Monday, May 4, 2020

Virtual Book Tour + #Giveaway: Savory Sabastian by Anne Marie Citro @AnneMarieCitro @RABTBookTours



Savages Buck & Doe #1
Adult Romance
Date Published: October 27, 2018

 photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png

The music festival turned from a night of singing, laughter, and fun into a nightmare when a monster took the lives of fifty-eight innocent people in the form of an automatic weapon. Within fifteen minutes, the shooter irrevocably changed the lives of the families and friends left behind.

Disillusioned and angered, Sabastian Savage stood at his father and older brother’s gravesite, holding his inconsolable mamma, when he noticed an adorable blonde crying as hard as his mamma. Who was she? And why was she so distraught? Sabastian wished he could find out, but a funeral was not the time.

Evangeline Rossi, or Emmy for short, was painfully shy, and with good reason—too many people had hurt her. So, when she met someone who sincerely cared, she held on with both hands. Shawn Savage had been one of those people, having been a father figure for her while she struggled to support her granddad and herself, and his death truly gutted her.

Months after the funeral, Emmy ran into the sexy, handsome Sabastian, Shawn’s own son and a man she had seen often yet in no way had the confidence to speak to. So, of course she was flattered when he directed his attention her way . . . until he opened his mouth.

Now Emmy was stuck between a rock and hard spot. The remaining Savage brothers had banded together to fill their father’s shoes by helping their mamma’s dream become a reality, which in turn extended to offering Emmy the opportunity of a lifetime. But, could she accept if the jerk was part of it? Did Emmy have the courage to stand up for herself and sweeten Savory Sabastian?



Interview with Anne Marie Citro

Dear Nancy Allen of The Avid Reader Blog, thank you very much for featuring this interview. Being a blogger can sometimes be a thankless job. I want to take this time to thank you because without the hard work of bloggers independent authors like myself would never be able to get the word out there. So again, thank you for your time and effort with this interview.

Hello Anne Marie Citro and welcome to The Avid Reader! You are more than welcome! I truly enjoy being a blogger and helping authors all I can. Thank you for taking time out of your busy scheduled to visit with us today.

I would also like to take time to welcome all visitors today! Thank you for stopping by! Please join me in welcoming Anne Marie Citro to The Avid Reader! 

And now please enjoy Anne Marie Citro's interview! 

For those interested in exploring the subject or theme of your book, where should they start?
My book Savory Sabastian tackles two subjects, one is how do let your heart move forward after being disillusioned by a devasting loss. That is a very personal issue, some people will use those closest to them to help, others will need to seek professional help. In this series some of my characters will have to seek out both. The second social issue in this book is about learning disabilities and the insurmountable task of overcoming how you see yourself versus how the world sees you.  

How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
Sadly, after watching the news, I wondered as a mother, wife, daughter and friend, how I would have felt seeing my loved ones to concert to enjoy a night a music and fun only to have them taken in a mass shooting. The second issue is very near and dear to my heart, I have a child with a learning disability.  

What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?  
My goal was to work out my own sadness for the families of a massacre and prove to myself that life can move on one way or another. I believe love is the most healing force on earth, so I gave my characters in this series someone to pull them from the depths of sorrow and show them the beauty still in the world. In Sabastian’s case, Emmy is that person, she just didn’t know it because of her lack of self-esteem.

Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?
I realized when I was writing this book, that we only hear about the initial number of victims in a mass shooting, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. In the wake of a massacre there are hundreds if not thousands of other victims we don’t hear anything about. Those victims have names, faces, and lives that are forever altered.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
The characters in this family are all musicians, so each chapter is titled after a song, that I thought best represented the character, or the circumstances of the chapter. Like most people I love music and it brings me to a place in time. Music heals the soul and narrates the chapters of our lives. Every time I hear a song that I used it brings me right back to that chapter and the characters that haunted my dreams.  

Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?
Savory Sabastian is the first book in this four-book series. Sabastian is the oldest surviving brother. It was very interesting for me to write the same storyline from four different perspectives. I have four sons so I knew each brother would handle the loss differently, but they defiantly went in directions I wasn’t expecting. After Sabastian’s book you can read how Luca, Alessandro, and Santino all dealt with their feelings while helping their mama through her loss.  

How long have you been writing?
I have been writing for four and half years. I have published ten books. I have three in production as I write number fourteen. Before I started writing, I raised four sons and worked with teenagers with multiple special needs in the school system. When my sons grew up and moved out, I was devastated. I finished school at three p.m., I didn’t have anything to do until my husband came home at seven thirty each night. So, I pursued a lifelong dream of writing, but I did it in secret. When I finished my first book, I finally told my husband. He encouraged me to publish it. After that I took a year sabbatical from work and wrote three more. I was hooked and left a job I absolutely loved to follow a dream I couldn’t get enough of.    

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Savory Sabastian?
The story revolves primarily around Sabastian and Emmy; however, it also encompasses the whole Savage family. Each of Sabastian’s three brother play a big role as well as Valentina Sabastian’s mama and Albert Emmy’s granddad. Sabastian is a very stoic, organized, methodical man that likes everything in its place. Emmy is a hot mess at the best of times. She is extremely talented in the kitchen but not very confident. Instantly attracted to the pretty little woman, Sabastian makes one mistake after another, in his pursuit of Emmy. Although, she is easy to fall for, it is easier to want to protect her. Sabastian realizes because he loves her, he has to stay away in order not to taint her.

If you could spend the day with one of the characters from Savory Sabastian who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this particular character, where you would go and what you would do.
I really enjoyed writing about the dynamics of this family. Although I love the primary characters, sometimes the secondary characters end up charming me the most. In this book Emmy’s granddad, Albert, stole my heart. He was so quirky, and I loved how he had an idolism for every situation, some I had heard of and many I hadn’t. I hope when I get to his age, I have the moxie to speak my mind like he does. I would love to sit on a porch swing with him, with a drink in my hand and listen to all his stories. I bet I would need more than one bottle of wine to hear everything he has experienced in his lifetime.


About the Author


Anne Marie Citro grew born and raised in the greater Toronto area of Ontario, Canada. She grew up in a large, loving family. Anne Marie is married to a very patient man. He is the love of her life. They have four very cool sons, and the girls they brought into their family that have become daughters of her heart. She has been blessed enough to finally have two beautiful granddaughters after four sons. She has her own personal gaggle of girlfriends, who enrich her life on a daily basis and make her laugh. Caesar Friday is her favorite day of the week. Caesars with the girls and date night with her hubby. She worked with special-needs teenagers, that taught her how to appreciate life and see it through gentler eyes. Anne Marie was encouraged by her husband to follow her lifelong dream to write. She loves the characters that take over imagination and haunts her dreams. She loves the arts and she has tried her hand at painting, wood sculpting, chainsaw carving, wood burning, metal and wire sculptures. Yes, her husband is a very patient man! Anne Marie is an avid reader and enjoys about three books per week. But nothing makes her happier than riding on the back of her husband's Harley and throwing her arms out and feeling the wind race by. Anne Marie and her husband take a few weeks every year to travel to spectacular destination around the world. Anne Marie is excited and can't wait to see what the next chapter holds for her life.


Contact Links
Twitter: @AnneMarieCitro
Pinterest: Anne-Marie Citro


Purchase Links




RABT Book Tours & PR

2 comments:

Sue G. said...

This sounds intense!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for hosting!