romance. 

5. Several of your books, including The Gift Saga Trilogy and The Meraki Series, have won awards. How does it feel to see your work recognized in this way?

 It’s always an honor. There’s always a lot of competition. However, the awards I’ve won, though from vetted companies sponsoring them, weren't one of the BIG ones. That’s yet to be achieved. That being said, my biggest reward is the praise I receive from readers who enjoy my stories. That makes me happiest.

6. How do you research the historical aspects and cultural details in your stories?

Most of the cultural aspects are from personal experience, though I still do research to verify certain facts. It’s the historical aspects that take a lot of time and research. For instance, The Gift Saga jumps back in time to WWII in Greece during the Nazi occupation through a few of the character’s memories. Though my mother lived through this, and others I interviewed shared stories, I had to verify the information. My mother was only 10 years old, and viewing the situation through a child's lens.

7. Forced proximity and second-chance romance are central in The Magic of Robola. What do you enjoy most about these tropes?

Second chance love means there is history between the couple. The love is there. It needs to be unearthed and reignited. It gives the reader something to hope for - to look forward to. It’s romance. We know they will get together. It’s the rediscovery that makes it so good. The forced proximity is just juicy! It creates sexual tension. It’s the push and pull. The mixed emotions. The internal turmoil. It’s hard to fight it or avoid each other if you're in the same space.

8. Which character in The Magic of Robola surprised you while writing and why?

Hmm. Maybe Eleni because her intention was to bury her grandfather and leave the island right away, just as she did when she had to go there to bury her grandmother. I thought the family would beg her to stay a little longer, but once she explored the island, it unconsciously pulled her in. As an event planner, she started coming up with ideas to help the vineyard grow instead of staying detached until she left.

Also, a minor character surprised me. Nikko’s brother, Yanni. He was only supposed to be mentioned as someone who left the island to pursue a culinary career. But when he comes home and Nikko is at odds over Eleni, Yanni calls him out on his shit, telling his brother he isn’t fair to expect her to do what he isn’t willing to do - upend his whole life.

9. How do family dynamics shape the romantic journeys in your novels?

Okay, I’m going to say something I said to a group of friends a long time ago when we were witnessing something which I will not name. “There are stereotypes for a reason.” With that, my whole group collectively sprayed their drinks rather than choke on them. Have you seen MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING? Yes, it’s exaggerated. Somewhat. We call our family chat ‘The Greek Hotline.’ I remember once mentioning some small thing to my mom and then suddenly both my sisters, my daughters, and all my nieces were texting me. Within a matter of minutes! Mind you, this is done with love. We are a close family. 

In some books I play up the meddling family, and in others I focus on the love and care and unconditional love. Even the meddling families are only looking for everyone to be happy. Often, everyone can see what is best for the main characters except the main characters. 

10. Is there a particular scene in The Magic of Robola that you loved writing the most?

It won’t be the answer you expect. There are two chapters that go back the the 1960s when Eleni’s and Nikko’s grandfathers started the vineyard. From these chapters, Eleni learns how her grandfather met her grandmother, their own long distance struggle, and how they finally ended up in NYC. 

I loved writing this peek into the past. But aside from that, I would say the chapter when young Eleni and Nikko make love. The youth chapters were not written in the original manuscript, which was only a novella. I expanded it to a full novel and added the chapters which lead to their young romance. 

⚡ Rapid Fire (Quick Vibes)

11. Greece or New York if you had to pick one for your next story?

Neither, and both. I had set aside the last book in The Meraki Series to write The magic of Robola. It wasn’t a book I had intended to write.  Each book was to focus on one sister. But they have a half brother and fans asked for his story. So while Theo’s home is in NY, and he does travel to Greece at some point in the story to find out about his biological mother, he’s studying in London.

12. Writing in the morning, afternoon, or evening? 

These days it’s all over the place. I’m a night owl. My neighbors call me a vampire because my lights are on all night and into the wee hours of the morning. When I had my day job, I wrote late into the night. I still do sometimes, but depending in my plans for the day, I sometimes write in the afternoon.

