Who you lookin' at?!

I have been entertaining some real characters...in my mind.  A few weeks ago I was struck with some novel ideas- literally!  I have this beautiful project percolating in my head like a wonderfully aromatic rich cup of coffee!  If only I drank coffee...so maybe it's a wonderful cup of hot cocoa! (With whipped cream, of course!)  Do any of you know what I mean?  Is it only writers, or do artists of any genre and medium allow the ideas of their next work to freely roam around in the crevices of their mind? 

I have gotten to know- or at least meet- the main characters of my novel.  I just don't know a whole lot about them...yet.  I have sketched some details and some faces, but nothing seems to be a sure fit.  Some have the attitude or personality, but I'm not able to see their physical appearance.  I am eager to begin this project, but I realize the details of each character are crucial to the story.  So, here I sit and wait with these new characters residing in my mind. 

This process can take some time, but I must admit that I love it!  I am constantly searching my surroundings for something to spark an idea.  By something, I mean people!  I am noticing the people around me and wondering if they resemble any of my characters.  Does the couple who is meeting for lunch in the park- pulling up in separate vehicles- look like my two main characters?  Or would the scorned husband and wife, that are completely unaware of this lunchtime rendezvous, be a better fit for the characters I'm looking to develop?  I notice the crying babies, tantrum-throwing toddlers, troubled teens, harried housewives, delusional dads, and other deliciously dangerous people I see cross my path.  With the Holiday shopping season upon us the malls are crowded making people-watching better than ever!

I read once that when writers go out to eat they can lightly listen to the person or people they are dining with, but they are inevitably scanning the restaurant for a conversation to listen in on.  This is not done for the sake of being nosey, but merely as a means of character and plot development.  We see a story in everything we hear and see.  When my husband read this article he laughed so hard and as he pointed at me he said, "Babe, that is exactly YOU!"

I have seen mugs and other memorabilia with the saying, "Be careful what you say because I just might put it in my novel!"  I like to extend that further by saying, be careful what you do to me or to others around me...!  Just kidding...or am I?

Wishing you dreams to fulfill and the inspiration needed to do so!
~the sol within~
       Anna

Give it a listen!  The music that inspired this post:
~Somebody's Watching Me by Rockwell
~I Heard it Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye
~Have You Seen Her by the Chi-Lites
~Just One Look by Doris Troy
~Shiny Happy People by REM
~Everyday People by Sly & the Family Stone

And the WINNER is...

Today was a long day with many unexpected twists and turns...and not all good!  So to cheer up my little one we wrote out the names of all entrants for yesterday's book giveaway of The HEARTBREAK PILL a Novel by Anjanette Delgado.  Before I announce the winner, I want to thank everyone who took the time to read the interview and leave a comment!  It is greatly appreciated!



 We were all so excited and gathered around to see who would be the lucky recipient!

And the WINNER is...

crafter, artist, painter CAROLYN FLORES of Flores Originals!

Last Chance to enter to win a copy of The Heartbreak Pill!

This is the LAST CHANCE to leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of The Heartbreak Pill by Anjanette Delgado.  Leave a comment on the interview post below for your chance.  Contest ends at MIDNIGHT Pacific time.  The winner will be announced here tomorrow!

A BIG Thanks to everyone who stopped by to check out my interview with author Anjanette Delgado featuring her debut novel, The Heartbreak Pill.  I hope you enjoyed it and it sparked an interest in picking up a copy of this novel to see just how Ericka Luna will get over her heartbreak after discovering her husband's affair!

If you enjoyed today and would like to read more about Anjanette Delgado or her novel, The Heartbreak Pill, you can continue to follow the Latino Virtual Book Tour.  The schedule is as follows:

Nov. 12  Host~Mayra Calvani     http://www.examiner.com/x-6309-Latino-Books-Examiner

Nov. 13  Host~Teri                     http://right2right.blogspot.com/

Nov. 16  Host~Misa Ramirez      http://chasingheroes.com/

Nov. 17  Host~Nilki Benitez        http://nilkibenitez.blogspot.com/

Nov. 18  Host~Monie Garcia      http://www.readingwithmonie.com/

Nov. 19  Host~Vanessa Torres   http://thathappenedtome.blogspot.com/

Nov. 20  Host~Icess Fernandez  http://www.locacrazywriter.blogspot.com/

Thank you for supporting me today with my very first blog tour and interview.  I had a great time!

