Check it out here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/jasmina-siderovski/empowering-your-soullegacy-of-her-mind/paperback/product-22940418.htmlEmpowering Your Soul — Legacy of Her Mind is your first published book. How long did it take you to write it and do you plan any similar books?
It has taken me just over 4 years to write this book. Yes, I definitely plan to write more books. In fact, I am already well and truly underway.
What do you think makes a great self-help/self-improvement book?
To me, honesty is all about the reality we live in. It’s definitely about keeping it real, setting no false expectations and reaching out to the readers through my own experiences and epiphanies. There is a lot of pressure on appearances and our attitude to fit in a society of ridicule and judging eyes. Inspiration is a collage of fallen dreams, the willpower, and determination to achieve your vision at the same time not forgetting to keep it real and be who you are.
There are many self-help/self-improvement books out there and they all have their own character. It’s a wealth of shared experiences that have been tried and tested through time that make a self-improvement book relatable. Empowering Your Soul – Legacy of Her Mind is a triumph of everyday events, cushioning falls without detracting on the bigger picture to live with a mindset that sometimes “all is not what it seems.” We really need to take a step back at times and appreciate each person in this world has a unique story of their own. Which writers/books inspired you when writing Empowering Your Soul - Legacy of Her Mind?
I am a huge fan of Leo Tolstoy. Especially, War and Peace. I also love Mark Twain and Scott Fitzgerald. I guess Empowering Your Soul – Legacy of Her Mind is a combination of the past meets the new – in the 21st Century and beyond. A legacy of an inner peace to the outer world.
What are your ambitions for your writing career? Full time? Part time?
I definitely see myself doing this part time in the short term, if not full time, as my children get older. I have a beautiful family. They are my priority and my world. My writing is a legacy for my family and I guess the world.
When did you decide to become a writer?
I have always written since a little girl, be it in my journal or in my spare time. The life changing moment is one summer night after a long day at a local Community Church in the Gold Coast, Queensland – where I would go with my husband and two boys every year for just over 8 years on holidays and volunteer Christmas Day serving food and cooking for the visitors and tourists. I sat back on the balcony of our hotel overlooking the beautiful ocean and suddenly I just started to write (on my iPhone believe it or not). The very first words that came out – I knew then and there that this was the start of something magical and there was no turning back.
When writing Empowering Your Soul — Legacy of Her Mind did anything stand out as particularly challenging?
Most definitely! It has been a challenge from the very first minute I decided to expose my writing in the public eye. Living in a world with freedom and speech is a beautiful gift, however, it can also have its moments. Forming a Facebook page – Empowering Your Soul – Quotes by Jasmina Siderovski was indeed a challenge as I opened my heart and soul to the world. As a mother and wife, it is challenging enough looking after your own family let alone introducing a whole complete new family – my followers into my life. I am very blessed and thankful for the love and support I have received by everyone and it is the combination of dreams, legacy and world peace that gave me the inspiration to follow my dreams.
How did you come up with the concept and ideas in Empowering Your Soul — Legacy of Her Mind?
That's a fantastic question and to date, I still think about this. My writing belongs to an inner me. It’s almost like there is a little voice living inside me always so impatient and needing the attention. Words and thoughts just come out of nowhere and until I write them down I can’t focus or think. I have no headspace and it just has to be said. I could be doing my grocery shopping, or waiting at the checkout. I could be driving or just with friends and all of a sudden there is this burst of energy, I call it my encyclopedia that never ends high on LED batteries that just wants to jump out of my head and be documented in words. I have literally pulled over on the side of the road, or freeze at a checkout (letting others through), as I would madly record my thoughts in real time. I’m sure people have just looked at me thinking, “What on earth is she doing?” It wouldn’t phase me, as I would just continue to download an i-cloud of information –my journey – my book.
It was like my soul was super empowered hence ‘Empowering Your Soul’ became my signature representing who I am, the inner me and my passion for writing. Bringing people from around the world together and forming friendships, listening to their stories and laughing, and crying with people I have never ever met before.
What do you like to do when not writing?
I am blessed with a beautiful husband and two children – James and Joshua. They are my everything. They are my world, my inner peace, and my life. Spending quality family time with my family and friends is a gift I will never take for granted. I love to entertain friends and family and we are food connoisseurs on weekends. Taking the boys and experiencing food at different restaurants from all over the world is a favorite past time as well as traveling and meeting so many people around the world. I love my furry friends and adore animals all of them, I love chocolate and wine but then again who doesn’t? My real fetish is shoes but that's another story altogether.
Life is not all about success, visions, and dreams it is understanding how all this fits in with your health and happiness starting at home and balancing it with your inner peace to be comfortable and content with anything you do.
How can readers discover more about you and your work?
Mainly, through my website www.empoweringyoursoul.com I am also on FB and Instagram as well as Twitter and Linkedin. Details are all available through my website. You can also purchase Empowering Your Soul – Legacy of Her mind through there.