Interview with Author Marianne Petrino

Whether it’s an urban, metaphysical chick lit like “Coffee with Thunderbolts” or a memoir about her adventurous trip to Sicily -- "Full Tank & No Damage: Three on a Sicilian Odyssey" -- an afternoon spent with one of Marianne Petrino’s books is sure to be entertaining.

Let’s here what Marianne, herself has to say about her varied and colorful work.



Q: Do you have one main source for inspiration; if so, what inspires you most?



A: Everything in life inspires me and finds its way both into my writing and any creative activity I enjoy. Just getting out of bed to face another day filled with the unknown is a daily, human, heroic act worthy of documentation. Our days make for interesting chapters.




Q: Do you enjoy the actual writing process? What is your favorite part of writing?

A: I suppose I do enjoy writing because, starting with my Thundercats fan fiction, I have been writing in one form or another with regularity since around 1989. I don't continue with activities that are devoid of pleasure. (My life is strewn with my rejects, sad to say). Constructing the first sentence in any piece of writing is terrifying and exhilarating, a natural high.



My favorite part of writing is reading something I wrote some time back and wondering who the person was who wrote that piece. The first time that happened to me, I had to admit to myself that I was actually a writer. Reading older pieces always makes me reflect on my life and is an experience I value.




Q: What do you hope to accomplish with "Coffee with Thunderbolts"?



A: "Coffee with Thunderbolts" was my first attempt at writing a novel that was completely of my own creation. In the past, I had written serial Thundercats fan fiction. I took on this challenge during the 2010 National Novel Writing Contest. During the month of November, you had to write a 50,000 word novel. I wanted to see if I could do it (the accomplishment). I knew that if I could do this, I could write a travel book documenting my trip to Sicily with my mother and my husband. The book was also a means to an end in learning how to self-publish a novel.



Q: What do you hope to accomplish with "Full Tank & No Damage: Three on a Sicilian Odyssey"?



A: My mother has had a difficult life because her mother had one, and that fact has colored my life too. I wanted to take her to the village in Sicily where her mother had been born. In doing so, it brought the story full circle and gave her family bragging rights. She did something no one else in the family had been able to do since the early 1900s: return to Sicily. One way to defeat her initial resistance to going was to promise her that I would write a book about our experience. For myself, I also wanted to give my mother immortality by weaving her story into the book.




Q: "Coffee with Thunderbolts" is a fantasy with a spiritual side to it. Did you set out to write a book with a strong sense of spirituality?



A: The "spirituality" in "Coffee with Thunderbolts" just came naturally from me. I could have written a story about a girl finding a goldfish in a bowl on a city street, and it would still be loaded with "myth and magic", just like my fan fiction. It is all because I am a sensitive and come from an Italian culture that is comfortable with unseen messengers, the value of dreams and knowing through tarot, ritual, or some other means.




Q: "Coffee with Thunderbolts" is extremely imaginative. Is fantasy your preferred genre?



A: When you are a sensitive, your life can be a fantasy. Since everything I have written, even my travel book, has the fantastical supernatural in it, I would have to say that fantasy must be my preferred genre in every way. It is something I never really thought about before you asked.



Q: Many authors would find it overwhelming to even attempt any kind of metaphysical book. Did it come naturally to you?



A: It came very naturally. The gurus of writing say, "Write what you know." So, I drew my material from my personal experience of being a sensitive, my Italian cultural heritage, my training, and my study of "metaphysics" (or whatever people want to call it nowadays).




Q: Aunt Rosemarian, in "Coffee with Thunderbolts", seems to be a much needed mother figure for Elena. How important do you think it is for someone who does not have a positive relationship with their mother to find an Aunt Rosemarian of their own?



A: I think it is very important for every individual to have someone who has her/his back, whether that person is a mother figure or not. To think that we are in this big mess called Life alone is the greatest mistake an individual can make. That is what I hoped Elena would learn from her journey. One day, she might form a new closeness with her mother because of it.



Q: Do you identify with either Elena or Aunt Rosemarian, if so, how?



A: All of the characters in the book are a reflection of myself, even the "villains". But if I had to choose, I'd say I'd identify the most with Rosemarian. She is utterly imperfect in every way, yet she has the raw courage (even if she won't admit it) to knowingly face each new day and wrestle her challenges to the ground, even if she wets herself in the process. That is what it means to be alive for all of us. We all know success and failure, and character grows out of what we make of our experiences.




Q: You narrated your book "Full Tank & No Damage: Three on a Sicilian Odyssey" in your own voice. Was it difficult to write in this diary style? Did you feel self-conscious, writing a memoir, as opposed to creating fictitious characters?



A: The voice being my own made the job easy. Before writing my travel memoir, I got a book on how to write travel pieces. The book indicated that a memoir was the most difficult form of travel writing. I threw away the book and decided to tell the story as if I were relating it to a person as we were having coffee and pastries, Italian style. So I was never self-conscious about the story, for it was my own. Indeed, I hoped it would inspire others to talk to their parents before they were gone and learn about their family history. I usually don't outline my books, but I found I had to in this case to keep all the events straight. My mother and husband read the draft to make sure I had gotten it right. As for fiction, my mother is convinced that the book would make a great movie script. The story has already formed a jump point for a new novel (see future writing plans).



Q: Travel tends to be a big source of inspiration for authors. Are you eager to write more books set in Sicily?



A: I'd certainly like to go back to Sicily, spend a year in Cerami, watch life unfold, and then, write another book about my experience there. They have such wonderful festivals. The scenery is spectacular. Life there is difficult, but vibrant in every way. In fiction, I have often found Italians and Italian-Americans under represented. I do hope that my small contribution will help change that.


Q: Your Sicilian adventure was such a personal journey for you. Did you view yourself or your heritage differently, afterward?



A: The journey to Sicily began with my grandmother's story. In doing genealogy, my fascination with Cerami grew. I became prouder of my Sicilian heritage and of my mother, grandmother and great-grandmother after the trip. My father's people came from the mainland in Basilicata and Genoa, and my mother's father was Neapolitan. After this trip, I knew that my heart sang the Sicilian song of my grandmother the most. The wildness of the land matched my rebellious nature and my affinity for mountains. While there, I felt had come home.



Q: What are your future writing plans?



A: I am currently editing the sequel to "Coffee with Thunderbolts" called "A Star Rose in Cerami", which I wrote during the 2011 National Novel Writing Month. As you can see from the title, Sicily does figure in the plot, which is a Rosemarian and Augustus road trip of sorts. I hope to have it out by the end of summer 2012. For the 2012 National Novel Writing Month, I am considering doing a juvenile/young adult novel with SF/Fantasy elements that has been percolating in my brain for some time. In March of this year, I went to London for 2 weeks, and may consider writing another travel piece. But I am not sure whether to do so as a travel article or another small book. I am still pondering that question. I have woefully neglected my Thundercats fan fiction, so a short story or two for that collection may appear by year's end. In actuality, my preferred form is the short story, so into 2013 I might consider getting started on a short story collection. So much of what I write down comes from dreams and is more suited to the shorter format.