Timeless Principles for a Good Story: Author Interview with MaryAnn Diorio

Amazon shows you've published 50 books and you have 10 awards for your writing. That's quite an accomplishment. How many books did it take before you realized it could be a full time career?
Actually, it wasn't the number of books that caused me to realize that writing could be a full-time career. It was the call of God to write for Him. At the age of 30, I began to have a strong desire to write. This was unusual for me, as I was already established in a satisfying career as a college professor of Italian and French.

As the desire to write increased, I asked the Lord to confirm whether the desire was from Him or not. Through a series of what I call "providential circumstances," He clearly confirmed that the desire was from Him and that He had called me to write. And so began my writing journey. :)

How do you keep the writing fresh and create new characters that your readers can relate to after so many books?
I pray continually, asking the Holy Spirit to guide me and to give me the stories of His heart. When I write, I picture myself holding the Holy Spirit's hand with my right hand and holding the reader's hand with my left. I want to be a conduit of grace, hope, and encouragement between God and my reader. Through my characters, I want to remind my readers that in the midst of every trial, God is faithful and loves them.

You write contemporary romance, women's fiction, kids fiction books, and have several non-fiction titles. How do you decide what to write next?
Again, I pray and listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit. He tells me what He wants me to write next. Twice in my writing career, I had planned to begin a new novel when the Holy Spirit said He wanted me to write a short nonfiction book first. So I did. The first one was The Iron Saint and the second one was Prayer Power. The will of God is my guide in what I write next, and I discern His will through prayer, reading His Word, seeking counsel from fellow believers, and paying attention to circumstances.

Several of your books are historical fiction. What type of research do you do to make them believable? Can you share an "aha" moment when something surprised you in doing your story research?
I do various types of research to make my stories believable. I often center my stories around a major historical event--such as a blizzard or a major economic problem. This historical event provides the backdrop of the story, and the plot plays into the historical event.

To research I use books from my personal library, and I do extensive online research. My husband is a great asset in my research. For example, he loves to research if a certain item was used or was available during the time period of my story. As a retired physician, he took his medical gift for attention to detail and transferred it to helping me with research. I tease him that he's found a new career as my research assistant. :)

Another type of research stems from my own family history. In writing The Italian Chronicles Trilogy, based on a true incident in my great-great-grandmother's life, I consulted a professional Italian genealogist with whom the Lord miraculously connected me and who is from the same town as my ancestors! This was a major and miraculous "aha" moment for me. What were the odds of this happening? I clearly saw God's hand upon this trilogy and was deeply moved by His presence and goodness. The genealogist provided me with original family documents, such as birth and baptismal certificates, and other valuable information that brought historical authenticity to my stories.

What's the best encouragement you've had in your writing?
The best encouragement, without a doubt, has been reader feedback. When I receive comments from readers that a book I wrote drew them back to Christ or brought them closer to Christ, or gave them hope to go on, I rejoice and thank God for the great privilege of being used by Him to bless another human being. This is the reason I write. Life is hard, but beautiful. I want to show my readers that in Christ, we always have hope, no matter how ugly or messy or painful life gets. In Christ, we can see the beautiful side of life and know that the best is yet to be in Jesus!

What do you know now about writing you wished you had known sooner?
I wish I had known early on that there are timeless principles involved in structuring a good story and that I could learn and apply them. For a long while, I floundered because I thought that stories would spontaneously and effortlessly fall from my mind to the computer screen. A naïve belief, for sure! :) Not that God does not give us ideas. But I know now that adhering to these timeless principles of story structure results in strong, powerful stories that resonate with readers

What is the best writing advice you've received or could give?
Pray continually as you surrender your writing to God. He gave you the gift of writing in the first place, and He will bring it to maturity. Write with God and for God. As in all of life, everything begins and ends with God. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

Are there any other points about writing you would like to add?
Yes. Have fun in the process! The journey of writing is more important than the destination. It is in the journey that we learn who God is and who we are in Him. And this, I believe, is the chief reason God has called us to write. To know Him more so that we can love Him more.

What is the next book coming out? Can you give me a short synopsis?
I am currently working on the first book of a new romantic suspense series called The South Philly Italians. Book 1 is titled VINNY. While it is still in the very early stages, the working premise so far is this: A young man sabotages his dream in order to follow in his father's footsteps. I am still fine-tuning this premise.

Thanks for sharing how your faith and family heritage shapes your writing. If you'd like to learn more about MaryAnn's books, here are some links to get you started. 
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/MaryAnn-L.-Diorio/author/B005FU4IAS
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6592603.MaryAnn_Diorio
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/maryanndioriobooks
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/drmaryanndiorio/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maryann-diorio

And here's a special tip for my readers... Subscribe to MaryAnn's newsletter and you'll receive a free novella titled Surrender to Love. So sign up now at  https://shop.maryanndiorio.com

Writing what you Love: Author Interview with Sylvia Bambola

My interview today is with Sylvia Bambola, who is an award winning author of eight novels. Her novel, Rebekah’s Treasure, won the 2014 Readers Favorite Bronze Award for Christian Historical Fiction and the 2015 Book of the Year Award, Christian Small Press Association, for Historical Fiction. The Salt Covenants was the 2015 Readers Favorite Bronze Award winner for Christian Historical Fiction.

What drew you to the idea of writing your first mystery/suspense novel?

