Monday 9 September 2013

PROMOTIONAL SPOTLIGHT & ABOUT THE AUTHOR & INTERVIEW & EXCERPT - HUGGED BY AN ANGEL BY ROBERTA CAPIZZI

Book Information supplied by Girls Heart Books Blog Tours
Title- Hugged by an Angel
By- Roberta Cappizzi
Expected Publication Date- July 22nd, 2013
Genre- Contemporary Romance


BLURB supplied by Girls Heart Books Blog Tours
How can you ever love again when tragedy has crushed your heart?


Kathleen used to love life. She had plans, dreams, and faith in life; but that was before the accident that took it all away from her in an instant. Now that her beloved brother is dead and she's confined to a wheelchair, her future is but a dark cloud hovering above her head. How can she ever find the will to move on and keep living without him? Even the cares of the happy-go-lucky American physiotherapist who's helping her with her rehab therapies are all in vain. Life seems to have lost its meaning, until one night she receives an unexpected celestial visit…


Colin has been working as a physiotherapist in Dublin for almost five years, but he’s never bonded so much with a patient like he is bonding with Kathleen; there's something about those sad blue eyes that makes him want to help her, to take away the pain that reminds him so much of his own. Having lost both his parents in a plane crash when he was only sixteen, Colin knows how it feels to have someone you love taken so abruptly away from you, and he makes it his mission to help Kathleen find her faith in life again. But something changes along the way…


Sometimes love can work miracles. If you believe.


LINKS
Goodreads






ABOUT THE AUTHOR



ABOUT THE AUTHOR supplied by Girls Heart Books Blog Tours

An avid reader since her childhood years and being an only child, Roberta always enjoyed the company of her fictional friends from the children’s books she loved reading, while she dreamed of writing her own stories one day.
It was when she discovered novels by authors Rosamunde Pilcher and Maeve Binchy in her teenage years that she realized it was time she put down in words the stories she had kept well hidden in her mind until then.
What started as a hobby, soon turned into a real passion and a way of life, until she could no longer keep the stories to herself, and decided to get over her fears and share them with the world.
Roberta lives in Italy, but her dream is to move out of her country and live either in a thatched cottage in the Irish countryside or in a country house with a swing on the back porch, somewhere in the United States, where she would love to spend her days writing novels as a full-time job, and maybe one day even get as far as writing a screenplay for a movie.

LINKS
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BOOK TITLES BY ROBERTA CAPIZZI

Hugged By An Angel
The Melody In Our Hearts



AUTHOR INTERVIEW

What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?
My name is Roberta, I was born and still live in Italy, but I would love to move out to either Ireland or the United States.

Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?
When I was a child I wanted to be a teacher. I’ve always had a real passion for school (duh!) and books. It was only in high school that I discovered a new passion, a passion for creating new stories from scratch but I never thought I could actually become a real writer. It was only a few years ago that I decided I had to try and get my stories published.

When did you first consider yourself as a "writer"?
When I held my book in my hands and saw my name on the cover.

Did it take a long time to get your first book published?
I spent almost a year trying to understand how to get an agent and sending out queries. When I got the first rejections I was ready to give up, then I decided to self-publish and after that things worked much better. It took me a couple of months to polish the manuscript and have it edited and after that all I had to do was format it and hit publish.

Do you work another job as well as your writing work?
Yes, I have a day job in an office, which I don’t particularly like. But it pays the bills for now so until I become a best-selling author I’ll have to keep living a double life like Spiderman, Batman and Superman. :)

What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarise it in less than 20 words what would you say?
My latest book is Hugged By An Angel. It’s a story of angels, miracles and of how love can heal the most shattered hearts.

Who is your publisher? or do you self publish?
I self publish through Amazon, Createspace and Smashwords.

How long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to finishing writing it?
It depends on the story and how much free time I have. It took me approximately 3 months to finish the first draft for Hugged By An Angel, squeezing in some writing time in the evenings and over the weekends.

