Five things you didn’t know about Voicu Mihnea Simandan

Home » Guest Post » Five things you didn’t know about Voicu Mihnea Simandan

Five things you didn’t know about Voicu Mihnea Simandan

1. I’m a Bangkok-based Romanian writer

I was born in 1978 in Arad, a small city in western Transylvania, Romania, in Eastern Europe. My father is a journalist and an author with tens of books of non-fiction and poetry published under his name. In 2002, I moved to Thailand to work as a secondary school teacher and continue my graduate studies. NowI live with my Thai wife in Bangkok where I teach Language Arts and Social Studies at an international school.

2. I’m both a fiction and non-fiction writer

I write both non-fiction and fiction literature. My non-fiction work is designed to entertain and inform my readership in the areas of travel, sports and literature. The short stories I have published so far and the novels I’m working on right now are mostly for my personal entertainment. Also, non-fiction articles bring in real cash and a steady flow of readers to my blog while my fiction has remained my writing-for-the-love affair. However, in the future, I also hope to be able to gain some financial benefits from my fictional literature too.

3. I get my inspiration from… everywhere

Inspiration comes from everywhere: from the newspapers, magazines and books I read; from (in)significant events in my everyday life; and from the conversations I have with the people I end up interacting with. There’s an abundance of things around us that a writer can use as a source of inspiration. All you need to do is keep an open mind, be a good listener and be organized enough to jot down as soon as possible the ideas that cross your mind.

4. I write (almost) every day

I write almost every day, with huge bursts of productivity during my school holidays when I don’t have to go to work. But I do manage to squeeze in at least one hour of writing every weekday, mostly writing non-fiction articles for a Bangkok-based magazine and my blog. These are two sources that bring a steady income and the articles I publish on my blog also attract new readers. I make sure that my website is reader-friendly and easy to browse so that when a new reader lands on my page, he or she can easily have access to both my non-fiction and fiction work. Most of my non-fiction articles are available for free, while my short stories and other works of fiction are available at affordable prices. I usually work on my novels or short stories at the weekends, when I wake up early in the morning and write one or two thousand words on my work in progress. I leave emails, social media and blogging for the afternoon!

5. I (almost) never lose my temper

I am a very patient person and I rarely get angry or lose my temper. I think this character strength of mine has mostly been shaped over the years by my interest in martial arts. I have been practicing aikido, a Japanese martial art, since high school and losing one’s temper goes completely against the philosophy of O-Sensei, the founder of aikido. Also, I am an Olympicstyle archer and archery is a sport of accuracy that requires a high level of concentration and the ability to remain cool in very tense situations.

Voicu Mihnea Simandan is currently on a virtual tour with The Matrix and the Alice Books, an intertextual study that looks at the connection between the scifi movie The Matrix and Lewis Carroll’s books Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.