Learning About ‘A Heart of Stone’ by Author Lucy Eleazar – Interview

Today we have Bulgarian author Lucy Eleazer with us. We talk about her book A Heart of Stone, writing style, inspirations, and more.

Lucy Eleazar is leading a very interesting life. Along with being an indie author, and a mother, she has her own language schools in Sofia, Bulgaria. Read on to know about her.

Please introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Lucy, I am thirty-six and I come from Sofia, Bulgaria. I live with my husband and our two boys in a small suburban house in the foot of the Balkan Mountains. I studied and graduated International Relations and Law but my professional realization took a side turn as I started teaching English to little kids when I was 18. It appeared to be my vocation and even though I later made a successful career in film distribution as well, I finally turned back to working with children. I set up my own language school, which currently has four locations in Sofia and teaches about 200 kids.

How long have you been writing for? When did you realize you wanted to become an author?

I wrote my first poem when I was six – inspired by the heavy snow outside. I was also in the first years of school when I made up my first fiction story. I’d written dozens of novels and hundreds of poems before I turned 20 but of course, most of them were quite naïve and childish. Career chasing and looking after babies later prevailed in my life so I gave up writing for nearly 15 years. Then some misfortunate events in my life led me to be stuck at home unable to do almost any physical activity but type on a computer. So, that was when I could finally listen to and hear my inner voice again. So, I sat down, put it all in words and there it was -“A Heart of Stone”.

Are they any writers that have inspired you?

I used to read a lot when I was a kid and a teenager. For a long period of my life, my favorite writer was Stephen King. However, later, being overwhelmed by the daily drama of life, I turned towards lighter books – books that lead me out of the real world and introduced me to live in a fairytale for a few hours. So, for A Heart of Stone my inspiration was based on the Harlequin 90s style – here I can mention authors like Debbie Macomber, Rebecca Winters, etc.

What’s your favorite genre to write? Do you consider yourself a multi-genre author?

The novels I wrote back in my young years were of different genres. But still, all of them can be regarded as contemporary drama. I currently write contemporary romances.

Tell us a bit about your writing process.

It is something like reading a book. You turn the first page, you plunge into the first scene. You look around to see what’s happening and who’s doing what. Then comes the question – why? Why are the characters behaving the way they are? I start looking for their motivation and get their story. The only difference to reading a book is that it is not put down in words but you have to do it yourself.

Have you ever experienced writer’s block? Any tips to deal with it?

Well, sure. I would even say this is more common for me than to experience a writing splurge. I am no professional writer, I don’t do this for a living. So, for me, it’s no use putting an effort to deal with it. I just do my job, live my everyday life and wait for inspiration to come back.

Tell us a bit about your book A Heart of Stone. What kind of writers will it appeal to?

A Heart of Stone is meant to appeal to general female audiences. Still, I can say that a lot of men have enjoyed reading it too. It is a contemporary romance though far from just pink and sugar. The characters and their story are quite realistic and their love takes the usual twists each of us knows from our personal experiences.

Is there any advice you would like to give aspiring writers?

To me, writing is something private, intimate. And whenever I read a text, I can say whether it comes out of the soul and when it is just well fabricated. There are techniques but still, nothing can move as much as sincerity. So, my first advice would be to be as sincere as you can. Don’t try to pretend you are someone you are not. Don’t try to write something you know you should but you don’t feel.

As far as distribution is concerned – this, I’d say – is the hardest part. I wouldn’t give advice but just share what I myself do. First, I never consider my works the greatest in the world. I know there is always a lot to improve. So, I try to involve as many readers as possible and get their feedback. That would mean friends, relatives, people who I can reach through blogs, forums or Facebook. Only after I’ve got enough reactions and made enough corrections, the book is ready to be published and be presented to mass audiences.

Oh, and something important I’ve noticed while getting to know authors from various parts of the world on Goodreads – please, respect the reader! Don’t offer poorly translated texts with no punctuation, missing words, etc.

Are there any upcoming works you want us to know about?

My next romance, A Night to Forget, is about to be published in Bulgarian and is due to be translated in the upcoming months. The story of the ambitious marketing director Eva and the ruthless lawyer Andrey seems to have started a back an forth. Unusual circumstances push Eva in the arms of a stranger for a night to forget. None of them believes they will ever meet again. However, life has other plans for them…

How can readers contact you?

I can be contacted by email, my Facebook page, Goodreads, my blog, and website.

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You can start reading A Heart of Stone online. It’s available in English as well as the original version.

Lucy Eleazar’s A Heart of Stone is currently available on Amazon, both in English and the original version.

Have you read works by Lucy Eleazar? Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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