Good Morning, Booklovers!
Everyone have your coffee or other favorite drink? We’ve had summer in the Midwest the last couple of days, but spring showers are threatening today. I have the umbrellas up on the deck... just in case. Shall be get right to it? Join me in welcoming author Joanne Guidoccio and her featured romance/women's fiction novel, No More Secrets.
Nice to see you, Joanne. How do you drink your coffee?
JG: Each morning, I brew two to three cups of Chatty Matty coffee, an organic, fair-trade coffee sold at Planet Bean in Guelph, Ontario. I take it black with one teaspoon of Erythritol.
Ally: I’ll put the magic pot to work on that. While I pour, please introduce yourself to readers.
Everyone have your coffee or other favorite drink? We’ve had summer in the Midwest the last couple of days, but spring showers are threatening today. I have the umbrellas up on the deck... just in case. Shall be get right to it? Join me in welcoming author Joanne Guidoccio and her featured romance/women's fiction novel, No More Secrets.
Nice to see you, Joanne. How do you drink your coffee?
JG: Each morning, I brew two to three cups of Chatty Matty coffee, an organic, fair-trade coffee sold at Planet Bean in Guelph, Ontario. I take it black with one teaspoon of Erythritol.
Ally: I’ll put the magic pot to work on that. While I pour, please introduce yourself to readers.
Bio;
In 2008, Joanne retired from a 31-year teaching career and launched a second act as a writer. Her articles and book reviews were published in newspapers, magazines, and online. When she tried her hand at fiction, she made reinvention a recurring theme in her novels and short stories. A member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, and Romance Writers of America, Joanne writes cozy mysteries, paranormal romance, and inspirational literature from her home base of Guelph, Ontario.
Something unique that isn't in your regular bio: “Decluttering is my favorite stressbuster.”
Where to find Joanne:
Website: http://joanneguidoccio.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/joanneguidoccio
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjoanneguidoccio
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanneguidoccio
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/jguidoccio/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7277706.Joanne_Guidoccio
Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/Joanne-Guidoccio/e/B00FAWJGCG
In 2008, Joanne retired from a 31-year teaching career and launched a second act as a writer. Her articles and book reviews were published in newspapers, magazines, and online. When she tried her hand at fiction, she made reinvention a recurring theme in her novels and short stories. A member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, and Romance Writers of America, Joanne writes cozy mysteries, paranormal romance, and inspirational literature from her home base of Guelph, Ontario.
Something unique that isn't in your regular bio: “Decluttering is my favorite stressbuster.”
Where to find Joanne:
Website: http://joanneguidoccio.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/joanneguidoccio
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjoanneguidoccio
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanneguidoccio
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/jguidoccio/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7277706.Joanne_Guidoccio
Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/Joanne-Guidoccio/e/B00FAWJGCG
Interview:
Ally: Who or what inspired you to write your featured book?
JG: I was inspired by The Bridges of Madison County (1995 film based on the best-selling novel by Robert James Waller). Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood deliver stellar performances as Francesca Johnson (Italian war bride) and Robert Kincaid (National Geographic photojournalist). They have a four-day love affair that forever changes them. (Ally Note: I live a few miles from Madison Co. and have visited the bridges and Francesca’s House used in the movie (before it burned)).
Ally: What is the hardest part of writing?
JG: At some point in the writing, I encounter the murky middle, that nebulous place where I find it difficult to sustain the narrative. In short, I’m lost with no clear trail or direction in sight. Thankfully, I have developed several strategies that help me get back on track.
Ally: Are you a plotter, a pantser or a little bit of both?
JG: A poster child for left brainers, I assumed I would be a plotter. That had been my modus operandi throughout the 31 years of my teaching career. It didn’t take long for me to discover that I felt stymied and unmotivated whenever I approached writing in a structured way. Anything I outlined would find its way into a recycling bin. After several frustrating months, I sat down and wrote organically. Partway through the manuscript, I did experience the “sagging middle.” When that happened, I stopped to outline the remaining chapters.
My new label: linear pantser.
Ally: What’s the most meaningful thing a fan has said about your book?
JG: I was moved by the following Net Galley review of No More Secrets from Hayley B:
“I loved reading about what it was like to be a young woman in 1950s Italy and to relocate across the world to Canada and start again. I felt that each character grew on me slowly as they unburdened, until I felt I could happily have sat with them. A lot of my workshops focus on women breaking away from stereotypes or family/society expectations to be their authentic self. That’s what this book does. These women are freed by what they learn, so I was interested to see what would happen if Angelica told her final secret. Then ending did bring a lump to my throat and I didn’t want to leave these women behind.”
