After a ridiculously busy week I am late with this blog post...but here it is at last! The latest installment of Ask Sara Alexi, my reader / writer Q&A where myself and one reader of The Greek Village Series ask each other three questions to get to know each other better.

This time I chose the lovely Peggy Roins Karadimas. Here is what Peggy told us about herself:

Kalimera! Good morning! Ok, I am first generation Greek American. My parents are from Tripolis, Greece. I have a love affair with Greece that cannot be denied and the more I immerse myself in the country's history, areas and charms the more I love it. My husband is also Greek from the same area and his parents own a house in Rizes, a village outside Tripolis, which we are seriously considering moving to in a few years.

I am a mother to a 15 year old boy, who at the moment is driving me crazy with his turbulent teen years. But i love him to death.

I am a skin care therapist-I give relaxing facials to my clients as well as do corrective facials such as peels, etc.and I am a former makeup artist . I love the business of beauty. My hobbies are reading, hiking, biking, cooking and baking. I also have a Facebook group GreekGirlReads and I occasionally write reviews for the Chicago digital newsletter Windy City Greek.

And here is what Peggy told me:

What is your favourite part of Greece? and why? and where else would you like to travel if in fact you like to travel?

The trouble with Greece is that wherever I am becomes my favourite spot. I think familiarity and memories make certain places special. From that point of view I would say Athens, Aegina, Rethminon in Crete and Galatas on the Peloponnese, opposite the island of Poros have to be my favourites, although I love the some of the tree-covered mountainous areas in the middle of the Peloponesse and some of the more sleepy islands call to me as well. Obviously I love the area where I live but I think the bottom line is: it is all my favourite and I still have lots more to explore.

When are you going to come to America and tour?????? I would love to meet you-perhaps you could get in touch with the National Hellenic Museum in Chicago. They have amazing events and I think they would be thrilled to do something with you! (I'm not sure that is a question in itself but still...)

Oh I so want to come to America and have done for years! I have a programme on my computer that has allowed me to learn the different States and I think I want to visit them all. Chicago is a definitely on the tour list and it would be a delight to do something at the National Hellenic Museum and other places of that sort. Also I want to visit New York (Astoria, the Greek area), the Mid-West, the South and South East, the far West - oh all of it really, everywhere I have seen on the map! For a while now I have wanted to write a series set in or strongly connected to the US. Maybe a tale about a Greek/American family, a saga. But I won’t write what I don’t know so I would have to come and see as much of it as I could! I think I need to do a Grand Tour of places I could give talks and meet people to get a real feel.

Last but not least (because next time I'm in Nafplio, I would love to have coffee with you if you would be interested) what would you say to aspiring writers?

I know a lovely little place for coffee….Meanwhile what would I say to an aspiring author? Well, that would depend a little on what genre they were writing in and the subject matter but I think write from your heart is key, dig in and find emotions that relate to what you are writing about. I have found that guessing and writing superficially doesn’t work for me. For example If you are writing about a robbery but you have never been robbed I would find other events you have experienced to draw the emotion out of you; remember a time when you lost something very precious, remember the time someone jumped in the queue in front of you and you felt angry (they ‘stole’ your place), remember the time someone pinched your bum and you felt offended (they violated you), then increase the volume and mix these emotions together to feel what your character is feeling. Live what you are trying to put across and it will become more real. A warning though: it is exhausting. Before I start a new book it feels very much like taking on a new and tricky client as a psychotherapist, and I have to dig deep and find the emotional energy and love to expend on the person/character. The highs write quickly, the lows are draining. It is depleting but very satisfying.

Thank you so much Peggy for this week's Ask Sara!

If you want to join in come and find me on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/authorsaraal...

If you want to be first to know about new releases, competitions and news then come and join us at the Sara Alexi VIP Club here http://saraalexi.us10.list-manage1.co...