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Vassilis Taouxis

5/5 ( ratings)
About Vassilis Taouxis

Vassilis Taouxis was born in a tiny village in Cyprus named Mitsero, which means little temple. Growing up, he recalls helping with the animals on the family farm. His father expected him to continue this work into adulthood and eventually take over the running of the farm himself, but Vassilis' teacher envisioned something else. He saw Vassilis as a future teacher and writer and encouraged him accordingly. The teacher would often give him extra books and asked him to promise to never stop writing and this is a promise he has kept to this day.

After graduating from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece, Vassilis began work teaching in various schools in Cyprus and Greece. Years later, he travelled to London as a member of the Greek Educational Mission, where he taught the Greek language to both children and adults in Greek Community Schools. Throughout this period, he also wrote articles for newspapers and magazines and occasionally presented programs on London Greek Radio.

After attending a series of literature and creative writing seminars in London, he decided to travel and focused on being a full-time author—following in the footsteps of the ancient Greek travel writer Pausanias. He visited many countries, often staying for long periods to more fully explore their different traditions, cultures, customs and religions, all while continuing to work on a trilogy of fantasy novels he wanted to complete.

During a stay in London one rainy afternoon, he decided to go to his local library to edit the final volume of his trilogy. He was busy working when a young Iranian man entered the reading room and sat next to him. He looked curiously at Vassilis' work and asked him what he was writing about.
Vassilis explained that he was working a fantasy novel.
"Why a fantasy novel and not a real one?" He asked.
"I like to let my imagination extend beyond the real world ", Vassilis replied. "But if I was captivated by a true story, I would write about it too".
"Then you can write about my story" he said.

Vassilis was intrigued by his proposition, so they went to the coffee area where the man started telling him about a particularly challenging period in his life. Vassilis was so fascinated by the man's story that he decided to write a novel about it there and then.

However, there was one major problem—he had never travelled to Iran and knew very little about the country. Vassilis began researching and learning about Iran, including the country's religion, history, geography, culture and traditions. He watched Iranian documentaries, read Iranian newspapers and scoured the internet. And it was during his research that he came across an article that shocked him—the Iranian authorities had executed a sixteen year old girl for what sounded like fairly trivial reasons and he couldn't get it out of his mind.
As a father of two daughters of similar ages to the executed girl, it had such a deeply profound effect on him, that he decided to write a novel about it and prioritise it over all his other work. He stopped editing his fantasy novels and postponed writing the story of the young Iranian man. Instead he typed into his computer the title: "Virgins go to Heaven ".

Three years later it was published in Greek and reviewed on one of the main Television channels in Cyprus, along with an interview with the author. It took a further two years for the novel to be translated and published in English. It is Vassilis' first published novel. The book he intends to publish next – the story recounted to him by the Iranian man he met at the library – has also been completed and is in the process of being translated into English.

Vassilis Taouxis

5/5 ( ratings)
About Vassilis Taouxis

Vassilis Taouxis was born in a tiny village in Cyprus named Mitsero, which means little temple. Growing up, he recalls helping with the animals on the family farm. His father expected him to continue this work into adulthood and eventually take over the running of the farm himself, but Vassilis' teacher envisioned something else. He saw Vassilis as a future teacher and writer and encouraged him accordingly. The teacher would often give him extra books and asked him to promise to never stop writing and this is a promise he has kept to this day.

After graduating from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece, Vassilis began work teaching in various schools in Cyprus and Greece. Years later, he travelled to London as a member of the Greek Educational Mission, where he taught the Greek language to both children and adults in Greek Community Schools. Throughout this period, he also wrote articles for newspapers and magazines and occasionally presented programs on London Greek Radio.

After attending a series of literature and creative writing seminars in London, he decided to travel and focused on being a full-time author—following in the footsteps of the ancient Greek travel writer Pausanias. He visited many countries, often staying for long periods to more fully explore their different traditions, cultures, customs and religions, all while continuing to work on a trilogy of fantasy novels he wanted to complete.

During a stay in London one rainy afternoon, he decided to go to his local library to edit the final volume of his trilogy. He was busy working when a young Iranian man entered the reading room and sat next to him. He looked curiously at Vassilis' work and asked him what he was writing about.
Vassilis explained that he was working a fantasy novel.
"Why a fantasy novel and not a real one?" He asked.
"I like to let my imagination extend beyond the real world ", Vassilis replied. "But if I was captivated by a true story, I would write about it too".
"Then you can write about my story" he said.

Vassilis was intrigued by his proposition, so they went to the coffee area where the man started telling him about a particularly challenging period in his life. Vassilis was so fascinated by the man's story that he decided to write a novel about it there and then.

However, there was one major problem—he had never travelled to Iran and knew very little about the country. Vassilis began researching and learning about Iran, including the country's religion, history, geography, culture and traditions. He watched Iranian documentaries, read Iranian newspapers and scoured the internet. And it was during his research that he came across an article that shocked him—the Iranian authorities had executed a sixteen year old girl for what sounded like fairly trivial reasons and he couldn't get it out of his mind.
As a father of two daughters of similar ages to the executed girl, it had such a deeply profound effect on him, that he decided to write a novel about it and prioritise it over all his other work. He stopped editing his fantasy novels and postponed writing the story of the young Iranian man. Instead he typed into his computer the title: "Virgins go to Heaven ".

Three years later it was published in Greek and reviewed on one of the main Television channels in Cyprus, along with an interview with the author. It took a further two years for the novel to be translated and published in English. It is Vassilis' first published novel. The book he intends to publish next – the story recounted to him by the Iranian man he met at the library – has also been completed and is in the process of being translated into English.

Books from Vassilis Taouxis

Virgins Go To Heaven: A Novel

0/5 ( ratings)
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