Marie Fostino
I am doing a Promotional Blog with a few indie authors, so enjoy all the author interviews and soon the books we are talking about should be available for your pleasure to read.
Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing:
What is the working title of your book? Grandma’s Journal: Lessons of Love
Where did the idea come from for the book? Most of my books come from real life instances and I re-write them into fiction romance stories. This idea is about the time when my husband and I were having marital problems and I filed for a divorce. I went to see my pastor who gave me some good advice and we are still married now for 38yrs. I hope this book is intense enough to keep the reader reading until the end and then think about their marriage and how to
improve it.
What genre does your book fall under? Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Dianna
Keaton, Susan Saran, Katie Holmes, Julia Roberts for some of the female
roles. Sean Penn, Richard Gere,
George Clooney.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? “If you want love to stay you have to work on it, not just throw it away because you don’t see eye to eye.”
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I am not real sure yet. I have sent out queries so time will tell.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? Maybe about a month.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson. It is not the same since his is about a woman who discovers the truth about a former lover from a diary from his first wife. Mine is about a secret of disloyalty between grandparents and how the issue got solved.
Who or What inspired you to write this book? My husband and his love for me inspired me to write this book. About 23 years ago is when I filed for a divorce and thought I was a failure in life and love. It was the words of my pastor that brought love back into my heart along with forgiveness. We re-said our vows even though we didn’t get a divorce and I never cried so hard. As I watch my children in their own marriages, I think we became a role model and decided that this would make a good book if written correctly without preaching.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? Even though this book is fiction, it is real life and could happen to you.
Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing:
What is the working title of your book? Grandma’s Journal: Lessons of Love
Where did the idea come from for the book? Most of my books come from real life instances and I re-write them into fiction romance stories. This idea is about the time when my husband and I were having marital problems and I filed for a divorce. I went to see my pastor who gave me some good advice and we are still married now for 38yrs. I hope this book is intense enough to keep the reader reading until the end and then think about their marriage and how to
improve it.
What genre does your book fall under? Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Dianna
Keaton, Susan Saran, Katie Holmes, Julia Roberts for some of the female
roles. Sean Penn, Richard Gere,
George Clooney.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? “If you want love to stay you have to work on it, not just throw it away because you don’t see eye to eye.”
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I am not real sure yet. I have sent out queries so time will tell.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? Maybe about a month.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson. It is not the same since his is about a woman who discovers the truth about a former lover from a diary from his first wife. Mine is about a secret of disloyalty between grandparents and how the issue got solved.
Who or What inspired you to write this book? My husband and his love for me inspired me to write this book. About 23 years ago is when I filed for a divorce and thought I was a failure in life and love. It was the words of my pastor that brought love back into my heart along with forgiveness. We re-said our vows even though we didn’t get a divorce and I never cried so hard. As I watch my children in their own marriages, I think we became a role model and decided that this would make a good book if written correctly without preaching.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? Even though this book is fiction, it is real life and could happen to you.
Melodie Ramone
Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big
Thing
:revenge-of-the-ginger.blogspot.com
What is the working title of your book? After Forever Ends
Where did the idea come from for the book?
The book is largely based on my own experiences in life. It was written over the course of a bitterly cold New York winter when my family was struggling emotionally and financially in every way possible. We were living in a home with a family who had opened their arms to us or we’d have been homeless, as my husband had lost his job earlier in the year and our savings was gone. It was so cold, that’s what stands out most in my mind, and I was truly afraid for the future. I had a bedroom I shared with both my daughters and an old, rickety laptop. My husband had gotten a job in Phoenix and had left for a few months to set us up before we followed, so I was lonely and deeply depressed. One night he phoned me and told me I needed to start writing again. He dared me to write a love story. I’d never written one. In fact, I hadn’t written anything in a few years. But I started anyway, in my bed huddled under an old blue blanket. I
found myself, at first, just telling a short story of a relationship, but soon I was reaching really far back into my life. I didn’t realize at the time that so many of the situations were stemming from my own experience or that the characters that kept emerging were people I had known in real life. I guess I was vulnerable, because I got so deep into my psyche that real life events and conversations began to make their way onto the pages. I began to feel a release and the more I wrote the stronger it became until I suddenly had a very intense, very beautiful piece of work in front of me.
