Hi from North Cyprus and UK!

sibelhodge · 12-16-2009, 09:51 AM

Hi all

There are very few British writers of Turkish Cypriot origin, if any, who write commercial fiction for the women’s market. I'm once such writer who is taking a leaf out of Stephen King’s books and selling my comedy novels online as ebooks.

I’ve always wanted to write women’s fiction. As a little kid, I was always scribbling stories. In the UK I was too busy in the rat race, paying the mortgage, to have enough time to actually concentrate on writing. But when I moved to North Cyprus three years ago, I finally had the time, peace, and the beautiful scenery to give me the inspiration I needed.

My first novel, Fourteen Days Later, is a romantic comedy with a unique infusion of British and Turkish Cypriot culture. I wanted to have Turkish Cypriot characters so I could bring awareness to North Cyprus and let the world know that Turkish Cypriots do actually exist. Unfortunately, there are not enough Turkish Cypriots with the medium and opportunity to do that. Hopefully, this is a way to get the message out to a global audience.

Written in a similar style to Catherine Alliott and Marian Keyes, Fourteen Days Later is My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets P.S. I Love You. Everyone is aware of Greek characters from the successful film MBFGW, so why not promote Turkish Cypriots in the same way? I am planning to write a sequel set in North Cyprus. Fourteen Days Later was short listed for the Harry Bowling Prize 2008 and received a Highly Commended by the Yeovil Literary Prize 2009.

The Fashion Police is my second novel, and the ending is set up for a series of novels featuring insurance investigator, Amber Fox. I wanted a female character who was feisty and larger than life, yet, like many of us, was aware of her flaws. It is a screwball comedy-mystery, combining murder and mayhem with romance and chick-lit. Written in a similar style to Janet Evanovich, it is Myron Bolitar meets Bridget Jones.

Many ideas come to me while sitting outside my villa on a lovely, hot summer evening, enjoying the view with a glass of wine! The ideas are a mixture of real life events that people have told me about, films I've seen, books I've read, or personal experiences, but of course it's all topped off with a lot of imagination.

I've always loved making people laugh so it felt natural for me to write comedies. A wise piece of advice given to me was to write what you know, and that's very true. If you're interested in writing comedy, you won't be as passionate writing a serious literary novel about the war, for example. You have to write the genre that you love.

All my characters are mixtures of friends and family, people I've met, characters from films, even myself. Sometimes I take an element of one person’s character and mix it with someone else’s to form a whole new character. Inventing characters is one of my favourite parts of working out a new novel.

My novels can be downloaded from: http://stores.lulu.com/sibelhodge or floow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/sibelhodge

desertgrandma · 12-16-2009, 09:59 AM

Welcome to MobileRead, sibelhodge.

Good luck with your books, and be sure and check out our writers corner here.

I visited your site, and must question one thing.........You stated

"In fact, Stephen King is only selling his new novels online as e-books."

Unless I"ve missed something? His latest, "Under the Dome" was just released in hardback, and the book version won't be available until December 24.

netseeker · 12-16-2009, 10:21 AM

Hi sibelhodge, welcome to MobileRead!

sibelhodge · 12-16-2009, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Welcome to MobileRead, sibelhodge.

Good luck with your books, and be sure and check out our writers corner here.

I visited your site, and must question one thing.........You stated

"In fact, Stephen King is only selling his new novels online as e-books."

Unless I"ve missed something? His latest, "Under the Dome" was just released in hardback, and the book version won't be available until December 24.

How dare he not update me with this info!

MickeyC · 12-16-2009, 12:43 PM

Hi sibelhodge and welcome to MobileRead

omk3 · 12-16-2009, 06:24 PM

Welcome to Mobileread, sibelhodge!
I'm not a big fan of women's fiction, but I might be interested in your books.
I am trying to get acquainted with turkish literature, and have found some interesting authors along the way. Nothing from northern cyprus yet, though. I may give your books a try.
Have fun in this friendly forum!
See you around!

