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At the age of four, Constantine Argiropoulos emigrated to Canada with his mother and five older brothers. He spent his adolescent years on Napier Street located in of Toronto. He graduated from Riverdale Collegiate Institute high school and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Toronto. After university, he completed a Bachelor of Education degree with a primary level teaching certificate. He pivoted to the Financial Services sector working as a Commercial Insurance Underwriter completing courses to hold an Associate Insurance Institute of Canada designation. During his time at university, he met students who enjoyed playing musical instruments. Together they formed a band and played rock music live at cozy venues. He continues to play drums and enjoys jamming with fellow musicians.
Creative writing is an activity Constantine has engaged in with enthusiasm. He has a handwritten diary he kept from his teenage years. Writing poetry was the beginning, an avenue to express his emotions. At high school, he participated in a literary presentation by student writers. He read out some of his poems to the student/teacher audience. At University, his poems were published in the student newsletter. He experimented with ‘stream-of-consciousness’ writing. The technique places no boundaries on an idea and allows a person’s imagination to roam freely, capturing striking images. These early writings, poetry, pages written for a novel were the seeds for his future career as an author. Like writers around the globe, Constantine felt that illusive push to write a novel. Where to start the project? We all have memories of our childhood. He reflected on his unique, colorful upbringing on Napier Street: the lower working-class environment brought back a crush of memories. He remembered the untamed adventures he had with his friends. They became the nucleus for his book. He wrote down the events and used his writing talent to length the notes into connecting chapters. The book was born. He titled it 18 Napier Street. Constantine decided to kick off his writing career by investing in himself. He chose a Canadian, employee-owned company to self-publish the book through FriesenPress located in Victoria, British Columbia. The company offers a variety of options to self-publish. Working with a team of dedicated publishing professionals, he was guided through the various steps of self-publishing. During the exciting process, he made direct decisions, about every aspect of the book. That is the key advantage of self-publishing; the author has control over the final product. An artist was commissioned to produce the original work on the front cover. Finally, the time arrived for the actual printing of the first proof copy of the book. He opened the package and was with thrilled with the results! Holding the book in his hands, he knew he made a good decision to self-publish. Eager to continue momentum, Constantine is busy writing his next book, a fiction murder mystery. The setting is Toronto, the year 2009. The plan is to have it finished and in the hands of readers in 2021. |
