From Corporate Editor to Indie-published Historical Women's Fiction Author

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.

 

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.