I like suspense. That’s why I gravitate to it and have employed suspense to some extent in all my novels. My personal belief is that all books should contain at least some suspense elements. In a romance novel it is: Will the boy get girl? In contemporary novels: Does the leading character grow and develop as a person? Overcome the obstacles? In a mystery: Do the police solve the case? In a true suspense novel: Does the good guy win? Suspense is a crucial element in good story telling.

How long did it take for you to write the first book? Was it harder or easier to write your second book?
It took years to write my first novel. I’d change it, tweak it, add characters, subtract them. What I didn’t understand was all the while I was learning my craft. Each rewrite taught me something new. I can’t overemphasize this for any new writer: Don’t rush your first novel. Use it to learn and grow as a writer. Many writers never sell their first book because their training is more like “homework.” If a writer takes his/her time with their first novel, then the second, third, forth, etc. will come much faster and be far more likely to find a publisher.

Are you active in any writing critique groups?
No. And even when I was first started I wasn’t involved with one because there just weren’t any around. But I would strongly advise getting connected. It makes the process so much easier. And that means not only joining a critique group, but also going to writer’s conferences. That’s where you’ll learn from pros, meet other writers as well as agents and editors. I would not skip this step.

What type of research do you do for your books? Tell me about the process.

Research is critical for any good novel. It creates verisimilitude, makes your story believable and gives you, the writer, credibility. My historical novels required much more research that my contemporaries, but all were well researched before taking pen to paper or rather applying fingers to keyboard. I used the same process for all my books. First, I asked myself a series of “what if" questions. That gave me the general idea of what I would need to research. Then I purchased all the necessary reference books.

When researching I like to do it with actual books that I can underline and notate. After reading all my reference books, I then go through them one by one making notes on 3 x 5 index cards. When researching for The Salt Covenants, which takes place in 1492 Spain, some of the card headers were “food” (what did people eat and cook during that period) “clothes, government, music, manners, morals,” etc. Because The Salt Covenants involved the Spanish Inquisition, as well as a voyage with Christopher Columbus, I had to research these things as well. After doing all that, then and only then will I begin writing because now I know exactly where my characters can go, what they can do, how they can behave, in order to create a realistic story.

Did you go through the normal process of pitching your book to agents and traditional publishers?
When my second novel, Refiner’s Fire, became a Christy Finalist an agent actually contacted me and asked if I wanted representation. You can guess my answer. She was able to place two of my subsequent novels before she left the agency to work for a publishing house. By then I had four traditionally published novels under my belt and it was easier to get noticed by another agent, which I happily was. 

Before Refiner’s Fire was published by Multnomah (now under the Random House umbrella), I self-published another book knowing how difficult it was for an unknown to get an agent or a publishing house to look at his/her work, I used this novel to develop a portfolio. In it, I collected all my reviews, the letters from two movie agents who wanted to pitch it as a movie (nothing came of it) and any awards (Small Press Editor’s Choice Award) and sent it off to Multnomah. And it worked. They published my second novel. Self-publishing can be an option or way of developing a name and following, and for helping you get an edge with an agent and publisher, but it’s not for everyone.

What type of publicity do you do to promote your book? What has worked best for you in

generating sales?
By far, the best publicity is word of mouth, and book reviewers will help you with this. That’s why it’s a good idea to send your book to as many legitimate reviewers as possible. But do your homework. Send only to those who review your genre. It’s pointless to send it to someone who reviews sci-fi if you write sweet romances.

What do you know now about writing/publishing that you wished you had known sooner?I wished I had known that writing and marketing are different sides of the same publishing coin, and you can’t do one without the other. This runs against the grain for most writers who love the creative process but hate the marketing and self-promotion aspects. But I had to get over that. Because a writer who doesn’t market won’t get very far.

What is the best advice you’ve been given about writing or that you’ve learned that you’d like to pass along?
First, never give up. I personally know of no “overnight wonders,” those who banged out a novel in six months them became a bestseller. There may be some, but believe me they are few and far between. Most of the time it takes years for a writer to learn his/her craft then garner an agent and publisher. So, if writing is really what you want to do, understand it may take years, but keep working at it. 

Secondly, write what you love. I know the prevailing wisdom is to write what you know, but things can be learned, and knowledge gained by research and study. But if you write what you love, what you are truly interested in, chances are you’ll get your readers interested, too. And don’t follow trends. By the time you chase a trend it’s usually over.

Any other points you’d like to cover?

I’d just like to say, “thank you” for hosting me on your blog.

That's it for today's interview. Here's a glimpse of her newest release: The Babel Conspiracy

Two women engineers struggle to develop the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft amid ever intensifying global terrorism and muddled personal lives. Trisha Callahan has an abiding faith in God, and “those roots of middy blouses and pleated skirts, prayer books and incense-filled churches went deep.” This faith is tested when she finds herself in love with a married man. Audra Shields sees herself as a modern Lady Chatterley, “liberated but not forsaking breeding, intellect, or femininity.” When she becomes involved with a dangerous stranger, she begins to question her lifestyle.

Both women try sorting out their personal problems while racing the clock to finish a project fraught with sabotage and murder. And who’s behind it all? When the Department of Homeland Security and the Mossad finally figure it out, the answer surprises everyone.

Here's the way to find out more about this book and her other novels.
Website: http://www.sylviabambola.com
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Babel-Conspiracy-Sylvia-Bambola/dp/0989970728/
Booktrailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lAqWKGGMXQ