12-16-2009, 09:51 AM	#1
sibelhodge Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 520122 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: UK/North Cyprus Device: Kindle	Hi from North Cyprus and UK! Hi all There are very few British writers of Turkish Cypriot origin, if any, who write commercial fiction for the women’s market. I'm once such writer who is taking a leaf out of Stephen King’s books and selling my comedy novels online as ebooks. I’ve always wanted to write women’s fiction. As a little kid, I was always scribbling stories. In the UK I was too busy in the rat race, paying the mortgage, to have enough time to actually concentrate on writing. But when I moved to North Cyprus three years ago, I finally had the time, peace, and the beautiful scenery to give me the inspiration I needed. My first novel, Fourteen Days Later, is a romantic comedy with a unique infusion of British and Turkish Cypriot culture. I wanted to have Turkish Cypriot characters so I could bring awareness to North Cyprus and let the world know that Turkish Cypriots do actually exist. Unfortunately, there are not enough Turkish Cypriots with the medium and opportunity to do that. Hopefully, this is a way to get the message out to a global audience. Written in a similar style to Catherine Alliott and Marian Keyes, Fourteen Days Later is My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets P.S. I Love You. Everyone is aware of Greek characters from the successful film MBFGW, so why not promote Turkish Cypriots in the same way? I am planning to write a sequel set in North Cyprus. Fourteen Days Later was short listed for the Harry Bowling Prize 2008 and received a Highly Commended by the Yeovil Literary Prize 2009. The Fashion Police is my second novel, and the ending is set up for a series of novels featuring insurance investigator, Amber Fox. I wanted a female character who was feisty and larger than life, yet, like many of us, was aware of her flaws. It is a screwball comedy-mystery, combining murder and mayhem with romance and chick-lit. Written in a similar style to Janet Evanovich, it is Myron Bolitar meets Bridget Jones. Many ideas come to me while sitting outside my villa on a lovely, hot summer evening, enjoying the view with a glass of wine! The ideas are a mixture of real life events that people have told me about, films I've seen, books I've read, or personal experiences, but of course it's all topped off with a lot of imagination. I've always loved making people laugh so it felt natural for me to write comedies. A wise piece of advice given to me was to write what you know, and that's very true. If you're interested in writing comedy, you won't be as passionate writing a serious literary novel about the war, for example. You have to write the genre that you love. All my characters are mixtures of friends and family, people I've met, characters from films, even myself. Sometimes I take an element of one person’s character and mix it with someone else’s to form a whole new character. Inventing characters is one of my favourite parts of working out a new novel. My novels can be downloaded from: http://stores.lulu.com/sibelhodge or floow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/sibelhodge

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12-16-2009, 09:59 AM	#2
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462841 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	Welcome to MobileRead, sibelhodge. Good luck with your books, and be sure and check out our writers corner here. I visited your site, and must question one thing.........You stated "In fact, Stephen King is only selling his new novels online as e-books." Unless I"ve missed something? His latest, "Under the Dome" was just released in hardback, and the book version won't be available until December 24.

12-16-2009, 10:21 AM	#3
netseeker sleepless reader Posts: 4,763 Karma: 615547 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Germany, near Stuttgart Device: Sony PRS-505, PB 360° & 302, nook wi-fi, Kindle 3	Hi sibelhodge, welcome to MobileRead!

12-16-2009, 12:43 PM	#5
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,732 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Hi sibelhodge and welcome to MobileRead

12-16-2009, 06:24 PM	#6
omk3 Wizard Posts: 1,454 Karma: 37243 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Europe Device: pocketbook 360, kindle 4	Welcome to Mobileread, sibelhodge! I'm not a big fan of women's fiction, but I might be interested in your books. I am trying to get acquainted with turkish literature, and have found some interesting authors along the way. Nothing from northern cyprus yet, though. I may give your books a try. Have fun in this friendly forum! See you around!

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