What can we expect from you in the future?  ie More books of the same genre? Books of a different genre?
I think I’ll always stick to romance; if I had to pick another genre maybe I’ll attempt to write women’s fiction. I also have an idea in mind that could be considered a YA and I think it would be fun to write a chick-lit story. But I think I’ll always write romance, because I need a happy ending and a beautiful love story.

Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?
I’m thinking about writing a Christmas novella, which would be a sequel to The Melody In Our Hearts but that could be read as a standalone. But I don’t know if I’ll manage to have it ready in time. And I have a half-written first draft for another novel (and another three waiting to be written!) so you’ll be hearing from me again soon. LOL

What genre would you place your books into?
Romance. Sweet and rather clean romance.

What made you decide to write that genre of book?
I’m a sucker for romance, happy endings and beautiful, sweet love stories with charming heroes. So I decided to write my own happy endings and create my own heroes.

Do you have a favourite out of the books you have written? If so why is it your favourite?
Hugged By An Angel is very dear to my heart, but I don’t have a favourite book because each story means something special to me.

Do you have a favourite character from your books? and why are they your favourite?
I love Colin, from Hugged By An Angel, because he’s simply awesome and if he were real I’d marry him. LOL. And I love Ryan, from The Melody In Our Hearts, because he’s super sweet and he plays the piano-I’ve always wanted to learn to play the piano!

If you had to choose to be one of your characters in your book/books which would you be? and why?
I’d like to be Kathleen, because she had her guardian angel to help her through the toughest period of her life. And because she ends up with Colin! So I’d definitely want to be her!

Where do you get your book plot ideas from?What/Who is your inspiration?
I find inspiration in anything. It can be a line in a song, a person in the mall, something someone said: If it strikes a chord in me, I’ll start plotting and creating a story from that. I also find inspiration in dreams. My next project originated from a dream I had.

Do you gift books to readers to do reviews?
I love hearing other people’s thoughts about my books, although I’m always nervous about people’s reactions to my stories. So, yes, if somebody offers to review the book and post it for other readers to see, I’m happy to send them an ebook. My first reviewers were normal readers, not bloggers, and I was happy they were interested in reading my book. Unfortunately I’ve also had some people asking for a free copy and they never wrote the review or even just sent me an email to tell me what they thought of the book, and that was a little disappointing.

Do you read all the reviews of your book/books?
I do. I love reading reviews. I’m always curious to know what people thought and I think reviews are one of the most powerful tools an author has, because I believe honest criticism helps you become a better writer. It surely helped me understand what I did wrong and how I could make it better.

Would you ever ask a reviewer to change their review if it was not all positive about your book/books?
No way. I don’t think it’s fair and, at the end of the day, everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion. Besides, I don’t expect every single reader to love my books.

How do you come up with characters names and place names in your books?
Apart from choosing Irish names for my Irish characters, I don’t usually think too much about the names. The characters sort of introduce themselves to me as they start forming in my mind (creepy, isn’t it?) so I hardly ever have to think too much. As far as places are concerned, I tend to set my stories in Ireland, but it really depends on the kind of story I’m planning to write. For instance, the novel I’m working on is set partly in New York and partly in Wyoming (or Montana, haven’t decided yet) because I wanted to have a wealthy heroine from a big American city and a hero from the country. So I picked the places I thought would work.

Are character names and place names decided after there creation? or do you pick a character/place name and then invent them?
It usually comes as a package: character and name, all at once. I have no idea how it works it’s just the way it is! LOL

Do you decide on character traits (ie shy, quiet, tomboy girl) before writing the whole book or as you go along?
I sort of have an idea of how I want the characters to be or what they should look like before writing the story. But they somehow change and develop as I write the story, so maybe they turn out to be slightly different eventually.

Do you basic plot/plan for your book, before you actually begin writing it out? Or do you let the writing flow and see where it takes the story?
I try to plot a little, just to have an idea of what should happen but if I try too hard to write down a complete plot, I’ll get a writer’s block and it won’t lead anywhere. So I try to have a general idea of the main plot points before I start writing, then create the whole story and add new scenes as I go along, according to where the writing flow is taking me.

