UK Author Sue Seddon: You Could Say Bulgaria Picked Me

Novinite Insider » INTERVIEW | Author: Henry Rowlands |June 10, 2009, Wednesday // 11:49
UK Author Sue Seddon: You Could Say Bulgaria Picked Me: UK Author Sue Seddon: You Could Say Bulgaria Picked Me UK Author Sue Seddon (R) at the official signing of her new book. Photo by Sue Seddon

Interview with Sue Seddon - Author of The Big Bulgarian Adventure and Bulgaria Bites Back. (www.sueseddon.co.uk)

You have been visiting Bulgaria for over 5 years now. Can you put your finger on why you picked Bulgaria and what keeps you wanting to come back?

It was a succession of coincidences. I had a tiny amount of money left over, I wanted against all odds to buy abroad and a Bulgarian property company appeared in an Irish newspaper, where I was living at the time. You could say Bulgaria picked me.

The first time I came here, I was astounded by the scenery set in pristine snow. I wanted to see the changing seasons, which are quite dramatic. Renovating a house was a good excuse, too! I loved the country, and despite the initial strangeness and frequent anomalies, I've always felt at home here. And of course, there is the food and wine!

How would you describe the difference between Bulgaria and the UK? What kind of reaction did you get from your friends and relatives when you bought a house here?

The UK can be quite high pressure and it's hard to gain a comfortable niche there. Where I live is very friendly and relaxed, but most cities are hard work. Britain is very crowded. In Bulgaria the cities are more relaxed, and in the rural areas people live and work from home amidst stunning scenery. In contrast in the UK, the prettier the countryside, the less likely it is that local people can afford to live there.

My friends and family thought I was bonkers. They quickly followed this with requests to stay once there was a bathroom in my house.

Is it possible to gain a reasonable knowledge of and accurate feeling for Bulgaria without knowing the language fluently?

On many levels, yes. Friendliness, clever use of a limited vocabulary and helpful neighbours gain access to most things. I am not fluent but can understand more as time goes on. Some of the misunderstandings are hilarious, too!

It would be important to learn the language formally, though, to live here full time. For a beginner, learning the Cyrillic alphabet is a big step forward. And a few Kamenitsa help.

What made you start writing about Bulgaria and what kind of reception have your books received both in the UK and elsewhere?

The Big Bulgarian Adventure and Bulgaria Bites back were my first venture into published novels. I wrote out of a burning necessity:- I'd reluctantly gone back to grim grey reality after a long summer in BG, and I wanted to capture the experience before it faded. I had a strong sense of another world which had more meaning and which I had experienced more deeply than the one I'd returned to.

The reception of the books in Bulgaria has been heartwarming and very supportive. Both ex-pats and Bulgarians have said that the writing really captures the life here, as well as the total gaffes a newcomer can make! The reception in the UK was equally supportive if puzzled that I chose such an unknown spot to write about.

Visitors are now seeing the titles on the internet and buying before a trip to Bulgaria. I've had very good feedback, including one party who followed the scatalogical trail right to my house in Malinovo.

Your work often pokes fun at the characters you meet. Has this always been welcomed and why did you choose this style of writing?

I have been known to check with the people concerned especially if I'm using real names. I poke fun at myself, too. I've had only one complaint, from an English resident, because I made her seem too respectable. Most characters are delighted to see themselves in print (especially my neighbours).

My style could be called anecdotal. I describe what I experience, with knobs on. It's much more real to me if a thing actually happened.....I present my own peculiar take on the world, and readers seem to like it. I can't resist the odd pithy comment, either.

Many of the topics you focus on affect the whole ex-pat community in Bulgaria. Can you sum up what type of people come to live or buy houses in Bulgaria?

Oddballs, rugged individualists, opportunists, the brave and the foolhardy. There is really no stereotype, nor much element of living like old colonials detached from Bulgarian neighbours.

I suppose adventurousness would be the common factor. Those I've met have been an extraordinary and fun-loving set of individuals.

Your books both focus on the village of Malinovo. Is there something special that drew you to this village or was it just pot luck?

My friend and I had limited budgets. In fact we couldn't believe there were real houses at that price. We wanted a living community with shops, cafes and inhabitants under 70. Malinovo had all these. It was also utterly magical, each house set in a wonderland of deep snow with mountain backdrop. They were waiting for us. Resistance was futile. And the shops sold the very sausages we had been looking for.

Have you noticed any changes in Bulgaria since you first arrived and will the global financial crisis stop other Brits from visiting Bulgaria?

There's a big improvement in services like litter collection i.e. this now exists in rural areas and the streets are cleaner. There are smart new and refurbished old buildings, especially in Sofia and Veliko Tarnovo. There's an up tempo atmosphere in the cities. Prices have gone up but we found quality and choice for the shopper have too. This may benefit the visitor more than the resident as many say the wages have not gone up to match.

As the crunch seriously hits sterling, I think Bulgaria will appeal even more to visitors. Air fares are not relatively as expensive as before and car hire is more competitive. Housing has remained inexpensive especially away from the resorts. From what I noticed in Sofia, the Brits are now discovering Bulgaria as a cheap option to Prague and Dublin. I met a lot of jovial stag and footie parties. They were having a great time and loved the country, the cuisine and the welcome. Mostly they were mad but affable, and wanted the phrases for "Excuse me" "Thank you" and "Sixteen beers, please". I'm sure the Bulgarians can cope with them.

Why don't you move permanently to Bulgaria? Now that you have a house here what stops you?

There is the small matter of an income, and a cautious husband who wants to bide his time. For now Malinovo is my escape from work and stress. I always write well in my house and use it for time on my own: a part of me will always be here. In the long term we are rebuilding a house to face the BG winters. And as the writing takes over I will have to spend more time here in research. Life's tough!

Sue Seddon's books on Bulgaria are:- The Big Bulgarian Adventure and Bulgaria Bites Back, available from sueseddon@hotmail.co.uk, www.amazon.co.uk and Waterstone's, as is Sue Seddon's Little Book of Lancaster.

A third Bulgarian novel, Under The Plum Tree, and Sue Seddon's Little Book of Veliko Tarnovo are pending.

 

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