Branka Krstevska - Author Life

Branka Krstevska new book, The Comedian, was recently published in September 2017. We took the time to catch up with the author and ask her a few questions about her life, both prior and since becoming an author. 

Did you always dream of becoming an author?

Because I wanted to study medicine after high school, my form 5 and 6 English teacher told me that I shouldn’t forget writing entirely. So she made me wonder, maybe I can make a living from writing. Maybe I do have that X factor required for a successful writer. Hence, when I was 35, I went to study Professional Writing and Editing and I’ve never looked back.

What was your first job?

My first job was working for K-Mart, which I got before I finished high school. I worked here for five years and then moved on to working with disabled children.

How did you come about writing your book? Was that your intention or did you start writing for fun?

I felt this urge, this pull, to write about a comedian. The story was already written on a higher level. I just felt this need to tell this story about some of the pitfalls a female comedian at the age of twenty-nine might face.

What was your life like before you became an author?

Before I became an author, I was healing family mainly, and friends because I am a qualified naturopath. I was also reading some tarot cards for people and painting. I have my own website www.artistedesign.com which I change every year with new paintings. So just keeping busy doing what I loved. As well as cooking, trying out new recipes and perfecting old ones.

Did you face any struggles before becoming an author? If so, how did you overcome them?

My struggles before becoming an author were mainly finding which way to go with my career. Should I devote all my time to naturopathy? Should I devote all my time to astrology and tarot card reading? Then I sat down one day and became real with myself. Who am I? What is important to me? And writing and reading are basically who I am. So I enrolled in Professional Writing and Editing at Victoria University and never looked back.

Now that you are a published author, how has your life changed, if at all?

At the moment, I have another book published called The Crossing. And this book, The Comedian, also published. So I have really found myself since I started writing. I love thinking about stories and I feel a great need to tell as many stories as I possibly can. Writing is all I think about and now I have time to write at home, whereas before I was rushing around working and studying and trying to have a relationship. I never took the time to chill out, to slow down and really assess what I wanted, what I needed out of my life. Now I have all the time in the world, and quite a lot of that time is thinking about all the stories I have to tell this life before I die.

Can you please describe a typical day in your life now?

A typical day in my life, is waking up, having a couple of coffees and cigarettes. Organising lunch and dinner and sitting down to write. If I’m not writing, I’m reading, or cooking or painting.

What is your most memorable moment of your life as an author?

It’s only been six months since my first book was published. But I’d probably say holding my book in my hands for the first time, looking at it, smelling it, just holding it… has been the most memorable moment of my life as an author thus far.