I still remember when I
received the e-mail from Dreamspinner Press informing me that they were
interesting in publishing my first novel Dueling Divas. I was so overwhelmed, all I could do was cry. To know that someone believed in something I
wrote enough to buy it was incredible.
I’ve had friends and strangers ask me how I did it and for advice,
etc. There are also people who asked me
how I actually started. I’d written some
short stories and plays back in school but had left it behind for a while. As an English Literature major in college I
was kept busy writing term papers and trying to write what the instructors
wanted rather than what I wanted. But
that’s what one has to do in order to obtain a degree. After that, I didn’t think much about writing
for a while and then something changed.
What
changed?—For so long I’d written what others wanted but with Dueling Divas
I had something that I wanted to
say. It didn’t have to be anything
profound or earth-shattering, but I wanted to give voice to my thoughts. There was a story I wanted to share with
others and a story which was demanding to be told.
The
process—It’s not a quick process. At
least for me it wasn’t. I had the story
fairly down pat, but had never really learned to type which meant I had to
learn how many spaces needed to go before or after a period or after a comma,
etc. The editing took a lot longer than
I would’ve thought. At this time you
learn a lot such as making sure that what your thinking regarding the story
actually makes it down on paper. The
audience can’t read your mind.
Advice
for those wanting to write—Make sure you have something to say and that you
believe in your work and “need” to do it.
It can be a long process and you need to believe in what your doing
otherwise you’ll become bored or discouraged.
Also start growing a thick skin now—more on that below.
My
approach to Dueling Divas, an Avondale story—The idea for Dueling Divas was
born after a disastrous night out with family members to a local club. I’m not fond of the club scene and felt
tricked into going. I remember being
angry and needing an output for the anger.
That was when the idea came to me.
The funny thing is that an idea can take you to a far different place
then where you started. Divas turned out
to be a story which at its core is about family, relationships, and love. So, how did I actually start.
In
my writing, characters are everything.
It’s all about the people inhabiting my world and what makes them
tick. The characters come first and I
flesh them out in my mind so that they have distinct personalities which become
even more rounded out as the story progresses.
I’m
lucky in that I can actually picture my story in my mind like a film. I can see it so clearly that it’s as if I’m
jotting down the notes from what I’m watching.
The next thing I do is write an outline of the story that I can refer
back to and then I’m off. At that point
you just jump in with both feet, start writing and see where the characters
take you.
Oftentimes
the characters led me where they wanted to go and I think a well written
character will do that.
Some
good advice I received—The best advice I got was from the writer
Etienne. The advice was to write
yourself a cast of the characters with all their pertinent information. Their age, description, quirky traits. That way you always have something to refer
to without having to go back and dig through what you’ve already written.
The
biggest thing I learned—To be completely honest, I had to learn how to deal
with criticism. I was shocked by how
protective I felt about my work when I dealt with my first editor. And I did yell at the computer and pound my
fist on the desk, all that good stuff.
Then I calmed down and realized, hey they have a point. Often times the fixes were small things that
I just needed to make clear. There were
times I needed to say I believe in this and I’m not changing it, but I also
needed to learn to see others viewpoints.
Not easy but a very necessary thing to learn.
Who
am I as a writer?—I think that foremost I am a writer who finds characters
to be the most important things in a story.
You can have a fantastic story to tell but without compelling characters
it’ll fall flat. I enjoy putting
characters in unusual circumstances where they may meet people they wouldn’t
otherwise meet or be places they wouldn’t usually go.
Dueling
Divas, an Avondale story—Divas has compelling characters who find
themselves in unusual circumstances.
Avondale is an actual area of Jacksonville where I lived for many
years. Some of the places mentioned in
the books are made up for the story—such as the clubs. And then there are real places, some of the
eateries, which really do exist.
In
the story an aspiring singer named Nash finds himself having to don drag in
order to compete in a contest he feels could help further his career. Along the way he finds love with Bobby, the
brother of his biggest competitor, a woman named Stacey. These three characters live fairly normal
lives filled with good friends and family.
They meet some quirkier characters while in the contest. All of the characters are somewhat out of
their element in the story and learn to turn to one another for survival when a
murderer starts killing of contestants of the singing competition.
Dueling
Divas is a fun story filled with romance, mystery, drama and heart. Thank you all and let your inner divas shine.
Exclusive excerpt from the story:
When
they arrived at Publix, Meggy and Bobby headed to the ice cream section to pick
up Meggy’s favorite—ice cream sandwiches. Bobby had his head in the fridge
getting the ice cream sandwiches and a carton of plain vanilla ice cream when
he heard Meggy calling him and pulling at the hem of his shorts.
“What,
Meggy?”
“It’s
Mr. Wow!” Meggy said. “Look, it’s Mr. Wow!”
“Mr.
What?” Bobby said, not remembering what he’d said the last time he was in
Publix with his niece.
Bobby
put the ice cream in the cart, and looking around noticed the familiar ass of
the man bent over stocking the freezer across the way. Bobby walked toward the
man, guiding the shopping cart with one hand and holding Meggy’s hand in the
other.
“Well,
hello stranger,” Bobby said.
Nash
looked around and saw familiar bare feet in flip-flops. Resisting the urge to
kiss the feet he found so sexy, he stood up and turned around with a big smile
on his face. “Well, hello, yourself.” Then he looked at Meggy and said, “I
recognize you, little lady.” He took her hand and gently shook it.
“I’m
Meggy. We came to get ice cream. I know who you are. You’re Mr. Wow. I heard
Uncle Bobby call you Mr. Wow last time we were here.”
Bobby
found it funny how his niece had added the Mr.
title to his Wow comment when he’d
first seen Nash. He figured it saved him the embarrassment of having to explain
himself to her.
“There
you two are,” Jeffrey said from the end of the aisle as he walked toward his
daughter and brother-in-law. “Did you find everything all right?”
“Sure
did,” Bobby said.
“We’re
talking to Mr. Wow,” Meggy said.
“Nice
to meet you, Mr. Wow,” Jeffrey said, extending his hand to shake Nash’s while
looking at Bobby with a quizzical expression on his face.
“Nice
to meet you, too, but actually the name’s Nash, though I kind of like Mr. Wow
too. Are you folks finding everything you need today?”
“I’ve
found everything I need,” Bobby said, still looking at Nash.
“I
found the chips and steaks,” Jeffrey said, starting to figure out what was
going on in front of him. “We’re grilling out tonight.”
“You
can come,” Meggy said.
Jeffrey
noticed the eye contact between Bobby and Nash and how Bobby blushed when Meggy
extended the invitation to Nash. Poor Bobby, his blushing always gave him away
at things—cards, surprises, and now this. Jeffrey felt like he could see his
brother-in-law clearly for the first time.
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Author bio
Antonio
was called to write at various times in his life. When he was young the writing consisted of
plays and short stories. Then he
explored the fine arts and literature, earning a bachelor’s degree in the
latter while minoring in art history. In
his studies he was fascinated by and enjoyed analyzing characters, their
personalities and motivations. To him
it’s always been the characters that make a story special. Once again writing has taken hold of
him. In the past it was just an amusement,
but now—for Antonio—writing is a passion to live, eat, and breathe.
e-mail
address: antonio.stories@comcast.net
