LOATHING LOLA Review – Magpies October 18, 2008
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William Kostakis, winner of Sydney Morning Herald Young Writer of the Year 2005, has created a witty tale of trust, teenage friendship, school politics, family relationships and teenage love that is propelled by regular humour, satirical characters and loads of drama. Combined with a negative view of reality TV, with which all Big Brother fans will passionately disagree, Loathing Lola will be a popular addition to the mid teen market.
Allison Paterson, September issue of Magpies.
Interview – Teen Blog October 18, 2008
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Okay, so my book’s not only out in Australia, but in New Zealand as well. I was recently interviewed for Wellington City Libraries’ Teen Blog:
Fluff, embellishments & reality TV: an interview with William Kostakis
Where do you get your ideas for writing from?
More often than not, I base my work on personal experiences. Obviously, I embellish and the stories end up completely different to what I based them off, but my personal experiences are my starting points, usually. Take Loathing Lola for instance. It’s about a teenage girl who stars in her own TV show… which has absolutely nothing to do with my life. But if you look at what it started as – a story about someone grieving the death of a loved one – you can see how my personal experience has marked the story (a close friend passed away as I was writing the book). When I’m not writing from personal experience, I’m usually writing to make fun of something (which is where the whole anti-reality TV message came from). For example, when I won Sydney Morning Herald Young Writer of the Year in 2005, one of my stories, Bing Me, was written solely as a way to pay out a friend who was in an internet “relationship”.
For the full interview, click HERE.
Where To Next? October 17, 2008
Posted by William Kostakis in All About William, Random Musings.add a comment
Okay, so after Loathing Lola came out, I said I’d give myself a break to clear my head. By break, I mean, a few months to focus on uni. Well, uni’s more-or-less done for the year next week. Now… what to next?
During this “break”, I plotted a Loathing Lola 2 just to get it out of my system. I didn’t really like it all that much, so, to Loathing Lola‘s tens and tens of fans, don’t worry, no cheap Courtney Marlow and the Temple of the Crystal Skull coming your way in the future. Breathe a sigh of relief.
I plotted another novel, got to writing a bit of it… and I honestly love it, in a totally not up-myself kind of way. I’ve still got to convince the powers that be that decide what’s published and what’s not to love it as much as I do, but I think they will, and I’m sure you guys will see it on shelves within two years, TOPS.
So… then it should be pretty clear, right? What’s next? Writing that novel… right? Well, yeah… but what else? I like to work on two things at once. Writing Loathing Lola, I was thinking about this novel I’ve started writing. So, I should be thinking about other stuff. Another book? A TV show mayhaps? A film? A play?
I’m posing this to YOU. What do you want to see me tackle next? Another horribly offensive article in The Age? A non-sucky sequel to Loathing Lola? Leave me a comment or chuck me an email, I’m all ears.
W.
[UPDATE] I’ve added a poll… fancy much?
[UPDATE #2] Woo, 2 votes for “Retire”.
[UPDATE #3] It was Avril.
Brazilian Avril Fans Discover ME! October 11, 2008
Posted by William Kostakis in All About William, Media Stuff, Random Musings.add a comment
I just thought this was cool enough to share, while Googling myself to avoid starting a uni guessay, I found a reaction my Age article on a Brazilian Avril Lavigne fansite.
For those of you who didn’t catch my article, this is what I had to say about the infinitely manufactured… ahem, I mean talented, Avril Lavigne:
… I had a shot at tweaking my personality, too. Instead of being William who wrote poetry for fun, I could be hardcore rebel punk William, jaded with society, wearing ties over T-shirts and mouthing off like a trucker in interviews because he’s just so misunderstood and unique. You know, sort of what Avril Lavigne did with her choir-girl-turned-sk8r-chick shtick a few years ago.
As sad as it is, it worked for Lavigne. The quality of her music didn’t get her those Grammy nominations, that’s for sure. She had an image, a personality that increased her appeal. That’s what I needed…
I can’t imagine they were too happy when they realised a little-known Australian author with absolutely no influence over the public had taken a cheap swipe at their idol. This was Google’s best attempt to translate the article:
WILLIAM KOSTAKIS CITES AVRIL IN ARTICLE!
The young Australian author, William Kostakis, 19, Avril Lavigne quoted in an article which describes how writing was his first novel, Lola Loathing. [well done so far, Mr Google Translator Man]
Among some unusual comparisons between him and other celebrities, such as Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears and Pete Doherty, says that William could not do poetry to be fun, but as rebellion, is this stretch that he cites our blonde, which states that could ave had similar attitudes to those finds them, how to talk out of the mouth and use ties on top of shirts. [seriously, Google Translator totally works]
… Furthermore, the writer put in doubt the merit of the Canadian singer a Grammy for their appointments, and says she does not conquered by the quality of his music, but by his personality and image. [gender confusion makes for unfortunate hilarity]
… All of us, fans, we know that Avril has an amazing voice and that the quality of your songs is undeniable, but not all who agree with this. [Google, stop taking satellite photos of my house and fix this!]
