How do you think moving around a lot as a child has influenced your character and your writing today?
I didn't really move around a lot as a child. In fact, I stayed pretty close to home, even attending college for my undergrad and graduate studies at a local private college. I love my little hometown so much that I currently teach fifth grade at the elementary school I went to (in upstate New York). I think that my sense of family, Italian traditions/upbringing, and an occasional mysterious story about my ancestors (eavesdropped as a child) influenced much of my main character and other characters in both Buried Secrets and One Last Secret.
Are you more of a California or a South Florida girl?
I love California but I'm definitely more of a South Florida girl - and heading there next week!
What challenges did you face while publishing your debut novel Buried Secrets?
My biggest challenge aside from publishing right in the middle of the pandemic was not knowing a lot about the self-publishing world at that time. Buried Secrets was my first novel published and I had so much to learn about marketing and launching a book in addition to making the usual publishing decisions such as book cover, working with an editor, formatting, etc. I felt overwhelmed with all of these decisions and worried about not making the right ones. Thankfully, most of them were right.
How many books do you plan to write in the Ella Perri Mysteries series?
I am currently working on the prequel to this series and had planned to stop there, however, it is possible to add one more, so I would say three to possibly four books in this series.
Your book "Buried Secrets" tells the intriguing tale of Ella Perri. What gave you this idea?
I knew from the start that I wanted my main character to have a strong bond with her grandfather. This bond paralleled my own close connection with my grandfather (although Ella is not meant to be me, only this particular bond and her connection to her family). I wanted Ella to discover a secret from the past that she needed to reveal and this secret had to be given to her by her grandfather just before he passed away. This created an urgency within Ella to find the truth about her family, no matter the consequences.
What is the best part about the mystery genre? Have you ever thought of dabbling with other genres?
The best part of the mystery genre is giving a story layers for the reader to uncover. I think and have experienced that people, in general, are very layered, having multiple thoughts, connections to others, connections to the past. I enjoy creating characters who are slightly flawed and have a few layers to their lives. I like to give them internal as well as external conflicts. I like to provide readers with a few options/scenarios for what might have happened in the story or with a character and I hope they try to uncover the secrets or clues as they read. Even better if they didn't see it coming! Would I dabble with other genres? Sure, but I think it might be hard not to have some mysterious element as a sub-genre.
Who are some of your favourite suspense authors and how have they influenced your own writing?
That is an easy and tough question to answer. Easy because there are many suspense authors I love and that would take up a lot of space! However, there are some specific authors who have influenced my writing style and they are as follows: Agatha Christie, Ruth Ware, Janelle Brown, Lisa Jewel, and Karin Slaughter.
Describe a typical day for you. And then describe what you wish a typical day would be like for you (basically, a day in your dream life).
A typical day for me would include getting up at 6:00 am to get ready for work. Then from 7:30 am until 3:00-4:00 pm (occasional meetings after work) I teach reading and writing to 5th graders. Once I'm home again from roughly 4:00 pm until about 5:30 pm I spend on writing-related tasks (writing my current work in progress, working on book promotion, monitoring ads, etc.) Then it's a quick yoga or treadmill workout, cook dinner and watch a couple of favorite TV series with the family, and off to bed around 10:00 pm. Usually, at that point, if I'm not tired, I will read a book until I fall asleep. My dream life would include: Living in New York with my family in the warmer months and then living in Flordia on the gulf coast somewhere during the winter months. I would get up around 8:00 am, have a cup of coffee with my husband outside in the sun, write short stories and novels from about 9:00 am - 12:00 pm, go out for lunch and a walk. From 2:00 - 4:00 pm, I might read a book, continue with a few smaller writing tasks or take that time to do house/home-related things, spend time with friends, etc. Then make or go out to dinner and watch a movie with a glass of wine (or something like that!) I would definitely double or triple my writing time!
What are some important ways that you think an author can keep their passion for writing alive without letting the greed for money and fame get in the way of their love for writing?
I always keep in mind that writing is something I love to do. It's a passion and a natural part of who I am now. If I were to focus on only the money (and that may take a long time to see), I would have to remind myself that I'm doing this because I love it. I'm doing it for readers who love this genre. It's a different kind of accomplishment. I would tell those authors to refocus on why they started writing in the first place (and hopefully it's not for the money) and ask them to bring their focus back to the passion they had when they first started writing...how they felt, what it meant to them. The money is a bonus, not the end goal. They will set themselves up for disappointment if they solely focus on money.
Do you believe in writer's block? If so, what do you do to tackle and overcome it? If not, why?
Yes, definitely. Sometimes, especially if I'm distracted or something is going on in my life it's very hard to get the words from my mind to the paper. When that happens, I listen to music in the mystery/suspense genre from Youtube or Spotify. I listen to songs that remind me of my story or a character I'm writing about. Sometimes I do a search on Amazon's best-selling mystery/suspense list and see what other authors are doing/writing about in hopes that maybe it will spark an idea or motivate me to get back to my story. Other times, I'll do a ten-minute yoga or meditation to clear the clutter from my mind.
Are you a "re-reader" or are you a "read-it-once-and-I'm done" person?
I am a read-it-once-and-I'm-done person. I've only re-read a book once or twice in my life.
What are your plans for the future as a writer? Are you working on anything new?
I plan to write as much as possible. I'm hoping to write a few more short stories, possibly do a multi-author project and write a few more series and a few stand-alones primarily in the mystery/suspense/thriller/crime genres. Currently, I am working on a prequel to the Ella Perri Mystery Series and that is taking up a lot of my time. I am also continuing to write more short stories and looking to have them published in literary journals. I will also continue to take writing classes and connect with other authors in a few different writing circles.
Finally, do you have any input on AllAuthor and its services? What could we do to make this platform a better experience for all authors that decide to join?
I really love what AllAuthor provides for their authors. I especially like the tweets, the tools we can utilize to create mock-ups, GIFs, create our own tweets, follow authors, and get followers. I love the Featured book service too and of course, Customer service is top-notch. Have you ever thought about offering authors help with advertisements/creating ads, or offering discount deals to authors on special services such as Featured books or something like that? Thank you for all you do!!
