Lydia Mariani | 17 November 2021
Sofia Baj, an S3 student in our school released her first book recently, a spy story. I decided to ask her a few questions about it and let the whole school community know about her amazing work!
You can find her book in the library and borrow it whenever you feel like. Also,her second book should be released at the beginning of 2022, so stay updated!
I hope that thanks to this interview, other writers in our school can find the courage to publish their works!
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“Could you briefly explain what’s the book about?”
Sofia: “It’s a spy story, based in a spy Academy where some twelve-year-old students are recruited and have different adventures. There is also the mystery of the main character, Emily’s, father, that unravels in the book but I’m sorry for the readers, it is not solved because it is more intricate than it seems. There will be five books in total and the mystery will be solved in the fourth (the fifth will be of the future).”
“Is it based on a real story?”
Sofia: “It’s a bit science fiction but it’s real, I mean, it’s something that can happen in reality.”
“How did everything start? How did you discover this passion of yours?”
Sofia: “Oh, well-I've always-I've never hated writing but never loved it either. In S1 I wrote some short stories on simple mysteries, detective stories. Then in S2 I wrote a medieval mystery novel, so I did a bit of research and there I wrote more than usual. My passion started there-after writing a more ancient mystery, I wanted to write something more futuristic and modern, so I had the idea of a spy academy. I started writing down a few ideas and then I developed them in about a month.”
“How long did it take you to write the book?”
Sofia: “Two/three months. Two to write and one to correct. Now that I look back, it took quite some time! It took that long because I was busy with school and my other activities out of school but also because I did it as a passion, so it’s not that like every day I had to write a chapter. I did it in my free time or when I had some inspiration, even if it meant to only write down a few ideas.”
“Did someone help you in the whole process of printing it? How did you get the idea of doing so?”
Sofia: “So, when I was in S1 and S2 I came here in the library to print the detective mysteries short stories that were about 2 or 3 pages. The librarian asked me:” Oh, do you like to write? There is the possibility, if you want, to print and make everyone read your stories here at the library.”- It was really a great opportunity, but the stories were not that great, so I said “no”, but I always remembered the offer. After my sister read the book at home, my family read it and they liked it! I immediately remembered that the librarian told me about the possibility of printing and publishing books, so I came here, to the library, and I asked her if they could still bind the book. The librarian told me “Yes”, immediately, and we were both very excited! She really helped me, so I thank her immensely for being an editor and for publicity! I also thank Ms.Winston, my L1 English teacher to have printed it and have supported me in coming so far.”
“Has someone in your family or some of your friends read the book? What do they think of it?”
Sofia: “The first person to read the book was actually my sister, because every time I wrote a chapter (I had to convince her the first time), she went on and on, I am really grateful for her patience with me! This is why I dedicated the book to her, too. Later, my parents read it too, and at the beginning of the school year some of my friends as well, they all enjoyed it and they were all very supportive.”
“Is there something you would like to add? Maybe something you want to share with everyone”
Sofia: “I hope that in the future I can continue writing, it would be a dream come true to become an author one day! I do have other passions, like science and math, reasons why I tried to make everything scientific-based and include a bit of math, and logic, to tie everything up and have a really nice result!”
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