How do you market/promote your books?
Promotion and marketing are my weaknesses. I’m not very good at tooting my horn, saying “Check out my book, it’s good!”. This is the only part of being a self-published author that I don’t like. Anyway, I have a blog and I use all the main social networks. I also keep in touch with other indie authors and with bloggers, and we exchange favours when it comes to promoting each other (which is what I love about the indie world).

What do you do to unwind and relax?Do you have a hobby?
I have lots of hobbies, apart from writing and reading. And yes, in case you’re wondering, writing helps me relax, even though when I’m getting closer to deadlines it feels like a job. Apart from that, I love any creative activities. I enjoy painting ceramic, creating Christmas decorations, knitting, creating jewels with beads. I also like learning new languages and watching movies.

Is there a certain Author that influenced you in writing?
Surely Rosamunde Pilcher, Maeve Binchy and Nicholas Sparks. I love their books and they helped me realize I wanted to be a writer and what genre I wanted to write.

Do you think ebooks will ever totally replace printed books?
I truly hope they won’t! Although I was a little skeptical when the first e-reading devices came out and I refused to buy one, I have to say that ever since discovering Kindle I’ve started appreciating it, mainly because I love reading books in English and unless I order the paperback from Amazon, there’s no way I can find them where I live or, if I do find them in some big stores, they’re always expensive. The good thing about Kindle is that you can download a sample and decide if you like it. I ordered a few paperbacks in the past that I ended up not liking and if I’d had the chance to read a sample first, I would’ve saved time and money. But I still buy my favourite books in print, because I love going back and forth rereading chapters I particularly liked, I love highlighting and I love the awesome smell and feel of paper. :)

Did you read a lot at school and write lots of stories or is being a writer something newer in your life?
Yes, I used to read a lot. I was, and still am, a real bookworm. I’ve always had a gigantic imagination, so I always created stories in my mind. So I’d say I’ve always loved writing, but I’ve only thought of writing as a profession a few years after finishing high school.

Do you have a treasured book from your childhood? If yes, what is it?
Yes. It’s The Eyes Of The Amaryllis by Natalie Babbit. It’s the first book I read twice (and I recently bought a copy and reread it) and that made me discover my passion for reading.

Do you have a favourite genre of book?
Romance (as long as it’s not erotica), chick-lit, women’s fiction. I’ve occasionally read some YA (Twilight and Fallen) and some books by Mary Higgins Clark, but I tend to stick to the first three genres I mentioned. Although, if the story hooks me, the genre doesn’t really count; as long as it has a love story, an awesome hero and a happy ending I’m up for it!

Is there a book you know you will never read? Or one you tried to read but just couldn't finish?
I don’t think I’ll ever read horror, because it’s not really my cup of tea. And I don’t want to read Fifty Shades, no matter how many people say it’s awesome. I always try to finish a book I’ve started, because I don’t like to leave it half-finished, but I started reading Marley and Me once and I got bored halfway so now it’s sitting on my shelf. Maybe one day I’ll try again. And I started The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry a few months ago, because it was a gift from a friend, but I haven’t managed to finish it yet, as I find it a little sad and not very enticing, although maybe it’s the fact that it’s in Spanish so it’s a little harder for me to really enjoy it.

What piece of advice would you give to a new writer?
Be yourself, write what you want to read and don’t listen to people telling you it’s just a dream. Dreams do come true if you truly believe in yourself. And try to see the good in bad reviews: Instead of letting them discourage you, use the criticism to become an even better writer.

If you could invite three favourite writers to dinner, who would you invite and enjoy chatting with?
Definitely Rosamunde Pilcher, Nicholas Sparks and since Maeve Binchy passed away, I think I’ll choose either Melissa Hill or Ali McNamara.

Where can readers follow you?

