Suzanne Palmieri's Blog, page 4

Winner Winner SUNDAY Dinner!

Oh, you guys. I can not ever tell you how amazed I was with all your scavenging! And I realized, too late! That I gave a prize to writers AND a prize to readers when most of us are both. SO, that being said… when I say the TWO WINNING NAMES (drawn randomly by my baby witch) you may email me at suzanne AT suzannepalmieri DOT com. And then tell me what you would like! A query Critique or a book! Your choice.

 

Thank you. So much. I really wasn’t expecting so many of you to fine these books!

 

WINNERS:

Vickie Powell WITCH IN THE WILD found in NE Ohio

AND

Gina Denise Ard (Ashville NC!) Thank you so, so much.

 

And to the rest of you? This is a PUBLIC Coven. All are welcome. No one is turned away. And please, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you might have about… well? Anything!

 

Always yours, The Lost Witch, Me.

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“THE WITCH IN THE WILD” contest! Let’s have some fun….

Happy Birthday Grace Louise! I love you! (Baby witch is Seven tomorrow. How cute is she?!)

Dear readers, potential readers, writers, and lovely lost or wandering witches (men can be witches too, you know. They are the BEST kind of witch!)

Dreams. They are heavy things. You carry them on you back and sometimes you don’t even know they’re there. Just a weight. A sense of purpose that you can’t quite figure out. I’ve had many dreams. But ever since I was so, so small… I wanted to be a writer. Always an avid reader, I found solace in books. They took me away. And, my story? It’s quite a tale. You can read about it here: USAToday.com (people have said it is ENGAGING. So, you know… skim. The best part is at the bottom). Anyway… here are the contest, rules and prizes. But first… all you writers that want to be published? Keep dreaming. And all you readers who want a bit of time to sink into a story? I promise I can deliver that.

Contest:

1.You will wander out into the world and find a copy of my book THE WITCH OF LITTLE ITALY. I don’t care where you find it! A library, an indie bookstore, a big box store (I know it’s at B&N, Target, and Costco… but it may be more places that we don’t know about!) and then? Take a picture! See my lovely GRACE LOUISE (baby witch) standing next to a table? Like that. If you don’t want to be in the picture… that’s cool too!

2. You will email your pic to ME at suzanne (at) suzannepalmieri (dot) com. I will post them as they come in and then shout out your library, city, store, etc. I’ll even send thank you emails! Support your communities!

3. You will then post to your own social media (twitter, facebook, blog, pinterest, etc…) and when you post, tell me what you think of the book and let me know you posted so I can come over to wherever you are and comment!  Oh, a Goodreads add (quotes, comments, reviews or ratings works too!) *NOTE if you don’t do social media? No worries. Just tell me in your email and I’ll post it for you on my Facebook page.  Feel free to tweet to me when you add it as well.

4. The contest runs for a WEEK. I will post the pictures as they come in, and hop over to your websites, etc to comment and follow and whatever as the pictures come in. ENDS: 4/12 (Friday.. midnight EST)

PRIZES: (There are two categories, one for readers and one for writers) Winners will be chosen randomly by one of my children. I will put names of those participating (two different participants, writers or readers) in hats and they will pick. I will post those pictures too!

READER PRIZE: A signed copy of my book! THE WITCH OF LITTLE ITALY. Or… a signed copy of the book that comes out under my pen name (Suzanne Hayes, co-authored with Loretta Nyhan) I’ll BE SEEING YOU. (You will have to wait until the end of May for that one! But it’s your choice) *note! If you buy the book when you see it (because you have to write your thoughts about it, right?) You may either send it to my home address and I’ll sign it and send it back. OR I’ll inscribe another copy to a friend, family member, etc. Again, your choice.

WRITER PRIZE: This is a big one... either a query or a 10 page MS critique from one of the following people: ME! or my amazing agent who sold four books of mine to TWO different publishing houses in one day. (She knows her stuff!) Anne Bohner. 

So, go hunting! And send the pics as soon as you can! And you guys? You know who you are… those of you who have already read the book? Bought it? Loved it? Liked it? Find it still. Find it and show me. Because it’s (she’s) my baby, and she’s lost. FIND HER!!! Another lost witch found.

XO Suzy

Want to watch me read? Or stumble… your choice!

 

A video of one of my readings! I stumble, twice… But I’m getting better!   youtube.com/watch?v=TMgUrA…

— Suzanne Palmieri(@Thelostwitch) April 4, 2013

2 days… two days. TWO DAYS.

The Witch of Little Italy is in the wild. Go get one. Get, like… a bunch! Thank you, everyone in the world. Thank you.

Oh, Mommy (A public letter of apology)

 

Things have been crazy around here. It’s a good thing. How many times can a person say their dreams came true? Real dreams. Solid things.

Nothing is ever perfect. I’ve learned that. But damn, if things aren’t close. 

So, the other day my beautiful mother (pictured above with me at my wedding) came over to my house to play with the little witches while I wrote. She came into my room.

“Last week I had a blog-a-thon and read through your posts,” she said.

