UPDATE: Lisa is giving away her book to one lucky winner who leaves a comment...winners chosen randomly of course, but be sure to leave your email address :)
Today we have a guest interview with award-winning author, Lisa Costantino, who's recently published her debut women's historical fiction book, Maiden's Veil.
Today we have a guest interview with award-winning author, Lisa Costantino, who's recently published her debut women's historical fiction book, Maiden's Veil.
As an editor and an author, Lisa faced the challenge of
striving for perfection in her book while making it still feel fresh and alive.
Here lyrical passages truly use language to its fullest potential! So it's a
must read if you love women's fiction and you want to see a great
representation of historical literary fiction. Fortunately, her book is currently on sale, so check it out:
Lisa also offers editing services to authors looking to
submit a manuscript to traditional publishing and/or to go indie and self
publish their work. And since she's been down both paths, she can tune into
issues most newbie authors miss. I know because she edited my book, An Eye For Danger. Feel free to reach out to her when you're ready to polish your manuscript, especially if you're writing in literary genres: lisacoedits@comcast.net.
But enough intros...here's Lisa...
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
1) What inspired you to write about pagan fertility rituals,
weaving, and the oncoming industrial revolution in the 1700s?
Maiden’s Veil was
born from a trip to England to attend some of the traditions celebrated every
May. There’s a sizable number of pagans in the UK, and a number of events and
festivities that have been carried out for centuries. Once I overheard someone
in a pub say they felt like the Lady of Shalott, an idea began to form. I
wanted to write about being trapped in a web of one’s own making, and the time
period and setting added to the sense of not being able to move forward.
2) Which character do you feel is stronger in the end, Jess
or Clarinda, and which one of them is most like you?
Jess is the stronger, because she is able to forgive
herself, whereas Clarinda cannot. As for which one is most like me—well, I love
to wander through England like Jess, but I’m stubborn and defiant like
Clarinda. It’s a tie.
3) If there was going to be a sequel, which is not common
for literary fiction, whose story would you most want to move forward with?
Oh,
I couldn’t imagine a sequel, but Clarinda seems to be every reader’s favorite
character, including mine, so I’m working on a YA novel about a younger version
of Clarinda. It’s not a prequel, but rather a story of a young Clarinda in,
say, an alternate universe. I love herbology, and the research involved in
writing historical fiction, so the time period and the self-sufficiency aspects
of Clarinda’s story will carry into my next book.
4) You've won acclaim with this book... how does that put
more pressure on writing the next novel?
It’s not the acclaim that’s adding pressure as much as the
need to produce another book in a timely fashion. Can someone sell me more time
in the day? : )
BOOK BLURB
For tapestry weaver Clarinda Asher, the consequences of her
participation in an ancient ritual terrified her remote English village enough
to banish her to a lonely hilltop. Centuries later, Jess Barlow and Owen Calder
rediscover and perform the Maiden’s Veil, igniting another firestorm as the
ritual’s power is resurrected and they set out to complete the task Clarinda
began 300 years before.
ABOUT
Lisa Costantino fled the relentless sunshine of southern
California to settle in the lit-friendly, rainy Pacific Northwest, where she
established herself as a travel writer, book reviewer, and content specialist,
while also writing fiction whenever she could find the time. Maiden’s Veil is
her first published novel.
