Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
At the age of twelve, I pounded the keys on my girly-pink Tom Thumb typewriter to compose several mysteries and serial spy thrillers under the auspices of a fictitious organization—I.N.T.R.I.G.U.E. Who knew I had a leg up on the popular Sixties TV series, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.!
In high school, I wrote a romance novella which earned its place on a library shelf. The book, a sheaf of orange typing paper fastened together with mod magazine cutouts on the cover, caused quite a stir until it disappeared. The bulldoggish librarian who reluctantly allowed my Chick Lit in the library at the urging of several classmates, told me it was stolen. Years later, when thinking back, I believe she trashed my enterprise.
The rigors of college, and the demands placed on a rewarding teaching career, shelved further creative writing ambitions until I retired from the profession. With time on my hands, midlife restlessness reactivated my imagination.
Thus far, as a result of that revival, I’ve written two books in the genre of Contemporary Women’s Fiction:
UNDERLYING NOTES (First Printing – 2007; Second Printing – 2009; currently available as a Kindle Edition at Amazon):
Carla Matteo copes with life by “taking to the bottle”–glass goddesses funneling perfume! During a midlife renaissance the “juice” offers incentive for Carla to find her own niche, while the ominous rose note in Paloma Picasso forces her to confront a troubled past, redefine friendships, sort out matters of the heart, and come to terms with the tenets of her life.
AN ENLIGHTENING QUICHE (Released: Sept. 20, 2016)
More than meets the eye at face value, Augusta Bergeron, stuck in a holding pattern, engages in morally destructive behavior she attributes to maternal abandonment. In for a rude awakening upon eggs-huming her mother’s quiche recipe, she unravels its significance and forsakes erroneous assumptions. Enlightened, Augusta feels compelled to redress all the havoc she’s wrought in the aftermath of a tragedy.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Latest, as in just released after baking 8 years inside the oven of my mind—ta da—AN ENLIGHTENING QUICHE.
Memories from two distinct chapters in my life surfaced as the setting for this quiche to rise to the occasion in the fictitious French-Canadian mill community of northern Rhode Island’s Blackstone Valley region. Details pertaining to the bookbinding mill are based on actual jobs I performed during summers off from college at the now defunct Sidney-Higgins Bookbinding Co.
Inspiration for the close-knit community of Beauchemins with its fabricated major and minor characters sprang from my deep admiration for the predominantly French villagers of Manville where I began teaching at Northern Lincoln Elementary in 1973. Though the village embraced other ethnicities throughout the ensuing years leading up to my retirement 29 years later, I chose to preserve its original flavor in my book. Lastly, but of no less importance, my own creative rendition of a quiche recipe enlightened me to plot storylines and concoct prevalent themes in my book.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
While I’m rarely at a loss for words, bursts of brilliance for how to best articulate an idea or parlay snatches of dialog overtake me when I’m away from the keyboard doing housework. I immediately turn off the vacuum or abandon my dust cloth to heed my inner voice by scribbling the message on a notebook kept on my desk for this purpose. Another quirk of mine is to play music conducive for plying my mood to write a scene. For example, listening to “Wicked Games” by Chris Isaak provided the heat I needed to better convey my thoughts:
An excerpt from Chapter 10 – “Timing may be everything, but so is tempo when it comes to priming one’s libido for ribald, raunchy sex! Strange, what a woman’s desire can influence her to fantasize through envisioning a wicked game of trailing an ice cube from sternum to steel-panel abs on a select male!”
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I’ll give a shout out to author, Stephen King. For years, I thrived on a steady reading diet of his books. More than mastering the genre of horror, I admire his genius for character development, realistic dialog, and a prevailing sense of humor. I credit King for the unleashing of my own perverse sense of humor where I deem it needed. For instance, this snippet from Chapter 5:
The school teacher could use the extra cash since grappling with her husband’s much publicized conviction for first-degree child molestation sexual assault. Facing a minimum of ten to fifteen years in prison for the least invasive criminal scenario more than likely sparked the voluminous, luminous, bituminous pyre two days prior to Vern’s court appearance for sentencing. Death by hibachi! Vernon Blais went out in a blaze of glory, smoked to death barbecuing charcoal briquettes while locked inside the bathroom with the window shut, an apropos exit strategy for the junior high guidance counselor caught stalling a thirteen year old boy in his office privy.
What are you working on now?
Since the release of my second novel, I’m going full steam ahead with leaving no stone unturned to market and promote it. This means I will not be starting my next novel, although there’s plenty of food for thought on my plate. However, I will continue to write my weekly blog which is featured at Authors Den, Goodreads, Amazon Author Central, and LinkedIn. I’ll also compose an occasional memoir or essay to post at Authors Den where everything I’ve ever written or intend to write has its place there.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
For starters, I’m counting on promotional sites like Awesome Gang to boost my author visibility and acquaint subscribers with my latest book, hoping to whet their appetite for a literal slice of quiche.
I’d say the websites where I feel most comfortable and confident in promoting my work are:
Goodreads – the site facilitates reader interactions with authors through interviews, giveaways, author blogs, and profile information.
Facebook – connecting with other Indie authors offers support and opportunity to share posts to gain more publicity. I’ll give a shout out to Scribes & Bibliophiles and Marketing for Creatives,
Do you have any advice for new authors?
The only advice I can give to new authors is based on what I practice: write to please yourself and go with the flow of your creative instincts. An innovator always stands apart from a crowd pleaser.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice I take to heart comes from other indie authors in the same literary gene pool who think the same way I do. The true measure of an author’s success is the achievement of having published a literary work—not the number of book sales or royalties. And, also of importance—do not dwell on a negative review
What are you reading now?
In my zeal to support other Indie authors, my TBR list is growing. Currently, I’m finishing up A MIDSUMMER’S WISH by Tinthia Clemant, a Contemporary Women’s Fiction novel, and will write a review to post on Amazon.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Down the road a ways, I envision novel no. 3 beckoning me to organize and embellish the jumble of colliding thoughts ricocheting in my mind. Look out!
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë)
Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë’s only novel)
Rebecca (Daphne du Maurier)
Gone with the Wind (Margaret Mitchell’s only novel)
Author Websites and Profiles
Eva Pasco Website
Eva Pasco Amazon Profile
Eva Pasco’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile