What Has Fiorella Learned?

Fiorella has learned a lot about herself while writing WHERE THE HEART LEADS.

Craft-wise, she realized that she's been writing as a poet--agonizing over each sentence and every word as she goes along--which has seriously slowed her down.  As a novelist, she must write quickly to get the basic story down, then go back and add the curlicues.

Voice-wise, she realized that she is funny, sardonic, and quite dark.  She can't resist word plays, likes turning characters inside-out, and puts her heroine through hell before giving her a well-deserved happy ending.

Personally, she  learned that  if she stays up half the night finishing off a book, she's gonna pay for it the next night with a major attack of fire in the gut. But the good thing is that her take-no-prisoners approach has reaffirmed her belief in herself.  Fiorella is made of steel.  She can do anything she puts her mind to.

Fiorella Ponders

Part and parcel of being an artist is that appearances are very important.  Fiorella can't walk through a  room without tweaking a pillow and can't walk into the garage without sighing in sorrow.
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Fiorella figures our atoms are recycles, but that there's something more--a spirit, a soul--that lives forever
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Your Fio was born with her skin on inside out, a vulnerability which makes for a very good poet, but a troubled psyche.  She has her ups and downs.
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Fiorella forgives those who trespass against her, but she does not forget.  It's a matter of self-protection.
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The only realities are life, death, and dinner.