Tag Archives: Q&A

Q&A with Children’s Author, Natalie Savvides

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Natalie Savvides is a staunch anti-bullying campaigner whose series of Henrietta and Henry Heartbeat books focus on imparting positivity, good behaviour and kindness among young readers aged up to six years old. In this exclusive Q&A, Frost Magazine speaks to Natalie about her new Meet Henrietta Heartbeat books and about her plans to spark a “kindness revolution”

Frost Magazine (FM): You published your first Young Adult (YA) novel, Full Circle, in 2016. How did you find the transition from writing YA to young children?
Natalie Savvides (NS): To be honest, the transition came very naturally, I didn’t even think about it. I never thought I’d write children’s books but as soon as I felt something needed to be done to educate the youngest generation in kindness, the process was utterly spontaneous. The characters just came to me, as did the stories. I’ve always loved poetry, writing in rhyme and having been a teacher of English to foreign students for some years my mind is accustomed to getting messages across in the simplest most understandable way. I wrote about what I saw with my own children, so the topics were many and presented themselves.

FM: Tell us more about the Meet Henrietta Heartbeat series of novels and who they will most appeal to.
NS: Henry & Henrietta Heartbeat, It’s cool to be kind is the series, of which the first book currently on sale is “Meet Henrietta Heartbeat” and is an introduction to one of the main characters. Henry & Henrietta are brother and sister in the Heartbeat family and they go about their days showing people how to be kind, by demonstrating what to do, how to act in situations of conflict or confusion with other children. The series of books which are all very short stories, in rhyme and heavily illustrated are set to appeal to the critical formative years 0-6…. The idea is to make being kind a way of life and a natural, spontaneous behaviour by it being learnt, understood and most importantly enjoyed at the earliest stage of education. It is proven that early PSED (personal social emotional development) has a huge impact on well-being, achievement, and happiness later on.

FM: How did the series come into being?
NS: The stories came about when I realised that in order to protect my children’s life experience outside of the home and those of all children something had to be done about instilling kindness before unkind behaviour appears. The trigger was when my son told me that some of the boys that he liked at nursery didn’t want to play with him and he simply didn’t understand and was terribly upset by it. It broke my heart. There is no need for this type of behaviour and I wanted to try and show children that. I wanted to find a way to educate children in a fun way that it really is cool to be kind to everyone and that we all benefit when everyone is happy. I realised there was a need for something visual that children could relate to, refer to in order to bring the message to life and help it sink in. I felt cartoon characters would be the most obvious answer. I created Henry & Henrietta Heartbeat as big happy hearts with strong characters that appeal to young children as transporters of this increasingly important message of acting with kindness. Henry & Henrietta subtly but clearly educate children though simple rhyming stories showing how to always act with care, inclusion, acceptance, love and kindness and how everyone is happier when living this way.

FM: Some parents (and teachers) believe that dealing with unkindness (and to some extent with bullies) is a rite of passage and one that prepares them for the real world. What is your view on this?
NS: Whilst that may be true at the moment – that is exactly what I’m trying to change! It’s a little defeatist to say let’s get them prepared for what’s to come – because large parts of the ‘real world’ are relatively unkind – instead of accepting this and ‘preparing’ our children for it, why not try to change the future for the better. If we manage to educate the younger generation in kindness until it’s a spontaneous way of life the future would be brighter! We wouldn’t need to prepare them for unkindness as there would be less of it. L. R. Knost sums it up nicely here: “Its not out job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It’s our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless.”

FM: You believe that society could benefit from a ‘kindness revolution’; what do you mean by that?
NS: Yes, I believe that society could benefit in many ways from a kindness revolution. Acting with kindness is scientifically proven to benefit our physical and mental health our wellbeing, achievements, success and happiness in general. What I mean by a kindness revolution is exactly that: to transform our society by beginning a change that will reshape our environment into a more caring and positive one. This is not something that could happen overnight, obviously, but eventually.

FM: Can bullying ever be eradicated in all of its various forms and, if so, over what period of time? Will we see it in our lifetime?
NS: I don’t know – I would seriously like to think so to some degree… I am sure there will always be some, but our aim is to minimise it… we need to start from the root to make a long-lasting change. We can but try… If everyone does what they can to educate kindness it can certainly only help.

FM: To what extent should schools generally, and teachers specifically, be held to account for the actions of bullies in their care?
NS: I am no expert on how to deal with bullies hence I am focusing on a theory of prevention rather than cure. However, I do believe that where a child has been identified as a bully if there is no change after three warnings, I believe that the child should be first suspended, thereafter upon return if there is no improvement the child should be expelled.

FM: In what practical ways can schools and teachers educate children about the importance of being kind, and should children be marked or assessed on their propensity towards it?
NS: They can hold kindness work shops where scenarios are set out and children participate in role play then do feedback sessions, try to step into the shoes of the bullies and victims to see how it feels, lessons learnt! Yes, children should be marked or assessed on their propensity towards it. Kindness is as important as any other behaviour or performance children are assessed on.

FM: Should ‘kindness lessons’ be adopted by and continued through high school?
NS: Yes absolutely – the content is endless.

FM: Finally, what one message would you share with readers whose own children are being bullied?
NS: Continue encouraging their children that things will get better. Focus on whatever positives there are at school. Always, always listen. Look out for changed behaviour and address it. Raise it with the school (if not done so already) as subtle things can be done to separate the children. Reassure them that it’s not their fault and encourage them to stay confident in who they are! There are also online support groups for victims of bullying

Meet Henrietta Heartbeat by Natalie Savvides (Austin Macauley Publishers) is available now on Amazon UK priced £9.99 in paperback. Meet Henry Heartbeat, the second in the series, will be published in the UK in January 2019. For further information about Natalie Savvides and her work, go to www.nataliesavvides.com

Stranger than fiction: Q&A with ‘bio-fiction’ creator, Giuseppe Cafiero

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The acclaimed Italian author Giuseppe Cafiero has created a new literary genre that weaves traditional fiction with real-life biography. In this exclusive interview, he tells Frost Magazine what inspired his unique style of ‘bio-fiction’.

Frost Magazine (FM): Your novel, Gustave Flaubert: The Ambiguity of Imagination, describes in detail the life and writing of the famous 19th century author. What is the importance and lasting fascination of Flaubert?

Giuseppe Cafiero (GC): Flaubert’s attention to writing. He was very careful in choosing words. He was very scrupulous in the composition of the sentences. He was very much looking forward to the balance of dialogues.

FM: You are clearly a fan of Flaubert’s writing. Which of your novels or stories would you recommend as the best to read first, and why?

GC: An incomplete book: Bouvard and Pecuchet. This is the book that inspired me to write Gustave Flaubert: The Ambiguity Of Imagination.

FM: Your work is part of the surreal genres and metafictions. Why do you find these genres as satisfying as an author? What can the reader take from these genres that are not offered by other types of writing?

GC: Because it’s suggestive to talk about ambiguity. Because it is very suggestive to speak in a surreal way about the ambiguity of a writer. It’s necessary to engage the reader in different readings by looking at an author under another aspect that intrigues with the surreal

FM: You are the inventor of a literary genre that you have dubbed ‘bio-fiction’. What do you mean by this term and how does it differ from biography or fiction?

GC: My literary genre is neither fiction nor biography. I try to tell a story about the life of a writer in which a surreal element intervenes that modifies reality. This is only an interpretative ambiguity of events that changes what was considered an absolute truth

FM: In your novel, Flaubert presents himself as a rather flawed individual. Do you think that his sexual and mental obsessions were an essential factor in allowing him to write the great works of literature for which he is famous?

GC: Undoubtedly. It is precisely these obsessions that have made Flaubert a particular writer. Without these pathological obsessions Flaubert would have been perhaps an insignificant writer

FM: Which authors have had more influence on your writing and why?