What genre does your book fall under? It’s definitely Contemporary Fiction, although I must admit that it has heavy romantic overtones. I’d almost put it into the Romance genre, except it’s not just a love story. It is definitely a LIFE story. It also has elements of the paranormal in it and even hits on some Science Fiction in an off-handed way. No space ships or anything, just some concepts from the fringe of Physics. Time existing outside of time, life after life, and so forth.
Simple answer? Contemporary Fiction. Complex one? Re-read the ramble above. haha
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? That’s such a funny question because I’ve had people actually suggest to me who should play whom. Personally, I’d LOVE to see Kate Winslet play Silvia. She’d be brilliant! But then again, she’s always brilliant. Whoever played Silvia would HAVE to be able to speak with an authentic Scottish Highlander accent, though. There is an American soap opera actress called Melissa Archer who resembles Silvia greatly. She’d physically be perfect for the role. But I just love Mandy Moore and I know she could do it, too. Other than that? I’m not sure. Somebody who looks good with red hair!
Oliver and Alexander are identical twins, so it might be harder to cast them, unless somebody wanted to play both roles. Physically speaking? That’s really tough. They’re both exceptionally tall, athletic, dark haired and dark eyed. Handsome. Of Egyptian-Welsh descent. There is a Welsh actor by the name of Tom Ellis who bears a resemblance and who has the chops to pull them off. I’d have to go with him, but if you have any suggestions, let me know and I’ll tell the casting director when the time comes. Haha.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Untangling the complex web of her life, Silvia reveals the truths that exist in an ancient wood, unravels the secrets of the oldest and purest form of Magic, and discovers that absolute happiness was never any further than her own back garden.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I’ll be publishing this one under my own company, Gingersnap Press.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? The first draft, I think, only took me a day or two. It started at 32 pages, then went to 96, then grew from there. Now it’s a full blown novel. It’s fat and I loves it!
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? The best comparison I have ever come up with for After Forever Ends is Memoirs of A Geisha. And it’s nothing like Memoirs of A Geisha, other than it’s an old woman telling the story of an amazing life in rich, vibrant detail. Honestly, I’ve never read a novel quite like the one I wrote. So I stick with Memoirs of A Geisha. If you liked that, I’m confident you’ll like mine.
Who or What inspired you to write this book? This book was character driven. Certainly my husband was a huge inspiration. There is so much of him in the “older” Oliver. The younger versions of my characters were inspired by many, many people. The “young” Oliver and Alexander…well, that’s a story in itself. I had a complicated relationship in my late teens and early twenties with a young man. I’d rather not say his name in public for fear of backlash. As I say, it was complicated. There were other people involved who should not have been. Anyway, this boy was my best friend and he held my whole heart. He loved me back, too, and we knew it was just a matter of time until our complications ended. His best friend was a hot head, licentious, and had a reputation for being a complete jerk, but once you got to know him, he was actually shy, introspective and kind. Both of them had hearts of gold, even if they were naughty and semi-evil. Both of them, always in some kind of trouble. They were so much fun. The one boy, I was going to marry. We had talked about running away together, then laughed it off, but there was a seriousness under it all. The other was like my older brother, always there,
solid and loyal, looking out for the both of us. I thought we'd be together forever.
But it didn't happen like that. The boy I love died suddenly one spring, under questionabl circumstances. His death was ruled an accident, nobody was ever charged, but I’ll tell the truth. If you ask me, he was murdered. Stolen from all of us. It broke my heart to lose him. Actually, it broke everybody’s heart. No one that knew him was ever the same, there was a stress and distance between all of us, like he was the glue that had held us all together. A year later, his friend, my “big brother”, was killed in a car accident on my birthday. And I was left alone.
