Expat author Inna Rothmann has just released a poetry collection called Multiversed, inspired by themes as diverse as expat life, search for life purpose and quantum physics. Read on to find out how this one-time teacher from Moldova became a poet in Dubai.
Please tell us a bit about your early career.
I was born in Moldova, a small country of 3.5 million. My very first job after university was teaching Spanish and art at an international school of just 30 students. At this early age, I built my first friendships with expat people – our small staff was like a family.
After six years, I wanted to progress my career and to work with adults. I found a job as a country director with an international organization that worked on a financial inclusion project for Moldova. My British boss lived in Thailand, we worked remotely, and we didn’t have an office, so I moved from bank to bank to check on staff and teach people how to manage finances. I loved it.
When did you leave Moldova?
Over the years, I travelled a lot, and I met my husband-to-be on a trip in Turkey. He was South African, so we had to compromise on where to live. When he got a job offer in Dubai, we became an expat family.
I gave up teaching and financial consulting and went on a Dubai spouse visa. We agreed it would be better for me to explore other opportunities rather than find a local job. My husband was supporting me wholeheartedly, so I had free time to figure out my future career plans and aspirations.
How did you fill the time?
I became a copy writer, because I could do it remotely. All I needed was a laptop and an internet connection. I’ve probably written 1500 articles for different magazines on beauty and fashion, analytics, and even gambling, a whole range of topics. In doing this, I realized how much I liked writing. As a child I used to write poems and stories, and years later, this interest came back.
I also took different courses, varying from self-development to quantum physics and poetry. I even attended Arabic courses in person. The poetry class was led by a talented and enthusiastic poet who inspired me to start writing poetry. I enjoyed the process and continued creating after the course finished. I ended up with more than 100 poems and then forgot about them for a few years. When I came back to them recently, I turned them into a book.
Can you please share the blurb for Multiversed?
Multiversed is a poetry collection of everything life. It is an entanglement of dreams and reality, science and angels, love and betrayal, fake and honesty, finding roots and traveling the world – all creating infinite universes with unlimited possibilities. This empowering book is for those who believe everything happens for a reason and there is more to the world than what we see with our eyes.
The book was inspired by the wonderfully unexplainable quantum physics, which predicts very strange things about how matter works.
These poems will encourage self-reflection, empower you to love yourself, and find strength and beauty in yourself.
Anything is possible, including fallen angels.
How did your course in quantum physics influenced your work?
I found it fascinating how quantum physics, a scientific subject, borders mysticism, sci-fi, and things beyond our understanding of a physical world. It doesn’t even read like traditional science, like, for instance, objects existing in multiple states at once, black holes evaporating with time, and matter behaving in strange ways.
Who did the illustrations in the book?
I hired a talented artist, Mina Rakic, from a freelance worker jobsite. She was from Serbia. It’s fascinating that in this age, the world is so close, despite lockdowns and restriction, you can work with people from all over.
How has your book been received so far?
Since publication, one month ago, reception so far has been quite good. I don’t do major promotion. My major channel is an Instagram account of around 1000 followers. People, particularly women’s club members, have asked for signed copies. They say everyone is moving to digital, but I’ve noticed that everyone wants to own a physical book. I’ve ordered copies and will organize a book launch. I’m also lucky, I have a friend in PR.
Tell me about your previous books?
When we were sitting in lockdown, my very good friend, Irina Sirbu, came up with the idea for a Covid book about people like expats and migrants, which became Surviving Covid-19 in a Foreign Land: Stories of Expats and Migrants Around the World. Nobody talked about what it was like to be in a home away from home in this time, and we wanted the voices of expats and migrants to be heard.
Working on this book helped me and my co-author get through the beginning of 2020, when Covid had just started, and people lived in fear and hoped that it would be finished soon. This project helped us to feel a connection to the rest of the world, helped us understand that we’re all in the same boat.
Can you tell us a little about Cleaning the Closet: How a New Style Can Change Your Lifestyle?
This was my first attempt at self-publishing to find out how it all worked. I compiled the beauty and lifestyle articles from when I was a copywriter. The book is quite bad, everything from the topic and the way I’ve put the words together to the artwork is horrible. I think it’s important for the authors to admit our mistakes, as it helps us improve. Later, when I wanted to pull it down, I realized you can’t take print versions off Amazon. Once it’s is up there, it’s there forever. Now, it’s sitting there as a reminder to be careful what you publish.
Do you have any tips for authors?
Think twice, thrice, ten times before you publish. Start with an e-book and see how that looks, then if you’re 100% confident, do the paperback.
Hire a personal assistant or a publisher, or work with someone who knows the industry, because the admin and paperwork around the release took so much time – editing and formatting are very time consuming. I’m a patient and organized person, but for many creative people it would be off-putting.
What next?
I think I’ll start writing and see where my imagination takes me. Maybe a collection of short stories, then I’ll have covered all areas: literature, academic, poetry.
You can follow Inna on:
Insta: uncoverthisworld
You can find Multiversed on any online bookstore, see Australian Amazon here.
Next time: Enni Amanda on Sex, Religion and Politics in Hidden Gem
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