13. Music, silence, or ambient noise while writing? Silence. If music is on, I’ll start singing along and get distracted. (PS: no one wants to hear me sing)

14. Pantser, plotter, or somewhere in between?

Pantser. I have a basic idea of what I want to happen - how I want it to begin and end - a basic plot. But I let it unfold as I write. Often, my story, or the characters take a direction I don’t expect. An idea took hold in The Magic of Robola I didn’t expect. It wasn’t life changing for the characters, but it could have been. It was more about creating another rift or misunderstanding. 

In another book, Chasing Petalouthes, one of the male characters was meant to be in one or two chapters. A throwaway, if you will. A vehicle to express the female’s disdain for being pushed to date Greek men. He ended up, to my surprise, being the main love interest in what became an enemies to lovers trope. He also became one of my readers’ favorite male characters. So the characters drove the story, not me!

15. One word you hope readers use to describe your books.

Page-turning!

🍷 The Author Journey

16. What moment made you realize, “I am really doing this author thing”?

When I started writing it was to channel my grief. I never expected it to be a book. After three years of writing, researching, and revising, I had to give it a try. I had a lot to learn. I was so nervous pressing the publish button. But when the reviews started posting, and they were all favorable, that’s when I said, I’m really doing this. 

When I turned 50, I said I wanted to do something that would define me. My girls were grown, both out of college with their own careers. I thought I’d dip my toes back into acting. And I have. I occasionally work as a background actor. But I had no idea it would be publishing my first book that would set me on a path to this new, creative, and rewarding career.

17. What has surprised you most about releasing books across multiple series?

Readers asking when the next book was coming out!

18. What advice would you give writers exploring cultural or historical aspects in their stories?

Do the research. I know that often writers take liberties to fit into their plot. I don’t like to do that. I like to keep it so real that the reader believes these characters existed.
Even with more recent times, I look up weather, current events, popular music, etc to be worked into a scene. Foe example, there was a funeral scene in Evanthia’s Gift on a date I mentioned. That date was two days after a hurricane on Long Island which impacted the circumstances.

In my case, I’m usually family with culture and tradition. If I’m not. I check multiple sources for accuracy. 

19. How do you make characters feel real while honoring tradition and history? I immerse them in tradition through their family and rituals. Family history often ties in with their heritage or what their homeland has been through. An heirloom might come into play. Or a story, or legacy.

20. Which character in The Magic of Robola do you hope readers connect with most and why?

The story is told from both Eleni’s and Nikko's point of view. It’s important the reader connects with and understands both. It’s okay to take sides or feel like one is more at fault than the other. But I hope it’s understood, the reasoning and heart behind each of their actions.

🍷 Just for Fun

21. If one of your characters could step out of the book, who would it be and what would they do first?

 I’m going to say a minor character. Antonia. She needs to get off the island and find out who she wants to be. She’s stuck. She seems like a mean girl but she simply suffers from low self-esteem. She needs to meet new people, new men, and mostly, meet herself.

22. Which location in any of your books would you most want to visit in real life?

I’ve been to almost all the places I've written about. In Evanthia’s Gift, the family, upon young Sophia’s request, go to Santorini. One of the complaints many Greek Americans have is that they visit family, but never venture further. Mainly because they don’t see family often enough. They take the ferry to Santorini. I have never been there. I’ve been to Mykonos, another hugely popular island. Hopefully soon.

23. If The Magic of Robola were adapted, would you prefer a movie or a series?

 For this one, I would say a movie. I would love for The Gift Saga Trilogy to be a series. It spans decades and four generations. And beautiful locations.

24. What is one fun or unexpected fact about you that readers might not guess?

I was a self-proclaimed disco princess in the seventies! LOL Yup. I was out at clubs every night. Except Mondays. None of them were open on Mondays. I loved to dance. It was all about the dancing. So my high school years were all about rock, but when disco hit, I loved that too. And I grew up with the Beatles so I have to mention Paul was my first crush at 8 years old.

25. When readers finish The Magic of Robola, what feeling or takeaway do you hope stays with them the longest?

That they will want to travel to Greece and fall in love with a hot man on a Greek vineyard.