JenniFerchenko

1. I was born and brought up in a small village in Chernobyl region, where there is nothing but endless forest and endless railway tracks. There is absolutely nothing to do - maybe that's why I have always entertained myself by inventing crazy adventures in my head. Exaggeration, juxtaposition and unexpected plot twists always came naturally to me, even before I took any creative writing courses. This is also why it felt so obvious that I should write a novel as opposed to a memoir. 

2. In 1990, when I was only 9 years old, I left my village for the first time. I went to Southern Italy to stay with a local family who had volunteered to host 'Chernobyl children'. When I came back home to Ukraine almost a year later, the country I had left behind did not exist any more. Fun days at the beach near Naples with abundant fresh fruit and pasta were exchanged for long queues just to get a loaf of bread and the effective absence of physical money.  I decided there and then to leave the country as soon as I could - and so I did. 

3. I locked myself in for ten months to write Snow Job. I had a very clear plan and was disciplined in executing it, defying the myth of "inspiration". All the creative, unedited writing would be done at night (I am most productive after midnight). I would do the editing first thing in the morning. During the day I would train intensively (swimming, cycling and running) and play with my dog (an adopted stray German shepherd), only to start writing again in the evening. 

Read more: http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/books/jenni-ferchenko-snow-job-1123974.html#ixzz5CTJaczXj