What's Up with You, Fiorella?

Fiorella is working on three books at once now. The first one is that book she's been trying to finish up for more than a year, the heroine of which used to be named Phillipa but is now named Sabrina. The second one is a romance she got half-way through ten years ago and had to abandon because her agent and editor didn't like the eleven-year age difference between the hero and heroine. The third one is brand-spankin' new--a collusion with friend Patricia--and it's really exciting because it's a murder mystery starring a mature (= middle-aged) woman who teaches computer science on the college level.

Of course, in the meantime, Fiorella is handling family finances, laying down rocks and pruning cedars, keeping up friendships and relationships, learning languages, and trying to make the world a better place.  Yeah, with Fio, it's always full speed ahead. She was born that way.

Race and Writing

Fio writes characters of different races and ethnicities in her romances because that's life, or, at least, life as it should be. She doesn't like to make too big a deal out of this practice, but she does want non-white characters to be identifiable as such by readers. Sometimes Fiorella's characters out themselves, like Moira, the heroine of her second book, who tells the hero she is one-fourth Japanese. Hispanics can often be identified by their surnames, but Fio wracks her brain with subtle ways to identify black characters as black without sounding awkward. She doesn't use the term "Afro-American" because it's unwieldy and because she herself, despite the fact that her family has been in this country for only a couple of generations,  has never been called "Slavic-American."  She won't use the term "people of color" either because everyone is some color. That leaves her with references to things like hairstyle (a member of the theater guild board in her second book), a certain girl that a bigoted father doesn't want his son to date (second book again), or an AME minister being kind enough to conduct a burial service for a disgraced clergyman (first book). But sometimes, like in the book she is now writing, Fio just up and says it:

"A tall black man came out of the door of the docent’s office and headed toward the stairs, his head bent as he concentrated on the playbill in his hand."

And, in case you're wondering, he's the hero's best friend.

More Than You Wanted to Know About Fiorella

Fio has done many dumb things in her life, and sometimes those memories jmmy open the doors of the past and tell her what an idiot she has been. But still she marches on--what choice does she have?
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Fio picked up one her romances and started paging through it. OMG--it's good! So good that she forgives herself for having her theater director say "practicing lines" instead of "running lines."

Fiorella has always known she was one who stood apart. Maybe because Mother preferred it that way, maybe because Fio was born that way. It doesn't matter. It is.

Fio has a full tank of false bravado that shakes and quivers when challenged. Maybe that's why she always felt safe on stage or behind a podium--because everything was choreographed and she knew her role.

Fio hopes that in the future, every unwanted fetus will be placed in a machine that will incubate it to term so it can be adopted by a loving family.

Romantic Frenzy

What's happened to the romance industry?  We're all killing ourselves to write way too many books in way too short a time.  And we find ourselves not only having to sell cheap, but also having to fund give-aways and other expensive self-promotions--yet the market is so saturated that it's hard for a newcomer to stand out.

Something's gotta give.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Fio's books arrived yesterday morning, the ones she'd bought from her publisher at her author's discount price. Two boxes were perched like orphans on top of the garbage bin next to the street, and Fio threw them into the trunk as she and Husband left to drive off to her brother's for the family Thanksgiving feast. The first thing she did when they arrived in Austin was to open both boxes to see if the rain had damaged any of the books, which it hadn't.  Then she autographed a book as a gift to her brother and his wife.

Later that evening, when Fio and Husband were home, Husband claimed a book for himself, asked Fio to autograph it, and started reading--and kept on reading, which was a joy to Fiorella.

Two books down, twenty-eight to go.

Extrovert Euphoria

You probably read it on Facebook, but Fiorella is hyper, hyper, hyper!  She was the guest writer at an arts showing in Taylor (just down the road from Georgetown), the people she talked to were delightful, and she sold six books!

Maybe she'll make the bestseller list yet!

Positive Posts

It's been raining every time Fiorella has stopped by BookSpot lately.  Wonder how much the Central Texas water table would rise if she visited daily?
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Every time Fio accomplishes something that seemed impossible, she thinks "I can do better next time."
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Fiorella ordered more of her books a couple of days ago and was told they wouldn't come for two  weeks, but they arrived yesterday.  HOORAY!

Good Times

Clear the runways!  Fiorella is appearing at book signings, and she's on her game again.  Just give her an audience, and she turns into Kathy Griffin. Yeah, the funny stories keep tumbling out of her. Sorry--it's her view of life.

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Used Books

Fiorella was reading a book set in the 1950s in which black students resented being issued second-hand school books. Now, there were many inequities back then, but hand-me-down schoolbooks were not one of them.  In those days, EVERYBODY got school books with several names listed on the inside front cover.  The trick was to get a book that had been used by a top-notch student because it might have good underlinings in it--not that students were supposed to mark on the pages, of course.

Fio remembers getting a book that had eight names written in the printed grid, then four more below it.  But Kenny Jones's sister's name was one of them, and the teachers still talked about how smart she was.

Winner!

Delivery

Friend Jeanell has a copy of her book in her hands at last. The UPS driver, ever sensitive to the importance of the delivery, put the box on top of Jeanell's trash can, which is what happens when one lives out in the country and one's house is a good city block from the road. Jeanell is lucky he didn't suspend it from a tree, as often happens.

Back at the house, Jeanell paused in reverence and exaltation for several minutes before slicing the tape, then slowly opening the box and lifting one of the precious books out of it.  It was so beautiful. The covers were so bright and shiny, with Jeanell's name across the top of the front cover in blue letters, and the blurb on the back cover was perfectly displayed.  As she ran her hand across the smooth surface, she could feel the life within. er knees went weak, and there was a song in her heart.

Yes, it had been a long time coming, but it happened.  Jeanell is now a published novelist.  And she has twelve beautiful print books to prove it.