INTERVIEW with Author, NANCY BARONE WYTHE

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR Nancy Barone Wythe

Today I’m interviewing Nancy Barone Wythe. Her book, SICILIAN LOVERS, is a Romantic Suspense and was released in March 2011.



Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.

Hello and thank you for inviting me. SICILIAN LOVERS is a collection of four stories about the dangers of falling in love with a Sicilian.



Describe the genre of this particular title, and is the only genre you write in?

The genre is Romantic suspense, rather spicy, and deals with wanting someone the characters don’t trust but are inexorably drawn to. I also write Women’s Fiction.



When did you start writing toward publication?

My first story, Nostos- The Homecoming, was a paranormal romance, published in 2010.



Did you have several manuscripts finished before you sold? If so, did you send them out yourself?


I had drawers crammed with my stories, but only recently found the courage to submit. Nostos was accepted on the second submission, luckily.



Why have you become a published author?

Because that’s what all English teachers living in the Sicilian countryside do, isn’t it?



Do you have any rejection stories to share?


Oh yes, haven’t we all? Heartbreaking! But then you get back in the saddle and charge on. There’s no other way to do it, I don’t think.



What is your writing routine like?

I write on my laptop in the afternoons, and in my head in the mornings while I’m teaching the Present Continuous to Italian students.



What sort of promo do you do? Do you have help?

I don’t do much promo, but I do have a connection to an amazing Fiction Festival here in Italy. It’s run by Elizabeth Jennings, a wonderful, talented and resourceful American author. She’s quite successful. Look her up.



Having achieved your goal to be a published author, what is the most rewarding thing?

To actually get your hands on the print copy- it’s like holding the Holy Grail, or something next to it.



Are you a member of any writing organizations and, if so, have they helped?

Yes, again, the four-day Women’s Fiction Festival in Matera, Italy, is a great source of information, marketing and hobnobbing with people just like yourself. I discovered it by accident one afternoon while I was breaking my neck for an idea, and there it was. It had already started that same day, but I booked a flight and was out by the next afternoon- minus my luggage which I got back on the day of departure! It was the best writing-related experience so far.



Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract?


Absolutely. Believe in yourself, but also keep your mind open for the subtle hints. Is this what you really, can’t-think-of-anything-else want? Have you got potential, or is it just you letting off steam (which can be a start)? If it’s in your genes, then enhance your talent by reading everything you can get your hands on to broaden your mind, but stick, as they say, to what you know. Be prepared in any case to put in long hours of research to support your credibility, and write, write and re-write to hone your skills. And listen to the pros. The real ones. It all pays dividends in the end.



What’s next for you?

At the moment I’m working on a Women’s fiction in two books.



BOOK BLURB

‘SICILIAN LOVERS’, four tales of a dynasty’s passion, hotter than the Sicilian sun, and with a thirst for revenge that not even the entire Mediterranean Sea can quench…

THE OBSESSION AND THE FURY:

On the tiny Sicilian island of Panarea, the wild and beautiful village sinner Rea Lupo meets Alex Ford, an American who will stop at nothing to have her- not the obsession of other men, nor fate, nor the fury of nature itself.



THE SICILIAN STRANGER:

When Shannon Banks’ fiancé rushes to Sicily to collect his inheritance, he disappears without a trace. She has no choice but to leave the safety of their home in the United States and jump on a plane to follow his tracks into the unknown.

There she meets Damiano Malandrino, a dangerous Sicilian embittered by prison and sparked by the desire to kill Shannon’s fiancé.



SICILIAN BLOOD:

Heather Burns will never forgive the handsome Sicilian prince Massimo Ventura di Villanova for what he did to her. Massimo will never be able to ignore the secrets they kept from each other all those years since their first encounter.



THE SICILIAN DEVIL IN THE SAND:

When Kelly Adams lays eyes on Sicilian Luca Amore, their lives plunge into the deepest chaos. His rock-solid reputation crumbles when his rich, older fiancée is murdered on the eve of their wedding. Only Kelly knows he is innocent…because she was in his arms.



From the fragrance of the jasmine and juniper bushes to the cobalt-blue sky, everything in Sicily, especially love and lust, are much more vivid, so much more intense. Follow the destinies of Alex, Shannon, Heather and Kelly, who risk their lives by daring to love a Sicilian…



A little bit about the author

Nancy Barone Wythe is a published Author of romantic suspense and women’s fiction. Her first story was a paranormal romance called Nostos- The Homecoming, published by Solstice Publishing in February 2010.

In April and May 2010 her SICILIAN LOVERS series was also published, followed by Designs on You.

Soon to be released are The Obsession and the Fury, the prequel to her series.

At the moment she is working on a woman’s fiction and her second paranormal.

She has a University degree from the University of Pisa, Tuscany. A former Torontonian, Nancy has also lived in Tuscany and England. She now lives in the Sicilian countryside near the sea with her husband and their dogs.

Visit her website at http://www.nancybaronewythe.com/.  or drop her a line at nancybaronewythe@yahoo.com.



How can my readers buy your book?

Readers can go to the publisher’s home page at http://www.solsticepublishing.com/.



You can find more information about Nancy Barone Wythe and her book, SICILIAN LOVERS by visiting her website, http://www.nancybaronewythe.com/.

I want to thank Nancy for her time and allowing me to interview her. I want to wish her luck in her writing future.