AUTHOR INTERVIEW: SELF-HELP AUTHOR CRISTINA G. @authorcristinag #itsnevergameover

Cristina G. was born in Romania during one of the harshest communist regimes that ever existed. The tenth child of a farmer’s family, she has six sisters and used to have four brothers, now only two.

Aged eight, she read Les Misérables by Victor Hugo and fell irremediably in love with books. Since then she kept dreaming of writing for many years, and she wrote a lot, but never thought of publishing. In 2012, after living in Italy for ten years, Cristina became a blogger. In June of 2014, with the help of a British friend, she moved to the UK. Here, although her expectations were not great, Cristina fulfilled the dream she never dared to dream before. Cristina G. is now a registered author and dedicates her life to writing focusing on human behaviour, emotions and feelings.

Her latest book is the self-help/nonfiction, It’s Never Game Over.

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Q: Welcome to The Writer's Life! Now that your book has been published, we’d love to find out more about the process. Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning? When did you come up with the idea to write your book?

It’s a pleasure being here!

Of course.

I’ve always wanted to help people, therefore I have quite a few ideas in my head. This specific book, It’s Never Game Over, was first intended for writers only. The idea came when I had to stop writing to start learning marketing.

I was angry, disappointed and outraged by what I found out about the publishing industry during this process. I lost faith and courage, and I was thinking of giving up. But there was no turning back for me as this is my ultimate battle.

My desire was to give to those in my situation hope and motivation.

After the proofreading, I realized that many others will benefit from reading my book.

So, I made several changes and proofread it again, and again and again.

I had some great feedback from my beta readers, as well as quite a few very harsh comments. My statements are very assertive, and they might hurt people’s feelings. I had seconds thoughts, and it took me a lot of time to decide to publish it.

I did my best to sweeten some of my opinions, but in the end, this book is addressed to people who struggle with many things. From my experience, most of us need a kick in order to take action.

I paid a professional to edit it. I disagreed with many suggestions made by my editor. Upon consideration, I changed other things. I proofread it again, and when I was content with the final work, I took a huge risk and hit "Publish."

Discipline is fundamental to everybody’s success. I am happy with my decision as I know for sure that it will help many people. I don’t care if my readers hate me, all I care about is to make them reflect and take a step in the right direction.

“Believe you are happy and you are halfway there.”

Q: How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?

During the years, I have gathered a very vast knowledge regarding human behavior. Emotions and feelings are my main focus. Therefore, when I wrote this book, the only hard thing for me was the language as I am not a native English speaker.

I have just published a self-help book for writers, Author for Life or for a Living? Manifesto for Real Writers. I recommend it to whoever wants to follow this career.

Q: Who is your publisher and how did you find them or did you self-publish?

Like most authors, my dream was to be published by a traditional company. But we live in a very complicated epoch, so after being rejected by five of them, I gave up.

Following a self-publishing experience with a company, I decided that I will never, ever, pay anyone to publish my lifetime work. Therefore, I am now my own publisher.

Q: Is there anything that surprised you about getting your first book published?

I was utterly ignorant in this field. Everything surprised me. My biggest surprise was when I found out (the hard way) that writers are just a number and are often treated like criminals. Because of that, I lost all my savings and my trust in professionals.

Q: What other books are you working on and when will they be published?

I work on many different books. I will mention only the Coming Soon ones.

·        One is a beautiful dystopian story, Nobody Cries – February 2018.

·        The other one is a funny self-help publication for solo people, Single or… Scotch? How to be Happy Alone – November 2017.

·        The third one is a very insightful non-fiction book for women who are deprived of their primordial right: Procreation, Childless: How to Cope with Endometriosis & Vulvodynia – November 2017.

Q: What’s one fact about your book that would surprise people?

Fifteen years ago, I stopped watching TV, listening to the radio, and reading the news. I live in utter solitude to get to know myself to perfection.

Because of that, my level of empathy and intuition expanded exponentially. Feelings and emotions are what I understand best. I am a very observant person. When I look at someone, I don’t see the color of their eyes, or the shoes they are wearing, I see how they feel inside.

Everything I write is original and based on real-life experiences. It’s Never Game Over is a book for every human who struggles with something.

Whoever reads this book, will think that I hate people. The truth is that I love them dearly and one of the reasons I write is to make them see them the beauty around every each of us.

Q: Finally, what message are you trying to get across with your book?

I would like humans to reflect upon things before speaking or acting. My message is that everything we do or not do, is a decision and we are the masters of our destinies.

Q: Thank you again for this interview! Do you have any final words?

Thank you for inviting me!

I don’t write for vanity. Type Cristina G. in Google, read It’s Never Game Over and others of my work, and you will understand what I am fighting for.

And if you like my books, why not hit follow and review them to support me?

In the end, I would like to express my profound gratitude to every soulful human who appreciates my work.