Monday, January 25, 2016

Interview with Alex Disanti, A SEPARATE HEAVEN


 
Thank you so much for hosting A Separate Heaven today. It is my pleasure to be here.

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?
A Separate Heaven is a series of seven books that spans twenty-five years in the lives of two families.  Book one introduces the Hamiltons and the Gianellis, brought together by an unlikely union.  Dominic Gianelli, a man of wealth and power, is nearing fifty when a chance meeting with twenty-year old Paige Hamilton forever changes his life. An evening that begins as a dinner date takes an unexpected turn and becomes a night he will never forget, a night that is the first step into their future together.

But Gianelli is a man with secrets and there are dark corners in his world. While he is pleased with this new development, this unanticipated treasure of a girl, he has grave concerns about marrying her. For when she becomes part of his life, he knows hers will no longer be her own. Despite any qualms, he finds he cannot, indeed will not give her up.

Catherine Paige Hamilton is the only daughter of an affluent, Long Island family. Until she meets Dominic Gianelli, she has lived her life in accordance with the wishes and rules of others but she has never known a man like him. He becomes her stepping stone from girl to woman. She enters his life, his world, and she never looks back.

If you used a graphic designer/publisher’s designer, how involved were you during the creative process for your cover?  
I found my artist on my own. A principal location in A Separate Heaven is Italy.

I knew that I wanted (for the first cover) a picture of a sunrise or sunset over water with a break in the center where the title would be placed.  The photos were found online and I had only a name to go by. It took several weeks but I made contact with the artist.  His name is David Humphries and he resides in Yorkshire, England.  A couple of amazing coincidences: The pictures were taken off the coast of Italy when he and his wife were guests on a friend’s yacht.  That coupled with the name on the yacht, which was Heavenly Daze, has led me to feel a certain sense of “meant to be” with regard to the series. 

Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?
I never outline. Most of the time I carry several chapters in my mind then sit down to write.

Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?
Yes, I do have an editor.

Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?
At Barnes & Noble and some art galleries and gift shops. Book one is available in hardcover.  The first three books are available on Kindle with four soon to follow and I plan to have book 5 released in July or August.  Working on having all the books in print by then too.

What kinds of marketing [twitter, Facebook, blog, forums] are you involved with for promoting your book(s)?
I have learned how important it is to engage in as many forms of social media as possible.  It has become a must for marketing and advertising.  Facebook, Twitter, a new website/blog and virtual book tours are currently taking most of my days!


Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?
At the moment, most definitely.  Right now I am devoting the majority of my time to marketing.

What advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena?
KINDLE, KINDLE, KINDLE.  Use every form of social media to promote yourself and your work. Belief in yourself is paramount. You are your own best critic, in the sense that if you aren’t pleased with your story, then work on it until it feels right to you. But stick to what works for you.

Be innovative.  I had members of a local theater group portray major characters in my series and we “performed” at a beautiful restaurant on the Texas Coast, complete with two men dressed in suits and dark glasses who came in and “swept” the restaurant prior to the entrance of the Gianellis. Also had our own paparazzi surreptitiously trying to get pictures of the couple and being chased away by security.  We were a hit!

Besides writing, do you have any other passions?
Ballet and I love to read about other authors’ lives. For example, Karen Blixen (Out of Africa memoir), Marguerite Duras (The Lover), Lillian Hellman (Julia)

What’s next for you?
Doing everything I can to realize my dream of A Separate Heaven becoming a television series.



BLURB:

Step into a world of riveting drama.  Enter A Separate Heaven, a story comprised of power, wealth, and romance, multifaceted characters, and complex relationships.  A novel by Alex Disanti.  From Long Island to the shores of the Mediterranean, this exciting series spanning twenty five years in the lives of the Gianelli and Hamilton families will hold you spellbound.

Buy Links:


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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Alex Disanti lives in the Texas Hill Country.  While writing has been a lifelong love for her, A Separate Heaven is her first novel.  Early works were mainly poetry and short stories.  As A Separate Heaven progressed from thought to paper, friends and family began reading the manuscript.  Then, in an effort to test the marketability of the material, she enlisted the aid of what she calls her “test readers.”  These readers vary in age, occupation and background.  It simply grew from there.  Alex’s rich detail brought the characters to life, and the ensuing chapters could not come quickly enough for her readers.

Twitter:        https://twitter.com/AlexDisanti  
Website/Blog   http://alexdisanti.com




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