Your Blog Details?  http://robertasdreamworld.wordpress.com/
Your Facebook Page? http://www.facebook.com/RobertasDreamworld
Your Goodreads Author Page? http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6869696.Roberta_Capizzi
Your Twitter Details? http://www.twitter.com/SligoRoo
Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/robertacapizzi  
Smashwords Author Page: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/RobertaCapizzi
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sligoroo/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/115756878202822215467/



EXCERPT
From Chapter One


I woke up in a bed that didn’t feel like my own. I opened my eyes and the white light was so bright it stung, so I quickly shut them again.
I couldn’t remember where I was and I felt weird, as if something were wrong, although I couldn’t quite define what or why.
I took a deep breath and suddenly realized there was something stuck in my nostrils. Instinctively I brought my hand up to touch it; but when I did I felt a piercing pain in my arm. My eyelids fluttered open and my eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light. I saw a needle piercing my skin and I shivered. I had never been a fan of needles and the sight of one pulsing fluids into my arm was enough to give me the creeps.
I looked away and noticed a screen next to my bed from which a steady, rhythmical beep came, echoing in the empty room. Okay, I was in hospital; it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.
But why was I there? I tried to remember where I had been or what I’d been doing before everything had gone black but, as much as I tried, it was all blurred. I attempted to turn my head to check if there was a clock or something that could give me a clue as to what time it was but my neck felt constricted and I noticed I was wearing a neck collar.
Grand. So I had a stiff neck, too. I really needed to find out what hospital I was in and why, because the uncertainty was driving me crazy.
I could hear distant voices outside the room echoing down a corridor, but I wasn’t sure they would hear me if I called for help. I needed to get out of bed, but when I tried to move my legs something just didn’t feel right. It took me a couple of seconds to realize I couldn’t feel them; it was as if my body ended just below my waist. A chill ran down my spine, taking my breath away.
With shaking hands I slowly lifted the sheet covering the lower part of my body and I squinted, not sure I was ready to see if my legs weren’t there anymore. But they were, just where they’d always been, so I opened my eyes wider and touched my thigh with the tip of my finger.
Nothing.
I pinched the bare skin, but it felt weird, as if I were touching someone else’s leg. I couldn’t feel my thigh, although my fingers were still pinching as hard as they could. Panic overcame me and I propped myself up on the bed using my arms to support my weight; however I wasn’t as strong as I thought and when my left arm, the one the IV was attached to, gave in, I slipped and fell, crashing to the floor. I pulled everything attached to my body down with me except for the oxygen tube that was wrenched out of my nose.
I didn’t feel pain though; at first I didn’t feel anything at all. Then sudden despair took hold of me as I lay there, facedown on the tiled floor of a hospital room, and my first thought was how much I needed my brother Declan to wrap me in his arms right now.
“Oh, dear, what happened to you?”
A woman came rushing in wearing a pair of those green rubber slippers only doctors and nurses wear. She turned back toward the door and I heard her shout: “Colin, come here now, will ya? I need help.”
A minute later, I saw another set of feet in white sneakers and two strong arms lifted me up; shortly afterwards I was back in bed.
“Trying to sneak out, were you?” a soft, deep, male voice said and, as I looked up to match a face to the sound, I was a little taken aback by the unexpected vision. A young man was standing by my bed and my first impression was that he reminded me of Declan.
His eyes were blue, the same shade as my brother’s, and he had brown hair just like him—only his was wavy and tousled and it slightly curled up on the back of his neck, while Declan’s had always been short.
The nurse fixed the nasal cannula back into my nose, checked that the needle was still in my arm and, when she looked at me again, I noticed she had a friendly smile. She looked in her mid-fifties, and her face was round and rosy; her uniform seemed a little too tight for her generous curves and her manner was somehow reassuring, very motherly. It was silly, but it made me feel a little better.
“I’m Judith, by the way. I’m the head nurse in this ward and you can call me whenever you need anything.” She smiled and I nodded. “Good, now I’ll leave you in the capable hands of our best physiotherapist. He’ll keep you company until Dr. O’Donnell gets here. You don’t mind, Colin, do you?” the nurse asked, turning toward the man in a white t-shirt and pants. He smiled and nodded; then the nurse looked at me and said she’d be back later.
I didn’t say a word; besides being in shock, I was too scared to find out if I’d lost my voice, too.
I looked away, taking a long, deep breath as I stared at the gray-paneled ceiling, wondering what was going to happen next.

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