Today I’m pleased to welcome Christina Philippou to the blog. Christina’s debut novel, Lost in Static, was published by Urbane Publications on 15 September 2016.

Christina kindly answered a few of my questions.

1. Tell us a little about Lost in Static.

Lost in Static tells the same events of betrayal, lust, and violence from four (sometimes very) different students’ perspectives. It is about how easy it is to misunderstand someone when you are not in their head, nor them in yours…

2. What inspired the book? 

I had a disagreement with the hubby over the events on the night we got together, closely followed by a discussion with a friend about a mutual event that also didn’t seem to tie in with my recollections. And that got me thinking about how multi-point-of-view narratives usually ‘pass the baton’, leaving a lot of the causes of the misunderstandings depicted in the dark. I decided to shine a rather bright torch into those causes, to look into the centre of a prism from four different sides.

3. Are you a plan, plan, plan writer or do you sit down and see where the words take you? How long does the process take you from first line to completed novel? 

I am definitely a plan, plan, plan writer, although the words did take me to some unexpected places on the journey from A to B! The process itself took about a year from start to finished draft… And then the real work began.

4. What did you discover about the process of creating a novel that surprised you?

I’m a rather impatient person, so writing a whole novel was a feat I never thought I’d … Yes, that!

5. What do you do when you aren’t writing? What do you do to relax and get away from it all? 

Attempt to survive? I have a job and three little ones that require a lot of attention so relaxing is very rare for me. But when I do (very rarely) have both time and energy, I’ll do something active. I love sport and nature appreciation, and something that involves both is a bonus!

6. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life which book would it be?

There’s a wonderful Greek book called Στα ψέματα παίζαμε (loosely, ‘We Played at Lies’) by Dimitris Miggas which charts (backwards) the lives of some childhood friends that meet up to watch the world cup every four years. It has everything: great structure, brilliant plot, highs and lows, and a killer ending. The only problem is that it hasn’t been translated into English. Maybe my next project…

7. I like to end my Q&A’s with the same question so here we go. During all the Q&As and interviews you’ve done what question have you not been asked that you wish had been asked – and what’s the answer?

Interesting! It would probably be ‘who is your favourite literary villain?’ to which the answer would be Moriarty.

Thanks very much for answering my questions and for appearing on my blog. 

It is my absolute pleasure!

About the Author:

Christina Philippou’s writing career has been a varied one, from populating the short-story notebook that lived under her desk at school to penning reports on corruption and terrorist finance. When not reading or writing, she can be found engaging in sport or undertaking some form of nature appreciation. Christina has three passports to go with her three children, but is not a spy. Lost in Static is her first novel.

Christina is also the founder of the contemporary fiction author initiative, Britfic.

You can connect with Christina on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google+.

About the Book:

“Sometimes growing up is seeing someone else’s side of the story.

Four stories. One truth. Whom do you believe?  Callum has a family secret. Yasmine wants to know it. Juliette thinks nobody knows hers. All Ruby wants is to reinvent herself.  They are brought together by circumstance, torn apart by misunderstanding. As new relationships are forged and confidences are broken, each person’s version of events is coloured by their background, beliefs and prejudices. And so the ingredients are in place for a year shaped by lust, betrayal, and violence…  Lost in Static is the gripping debut from author Christina Philippou. Whom will you trust?”

Lost in Static is available from, amongst others, Amazon UK, Amazon US, and direct from the publisher, Urbane Publications.