Catching up with Deanne Wilsted

If life is a journey, then the Genre-istas can certainly celebrate having enjoyed every mile along the way. Thank you so much to the crew for having me back to help celebrate this Sixth Blog-O-Versary! I am so proud to be counted among the amazing group of writers that have helped contribute to the blog’s success. 

To help celebrate the success of Romancing the Genres, I’m offering all of my Kindle books for just $.99 on Amazon for a short time from May  22^nd. You can find them here: amazon.com/author/deannewilsted

Throughout the ups and downs of parenting, moving, and publishing, my characters have continued to inspire my writing and driven me to get their stories out there. 

I completed and published my third novel, Molto Mayhem, set entirely in Italy. It has received great 4 and 5 Star reviews on Amazon… especially for my descriptions of Italy. Part Letters to Juliet, part Notting Hill, Molto Mayhem captures the reader's heart with quirky characters and delicious descriptions of food and setting. I tried to treat perceptions of grief, religion, and Italy in the book with my usual trademarks of humor and honesty. 

After receiving my rights back from my publisher for my second novel, Untangling the Knot, I have redesigned the cover and re-published so people can continue to find this sweet romantic story about Gabriella the church wedding coordinator who unintentionally gets all the plans wrong due to her growing attraction to the groom and his kids. In particular readers have really resonated with my depiction of the kids and the church priest in the story. And I wanted to make sure the novel would continue to be available (with some edits, but otherwise unchanged) along with my first novel, Betting Jessica, and my newer one, Molto Mayhem. 

Finally, my creative brain is back in gear with the start of a new novel set in England. It is a mother daughter journey this time…. With a little romance thrown in. The conflict? Mother wants to visit Jane Austen tourist sites, while her daughter is only interested in Harry Potter. Can commercial and literary fiction co-exist for this mother daughter duo? Or are the two genres, and the two characters’ personalities, perhaps not as far apart as they might imagine? 

I’m writing my own journey as I go along but love to share it with fellow travelers. 

You can drop me a note at dwilstedauthor@outlook.com or follow along on my journeys inspired by love at:  

Twitter  - https://twitter.com/dwilsted 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DeanneWilstedAuthor/ 

Website - http://www.deannewilsted.com 

Overheard on ... Romancing The Genres

By Deanne Wilsted

“How do you research your books on Italy?”

Deanne and Friend

I am so thrilled to be asked back as a guest on Romancing the Genres, and especially to post about such an interesting topic. Thanks for inviting me!

As many of you know, I have two books published, one of which, UNTANGLING THE KNOT, was set partially in Italy. More importantly, I had such fun writing about Italy in that book that I decided to set a new story entirely there. Both books base the main character in Tuscany. But in the new story, MOLTO MAYHEM, the main character travels all over Italy on a hunt for missing religious icons and a mysterious company. It’s a fun book, filled with food, and place and crazy characters. I hope to have it out this year, but in the meantime, you can check out more about it here.

And, while I could talk about MOLTO MAYHEM all day, what I was asked to write about was how I actually researched the setting for the two stories, while sadly stuck at my desk (or local Starbucks) here in the Northwest of the US.

My writing process is pretty organic… no elaborate 3x5 cards for me with plot points and character arches. Although I begin with a synopsis, my characters tell their story as I take them on their journey. And, what I have found, is that by writing about interesting locations, the characters have tons more to say. So that, as much as characters driving my plot points, setting does as well.

I’ll give you an example, in MOLTO MAYHEM, the hero, being English, thinks all can be solved over a cup of tea. They are travelling in Salerno and I need them to see something interesting while they are there. First I have them simply stop for Gelato, but it doesn’t give me enough of a sense of the quirkiness and history of Italy and doesn’t add any depth to the characters. So, I begin to research Salerno and the surrounding area. I find something intriguing, a special garden attached to a university and known for being a spot where students learned about herbal remedies. Like a dog with a bone, I dig deeper. It mentions words like Tisaneria and The Four Humours. I do more research, expanding it out to my local tea shops to speak with people who might know more. I find I am immersed in the ancient world of Hippocrates.

I’ve added an excerpt of this section to my website so you can read it there if you are interested. But suffice to say, this takes my characters into a completely fictitious, and hilarious encounter with two Italian men. And later, it directly results in the main character having dreams that help resolve a major conflict in the story.

It is misleading to suggest, though, that my process is entirely by the seat of my pants. Knowing that the story was set in Italy I put in place a few key pieces of support before I got farther than the first chapter:

1.     I researched the best translation and/or slang Italian websites, and had them on my favorites bar, ready to use at a moments notice. Some favorites: http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-italian/café, http://becomingitalianwordbyword.typepad.com/,  and http://www.italylogue.com/about-italy/italian-idiomatic-expressions.html

2.     I downloaded a map of Italy, with roads marked. And I favorite an Italy site which could calculate driving distances/times.

