A big welcome to author, S L Wallace
Book Title: Dante's Day Off
Page Count: 21
ASIN: B00FYCP48W
Genre: literary fiction
Cost: $0.99
Can you tell me something about yourself?
Let's see, what to share today? I'm a writer, mother and
teacher. I recently took an online quiz that told me my aura is blue, and I
have to say, the description of blues reminded me strongly of, well, me! I love
animals and animals love me, but I tend to kill plants, even though I try my
best to keep them alive.
That’s interesting, I love animals.
So, what inspired you to write?
I don't usually remember my dreams, but when I do, they are
often quite inspiring. When I wake up thinking, "Yeah, I'd totally watch
that if it were a movie," I know I have a winner! In addition to dreams, I
also pull inspiration from current events, memories of personal experiences,
and emotions.
Who are you favourite authors?
Neil Gaiman, Patrick Ness, Harper Lee
Can you tell me something about your latest book?
My latest is a short story that was inspired by a news
article I read last summer. Apparently, technology has caught up to modern
medicine, and head transplants are seriously possible. I decided to write about
it from the perspective of a guy who thinks that is possibly the coolest thing
ever. But often, real life just doesn't live up to our expectations.
Too true.
How long did it take you to write it?
‘Dante's Day Off’ is a short story, so it didn't take
me very long to write it. Editing took longer because you don't want to use too
many extra words in a short story. You want to get your ideas across as
succinctly as possible. So I was inspired in early July, finished writing the
story by the end of the summer, sent it off to a bunch of beta readers, and
continued editing while beginning the school year. (I'm a full time Montessori
teacher in an upper elementary classroom.) This story was published in mid-October.
It sounds like you are kept seriously busy,
Sarah.
Can you tell us anything else about the writing process,
do you have a set time for writing, did you do any research, or anything else
of interest that was involved?
I like to take my time with the writing process, but I also
get the itch to write frequently. I get fidgety if a week goes by with no time
for writing or editing my stories or blog posts. At that point, I'll take
writing over sleep.
My stories progress at their own pace. Word count and
publication deadlines tend to be set by the stories themselves. For example, I
began my first novel, Price of a Bounty (Reliance on Citizens Makes Us
Great), thinking the idea would make a great short story or perhaps a
novella. By the time I got around to researching novella contest deadlines, the
story was already too long to be entered as a novella. And then I realized that
I actually had three story arcs within the main story arc, so it became a
trilogy. Unfortunately, for those readers who are looking for more of Keira,
Guy, April, Scott or any of the other characters I grew to love, their story is
complete. Maybe someday down the line I'll be inspired to write a spin off, but
for now, I have no plans to add more to the Reliance on Citizens books.
For me, editing takes longer than writing. I'll go over my stories again and
again before sending them off to a slew of beta readers. Then I have to wait
for suggestions to come rolling in. And then it's back to editing until I'm
satisfied. As many authors will tell you, even after my books have been
published, I'm not always satisfied. Every so often, I'll update them, but the
changes at that point are always minor.
As for research, that also depends upon the story. I did the
most research for Retrospection which is a paranormal historical fiction
novella. I made sure my facts were straight for every historical time period
and place that Claire and Jhidhai visited. Even the overlying part of that
story set in Chicago is based on personal memories backed up by research. And Dante's
Day Off required some research too. I read about the science and medicine
behind head transplants and also learned quite a bit about locations in Rome.
What do you think readers will come away with when they
have finished your book?
My hope is to entertain while encouraging readers to think
deep thoughts. I can say that about every book I've published to date. If a
reader is still thinking about some of the ideas I've presented a few days or
even weeks after they've read my book, then I have succeeded.
WILL YOU GIVE READERS AN INTERESTING EXCERPT FROM YOUR
BOOK, DANTE’S DAY OFF:
Pietro snipped the last thread and stepped back. “Well,
that's it. Now we wait.” He glanced at the observation window where his
beautiful raven haired cousin, Natalia, stood watching.
A grueling
36 hours after they had begun, the surgery was complete. Sergio’s heartbeat was
strong and his breathing regular, but his eyes remained closed.
Pietro’s
team remained in their last positions. Some leaned against counters, while a
few sat right on the hard tile floor, watching and waiting.
Twenty
minutes later, Sergio’s eyes opened for just a moment. “Did it work?” he asked,
before falling back asleep.
Oh my, this brings the whole story flooding
back, and reminds me just how much I enjoyed it, when I read it!
Any other links of interest:
A big thank you, Sarah L Wallace. This has
been a pleasure as well as a very interesting interview.
For my readers, I can confirm that I
thoroughly enjoyed the two books that I have read by this talented author.
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