Genre: Romance
Format: ebook, paperback
Buy: Never Say Perfect
1. What is special about Never Say Perfect?
The setting includes Pawleys Island, Litchfield, Murrells Inlet, the Grand Strand—all in South Carolina and offers the names of some local points of interest such as Brookgreen Gardens, Hannah Banana’s Sunshine Cabana at the Waccawache Marina and Lazy Gator Gifts in Murrells Inlet. Other locations in the book are Cape May, NJ, New York City, and Milan, Italy.
2. What is a brief synopsis of the book?
Following a romantic second honeymoon in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, Dan Strickland mysteriously disappears at the airport. What inexplicable secrets was he hiding? Why had he seemed so loving and blissful during their vacation only to suddenly vanish? Will the weight of disaster cause Laina’s faith to crumble?
From Pawleys Island to Cape May, New York City and Milan, you will travel this emotion-packed journey with Laina and her family. Will they discover that one should “Never Say Perfect?”
3. What is the theme of the book? What message are you trying to convey?
My purpose in writing this book includes demonstrating that our lives, as we currently know them, can be irreversibly changed in an instant. Everyone has challenges in life, and no one is exempt from sad or difficult events. How do we cope? Even people with strong faith can experience times when they feel disconnected and distant from God, but the point is when we stop relying on God and placing our sorrows in His hands, the longer it will take us to recover. He is our strength.
Another message I wanted to share is how important our friends, and particularly for women—our girlfriends can be. Close girlfrends navigate any number of sorrows and triumphs together. Even if we are miles apart, we can still be there for each other, providing emotional and spiritual support. In Never Say Perfect, Laina’s girlfriends come to her rescue when she desperately needs them. She didn’t ask for their help—they just knew and took action. I have a group of friends who would do the same for me, and they are priceless. So a segment of this book was meant to honor them.
Just as in my first novel, Eyelash, I wanted to tell a story that reminds us that family relationships can be complicated. If no one makes an effort, nothing can be gained or resolved. Someone has to make the first move or the situation remains stagnant, and harmony is continuously obstructed.
There is more romance woven into Never Say Perfect than in Eyelash, but I have to be careful not to reveal too much of that aspect. I don’t want to spoil the mystery that was built into the story!
4. Are you taking a writing break now, or are there more books on the horizon?
Just a month before releasing Never Say Perfect, my nonfiction book, 7 Easy Steps to Memoir Writing: Build a Priceless Legacy One Story at a Time! was published. I’ve barely had time to wear the marketing hat for 7 Easy Steps and now Never Say Perfect is out and in need of marketing attention as well. So I’ll be juggling promotion and marketing of both books, as well as speaking engagements for 7 Easy Steps. There are definitely more book projects in the works, however. Never Say Hopeless will follow, as will Never Say Final if I live long enough! These stories will continue the saga of the life of Laina Strickland and her family. Additionally, I have two more nonfiction works to finalize, which are currently in various stages of completion—lots to keep me busy for a very long time. I’m also helping a friend, who has led a rather bizarre life, capture her story. It is more dramatic than a Made for Television movie, and the scary aspect is that it’s all one hundred per cent true. At any rate, I won’t be bored for some time to come!
5. What is the most challenging part of being an indie author? The most rewarding? Without a doubt, the most challenging is the wearing of all hats. I could be glued to my computer 24/7, but must periodically extricate myself from my chair. I have a reminder set to tell me to get up and walk around for a few minutes every two hours. Of course, writers love to write, but marketing and promotion are a huge component of indie publishing. No promotion effort equals no sales. Balancing the two hats, along with wearing the accounting/bookkeeping hat leads to stress overload at times. The rewards are almost too numerous to list, however. A few of my favorites are total control over the project, not having to depend on someone else to do their part—it’s all up to me. It will progress at the pace I choose. If I need to take a break and set everything aside for a while, no one is going to be demanding action on my part for meeting deadlines. I set my own schedule.
6. As an indie author, what would you say to a potential reader who has never read anything from an indie author?
What you read is what the author intended to write and convey. No one has told them that they have to change something in order to please an agent or editor or publisher. Changes might be recommended by pre-publication readers, but ultimately the decisions rest with the authors. The words placed on their hearts is what will be shared with the readers. They are in control.
7. Is there anything you would like to add?
Yes, only that I really love writing inspirational fiction. It’s exciting to be able to mold my characters into anything I want them to be and to put them into situations that are intriguing. I love writing dialogue, something that some authors say that they despise, but I get a real kick out of putting words into the mouths of my characters. At the end of the day, however, my fervent hope is that hearts and souls are touched by reading my books. Nothing makes me feel that it’s worth all of the time and effort more than someone saying, “Your book entertained and blessed me all at the same time.”
Mary Anne Benedetto was raised in Southern California, moved to the Albany, New York area in her late teens, and then south with her charming husband, Fred, to Murrells Inlet, South Carolina in 2007. Her first novel, Eyelash, was borne as she began writing while she sat on the beach with her girlfriends in Cape May, New Jersey during an annual July “Girls Only Week” in Cape May–a laughter filled vacation that they have enjoyed for almost two decades.
As the owner of A Writer’s Presence, LLC, she is a Certified Lifewriting Instructor, affiliated with The Soleil Lifestory Network. In addition to working on new writing projects, Mary Anne teaches workshops to help people write their life and family stories, capture the essence of their Christian spiritual paths, and learn about navigating the publishing highways. She thrives on speaking to community groups about the importance of preserving our stories to share with future generations, having been impacted by a trip to Hawaii where she toured Pearl Harbor and recalled that her father, Ralph Greene, had been stationed there in the Army on December 7, 1941. She knew virtually nothing about his experiences of that day–because she had never taken the time to ask. She is passionate about influencing others to write their own stories and capture the written life experiences of loved ones before it is no longer possible.
Mary Anne is a wife, mom, and grandmother of three, who loves the challenge of creating new writing workshops and projects because they will ultimately touch the lives of people whom she will never know.
Visit Mary Anne at her website: www.awriterspresence.com or check out her blogs at: www.maryannebenedetto.blogspot.com and www.4womenwholove2travel.blogspot.com.
Home