I carried the horror and pain of losing them in my heart like a brick for nearly twenty years. After Forever Ends gave me the chance to give them what they never had. Lives. I let them grow old, I gave them children. Somewhere along the line, the person that started out as Oliver shifted and became the man who is my husband. I know it sounds weird, but writing the story gave me the strength to let the boy I loved go. It was like we got to finish something. And our friend, as well. I hope I honored them both. They're both there, smiling through the pages.
So, they, and my husband, the second person I gave my heart to and the third I ever trusted, were the original inspiration for the story. And later it became all sorts of things. Music, friends, my children. Life as a whole. The endless search for happiness in a world that can be so very, very dark. Those were my inspirations. Those things and many, many more.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? Well, as I said above, it has a paranormal
twist for sure. It speaks of old magic and faerie folk that exist in an ancient Welsh Wood. It’s funny and it’s sad. It’s honest and it’s brazen. It’s real. Even though it’s fiction, it’s very, very real. I don’t know. Maybe you have to read it to understand what I’m talking about. ;P
:revenge-of-the-ginger.blogspot.com
What is the working title of your book? After Forever Ends
Where did the idea come from for the book?
The book is largely based on my own experiences in life. It was written over the course of a bitterly cold New York winter when my family was struggling emotionally and financially in every way possible. We were living in a home with a family who had opened their arms to us or we’d have been homeless, as my husband had lost his job earlier in the year and our savings was gone. It was so cold, that’s what stands out most in my mind, and I was truly afraid for the future. I had a bedroom I shared with both my daughters and an old, rickety laptop. My husband had gotten a job in Phoenix and had left for a few months to set us up before we followed, so I was lonely and deeply depressed. One night he phoned me and told me I needed to start writing again. He dared me to write a love story. I’d never written one. In fact, I hadn’t written anything in a few years. But I started anyway, in my bed huddled under an old blue blanket. I
found myself, at first, just telling a short story of a relationship, but soon I was reaching really far back into my life. I didn’t realize at the time that so many of the situations were stemming from my own experience or that the characters that kept emerging were people I had known in real life. I guess I was vulnerable, because I got so deep into my psyche that real life events and conversations began to make their way onto the pages. I began to feel a release and the more I wrote the stronger it became until I suddenly had a very intense, very beautiful piece of work in front of me.
What genre does your book fall under? It’s definitely Contemporary Fiction, although I must admit that it has heavy romantic overtones. I’d almost put it into the Romance genre, except it’s not just a love story. It is definitely a LIFE story. It also has elements of the paranormal in it and even hits on some Science Fiction in an off-handed way. No space ships or anything, just some concepts from the fringe of Physics. Time existing outside of time, life after life, and so forth.
Simple answer? Contemporary Fiction. Complex one? Re-read the ramble above. haha
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? That’s such a funny question because I’ve had people actually suggest to me who should play whom. Personally, I’d LOVE to see Kate Winslet play Silvia. She’d be brilliant! But then again, she’s always brilliant. Whoever played Silvia would HAVE to be able to speak with an authentic Scottish Highlander accent, though. There is an American soap opera actress called Melissa Archer who resembles Silvia greatly. She’d physically be perfect for the role. But I just love Mandy Moore and I know she could do it, too. Other than that? I’m not sure. Somebody who looks good with red hair!
