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Saturday, November 23, 2013

Indie Author Spotlight - Pina Bruni

     A little over a month ago I advertised that I was closing my site to new submissions due to the workload that was already on my plate. Since that time I've received numerous requests for reviews and I began racking my brain for a way to ensure that every author who reaches out to me can, at the least, still be heard and presented to my audience.

     Finally the thought dawned on me, the most obvious answer to my problem would be author interviews. This would provide me with a way to make sure that every author that reaches out to me can be introduced to the public.

     I do have to put this out there as a bit of a disclaimer to my readers:
  1. I have not read the work that is mentioned in the interview below, and therefore cannot comment on it. I did read the "back-cover" before the interview.
  2. The views/answers to each question will not be altered, paraphrased or otherwise changed in any way.
  3. I will not post any profane or offensive interviews
     The first author I choose was new author Pina Bruni, I actually approached her via twitter in regards to this interview. Through twitter I had seen she had published her first book, independently, entitled Sliding Home.
1. How long have you been writing?
On and off since I was a teenager. That makes it about twenty-five years. Unfortunately, I’ve never had the perseverance to follow through and finish a novel, until now.
2. What first inspired you to take the leap to commercial writing?
I was so elated to finally have a finished product in my hand, the thought of putting it out there for others to read seemed the natural course. This coming from someone who in the past would practically cringe at the thought of another person (other than my husband) reading my written words. I’m very critical of my writing. I put much time and energy into this project. In the end, I stepped back and took an honest look. I liked it. That is high praise coming from me. Why not try to sell it?
3. Where did you pull your inspiration for “Sliding Home”?
Frankly, character development and plots come easily to me. I feel as if I have a never ending well to dip into. I’m a daydreamer and always have been. The characters are Italian-Americans living in a small, suburban town. Certain aspects of the story are from my upbringing, but the true inspiration came from the idea of soul mates. The idea that a love which is meant to be will survive at any and all costs. That neither time nor distance can destroy what is meant to be. I also wanted to feature genuine friendship that endures over the years.
4. What genre would you classify your book in and do you see yourself continuing to stay true to this genre?
I suppose it falls under romance, though I hate to label it as such. If it were a film, I believe it would be described as a romantic comedy. Whether it’s called chick lit or women’s fiction or something else, I’d like to think it’s a novel that is capable of entertaining females and males alike. It’s filled with humor, love, sex, and an array of human emotions that (I hope) will make readers both laugh and cry. As far as future writing, I think I am most comfortable writing in this genre, whatever it’s called. I enjoy writing about the chemistry that happens between a man and a woman, but I also like delving into other relationships between people. I think “Sliding Home” does a good job touching on the different relationships the main character has and has had in her life.
5. How was your experience self-publishing? Besides the writing process did you hit any snags or trouble spots while putting your work on the market?
I did hit some snags. Learning proper formatting so my work would upload properly to the sites was simple with one site, slightly more challenging with another, and utterly impossible with yet another! I finally went through smashwords.com, which I wished I had done earlier. My goal was to have my ebook appear in the three big ebookstores: Amazon, iBookstore, and Barnes & Noble. Amazon was simple to use, Barnes & Noble was a little quirky, but doable. iBooks was a hassle! I used Smashwords to get over that hump and I’d highly recommend it. As for marketing, I’m a virgin at all this. Little by little, I’m learning.
6. Do you have any advice for those of us out there that are going through, or preparing to go through, the self-publishing process?
I’m not sure I’m in the position to give advice. This is all new to me too! I’ve looked at this experience as a learning process. I’ve hit highs, lows, and in-betweens. I’ve felt elated, disappointed, smart, stupid, hopeful, and I’ve felt like giving up, but haven’t. There’s my advice. Don’t give up. My goal was to finish the book. That was a personal promise I made to myself. If I had finished writing my book and it never saw the light of day, so be it. I reached my goal. Anything more is frosting on the cake. Look upon your experience as a special project … and keep your day job. If one day I am able to write for a living, I will be very happy. In the meantime, I am very happy to write.
7. Have you had any reviews for your story done? And if so would you mind sharing the links? (If you haven’t had any reviews done but would like to get a little promotion here, I’ll take any quotes from anybody that has given you any feedback i.e. “Sliding Home is a great read that hit close to home” – and a name. As far as names go unless you have permission I’d prefer initials)
I’m sorry to say I have no reviews yet.
Feedback from a reader: “This book is a great story that held my interest from beginning to end. It made me laugh and cry, and it’s well written.” — Ron Sperry
8. One thing I like to do on my site is to give a little shout out to editors, cover artists, or just anyone in general that contributed to an indie author’s work being published. May I ask if you would mind sharing who did your cover or editing for your story?
This is an easy one to answer. I edited the book and designed the cover myself.
9. Thank you so much for taking the time out to give me this interview, one last question. Have you already begun working on your next book? If so when do you think we could expect to see it hit shelves?
Yes, I have begun working on my next book, which will be book two in my “Sliding Home” series. I am hopeful to have it out in late spring/early summer of 2014.
 
 
     If you would like to pick up Sliding Home for yourself, check it out at one of these sites.
 
 
 
 
 

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