Today we have a new Author. Joyce DiPastena is an author that is working though a book Tour that I have now been a tour host for. Let welcome this new author to Interviews around the Globe.
I would love if you all took a look at our author Bio.. We have some good questions and answer for her to answer. Please also I had the opportunity to read her lastest book called Loving Lucianna. I have a review on it here and we also got a giveaway as for all of you as well.
Loving Lucianna Review But here is the author Bio for before we enter the interview. We welcome Joyce to our community. #Interviews, #Interviewsaroundtheglobe, #NRC, #Giveaways, #medievalbooks #RomanceBooks
@JoyceDiPastena and @Nouveauwriter, +Joyce DiPastena, +Laura Fabiani iRead Book Tours, +Laura Fabiani
Author Bio:
Joyce DiPastena dreamed of green medieval forests while growing up in the dusty copper mining town of Kearny, Arizona. She filled her medieval hunger by reading the books of Thomas B. Costain (where she fell in love with King Henry II of England), and later by attending the University of Arizona where she graduated with a degree in history, specializing in the Middle Ages. The university was also where she completed her first full-length novel…set, of course, in medieval England. Later, her fascination with Henry II led her to expand her research horizons to the far reaches of his “Angevin Empire” in France, which became the setting of her first published novel, Loyalty’s Web (a 2007 Whitney Award Finalist).
Joyce is a multi-published, multi-award winning author who specializes in sweet medieval romances heavily spiced with mystery and adventure. She lives with her two cats, Clio and Glinka Rimsky-Korsokov, in Mesa, Arizona.
Our Interview with Joyce DiPastena:
Describe your *Latest/Recent* book in 20 Words or Less?
Loving Lucianna: A Hearts in Autumn Romance
A secret from her past may destroy Lucianna’s second chance at love.
Where or how did you come up with the idea for your story (in this book)?
The idea came from a writing challenge on Facebook. A group I was in challenged all its members to write an autumn themed romance for a joint promo event this fall. I started batting around ideas in my head and the thought came to me, "What if I wrote a story about a couple in the 'autumn of their years?'" I had a pair of secondary characters from an earlier romance I had published ("Illuminations of the Heart") where a couple in their 40s and 50s had fallen in love. It was a very small part of that story, but I decided it would be fun to write this couple of story of their own and find out where their romance took them. That story turned into "Loving Lucianna."
How important are names to you in your book(s)? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning? Do you have any name choosing resources you that you?
Usually I choose names because I like the way they sound and certain names raise certain images in my head (blonde, brunette, redhead, etc). For "Loving Lucianna," however, since several of the scenes were set in medieval Italy and I'm half-Italian on my father's side, I decided to raid my family tree for the names of many of the Italian characters in the story.
Which of your characters (in this book) is your favorite and Why?
I think the title character, Lucianna, is my favorite in this book. I loved learning more about her and how she became the woman she was. I think she didn't always come across as a sympathetic character in "Illuminations of the Heart"--she could be a little prickly, a little temperamental and judgmental and haughty and proud. Now, with "Loving Lucianna," both I and the readers know why and how she became all those things. And I hope now that they understand her, she will win their hearts.
Was there a certain scene *in this book* that was harder for you to write than others?
I don't know that any of the scenes were harder for me to write than others. Some of the scenes between Lucianna and her girlhood friend, Elisabetta, did make me cry when I wrote them, just because their relationship touched me so.
If you could cast your characters in the Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play your characters?
I get asked this question a lot, but I never have a good answer because I can never find actors or models who actually look the way I imagine my characters in my head. I always have very clear pictures in my mind of how my characters look when I write them. A writing friend of mine told me that was like my "superpower." LOL! Actually, I find more inspiration for my characters in paintings than I do in the movies. I've even put together a page on my website with some of the paintings that have inspired me in some of my novels. You can see it at http://joyce-dipastena.blogspot.com/p/art-gallery.html.
What was your favorite part to write and why? (Alternate Q: What is your least favorite part of the publishing / writing process?)
My least favorite part of the writing process is forcing myself to write when I don't feel like it. Because many times I don't feel like writing, but someone said to me once, "A real writer writes whether she feels like it or not." So when I don't feel like writing, I ask myself, "Do you want to be a real writer or don't you?" And the answer is always "yes!" So I push myself to write even when I don't feel like it, and the next day when I see that my story is progressing, I'm always glad that I fought my way through those "don't feel like it" times.
Just as your books inspire authors, what authors have inspired you to write? (Alternate Q: If you didn't like writing books, what would you do for a living?, What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors?
Even though I don't write Regency romances and have never really wanted to, I fell in love with the Regency romances of Georgette Heyer when I was in Junior High School and read many of her titles over and over and over. When I first started writing, I think I copied her style, if not her settings, a lot. Gradually I developed my own style and voice, but I think many writers when they're starting out consciously or subconsciously strive to imitate an author who they admire. For me, in my early years, that was Georgette Heyer.
Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?
Usually when I first publish a book, I'll go read the reviews to see how the book is doing, but I confess that I don't deal well with bad reviews. Seems like one bad review can block out a dozen glowing reviews and make me think I'm the worst writer in the world. So I've learned that for my own peace of mind (and ability to continue writing) it's best if I try to avoid reading the bad reviews. I guess my skin just isn't thick enough. My advice on how to deal with the bad? (1) Just don't read those reviews--I mean the really bad reviews--if you can avoid it. There is rarely anything helpful in them. ("Medium" reviews might be helpful, but the super bad ones are usually not.) (2) If you can't avoid a bad review, then tell yourself, "That reader wasn't my target audience." Because it's probably true. The people who love your book are the people you are writing for, not the people who hate it. You'll never please every reader there is, and if you try to make a bad reviewer happy, you'll probably end up alienating the reviewers who liked your books before you "changed them" to try to please a bad reviewer. So focus on the people who like your writing and write for them with all your heart. They're the "audience" that you want to please.
What are you working on now? What is your next project?
I have a manuscript being beta read right now that I'm planning to publish in early 2015 called "The Lady and the Minstrel." It's also a medieval, but it's set in England in the reign of King John and while it has a strong romance in it, it's not purely a romance. I call it a romantic historical, because it deals with other historical and plot concepts and relationships in addition to the romance. But it starts with the romance and ends with the romance, and I promise it ends with a "happily ever after." As I said, watch for it in early 2015!
Thank you for stopping by Joyce DiPastena. I happy for you have stop by Nighttime Reading Center. Your book a good read. I liked it. I hope you come back again.
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