3.     I pulled out all of my old photos, brochures, and books from past trips to Italy and kept them with me as I wrote.

4.     I don’t use Pinterest, but I did make my own version of a pinned wall on my computer, with inspiring photos of Italy, the architecture (which plays a major role in the story) and people.

5.     I downloaded my favorite Italian songs as a soundtrack while writing.

6.     I watched a bunch of movies in preparation for, and then whenever I needed some inspiration while, writing. My favorites were: Only You, Under a Tuscan Sun, Letters to Juliette, and a new addition, The Trip to Italy.

Once I began writing, I used the above resources to help me research locations, themes, words, and cultural details. I also used Google Earth to get down to the road level of any towns where I sent my characters. (Here’s an example for the map where the Tisaneria is in Salerno: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Giardino+della+Minerva/@40.68123,14.753565,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xb6d3b7de2db48795)

To me, the very best part of setting a story in a foreign locale is the chance to get to know more about the culture and the people there. (It also doesn’t hurt that in some cases you can write off research trip expenses directly related to your writing…. But check with your accountant before making an assumption on this:>) I took two trips to do fact checking on my Italy stories. But to be honest, most of the detailed Italian information came from the above research.

It is tricky not to let web surfing take over your writing time… especially when you have set your story someplace as wonderful as Italy. But at least in my case, my characters wouldn’t let me ‘stop-over’ very often before they would demand I send them on to their next adventure.

Here’s to you own virtual trip to Italy or wherever – may it be a Journey Inspired by Love.

Ciao,

Deanne

Overheard on . . . Romancing the Genres

“After seeing the other side, I have a new perspective on this life.”

It was the first time I had met someone with a near death experience. We were at PF Changs having dinner after a long day of writing-related sessions at the Emerald City Writers Conference in Seattle. The woman across from me was really interesting on a number of levels. Traveling to the U.S. from Budapest, she was on an extended tour to promote her books. She was also an incredibly spiritual woman who had wonderful stories to tell about how her near death experience changed her life. The highlight, though, was when she read my palm.

It wasn’t the first time that day I had run into someone with a perspective on my character. At lunch we sat with a woman who knew how to do handwriting analysis. She showed us how to determine whether we believed a statement about ourselves to be true. Like, “I will be a New York Times best-selling author.” Try it! Write something you want for yourself. Now, are you done? Okay, if the letters are all evenly spaced, you believe it. However, if there is a space between the words ‘will be’ and the next part of the sentence (in my case, ‘a New York Times best-selling author’,) it means you don’t believe it. Apparently I have a ways to go in building my self-confidence around this statement:>)

Then, after analyzing my signature, she told me I was a cheerleader. I probably should have clarified whether she meant in the 'mean girl' way, or in the 'supporting your friends' way. I’ll take it as the second though.

So anyway, back to dinner and my palm reading. My new friend from Budapest told me I should not be afraid to take risks because I was well protected from the other side. It was the perfect timing for this insight too, since I am experimenting with a new-model publishing company for my third book, Molto Mayhem.

Set in Italy, and filled with rich descriptions of food and place, as well as hilarious characters, Molto Mayhem is a story about finding unexpected love on a difficult journey home. Like my second book, Untangling the Knot, it delves into deeper topics while still maintaining a light, humorous touch.

I am thrilled that it was accepted by Inkshares Publishing and set up for the funding stage. Inkshares selects only those projects they think will succeed, helps them raise money for all of the services required to publish a book, and then handles all of the publication, distribution, and publicity much as a large NY publisher would.

My campaign is only a few weeks in and I have already reached almost 20% of my goal. I have a lot of plans to get the word out there but I’d love to have help. Here are two ways you can support my effort to get this wonderful story published.

1.       Check out my funding page at Inkshares, where you can read the full synopsis, learn more about Inkshares, and even pre-order Molto Mayhem to help fund the book. https://www.inkshares.com/projects/molto-mayhem

2.       Help spread the word. Here are Facebook and Twitter blurbs you can use to let your friends know about Molto Mayhem and Inkshares.
Facebook: I just found a cool new book project called "Molto Mayhem" on Inkshares!  The first chapter already looks hilarious, so I can't wait to see it published! You can find out all about the book (including an overview) at:  https://www.inkshares.com/projects/molto-mayhem
Twitter: I can’t wait to see this book published. It’s set in #Italy & the food descriptions make me want to lick the pages: https://www.inkshares.com/projects/molto-mayhem

Now I’m off to bungee jump since no one said my risks have to be just with my writing. Besides, famous author John Burroughs said, “Leap, and the net will appear.” Here’s to everyone who takes risks without a net and to your next Journey Inspired by Love.

Deanne