A dark thriller set mainly in GLASGOW
The process of publishing a novel in episodes: The Raven Witch of Corfu by Effrosyni Moschoudi
22nd November 2018
The Raven Witch of Corfu by Effrosyni Moschoudi, set in Messonghi and Sileo on Corfu.
Acclaimed author Effrosyni Moschoudi has written a 390 page romance novel “The Raven Witch of Corfu” and she has decided to publish it in 4 episodes. We were curious to find out more…..
The author says: Serialising this particular novel was a one-way street for me because of its length. And I was worried that my existing readers might be put off by the serialization, but that didn’t happen. If anything, they seemed to enjoy the novelty. That doesn’t mean that she will be serialising all her novels from now on, however. It was a necessity in this instance, and if she writes another long volume in future she will have to revisit that option. But she will certainly continue to publish her novels in single volumes if the size permits.
The paperback of The Raven Witch of Corfu, however, is not serialised, but forms one large volume of 390 pages that contains the whole story.
Apart from the length, we wondered whether there were any other factors she considered when she opted for serialisation The Raven Witch of Corfu: She says that there is a trend among some authors to serialise their novels. She asked around and quickly realised that the benefits were many. The greatest is that episodes help to attract a younger audiences. It seems that young people tend to enjoy short books, and episodes in particular.
Amazon actually uses popular short read categories that people go for when they are short of time to read, for example, when they are in a plane. So she decided to go for it and hoped that Amazon would choose her book for one of the under-100-pages short read categories. As soon as they launched, all four episodes picked up categories of this type automatically, in various genres. She was, of course, delighted!
Review of Episode 1:
20 years ago Lizzie, together with her twin brother Tom, spent a holiday on Corfu but she and her family had to return home to England without her beloved brother. Tom had gone to save a baby goat and it was then that Phoni, the witch, had stolen him to aid her in her nether world, living in the caves. Phoni promised that she would return Tom to his sister if she returned exactly 20 years later and came back to ‘claim’ him: “Twenty years after today, not a day earlier or later, return at midnight, if you wish, and claim your brother back”, And now, here she is, Lizzie is in Messonghi to expedite his release.
Biding her time until the appointed time, Lizzie has to settle in and get to know the locals… amongst whom is Stamatis, a rather attractive young man who can turn his hand to virtually anything (we are talking fishing, plumbing and electrics, nothing more in Episode 1!).
The ravens dip and circle and Lizzie soon discovers their ominous portent. Death!
The appointed time arrives and she goes over to the caves to meet Phoni and see her bother. Time is very different in the world of witches and Tom comes to her. He neither knows who she is, nor does she at first recognise Tom. He is a free young man, but he still has tasks to fulfil within 10 days. Or Phoni will claim him back!
The author has a nice easy-to-read style and as Episode 1 comes to an end, the ending opens up to lead the reader into the next instalment. The sense of place is very Greek; the sun lifts the mood and brightens the colours, the food feels very tempting and the warm seas are ripe for a quick dip.
Tina for the TripFiction Team
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