'Spin the Plate' delivers romance with a punch

Jo is a big girl. At 5’11” she towers over many other people. She dresses in bib overalls and carries a Beretta tucked in them. Casual observers may write her off as an overweight girl or a possible lesbian in her mannish garb. 

But Jo is so much more than any casual glance can identify. By day, she inks tattoos on the patrons of the upscale Ink Angels; by night, she roams the streets rescuing the victims of bullying and abandonment.

In an attempt to keep from thinking about her past, Jo stays busy as much as possible. If she fails, the memories come crashing in, memories of childhood sexual abuse and betrayal by those who should have protected her as a child. Her tightly contained pain pushes her to protect others who experience similar situations.

Into Jo’s carefully structured world comes Francis, an unusual young man. He smiles and delivers messages like “Jesus loves you, you know.” He turns up repeatedly, never threatening her but a little scary in his tenacity.

Author Donna Anastasi

 “Spin the Plate” by Donna Anastasi takes readers into a world of despicable villains and unlikely heroes. The book deals in redemption and hope, pain and healing. There are distinctly Christian themes in the book, although some of the language contained within would belie the fact. At its heart, the book is a love story drawn against an urban backdrop. The love story simply features a most unlikely pair of people.

Forget the delicate, beautiful flower of a heroine and lusty, muscular hero. Here you’ll find a woman who has trained as a Sumo wrestler and a slightly built intellectual. This odd pair carries on a touching courtship that moves secrets and disclosures to a whole new level.

This book packs an emotional punch even as it draws you deeply into the lives of the two people who have spent their lives rescuing others and now must decide whether they can trust each other for their own rescues. Open “Spin the Plate,” and you’ll find romantic stereotypes shattered by the characters and their stories.

“Spin the Plate” will appeal to anyone who enjoys a story with a twist, and doesn’t mind some salty language. There is some violence and sexual content, but nothing gratuitous. The cast, though unusual, will win your heart with the depth of their convictions. The reader will find action, romance and inspiration packed into each chapter.

The award-winning self-published volume is available in both print and electronic formats.

“Spin the Plate” by Donna Anastasi

Published by Anastasi Books

ISBN: 9780615748724

Book excerpt: "Spin the Plate" by Donna Anastasi

Today we have an excerpt from "Spin the Plate," by Donna Anastasi, currently on tour with Walker Author Tours. Here the heroine of the story, Jo, reflects on a childhood memory that shaped her as she grew up. Enjoy, and don't forget to pick up your copy of "Spin the Plate"!

There was a time, before the episodes, or at least before they’d gotten very bad, when her parents took her on family vacations to a cabin in Maine. She and her mother stayed a whole month, with her father joining them on the weekends. The two of them would spend endless hours of mother-daughter time together pressing flowers into a scrapbook, drawing a picture next to each in colored pencils, and carefully printing both the scientific and common names. Using a guidebook on native plants and animals like a treasure map, they’d take long walks looking for new flowers to paste into the scrapbook.

One Saturday her mom shook her awake at dawn for one of their early morning nature walks, sneaking out of the cabin while her father was still asleep. Everything was grayish and the air was misty. It was quiet except for the soft cooing calls of mourning doves. They’d been traveling a dirt road for only about ten minutes when they came across a cat-sized silvery gray animal that had been hit by a car.

As soon as she caught sight of it, Jo remembered turning her head upwards and away from the ground. Gazing into the face of her mother, she could see the woman glancing down at the road in a detached sort of way, then curious. She was surprised to see her mother take a gardening glove from the front pocket of the flower-gathering tote she carried. “Oh the poor things,” her mother murmured, as she slipped on the glove.

Her curiosity outweighing her revulsion, the young girl peered down to see the tips of tiny tails twitching atop the soft-looking light gray belly fur of the dead animal on the road. The woman gave each tail a slow, steady tug as though she were pulling baby carrots from the ground. And with each tug out came a wriggling mouse-like animal that her mom tucked into her bag.

As mother and daughter turned around and headed back to the cabin, the woman explained that opossums are marsupials, which means the mothers carry their babies with them in a built-in pouch wherever they go.

Once home, they put the litter of four babies in box lined with an old cloth, then put a heating pad underneath the box on one side. The babies had coats of velvety fuzz and pink hairless tails that curled a bit at the end. The first day there were purplish bumps where the eyes should have been, but throughout the next day, one by one dark slits appeared and grew in size until the babies blinked and stared with shiny black eyes.

She helped her mother feed them a mixture of evaporated milk with molasses using an eyedropper. Each baby, when it was his turn, grasped tightly to the eyedropper with front paws that looked like tiny hands. As a baby possum licked at the glass tapered tip, a thin layer of foamy milk formed at the lips.

Then, after three days, the babies started to lose weight, dying, one by one. She couldn’t remember all their names, but “Peter” was the one to make it the longest: a full five days. Her mother’s words had comforted her then, “Isn’t it better that they pass away sleeping on a soft towel snug inside a dark, quiet shoebox with a belly full of warm milk, rather than starving by the roadside?”

Meet Donna Asastasi, author of 'Spin the Plate'

 

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!