Oliver and Alexander are identical twins, so it might be harder to cast them, unless somebody wanted to play both roles. Physically speaking? That’s really tough. They’re both exceptionally tall, athletic, dark haired and dark eyed. Handsome. Of Egyptian-Welsh descent. There is a Welsh actor by the name of Tom Ellis who bears a resemblance and who has the chops to pull them off. I’d have to go with him, but if you have any suggestions, let me know and I’ll tell the casting director when the time comes. Haha.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? Untangling the complex web of her life, Silvia reveals the truths that exist in an ancient wood, unravels the secrets of the oldest and purest form of Magic, and discovers that absolute happiness was never any further than her own back garden.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I’ll be publishing this one under my own company, Gingersnap Press.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? The first draft, I think, only took me a day or two. It started at 32 pages, then went to 96, then grew from there. Now it’s a full blown novel. It’s fat and I loves it!
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? The best comparison I have ever come up with for After Forever Ends is Memoirs of A Geisha. And it’s nothing like Memoirs of A Geisha, other than it’s an old woman telling the story of an amazing life in rich, vibrant detail. Honestly, I’ve never read a novel quite like the one I wrote. So I stick with Memoirs of A Geisha. If you liked that, I’m confident you’ll like mine.
Who or What inspired you to write this book? This book was character driven. Certainly my husband was a huge inspiration. There is so much of him in the “older” Oliver. The younger versions of my characters were inspired by many, many people. The “young” Oliver and Alexander…well, that’s a story in itself. I had a complicated relationship in my late teens and early twenties with a young man. I’d rather not say his name in public for fear of backlash. As I say, it was complicated. There were other people involved who should not have been. Anyway, this boy was my best friend and he held my whole heart. He loved me back, too, and we knew it was just a matter of time until our complications ended. His best friend was a hot head, licentious, and had a reputation for being a complete jerk, but once you got to know him, he was actually shy, introspective and kind. Both of them had hearts of gold, even if they were naughty and semi-evil. Both of them, always in some kind of trouble. They were so much fun. The one boy, I was going to marry. We had talked about running away together, then laughed it off, but there was a seriousness under it all. The other was like my older brother, always there,
solid and loyal, looking out for the both of us. I thought we'd be together forever.
But it didn't happen like that. The boy I love died suddenly one spring, under questionabl circumstances. His death was ruled an accident, nobody was ever charged, but I’ll tell the truth. If you ask me, he was murdered. Stolen from all of us. It broke my heart to lose him. Actually, it broke everybody’s heart. No one that knew him was ever the same, there was a stress and distance between all of us, like he was the glue that had held us all together. A year later, his friend, my “big brother”, was killed in a car accident on my birthday. And I was left alone.
I carried the horror and pain of losing them in my heart like a brick for nearly twenty years. After Forever Ends gave me the chance to give them what they never had. Lives. I let them grow old, I gave them children. Somewhere along the line, the person that started out as Oliver shifted and became the man who is my husband. I know it sounds weird, but writing the story gave me the strength to let the boy I loved go. It was like we got to finish something. And our friend, as well. I hope I honored them both. They're both there, smiling through the pages.
So, they, and my husband, the second person I gave my heart to and the third I ever trusted, were the original inspiration for the story. And later it became all sorts of things. Music, friends, my children. Life as a whole. The endless search for happiness in a world that can be so very, very dark. Those were my inspirations. Those things and many, many more.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? Well, as I said above, it has a paranormal
twist for sure. It speaks of old magic and faerie folk that exist in an ancient Welsh Wood. It’s funny and it’s sad. It’s honest and it’s brazen. It’s real. Even though it’s fiction, it’s very, very real. I don’t know. Maybe you have to read it to understand what I’m talking about. ;P
Ten Interview Questions for The Next Big Thing
http://hopefilledjars.com/2012/09/the-next-big-thing-week-10.html
What is the working title of your book? My novel will definitely be called Lost Girl Road.
Where did the idea come from for the book? Lost Girl Road takes place in northwest Montana’s Bull River Valley. I grew up spending summers there at my grandpa’s rustic cabin. Years ago, a random image of a lost child wandering the desolate wilderness got stuck in my head. Plus there really is a Lost Girl Road, and such a name seemed destined to become literature.