Ally: Do you regularly read reviews of your books? Are you affected by them?
JG: I read all my reviews at least once. On “blue” days, I reread the excellent reviews. While reading the less-than-stellar reviews, I look for common themes. For example, several readers commented on the number of characters introduced in the first chapter of my cozy mystery, A Season for Killing Blondes. I kept that comment in mind while writing future books.
Ally: Which of the trivia questions did you choose?
Ally: Who or what inspired you to write your featured book?
JG: I was inspired by The Bridges of Madison County (1995 film based on the best-selling novel by Robert James Waller). Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood deliver stellar performances as Francesca Johnson (Italian war bride) and Robert Kincaid (National Geographic photojournalist). They have a four-day love affair that forever changes them. (Ally Note: I live a few miles from Madison Co. and have visited the bridges and Francesca’s House used in the movie (before it burned)).
Ally: What is the hardest part of writing?
JG: At some point in the writing, I encounter the murky middle, that nebulous place where I find it difficult to sustain the narrative. In short, I’m lost with no clear trail or direction in sight. Thankfully, I have developed several strategies that help me get back on track.
Ally: Are you a plotter, a pantser or a little bit of both?
JG: A poster child for left brainers, I assumed I would be a plotter. That had been my modus operandi throughout the 31 years of my teaching career. It didn’t take long for me to discover that I felt stymied and unmotivated whenever I approached writing in a structured way. Anything I outlined would find its way into a recycling bin. After several frustrating months, I sat down and wrote organically. Partway through the manuscript, I did experience the “sagging middle.” When that happened, I stopped to outline the remaining chapters.
My new label: linear pantser.
Ally: What’s the most meaningful thing a fan has said about your book?
JG: I was moved by the following Net Galley review of No More Secrets from Hayley B:
“I loved reading about what it was like to be a young woman in 1950s Italy and to relocate across the world to Canada and start again. I felt that each character grew on me slowly as they unburdened, until I felt I could happily have sat with them. A lot of my workshops focus on women breaking away from stereotypes or family/society expectations to be their authentic self. That’s what this book does. These women are freed by what they learn, so I was interested to see what would happen if Angelica told her final secret. Then ending did bring a lump to my throat and I didn’t want to leave these women behind.”
Ally: Do you regularly read reviews of your books? Are you affected by them?
JG: I read all my reviews at least once. On “blue” days, I reread the excellent reviews. While reading the less-than-stellar reviews, I look for common themes. For example, several readers commented on the number of characters introduced in the first chapter of my cozy mystery, A Season for Killing Blondes. I kept that comment in mind while writing future books.
Ally: Which of the trivia questions did you choose?
- Book you’re currently reading: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
- A movie you’ll always remember: Out of Africa – Meryl Streep & Robert Redford
- If you were a color, what would it be? Purple
- Pie or cake? Chocolate Amaretto Cheesecake
- Best place you’ve ever visited: Grand Canyon
No More Secrets
Genre: romance/multi-generational/women's fiction
Angelica Delfino takes a special interest in the lives of her three nieces, whom she affectionately calls the daughters of her heart. Sensing that each woman is harboring a troubling—possibly even a toxic— secret, Angelica decides to share her secrets, secrets she had planned to take to the grave. Spellbound, her nieces listen to an incredulous tale of forbidden love, tragic loss, and reinvention that spans six decades across two continents. It is the classic immigrant story upended: an Italian widow’s transformative journey amid the most unlikely of circumstances.
Inspired by Angelica’s example, the younger women share their “First World” problems and, in the process, revisit their relationships and set themselves free.
But one heart-breaking secret remains untold...
Trailer
https://youtu.be/vo5ozMtcz2U
Buy Links
Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/No-More-Secrets-Joanne-Guidoccio-ebook/dp/B08CVTYWWX
Amazon CA - https://www.amazon.ca/No-More-Secrets-Joanne-Guidoccio-ebook/dp/B08CVTYWWX
Amazon UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/No-More-Secrets-Joanne-Guidoccio-ebook/dp/B08CVTYWWX
Amazon AU - https://www.amazon.com.au/No-More-Secrets-Joanne-Guidoccio-ebook/dp/B08CVTYWWX/
RSS Feed
