{"id":715,"date":"2018-01-11T00:15:39","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T22:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/127.1.0.0\/WP\/wordpress_ne1\/?p=715"},"modified":"2018-05-06T13:04:01","modified_gmt":"2018-05-06T11:04:01","slug":"lara-paukovic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newedgemagazine.com\/index.php\/lara-paukovic\/","title":{"rendered":"Lara Paukovi\u010d"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s almost every bookworm\u2019s dream when growing up, to one day walk into your local bookshop and see your very own book sitting on the shelf, nestled between the works of some of your favourite authors. For Lara Paukovi\u010d that dream became a reality when her debut novel, <\/span>Poletje v gostilni<\/span><\/i>, was published by one of Slovenia\u2019s leading publishing agencies Beletrina and is now being read by young and old alike all over the country. For the twenty-four year old, who\u2019s currently working on her master\u2019s degree in anglistics and comparative literature, the dream of having her own book had been alive since she was a little girl and she never gave up on it. She laughs when she remembers her first writing endeavours, a big historical fiction novel she\u2019d started in primary school. \u201cIt was terribly cheesy and I\u2019d gotten all the facts wrong of course! I\u2019d even sent it to a publishing agency but never heard from them.\u201d She kept writing throughout high school and even finished two novels as a teenager, which had never been fated to become actual books. \u201c<\/span>Poletje v gostilni <\/span><\/i>is the first novel of mine that I\u2019d really thought out and took more seriously. I was determined to finish it and get it published. Looking back on all my previous writing endeavours and comparing them to it, I have to say I\u2019ve progressed immensely as far as my writing\u2019s concerned.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Her first big step into the field of Slovenian literature happened when she\u2019d joined the team of Koridor \u2013 kri\u017ei\u0161\u010da umetnosti, a cultural platform where she\u2019s been the literature editor for the past three years. \u201cAs an editor I had to \u2013 and I still have to \u2013 be in a constant contact with different publishing agencies; I attended a lot of different cultural events with the team and met many and more writers of all generations. And I\u2019m very grateful for all that this work has given me.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The inspiration for her first novel came from working in a Serbian restaurant herself \u2013 that was where she\u2019d picked up the setting from, but the novel\u2019s not autobiographical in any way. \u201cMost of the characters and events that happen in the book are completely fictional. \u201c When asked about the challenges and obstacles she\u2019d faced while writing the book, her answer is time to write. \u201cIt\u2019s something I struggle with to this day. One of the struggles was also picking out relevant advice from the people who had been reading the book while it was being written, realizing what applied and what would help the book evolve. There\u2019d also been obstacles in the form of a writer\u2019s block, when I\u2019d go for weeks without writing anything coherent and I had no idea how and where to lead the story from a certain point on; or underwhelming comments from different people. Until your work is published, people are always a bit reserved and sceptical towards writing. \u2018Are you sure you want to do this, I mean the novel has potential, but\u2026\u2019 \u2013 I\u2019ve heard it all. But if you\u2019re focused and have a goal in mind, these obstacles become completely irrelevant.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Publishing a novel, especially a debut one, comes with attention \u2013 not just from those that surround you on a daily basis, but from the media as well. And if there\u2019s one thing that Lara\u2019s learned from the whole experience, it\u2019s who\u2019s genuine in showing their support and who isn\u2019t. \u201cSome people just respond badly to the attention you\u2019re given when you become a published author.\u201d As far as her book and writing experience are concerned, she wouldn\u2019t change a single thing. \u201cI\u2019d perfected the book to the point where I was certain that I couldn\u2019t add or take away anything anymore, I released it into the world and the rest is out of my control,\u201d she laughs. <\/span><\/p>\n

As far as the future\u2019s concerned, she plans to start working on her second work of literature this summer and will be finishing up her master\u2019s degree in her upcoming final year at college. \u201cI want to primarily dedicate my life to literature and see where the road takes me.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

And does she have a motto? \u201cIt would have to be the saying that I\u2019ve got tattooed on my arm \u2013 panta rhei, \u2018all flows\u2019. The way I interpret it is that everything flows, everything changes and everything passes. So there\u2019s really no use in stressing out about the things that we aren\u2019t in control of.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Text: Maja Podojster\u0161ek; Photo: Lara Paukovi\u010d; Portrait: Manca Kocjan\u010di\u010d<\/span><\/p>\n