Series: One Woman's Journey From Sicily to America #1
Publication date: September 1st, 2020
Synopsis:
Join Angela Lanza as she experiences the tumultuous world of early 20th century Sicily and New York. Orphaned by the earthquake and powerful eruption of Mt. Etna in 1908, Angela is raised in the strict confines of an Italian convent. Through various twists of fate, she is married to a young Italian man whom she barely knows, then together with her spouse, immigrates to the U.S. This novel is an invitation to accompany the young Angela as she confronts the ephemeral nature of life on this planet and navigates the wide cultural gaps between pre-World War II Italy and the booming prosperity of dynamic young America.
Author, artist, and teacher Carmela Cattuti created Between the Cracks as an homage to her great-aunt, who survived the earthquake of Mt. Etna and bravely left Sicily to start a new life in America.
Series: One Woman's Journey From Sicily to America #2
Publication date: June 8th, 2019
Synopsis:
The sequel to Carmela Cattuti's first novel, Between the Cracks, this story invites the reader to accompany Angela Lanza as she builds her life in America during the first half of the 20th century. A Sicilian immigrant, she manages to assimilate into the social life of a small town outside of New York City. Through the horrors of war, domestic tragedy, and raising her sister-in-law's children, hers is a successful immigrant experience. Angela seeks to transcend organized religion and develop her spirituality. She influenced three generations of Americans through her artistic sensibility and a sharpened intuition. The book parallels America's growth with Angela's growing sense of who she is in the world.
Available at:
Trailer
Guest Post -
5 Reasons Why I Am Writing A Trilogy
Greetings Readers,
Writing is a challenging and frustrating activity. It is creative, but sometimes it is difficult to show up at the computer every day. The most onerous part of writing is letting go of the extraneous paragraph or pages; if they don't move the story forward, then they need to go. Writers do not like to delete their hard work and I am one of them. It is common knowledge that writers over-write; it's part of the process.
I had to cut one hundred pages from my first novel. It was becoming impossible to keep dates and characters consistent and there was so much more I wanted to include. My characters seemed to protest when I had decided to write one book. I was finding writing one novel wouldn't bring clarity to the story.
In this blog post I will share 5 reasons why I chose to write a trilogy to deal with the anxiety over over-writing and the disorienting process of deciding what to cut.
1) Sometimes what you cut from one novel can be used in the next book.
There were passages from my first book, Between the Cracks, that I rewrote and used in my next book, The Ascent. This also applies to characters that don't fit; sometimes you can re-purpose them for a future novel. I found this to be encouraging since I felt that the passages I had to cut were usable in the future. Nothing is ever wasted.
2) Get to know your characters on a deep level.
I found this to be tremendously satisfying. As you bring characters from one novel to the next you will find that you automatically know their mannerisms, likes, dislikes, and quirks. Don't get me wrong, you need to ensure that they grow, but some characteristics don't change. You want your readers to recognize them when they appear in the second or third book. While I knew I had to let go of certain characters when writing one book, I could see room for them in the next.
3) There is no need to tie up loose ends.
I found that some things couldn't be resolved by the end of my first novel, but I had the freedom to explore these issues in the next books. This encourages the writer to slow down and accept that he or she doesn't have all the answers. This embraces the mystery of the writing process and the reader will be hooked.
4) More room to play.
A writing life can be serious, with very little play. When you write a trilogy, you have space and time to play with timelines and characters. If you would like your character to experience a different time or place, you can creatively work that into the plot. If it doesn't fit the characters will let you know, but you have revealed the realm of possibilities. Again, the timeline change may not be appropriate in one novel, but will in another.
5) Easier to market and sell a trilogy.
Readers love trilogies and a major benefit of writing a trilogy is selling all 3 novels together. I also wrote my novels on their own; it is not necessary for a reader to have read the first novel to follow and benefit from the second. I found that doing an author signing with books that are connected to each other makes for a more streamlined experience. Chances are if the reader is interested in one of the books, they will eventually buy the others.
The third will be released in early 2021.
Hosted by:
