She started dreaming poems, yes, dreaming them. Also known by her pan name Rose Merrin, Rositsa Dobreva has published poetry books, animation scripts, children’s books and she is currently writing a historical novel. Rositsa is part of our #SutherlandStrong Polish team at the Hilton program. She is one of those people for whom the spiritual aspect of life leads their way. Rossy, successfully combines her writing and work journey 3 years already at Sutherland. Thank you, Rossy, for being an inspiration!
Sutherland: Hi Rossy, tell us about your career as a writer. How did it start?
Rositsa: It was unexpected. I started dreaming poems. I used to get up at night to write them down. Then I realized I was to write. Later I decided to publish those poems. Since then, I have tried different genres and since each of them offers new challenges, it is always interesting. The short forms are easier to handle but they require witty endings and mastery. I learned this when I tried to write scripts for short animation movies. Longer genres, such as the novels, require a lot of thinking, planning, and organization.
S: Tell us about your books. What are they about?
R: I have tried my hand at poems, scripts, children’s books, and currently I am writing a historical novel. Not to mention the dozens of essays and academic works I have written during my long academic life. My children’s books, the Sylphs series, have been published in Bulgarian by Ecrier publishing house and in English by Zographic Films. You can find them in Bulgarian in the bookstores and at ecrier.bg, while the English version is on Amazon UK under my pen name Rose Merrin. The Sylphs are air spirits that live in the clouds. Their main task is to maintain love and understanding in the world of people by directing their thoughts.
One of the short animation scripts which I have written is about a silly salamander who copies everyone else just to find out in the end that this could cost him his life. It is a funny and cute story which will be in production into a short animation movie by Zographic Films soon. I am working on other scripts as well, among which The Sylphs in a feature animation. The biggest project of mine is a historical novel which I am currently writing. 170 pages written. Maybe another 100 to go. It takes a lot of time and research – years on end.
S: Give us a sneak peek into the book you are currently writing.
R: This is something special for me which I am putting a lot of soul in. It is about the life of a girl who lives in the 17th century Netherlands. A mix of pictures from the Golden Age of the Republic appear, among which colonization, paintings, culture, lavishness, but also loneliness, death, unfulfilled love, and above all fear which steers her to become a prostitute.
S: What is your next goal as a writer?
R: I have another idea for a historical novel which involves famous historical figure, related to Bulgaria. I will sure try my hand at a bigger fantasy project. I have to publish the next parts of the Sylphs series and maybe establish my own publishing brand.
S: How did you find out about and why did you join Sutherland?
R: I joined Sutherland when moving to Sofia over three years ago. I had found the job offer at jobs.bg and the company was very quick to make me an offer and the relocation package was very helpful. I have to say I was lucky and it was the right thing for me. We actually do not realize that before things evolve. Home office gives me more spare time for writing and for my personal matters.
S: Tell us about your position and your project.
R: My project is very pleasant. I am working with Polish language. Poles are very nice and kind. I am helping people and usually there are no complications which is a big plus for having a piece of mind left for writing. Also working from home helps save a lot of time. Usually, I can work on the short genres for several hours before or after work or on the weekends. The long genres require more time, concentration, and research so I usually make bigger leaps in the summer when I take longer time off.
S: Is being a writer a good combination with your current job at Sutherland?
R: The greatest help is to know you can rely on my manager when I need some flexibility on my schedule. Another great thing is that the project gives me a lot of comfort and ease. Thanks to the efforts of my team and my team leader I am able to be on this path. I am very thankful. I would like to extend my warmest gratitude to my team leader Elina Toteva for supporting me through my writing and my work journey. Combining anything as a working mother is tough but when you have people who help, also my mother and father, God bless them, then you can follow your dreams.
S: What do you like about your job and your team at Sutherland?
R: I like the fact that everyone is very helpful and that even from home, we work as a team. We do our best to make clients happy. It is very important that my project has provided us with all necessary tools for that. We also get great perks, and we are encouraged to test our product in order to get to know it thoroughly and to share our experience with our clients.