In response:
I can’t wait until I start receiving hate-mail in Portuguese. Until then… oporto. Yes, it’s the only Portuguese word I know.
LOATHING LOLA Giveaway and LiteraryMinded [PART TWO] October 8, 2008
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Wanna win a signed copy of Loathing Lola? My good friends at Boomerang Books have five autographed copies to give away to the best contributors to their Boomerang Books Facebook Group. So log in and contribute away!
Also, Angela Meyer has just uploaded her Q&A with me on her website:
‘I Wanted to Talk About Being Completely Screwed Over by the Corporate Machine With a Smile on My Face’ – William Kostakis on Loathing Lola
One thing I noticed while reading is that the plot, dialogue and characters were very filmable. Do you think growing up in a visual culture makes it in some way inevitable that you’ll be as influenced by film (and other visual mediums) as by literature? If yes, what are some of your favourite films/directors?
I’m a bigger consumer of television and movies than I am of books, so I guess my writing style reflects that. The novel does have a very visual subject matter – they’re the stars of a reality TV, so it does instantly scream ‘FILM ME!’. Some parts – quite literally – read like a script. As I write, the story plays out in my head like a film. I imagine the camera angles, the editing, and that must influence what’s eventually put on paper.
It’s dialogue-heavy and description-light, simply because as a reader, I used to look at a page of block formatted text made solely of description and want to lynch myself. Don’t get me wrong, some authors can make describing a rock an enjoyable reading experience, but a lot can’t. There’s nothing like that feeling of absolute joy I’d get when I’d turn a page and see the next one is mostly dialogue. It’s fun to read dialogue, and I love writing it, and the result is something that’s quite unique. It’s a movie novel.
That said, there are little details that I don’t think would work as effectively onscreen. Courtney’s inner-monologues are really what define the book, and that’s hard to convey without being voice-over heavy. I wanted to immerse the reader in all things Courtney, and living her thoughts, breathing her opinions was a part of that immersion. Film doesn’t really lend itself to that personalisation. Courtney’s experiences are your own in the novel, whereas if it were a film, you would empathise with her, but she would be a character you saw, not a character you inhabited.
Now, as for movies… I have a theory that I developed my sense of humour from The Addams Family Values. I rewatched it the other day and am both proud and shocked that it was my favourite movie growing up. Other favourites are Superbad, Serial Mom, any Star Wars, The Matrix Reloaded (I’m one of 4 people on the planet who enjoyed it…), V For Vendetta, and anything by Tarantino or Pixar.
To read the interview in full, click HERE.
Celebrity the Mother of Reinvention THEAGE.com.au October 5, 2008
Posted by William Kostakis in All About William, Media Stuff, Random Musings.1 comment so far
Morning all,
For those of you who aren’t in Melbourne, I had an opinion piece printed in The Age today and it’s available online:
Celebrity the mother of reinvention
I HAVE a nose that looks like it’s trying to eat my face. I make no secret of it. My book advance wasn’t generous enough to cover the cost of rhinoplasty. If it had been, I’d have introduced a very different William Kostakis alongside my book. See, that’s the thing about fame — or, at least, being dimly lit by the public spotlight: it wipes the slate clean. Like changing schools or workplace, it gives you a chance to reintroduce yourself, but on a larger scale.
For the full article, click HERE.
LiteraryMinded Reviews LOATHING LOLA October 2, 2008
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I first met Angela “LiteraryMinded” Meyer at the Byron Bay Writers Festival, and she has clearly been under my spell ever since because she’s just posted a great – and by great, I mean incredibly favourable – review of Loathing Lola. For those of you who haven’t heard of Angela, she’s making waves as Editorial Assistant for Bookseller+Publisher magazine and her successful blog LiteraryMinded has just found a new home at Crikey. She’s a sharp, intelligent writer, who will certainly be making a very deep mark on the Australian literary landscape. Here’s what she had to say about Loathing Lola:
Overall, I was highly entertained by the book, and also liked its anti-sensationalist media/TV stance. It’s quite an apt novel to have as an artifact of our times, young Australia in the noughties, and it’s great to see a young voice putting it out there. It is satire, it’s not meant to be life-altering, but it does exactly what it should, and I look forward to a long fiction career for Kostakis, immersed in and reflecting wittily upon his immediate culture.
For the full review, click HERE.
ABR – LOATHING LOLA Review October 2, 2008
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I know… I’ve been slack. But, I’m back to say hey to everyone, to say that I’m well, to say that I’ve been writing, and to say I got reviewed in the October 2008 issue of ABR, Australian Book Review. Big thanks to Danielle Trabsky for such a great review, and an equally large thank you to everyone at ABR, who organised a complimentary copy be sent to me. Here’s a peak of the review for those who don’t subscribe / for those who Google Loathing Lola to see if it’s any bloody good:
Kostakis’ hilarious characters, like Courtney’s tackily clad step-mother Lola, are perhaps the most enjoyable feat of this novel. With witty one-liners similar to Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl series, Loathing Lola is a promising debut from a young and talented Australian writer.
For information on how to subscribe, click HERE to visit the Australian Book Review’s website.
