Last month, USA Today Bestselling Author Kathryn Gauci released her 15th book and first memoir. An Aegean Odyssey: A Memoir follows her return to Greece in 2005. She’d lived there in the 1970s and visited occasionally. But this trip was about more than returning to her favorite places. It was about chasing a dream to become a writer.
Author Kathryn Gauci
Born in Leicestershire, UK, Gauci enjoyed a three-decades-long career as a carpet and textile designer, a vocation that allowed her to live and work in places like Vienna and Athens. From 1972-1978, she worked at Anatolia Carpets, which at the time was the largest carpet manufacturer in Greece.
“It was wonderful,” Gauci said. “But all I knew about Greece to that point was about Ancient Greece. I thought I’d stay for a year, but I loved it, and the owners were pleased with my work and asked me to stay on.”
Living in Greece
Anatolia Carpets was located in Neo Ionia/Kalogreza, in suburban Athens, a neighborhood populated by Asia Minor refugees. “Through them I learned about the Asia Minor Catastrophe and the Burning of Smyrna. I became fascinated with modern Greek history.”
Gauci lived in Kypseli, near the Athens Polytechnic. “I witnessed the events leading up to the night the tanks rolled in. Several students were killed. I watched it all unfold. And I remember when the Junta fell, there was so much optimism.” Walking in famous footsteps, she became fascinated with World War II history. “I lived a few streets from where the Resistance leader Lela Karagianni operated her network. I had to learn as much as I could.” These experiences stayed with her, and later, shaped the stories she would tell.
She and her former husband ended up relocating to New Zealand. But Greece never left her thoughts—or her heart. She returned for subsequent visits. And spent the next 20+ years working as a carpet designer, and for 15 years owned and operated her own textile studio in Melbourne.
Time for a change
After nearly 30 years in the carpet and textile industry, things were changing. Many companies closed or moved offshore. And her passion for this work waned. “I sought another love that would give me that surge of adrenaline again. Then I thought about becoming a writer. I could be creative, travel, study history and culture – it checked all the boxes. But what would I do? How would I start? Greece called to me. I’d felt so at home there. I didn’t know what to do but knew Greece would show me the way.”
Gauci set out solo on her personal odyssey and stayed two months. “I began searching for the Old-World Greece that I knew when I lived there. It’s quickly disappearing these days. And I had hoped to tap into the spirit of Nikos Kazantzakis, Lord Byron, Patrick Leigh Fermor, and Henry Miller, among others.”
She visited old friends and the places she had lived and worked. Then set out for the islands, including Chios, Crete, Karpathos, Lesbos, and Rhodes.
Becoming an author
Back at home, she typed her copious notes but didn’t feel the time was right. “I didn’t know why, though I later realized that I was looking for history and characters that ignited my love for historical fiction.” Less than two years later, she began penning her first novel, The Embroiderer (Ebony Publishing, 2014). The book weaves together her experiences as a carpet and textile designer, living in Greece, traveling, and more.
Today she is the award-winning, bestselling author of 15 books. While she’s best known for her historical fiction set in Greece, Austria, Italy, and Turkey, An Aegean Odyssey is her first memoir.
AN AEGEAN ODYSSEY is Kathryn Gauci's 15th book--and 1st memoir
Kathryn Gauci's 'Odyssey' revealed
Now with experience as an author, and some years of distance, the timing felt right to revisit the fateful trip that ignited her writing career. “I could now look at that journey more objectively and professionally, and through fresh eyes.” Gauci is glad she waited.
“When I made that journey, although my main aim was to become a writer, it was to find the old life I’d experienced in the 1970s. Memoirs offer an intimate connection with real human experiences and I was fortunate enough to interact with a generation of people who, in many cases, are no longer with us, particularly the Asia Minor refugees. These people helped shape modern Greece and yet many of their stories are unrecorded. They were storytellers to me. Each had a unique story, and every life can teach us some lessons. I never forgot their stories, and I didn’t want those stories to die.”
Preparing Odyssey for its publishing voyage made her further realize that the timing was right. “Over the past few years there has been a big emphasis on women finding a new meaning in life. Many now travel alone or are no longer in relationships, and exploring something different can revitalize you. It’s exciting. I made the leap into the unknown at a time when many think about retirement--that word isn’t in my vocabulary. I was revitalized.” She found it cathartic to write about her past life. It also gave her the opportunity to slow down and reflect on her own past and future.
More stories
Revisiting her life changing odyssey has further inspired her. “It’s made me want to go back and explore more of Greece’s history and traditions, but in other regions. I already know where I’ll go and where I’ll focus. And one thing is for certain; I’ll share my experiences with you again.”
Gauci is currently working on her next historical novel, set in WWII Malta. Then more stories set in Greece.
An Aegean Odyssey: A Memoir is available now. For more information about Kathryn Gauci and her work, visit https://www.kathryngauci.com/.
Read more:
Author Shelley Dark Chased Down a Greek Pirate in a Life-changing Adventure
Sally Jane Smith’s New Travel Memoir Takes Us Back to Greece
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