I was scrolling through websites looking for a bathing suit. (I know, I said I was writing, but I really want a nice bathing suit this year so I’m a bit obsessed) 

“Oh yeah,” I said. Distracted by a really skimpy two piece black number. Do I dare? I wondered?

“I never knew how much you thought about your father,” she said.

The world, as I knew it, stopped spinning and stayed tilted in an odd, odd universe. 

“What? How… I mean, I wore his CLOTHES. I wore his old down parka from the time I was 11 until I was 16!”

(To make things clear, my father is not dead. He lives happily where he grew up, in the deep south with my bonus mama and my brother Talmadge James. The thing is, when I was growing up he sort of came and went until one day he just … went. I love him. He loves me. We’ve found our peace… but it took years.)

“I remember,” she said. “I just… well, I thought you liked it just the two of us.”

“I did,” I said. And that’s where the conversion ended and the fight began. Let’s have a redo, shall we? Here’s what I wanted to say:

I did. 

You are reading this. I know. Oh, Mommy. I did. But all little girls want their Daddies.

So look, Lady. Crazy, beautiful, amazing, brave, excentric, charming lady… just because I missed him doesn’t mean much. I missed everyone. Even the people right in front of me. Even you.

We are, all of us, parts of those who came before. But at the end of the day we are OURSELVES. Not extensions of other people. And you won some kind of strange lottery when you got me. I was born a little odd, a little mad (okay, a lot mad) and very much my own person. Trying, impatient, wild at heart, fearless and full of fear, risk taking, mistake making. I am and was that person. And I wasn’t easy. 

So here you go. I am a mermaid because you took me to the ocean. I am a tree lover because you let me climb them and cheered me on as I got to the top. I am a writer because you wrote down my poems before I could even write and told me I was a wonderful poet. I am a reader because you filled our home with books and taught me to love them.

I’m a lost witch because I was born lost.  You didn’t give me that. I have it in my DNA. Permanent diaspora. Broken, but not because of you.

And I am smart. And sometimes mean. I’m sorry for that. 

Just so you know, every time you took down two coffee cups, one for you and one for him? And then had to put one away? I would have given my life to get him back for you. 

I would have given up everything just to watch the two of you dance, one more time, from my hiding place on the stairs. 

I learned about love from watching the two of you. And broken hearts. 

That’s what I write about. It’s why I’m good at it. You gave that to me. Never forget.

Love,

Suzy

“What does a published author look like?”

I started writing in 2008 for real. All of us… those who write, have been writing forever. But I started to try and figure out how to create an entire novel that year. July 3rd, to be exact. See, I’d had a bit of a tantrum. You can read about that HERE.

Only… once that first novel was finished, I didn’t know what to do. I had to research. How do you get your novel published? When I compiled all the info, I was daunted.

An agent? Huh?

An agent who will get your novel seen by editors at publishing houses? What? (I thought you could still wrap a manuscript up in brown paper and tie it with string. Really.)

And there were the percentages: Few writers even get an agent. It’s HARD to get an agent. Then, when you have an agent? The percentage of writers who get their books sold and then in print? Minuscule. I’ll admit it. Those statistics scared the hell out of me.

Thank god I didn’t pay any attention to them.

My first book got attention from agents. But no offers. 250 queries. Read it. Know it. I wrote a damn fine query, too. It was the book, not the query.

So I wrote another one (novel, that it), sent 180 queries. I landed one agent who I didn’t really feel was right, and had a book I didn’t feel was right either. I did the unthinkable. Terminated my contract and tucked that book under the bed too.

And then I wrote a third novel. I felt it in my bones. I knew…. it’s unexplainable. I sent 11 queries. received 3 offers. Accepted one ANNIE. (Anne Bohner of Pen and Ink Lit)

Each morning, I’d wake up and look in my bathroom mirror. I’d ask it..”Is this what a published author looks like?” I swear. It became a habit, a mantra, a chant.

We worked, Annie and I, and polishing the novel. And in May of 2011 that book went out on submission to publishers.

I then began to get the next set of rejections. I wore them like badges. They were positive. They were interesting. They were one step closer.

So I’d look in the mirror and ask: “Is this what a published author looks like?”

Then, one editor at the publishing house that I’d dreamed about (Saint Martin’s Press) because I admired the books they published, the cover art, and also? SMP are my initials (Suzanne Marie Palmieri). She rejected the novel too. But I could tell… there was room. Room for me to perhaps revise.

So I asked Anne if it would be okay, and then I emailed the editor with some ideas. Things I thought would help the novel shine.

“Revise,” said the editor. So I worked. Hard.

In September 2011 Annie called me. We’d sold The Witch of Little Italy. It was real.

I was at work. I went to the bathroom to catch my breath. And looked in the mirror. “Is this what a published author looks like?” No answer came from my reflection.

At the end of that month, Annie had worked out a two book contract with Saint Martin’s Press. Two books. Not a series. AND she’d also co-agented a novel I’d written on the side with a wonderful author and dear friend (who I’ve never met) Loretta Nyhan. Annie and Loretta’s amazing agent Joanna Volpe had worked out a two book contract with MIRA Books (mainstream fiction imprint of Harlequin). Both deals, for two books each, came together on the same day.

