Author Donna Anastasi delivers an off-beat love story in “Spin the Plate,” a newly expanded and
reissued ebook available at Amazon
and other retailers. In the novel, she deals with child abuse and damaged lives
through Jo and Frances. Jo has dealt with her horrifying childhood by building
physical strength and careful emotional detachment from human social
intercourse. She rescues abused humans and abandoned animals; she uses her strength
to fight bullies; she works as a tattoo artist. Frances is a gentle soul who
wants nothing from Jo but her heart and he sets out to win it.
Join me for an interview with Anastasi as part of Walker
Author Tours.
Where did you get the
idea for the story?
“It came to me one day as I was driving my daily 65 mile
commute across the width of New Hampshire. It was like remembering a movie I’d
just seen. The main characters, Jo’s flashback and her story just hit me in
crashing waves. It was a pretty amazing experience, the first one of that kind
I’d ever had.”
What is your greatest
writing challenge?
“Child abuse and post-traumatic stress syndrome are such
sensitive topics, so I needed to proceed cautiously and strike a balance
between realism and not being overly sentimental or dramatic.”
What do you find most
rewarding in writing a book?
“The many posts I’ve received from readers on how it’s moved
them forward life journey. Plus winning the Living Now gold medal award was a
huge honor.”
Tell us about your
previous work.
“I wrote two books on animal care – ‘The Complete Guide to
Gerbil Care’ and ‘The Complete Guide to Chinchilla Care.’ I just completed
another ‘gritty Christian fiction’ work, a short story entitled ‘In God’s Name’
available free from Smashwords.”
What other projects
do you have coming up?
“Another small-animal book called ‘Gerbil Agility: Yes, they
can.’”
Do you write full
time?
“No, I don’t write full time. I’m an interaction designer. I
make on-line applications easy to use and improve the user experience. Design
is a very interactive process requiring a lot of feedback and revision, plus a
thick skin. The focus has to be on improving the end-product and making it
right for your audience. These skills help in writing as well.”
What is your writing
process like--do you outline first or just start writing, etc.?
“The book was originally a short story that came to me all
at once. I wrote it down in about two week. Then I thought, ‘these characters
are such interesting people, why not tell the whole story.’ Writing fiction is
extremely difficult. So, I had many authors, editors, and avid-readers help me
to expand it to a full-length novel, which took four years.”
Do you work with a
writing group or mentor? Why or why not? If you do, what do you get out of it?
“My husband has had four books published and has won several
playwriting awards – he helped me with the dialogue – plus several friends and
relatives helped by writing down their stories which I wrote the characters
into. This style of writing, which I term ‘mosaic,’ results in a very realistic
portrayal of events because of the details know only to those with first-hand
experience.”
What have you done to
develop your writing craft?
“Write and rewrite. And then rewrite again. I seek out
feedback from a wide variety of people and truly see and treat honest reviews
and all feedback as a gift.”
What was the hardest
part: writing the book, getting it published, or marketing it? Why?
“Marketing, because that is the area where the author has
the least control. There are so many good books in the Contemporary Fiction,
Christian, and Romance categories – readers have many choices, and getting the
word out has been tough, but that’s why I’m doing things like this. “
What have been your
most successful marketing techniques?
“Getting good reviews – especially from Amazon.com, entering
contests, offering a free e-book version, doing giveaways and virtual tours.”
Who is your favorite
author of all time, and why?
“C.S. Lewis. I like that he can describe very complex ideas
simply, that he writes both fiction and non fiction, and writes on the topic of
theology. He draws you right in with characters and storyline and is neither
sentimental or pessimistic.”
If you could travel
to anywhere in the world, where would it be, and with whom?
“I’ve been to Europe twice - once on my honeymoon and once
with our children – I’d love to go back. My favorite way to travel is to stay
with people who live in the country and have them show me around.”
If you could choose your last meal, what would it be?
“Probably sample everything on the menu from my favorite
Chinese restaurant and have it with diet coke. I’d eat it on a paper plate
because I always enjoy my meals most when I know I don’ t have to do the dishes
afterwards.”
Is your family
supportive of what you do?
“Yes – though I’m missed when I go away on my weekend
writing jaunts.”
Do you find it hard
to share your work with others?
“No, I love people to read what I write. Though I like to
wait until I’ve completed a full draft of my work before I have anyone review
it. Once I’ve done this initial writing, it is exciting for me to see how other
people can make it better and take it places I hadn’t imagined.”
What is your opinion
on people who post bad reviews?
“Good or bad I consider every thoughtfully written review as
a gift. Michy Devon wrote an insightful three star review of my book that
shaped a re-write. I acknowledged and thanked her at the end of the novel.”
Are you an
independent writer, or are you represented by an agent? How does this work out
for you, especially if you have done it both ways?
“I’ve never had agent representation, yet, but have gone
down all the publishing routes. Traditional publisher, Indie/small press, and
self-publish. There are pros and cons to each. The traditional publisher gives
you a wider distribution, but less control over content and revision. The indie
publisher has limited distribution and in my case a limited time period for
“ownership” of the book rights which then reverted back to me. With self
publishing you have some distribution, as well, Create Space and Smashwords
channels are starting to rival what the indie publishers offer. But you have to
be able to figure out lots of things on your own (or hire someone), e.g., book
cover layout and design and formatting the ebook content.”
Tell us a little about
yourself as a person. Hobbies? Pets? Family?
“I love all things small and furry. My favorite thing in the
world is to take a road trip with my gerbils and then show them off and educate
the public. I just supported the World of Pets Expo in MD and did a gerbil
agility training exhibit. It was a big hit; one little boy hung out at my booth
for hours until I finally had him join me inside and set up jumps for the
gerbils. We got one to do 11 obstacles in a row.”
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look into Anastasi’s life. We’ll
have an excerpt from the book on March 20 as the next part of Walker Author
Tours!
