Interview with Carole Bellacera

Added October 15, 2003

Ayden: Today, we're chatting with author Carole Bellacera. The author of East of the Sun, West of the Moon took a few minutes out of her busy day to talk with us about her latest novel Understudy.

Have you always wanted to write?

Carole: Yeah, I've been writing and/or telling stories since I was in grade school. Growing up, I was torn between wanting to be a writer or an artist. Writing won, since I'm not very talented at drawing.

Ayden: Do you find it difficult to balance your writing with family and other obligations?

Carole: Not really. I didn't start a writing career until my kids were older. I wrote while they were in school.

Ayden: What's the greater joy: readers writing to say they enjoyed your work or readers understanding your work?

Carole: I enjoy both, of course, but it's extra special when a reader tells me how they "got" something or understood why a character acts a certain way. Sometimes, readers give me insights about my books that surprise me, and make me think of things in a different way.

Ayden: Do you treat your writing like any other job, i.e. set time everyday and this many chapters? Or do you write when the mood strikes you?

Carole: I'm pretty organized, so I write on a fairly tight schedule. Weekdays from 9-1. I don't have the luxury to wait until the mood strikes me, or I'd probably never get around to writing. *G*

Ayden: Let's take a minute to talk about your previous novels.Would you tell usa bit about them and where they can be found?

Carole: All three of my previous books can be found at any of the online book stores. I'll try to give a brief synopsis of each one.

Border Crossings - An American woman moves to Northern Ireland with her Irish husband and has to learn to adapt to life during the Troubles.

Spotlight - An American photojournalist falls in love with an Irish rock star who is bedeviled by his violent past in Northern Ireland.

East of the Sun, West of the Moon - A neglected congressman's wife finds love with a Norwegian twelve years younger.

Ayden: Your most recent novel, Understudy, tackles the question "If you had the chance to live someone else's life, would you?" Where did you get the idea? Was it difficult to write?

Carole: Would you believe I got the idea at a Longenberger basket party? I got to talking to an emergency room nurse there, and she told me about an incident that happened here in Virginia about 30 years ago when two teenage boy's identities were mixed up in the ER. One was DOA, the other in critical condition. And the wrong parents were at the side of the surviving boy. The light bulb went off in my brain, and I knew I had to write a novel about it. And no, for the most part, it wasn't hard. I had a two-week stretch of writer's block about halfway through, though, when I picked up the story six years later. But it passed after I wrote myself a little bio about what had happened to Amy in those six years.

Ayden: I know Understudy had to present a challenge as it has not one, but twoheroines even though one dies, but still lives. How did you handle the challenge and the delicate balance needed for two heroines?

Carole: Robin's character was so strong that even though she'd died, she lived on, you know? And with Amy playing "the part" of Robin, it was actually quite easy to balance out the different personalities. Yes, it was something of a challenge, but I enjoyed every minute of it, and I feel like that shows when you read the book.

Ayden: Were you worried readers wouldn't like or maybe not understand Amy'smotives and reasons for letting "herself" die?

Carole: Yes, I realized I was taking a huge leap of faith with that decision, but I hoped that I'd paint such a sympathetic picture of Amy's troubled childhood that the readers would "understand" the reasons why she choice to do what she did. The fan mail I've received supports that. I haven't had any negative feedback, except for that one nasty review on All About Romance. *G* Oh, no, everyone's gonna go read it now. That's okay. One person's opinion.

Ayden: What can we expect from you in the upcoming year? Any new releases you canshare with us?

Carole: Oh, how I wish I had an answer for that. My career is in transition right now. I've signed with a new agent, Jenny Bent from Trident Media, and we've put together a great proposal called Hawk Moon Run, which we hope will sell (very soon!) to a new publisher. I also have another completed novel, Tango's Edge, about a Russian ice dancer who defects to America with the help of an American (female) ice dancer, for which I'm also looking for a new publishing home. I have no idea, whatsoever, when these books will be out, but I'm hopeful that one of them, at least, will be out in 2004.

Ayden: What's the one thing you know now you wish you knew before you beganwriting?

Carole: I wish I'd learned to concentrate on the writing, and not worry so much about the business end--numbers, print runs, appearances, etc. I think I have an ulcer because of all the worrying I do. I'm trying to change that now, and I'm working really hard on it.

Ayden: Any advice for aspiring authors?

Carole: If you know you're meant to be a writer, then don't ever give up, no matter how many rejections you receive. The "yes" could come the very next time you send out your manuscript.

Ayden: Carole, thanks again for joining me. I enjoyed it immensely.

For more information about Carole and her books, please visit her website at http://www.carole.bellacera.com/.

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