Four novels would be published. I had it in writing.

I woke up, looked in the mirror and asked: “Is this what a published Author looks like?”

I still didn’t know.

Today is March 1st, 2013. My novel came today. The one that will be on the shelves on March 26th in bookstores both small and big. In Target too. Not a manuscript. Not a galley copy. The real thing.

I looked at it for a long time. I touched it. Read a bit of it. Saw my picture on the back.

Then? I had an idea. One of the perks of working under contract for a traditional publishing house is that you get a chance to read some books first, before they are published. I have group of them that I simply adore.

So I took my own novel and stacked it up with the wonderful books I’ve gotten from authors I admire and editors who are kind. All are galleys,(though some are published now). I stacked them with mine in the middle. Here is what it looked like:

As I said, some of these amazing books aren’t out yet. Family Pictures (Jane Green), The Time Between, (Karen White -that book will be hard cover in it’s final form!), and Evidence of life (Barbara Taylor Sissel) will come out soon. And they are all wonderful.

Semi-Charmed life (Nora Zelevansky), and The Fate of Mercy Alban (Wendy Webb) are now available in stores.

And there’s mine. Do you see it? Sandwiched in between. That’s what it looks like to be a published novel. A novel amidst other wonderful novels. As it should be. In an amongst all the other choices that readers will have this year. (And last, and next, and forever….)

But, still. What does it look like to be a published author?

Well, if you are out there. And you are writing and hoping and dreaming. If you are in the process of querying agents and wracking up rejections. If you have an agent and are struggling with the “passes”…. go to a mirror. Look at yourself.

Because it’s you. YOU are the one that looks like a published author. Bravo on what is coming your way.

Never give up.

All the love,

Suzy

Suzanne Palmieri (AKA Suzanne Hayes)

The Next Big THING. Blog hop… I’ve been tagged.

I love social media… and when I was first starting out, many bloggers became really good friends. One of my closest blogging friends is the amazing author Sarah Wylie. Her second novel, BEGINNING WITH YOU is already up on Goodreads! You should find her, become a fan and read her books. Okay, so she “Tagged me” in this blog hop. I get to answer the same questions that she answered… only I am going to talk about The Witch of Little Italy because that one is due out…. SOON!!!!!! March 26th. (There’s a little time ticker thingie in the widgets to your left… counting down the days…)SO, here goes!

What is the title of your upcoming book?

The Witch of Little Italy

Where did the idea come from for the book?

So many places! The wonderful, safe, story filled kitchens of my Gram and my Great Aunts. An old newspaper article about two spinster sisters with a secret in the attic. Sun soaked summer days of my youth. Oh, and always feeling lost. I like to begin my books with a lost witch (like me) and safely guide her home. There are troubles along the way… (Such Trouble!) but in the end? Home, whatever that means, is attainable.

What genre does your book fall under?

Adult Fiction, Paranormal (magical realism), Mystery, Women’s fiction, on and on and on….. ah, the GENRE…..

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Let’s put it this way… I’d like the ENTIRE cast from ONCE UPON A TIME (ABC Sunday Nights 8pm) Especially my fierce sister SNOW to be in the movie rendition…. okay? Okay. Done.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Eleanor Amore, pregnant and alone, returns to her estranged, magical family in the Bronx where she uncovers secrets that will either heal or shatter the entire Amore clan.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

My work is represented by Anne Bohner of Pen and Ink Literary. I am under a two book contract with Saint Martin’s Press/Griffin and another two book contract (writing as Suzanne Hayes) with MIRA books. I’m as traditional as they come.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

Four months. It’s my average. Now… the revision is a whole different ball game.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

It has been compared to Practical Magic, to books by Sarah Addison Allen and Karen White. But also, I think it has a heavy sense of Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood as it is told in past and present scenes. Also, How to Make an American Quilt is a good one to compare it to… I think.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I had a tantrum. And the book came out to quiet my soul.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

It’s sold overseas… Italy and Brazil so far. And along with other major booksellers, Target is selling it as well!!! (You could push me over with a feather… but here is a full excerpt from Macmillan Site. I hope you enjoy:

Full Excerpt THE WITCH OF LITTLE ITALY

I am a writer

 When I was a little girl, I was a reader. I still am. Avid, insatiable. I used to get in trouble for reading. Not because my mother didn’t want me to read. She loved that I was reading. Just not all the time everywhere.

And since then, I’ve become a mother. A wife. A teacher. Now I’m something else. I’m a writer.

Recently, I was speaking with an English teacher who works at a college where I teach. She was asking me about all the details of my upcoming books. Asking me what it felt like to know my books will be published in the US and internationally as well. Asked if I was fully aware of what had happened to me. Asked if I was excited.

I answered all of her questions. But what I really wanted to talk to her about was my newest novel. The one not contracted. The one that haunts my every waking moment. I started to speak fast, telling her the plot and the characters and the layers of rich history that I am trying to create.

That’s when she said it. She smiled at me, and said “You’re a writer.”

And you know what? I suppose I am.

 

XO ~Suzy