GC: My writing was influenced very much by Jorge Luis Borges, because if Borges has viewed the world and influenced his writings through the use of duplicity, I have believed that ambiguity would be deciphering in the world in a different but also very suggestive way

FM: How do you decide which historical figures to give biofocus treatment? Are there any character traits you are looking for that make an ideal subject?

GC: There are some characters (writers, painters, musicians) that interest me a lot. Certainly these characters have had adventures or have had friends or loves that lend themselves very well to the game of ambiguity

FM: What other authors do you think to give to the “bio-fiction” treatment in the future and why?

GC: The Portuguese poet Mario de Sa Carneiro for the ambiguity of his suicide. Virginia Woolf for the ambiguity of her lesbian love. James Joyce for the ambiguity of the epiphanies. Edgar Allan Poe for the ambiguity of his death for alcoholism.

FM: Your novels address the main theme of “ambiguity”. Why does this concept fascinate you and how does this idea link to what we can hope to understand as “truth” from literature and history?

GC: The theme of ambiguity fascinates me because it’s possible to look at the life and works of an artist in a different way through a keyhole that deforms things just because this keyhole is ambiguity. It is an ambiguity that can show another truth.

Gustave Flaubert: The Ambiguity Of Imagination and Mário De Sá-Carneiro: The Ambiguity Of A Suicide, both by Giuseppe Cafiero, are out now.

 

Entity Film Review

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entity film reviewA group of documentary filmmakers travel into the heart of rural Siberia and come across all manners of unpleasantness in this low-budget, stripped down horror thriller written and directed by Steve Stone. It utilizes a low budget (approximately £100,000) to go over what is admittedly familiar material in the horror genre, but is executed in a stark and efficient manner that grabbed it the Best Horror Film at the London Independent Film Festival earlier this year.

 

A British documentary crew led by Kate Hansen (Charlotte Riley) for ‘Darkest Secrets’  travels to a remote Siberian woodland to report on a grisly find decades earlier; dozens of unidentified bodies shot dead and buried in shallow graves. Joining the established film crew are renowned psychic Ruth Peacock (Dervla Kirwan)  and local guide Yuri (Branko Tomovic), who escorts them to the location and narrates the backstory to their cameras. Hopes are that Ruth can give a unique insight into the the identity of the victims and why they were killed.  However they soon stumble across a vast, dilapidated research facility that harbours far more sinister secrets…

 

At first glance Entity would appear to heading down the well worn path of the found footage horror film that broke through into the mainstream with The Last Broadcast and The Blair Witch Project, and has been diluted down over the years with titles such as the Paranormal Activity quartet. The opening scenes play out via skipping and distorted CCTV footage and the cameras point of view is brought up and referenced several times throughout the film. Thankfully Stone resists succumbing to a ‘flavour of the month’ approach and settles for a more traditional narrative style and supernatural feel. The tone here favours atmosphere and chills over graphic carnage and the film touches on themes of regret, loss and memory that thankfully suggest the filmmakers agenda was above just splattering claret across the walls. The abandoned military facility is a horror subplot that has been done to death with recent incarnations such as The Bunker and Outpost. It’s credit to Stone and his collaborators that they manage with limited resources to craft such omnipresent dread from such a familiar setting. A large part of that is down to the impressive location scouted for the film; an abandoned, almost monolithic industrial estate that seems to smother the  characters and the very screen with its presence. The cinematography serves well in in transforming it into an embodiment of menace and transfers from graceful tracking shots to a frantic, hand held pursuit in night vision as the narrative develops. Proceedings are made more memorable by a strong cast doing good work with what do seem initially liked cliched roles. Particularly worthy of note is Kirwan who embodies her role with an ethereal calm in the face of fear, that always seems not too far from some form of breakdown as the story unfolds.  Branko Tomovic also does solid work in a role that is admittedly not very difficult to guess its trajectory but he invests it with a surprising mix of menace and care.

 

I had the fortune of seeing Entity at a director’s Q&A at the London Independent Film Festival. Just from Stone’s passion and enthusiastic response to questions it was easy to see the time and energy he had put into the project and how much it meant to him on a personal level . Entity is not without its rough edges but it gets the job done with effective determination.