Today we talk about Autumn Earthquake, a book by Ayhan Gorgulu published with our Publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author, Ayhan Gorgulu, to get to know her better, what particular moment of her life led her to the writing of her novel Autumn Earthquake, as well as if there is a book she is particularly attached to and that has taught her something.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- Is there a particular moment in your life that led you to the writing of your novel? What was it?
Yes, I believe there was. There was a time when everything seemed to collapse at once — both within and around me. I lost things — people, emotions, trust. On the outside, life appeared calm, but inside there was a constant tremor, a quiet restlessness I couldn’t silence. One evening, while sitting in complete stillness, I realized that this silence wanted to speak — and Autumn Earthquake was born from that moment. For me, this novel became a form of confrontation — with myself, and with the fragile nature of being human. Sometimes life brings us to a point where all the aftershocks of the past return, one by one. I chose to write them instead of carrying them. Because if I didn’t, they would remain inside me — but if I did, maybe they would touch someone else. Autumn Earthquake is not a story about destruction; it’s about rebirth that comes after it. For me, it wasn’t just a novel — it was a way of healing.
- What would you say is the best audience of your book?
I didn’t write this novel for a specific age group or profession, but for people who recognize a certain feeling —those who have felt something quietly shift within them, who have faced loss but couldn’t fully name it, who have learned to live with silence or who stand at the edge of a new beginning. Autumn Earthquake speaks to people who appear strong on the outside but carry fractures within — those who have lived their own inner earthquakes. Yet if I were to define a certain audience, it would mostly be urban, middle-class, secular, and educated readers. Because the novel’s language, its subtext, and the inner questioning of its characters tend to resonate more deeply with people who grew up within that world’s dynamics — those with emotional awareness and intellectual curiosity. Still, I care less about who the reader is and more about what they feel. If someone, while reading this book, touches a silent tremor inside themselves — then that person is already my reader.
- What would you like to hear from them?
What I would love to hear most is that they found a trace of themselves somewhere in the novel —
in a feeling, in a sentence, or even in a silence. While writing Autumn Earthquake, I tried to reach that universal part of being human — the fragile yet resilient side we all carry within us. When a reader says, “I was there, somewhere in this story,” that is the most meaningful response an author can receive. If someone remembers their own tremors, feels an emotion they had long forgotten, or perhaps finds a way to forgive — then the book has already done what it was meant to do. For me, writing is a form of connection. If my words can open even a small space in someone’s heart, if just one line can make a person feel a little less alone, then Autumn Earthquake has already found its purpose.
- Is there a book you are particularly attached to and that has taught you something?
Yes, there is. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera has always been a special book for me. When I first read it, I felt as if I wasn’t just reading a novel but looking into a mirror that reflected the complexity of the human soul. Kundera taught me that both the weight and the lightness of life are equally valuable — that we exist somewhere between those two extremes.It showed me that fragility is not a weakness, but a form of depth. At the same time, Aylin by Ayşe Kulin left a deep impression on me. Although it is based on a true story, its emotional intensity and the inner conflicts of its main character resonate closely with Autumn Earthquake. Both novels explore the invisible tremors of life — the search for identity, belonging, and meaning through the eyes of a woman. I think these two books taught me something essential: that what defines us is not the earthquakes we go through, but the silence that follows them.
- Are you working on a new writing project you can tell us about?
Yes, in fact, I’m working on two projects that continue the journey which began with Autumn Earthquake. The first one is Bio Therapy, a novel that was born from the emotional wounds opened in Autumn Earthquake. It is, in a sense, a story of healing — about the restoration of the human spirit, the power of forgiveness, and the courage to rebuild one’s inner balance. Bio Therapy represents the second stage of that emotional evolution: if Autumn Earthquake revealed the fracture, Bio Therapy explores how we learn to live with it. This novel is now complete and currently in the editing process. The second project is Global Citizen Platform, which I’m writing at the moment. This work moves from the personal to the collective — from inner tremors to humanity’s shared fractures. It’s set in a world where technology, identity, and conscience are being redefined, and it asks how humanity can rebuild itself in the midst of its own creations. For me, these two novels complete a continuum: from the personal earthquake, to emotional recovery, and finally, to a global transformation.
Europe Books thanks the author, Ayhan Gorgulu, once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside her on the editorial path that led to the publication of her book Autumn Earthquake. We wish her the best of luck for her future works.
To you, my readers, may reading this book generate resonances within you with your “self” and allow you to connect with your emotions and, if dormant, to recover and relive them as a precious treasure to be preserved for your life.
So, my dear readers, all I have to say is to enjoy your reading!
Your editor!