As Mark Twain once said: “Write what you know.” That’s the approach Tia Mitsis has taken as a writer, but she has managed to add another dimension to her work thanks to her passion and commitment to research.
Following on from the success of When Study Goes Wrong, the Brisbane-based writer booked a ticket to Greece with a vision to share her love of Greece, but to also fill what she perceived to be a gap in the travel book market.
“The reason I wanted to write A Greek Odyssey was basically to share my love of Greece and the lovely genre of travel.
“But it was also something I noticed while browsing as a reader, wondering where the books were about the Greek mainland and areas that tourists might not know about,” Tia explains.
With both her parents born in mainland Greece, most of the writer’s visits to the motherland, from a child right through to adulthood, revolved around the countryside. Over the years, however, Mitsis started to notice that for many tourists, Athens, Thessaloniki and the Dodecanese islands were the only locations on their radar.
“I knew that the mainland had all of this stunning scenery that I really wanted to share. There’s so much to see, so much to explore,” she says.
Focusing on the birthplaces of her parents, the book mainly covers the regions of Macedonia and Epirus. Among the 22 locations are Metsovo, Dodoni, Vergina and Agras.
While the writer admits that reaching some of the less frequented areas across Greece can be a bit of trek, particularly if people don’t speak the language, she says the effort is more than worth it. With travel more accessible than ever, she recognises that travellers are looking for a new and unique experience.
“These are areas that tourists are interested in and can be interested in, they just might not know they’re there. There are places I visited that even I didn’t know existed,” she says with a laugh.
With her travels to Greece coinciding with the ongoing drama of the economic crisis, the book also serves as a first-hand account of the country’s modern day history unfolding and includes insight from locals.
“I was there during some of the worst of the crisis in August 2015 and just a few weeks prior the euro had gone down and they’d closed the banks,” she recalls.
“I got quite a few interesting gems from locals. They said they still feel the crisis, but not how people in the city feel it because they have their own resources. They grow their own food; they make their own juices, wine, etc.
“They said they don’t need to go to the supermarket like people in the cities, that they’re pretty much self-reliant.”
Written as a travel narrative, this is no ordinary travel book; Tia gives a personal account of each area, with invaluable insight into what she saw and experienced as a visitor.
To further assist travellers, there is also information on the history and mythology background of each location, including practical and up-to-date details on how to best reach your destination and get around.
A Greek Odyssey is now available for purchase through Inhouse Publishing ($22.95), Amazon and other online retailers, and will soon be available as an e-book. To view the full gallery of images, visit Tia Mitsis’ website at www.authortia.wix.com/tiamitsis
