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.
2 comments:
This sounds intense!
Thank you for hosting!
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