What genre does your book fall under? Lost Girl Road is shaping-up to be a psychological thriller, but I want to stay true to my literary roots.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? The plot of my book alternates back and forth between 1959 and 1987, so the chosen actors would need to be age accordingly. Addie, the anxiety-ridden grandmother, could be played by Chloe Sevigny. Ned, her alcoholic husband, would be a good fit for Christian Bale. For the part of Shirley, the ghost girl, Elle Fanning comes to mind (but only because I am not too familiar with many young actors).
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? A July 4th prank leads to a series of shocking and regrettable events when a 13-year-old girl goes missing and her remains are never found.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I am going to self-publish Lost Girl Road and simultaneously submit the manuscript to agents. The publishing world is rapidly changing and I intend to find my place in it.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? I began the drafting process in January 2012. It’s taken a while to get a handle on the story that wants to be told and I’ve done two
fairly substantial re-writes of the material I’ve written so far. If all goes well, I will have a finished rough draft by the New Year. After that, I can foresee another 3-6 months for further revisions and editing.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? The most readily available comparison with aspects of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones and Stephen King’s The Shining.
Who or What inspired you to write this book? My maternal grandma and grandpa bickered
perpetually, especially about his drinking. I’ve often wondered what forces held them together, so this story tests the boundaries of such a relationship. Drafting Lost Girl Road is allowing me to explore how self-destructive tendencies ruin lives and leave people feeling trapped in situations of their
own making.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? Loss and loneliness are themes that drive my writing and I like to delve into the mindsets of my characters. The creepiness of the setting will certainly appeal to anyone who has been afraid of walking any distance through the woods at night. The ghost story aspect raises questions regarding how we often let fear control our lives.
http://hopefilledjars.com/2012/09/the-next-big-thing-week-10.html
What is the working title of your book? My novel will definitely be called Lost Girl Road.
Where did the idea come from for the book? Lost Girl Road takes place in northwest Montana’s Bull River Valley. I grew up spending summers there at my grandpa’s rustic cabin. Years ago, a random image of a lost child wandering the desolate wilderness got stuck in my head. Plus there really is a Lost Girl Road, and such a name seemed destined to become literature.
What genre does your book fall under? Lost Girl Road is shaping-up to be a psychological thriller, but I want to stay true to my literary roots.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? The plot of my book alternates back and forth between 1959 and 1987, so the chosen actors would need to be age accordingly. Addie, the anxiety-ridden grandmother, could be played by Chloe Sevigny. Ned, her alcoholic husband, would be a good fit for Christian Bale. For the part of Shirley, the ghost girl, Elle Fanning comes to mind (but only because I am not too familiar with many young actors).
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? A July 4th prank leads to a series of shocking and regrettable events when a 13-year-old girl goes missing and her remains are never found.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I am going to self-publish Lost Girl Road and simultaneously submit the manuscript to agents. The publishing world is rapidly changing and I intend to find my place in it.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? I began the drafting process in January 2012. It’s taken a while to get a handle on the story that wants to be told and I’ve done two
fairly substantial re-writes of the material I’ve written so far. If all goes well, I will have a finished rough draft by the New Year. After that, I can foresee another 3-6 months for further revisions and editing.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? The most readily available comparison with aspects of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones and Stephen King’s The Shining.
Who or What inspired you to write this book? My maternal grandma and grandpa bickered
perpetually, especially about his drinking. I’ve often wondered what forces held them together, so this story tests the boundaries of such a relationship. Drafting Lost Girl Road is allowing me to explore how self-destructive tendencies ruin lives and leave people feeling trapped in situations of their
own making.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? Loss and loneliness are themes that drive my writing and I like to delve into the mindsets of my characters. The creepiness of the setting will certainly appeal to anyone who has been afraid of walking any distance through the woods at night. The ghost story aspect raises questions regarding how we often let fear control our lives.