Writing has always been the means to
an end for me, but never the end itself. I've been known
to use it to obsessively pursue academic excellence or "scam"
my way into other kinds of questionable so-called success
— as well as use it as an attention-attraction device.
It
did not occur to me to write for the sake of writing until
I found myself in a corporate career at age 20. I am 23
now and have lived in Australia for nine years — my
family settled in Australia after immigrating from Bulgaria
when I was 13 (in 1995).
Thus as a result of my mother's crazy courage, I found myself
as a migrant in a contemporary metropolis such as Melbourne.
To further spice up my life story, I was also diagnosed
with rapidly advancing scoliosis just prior to arriving
in Australia. But the bizarre twists and turns didn't end
there because I met the love of my life at just 15 while
we were both still in high school. It is these bitter-sweet
and retrospectively exciting experiences that were the inspiration
behind, and served as the setting for, the fictitious accounts
in
Sex, Scars & a Superheroine with Scoliosis.
Although the business analyst job I found myself in while
I was still at university, absolutely had its moments, during
the quiet times there was so much mind-numbing boredom that
I had to amuse myself through observation and personal reflection
in order to avoid imminent brain-death. It was during that
time that I came to the somewhat clichéd conclusion that
everyone has a very urgent need to attain the status of
recognized uniqueness. This desire is universal and tends
to manifest itself in all sorts of amazing and dysfunctional
ways and few individuals, myself included, admit to it or
correctly identify it in themselves. This is a frustrating
state to be in, but I did find a remedy.
The remedy was to attempt to capture and communicate my
ideas via the written word, which I discovered is a convenient
and exciting way to condense thoughts that are so often
scattered by ridiculous everyday stress and anxiety, and
to make a coherent and constructive vision out of one's
perceptions. Thus, most of
Sex, Scars & a Superheroine
with Scoliosis was scribbled on Post-It notes in an
office toilet cubicle. And on the rush-hour train where
I'd often be struggling to stifle cringes and giggles as
I silently asked myself pseudo-philosophical questions about
my life and everyone else's.
The book contains more than 200 of my original quotes-with-a-twist,
proverbs and pick-up lines. My inspiration is the obscene
horror and hilarity of life. My version of the truth is
the view offered by everyday voyeurism. My canvas is virtual
reality. My inspiration is definitely the glamorous, sexy,
intriguing and mysterious aspect of the art of being an
author. It certainly strikes at the oddest of times, but
the satisfaction and surprise it brings surpasses all the
mundane trouble of attempting to implement the ideas. There
are also moments of absolutely exhilarating embarrassment
and in my experience they occur when a certain level of
writing success is achieved. Therefore I must admit that
my motivations to write a novel in a biography format were
neither entirely noble nor entirely unselfish. Some of the
time they were shamelessly self-promotional, but at least
most of the time they were driven by the ideas themselves,
which I think is redemption enough. Hence, I envision this
book to be the kind that critics and interviewers will always
refer to and plague me to explain, should I evolve into
an author with a few best-sellers under my belt. And my
response? ". but I was only 20 when I wrote it!"
I am currently completing a double degree in business and
juggling multiple writing projects as I attempt to forge
dual career paths as both a business analyst and an author.
These are two alter egos that sometimes mesh, but generally
remain entirely separated, which creates some much-needed
variety at times. Seven years later, I am still with the
above-mentioned boyfriend, who has by now resigned himself
to the fact that he will be repeatedly immortalised in countless
literary characters if I have my way.
READ OR
DOWNLOAD A CHAPTER OF SEX, SCARS AND A SUPERHEROINE
WITH SCOLIOSIS 