Wishing you dreams to fulfill and the inspiration needed to do so!
~the sol within~
Anna

Welcome, Anjanette Delgado and her debut novel...The Heartbreak Pill!

The BIG day is here...my chance to feature author Anjanette Delgado and her debut novel,
The Heartbreak Pill.

Author's Bio:
Anjanette Delgado is a writer and television producer living in Miami.
She began her career as a journalist, working for NBC, CNN, Univisión and Telemundo, covering presidential coups, elections, Olympics, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, both Iraq wars; which she executive produced, and won an Emmy in 1994 for her human-interest series “Madres en la lejanía,” about the plight of Latino mothers who leave their own children behind and come to the United States to work as undocumented nannies.

She has written for Urban Latino, TV Más and the International Documentary Association magazine, written and produced lifestyle programs and documentaries for MGM Latin America and in 2002, wrote and developed the sitcom “Great in Bed” for HBO Latin America.

The Heartbreak Pill is her first novel and was published by Simon & Schuster in 2008 and won that year’s International Latino Book Award for Best Romance Novel in English. The novel’s Spanish-Language version, La Pildora del Mal Amor, is just out, also from Simon and Schuster. Anjanette is currently at work on her second novel, titled, The Clairvoyant of Calle Ocho.


From HCN Website:
Anjanette, a Puerto Rico native, has applied her expertise to creating community-driven and empowering broadcast, print and event-based efforts for Latinos in the US. Prior to joining Grupo Prisa’s Plural Entertainment as Director of Strategic Content, Anjanette created, launched and implemented the social content and strategic marketing department of Community Connections at Telemundo, winning the first ever Sentinel for Health Awards ever given to a Spanish-language network or station for her campaigns on Breast Cancer and Diabetes. Anjanette has now added one more communications challenge to her breadth of experience by publishing her first novel.

Please sit back and enjoy the following as The Sol Within Anna welcomes accomplished Latina and now novelist, Anjanette Delgado. Don't forget to leave a comment or question for Anjanette Delgado as she will be available to reply to the readers. Sign up to be a follower of The Sol Within, leave a comment and your name will be entered into a drawing where one lucky follower will win an autographed copy of The Heartbreak Pill. Good luck!

                                               * * * * *
Anna: What made you choose The Heartbreak Pill as your debut novel? Was this a story that had been residing within your soul for a long time?


Anjanette: Yes… there was no other story I wanted to tell. It seemed to me that no one really understood “what becomes of the broken-hearted.” How this sense of loss can take your life over like the flu.


Anna: I have always been advised to "write what you know", what part of your novel, The Heartbreak Pill, would that advice hold true for you- what were the personal aspects which enabled you to write about what you know?


Anjanette: Well, I wrote about heartbreak, divorce and Miami… all things I know very well.
But I also wrote about what I didn’t know at the time: science, drugs, the brain, forgiveness.


Anna: What do you think about the label "Chica Lit.", as a Latina author are you offended by it or do you embrace it?

Anjanette: Well, first, a little history. The original term… Chick-Lit is really a post-feminist term to describe contemporary women’s fiction that dealt with women’s issues with self-deprecating humor. It came about because our roles as women were changing so much… that we needed that friend (character) to let us know it was okay to consider divorce if things had become unbearable… that we weren’t the only ones being cheated on, etc.


So, in that sense, I embrace it; have no problem with it.


The problem is when people start calling anything with high heels, a lipstick or a fancy pocketbook in the cover, Chick-Lit. Especially, if a lot of books with the same formula start coming out and receiving that label. You know… girl has awful boss and boyfriend who won’t commit… but then she triumphs and is promoted to book or magazine editor and begins to date the director of photography who happens to be hot and has been interested in her forever. See, well, that’s where I have a problem.


I’m not sure that Chica-Lit as a term was born of an understanding of the post-feminist history of the concept, as opposed to a great way to market a conference... or a section inside a bookstore.


One of the blurbs in my book is from a Columbia University professor who called it Latino Pop Fiction… which I think fits my novel well, too. In the end, I don’t get upset about this or that term… I just try to write something that women like me will be comforted and entertained by, something that makes them think and consider the choices my characters make as they relate to their own lives.


Anna: Of all of your hard work and many accomplishments with CNN, NBC, Telemundo, HBO, MGM Latin America, and the UN, just to name a few, as well as your own personal triumphs, how did all of that compare to the moment when you held your completed and published novel in your hands for the first time? Where were you?


Anjanette: You know… I felt nothing? Publishing day arrives… April 1st… nothing. Then about 6 weeks later, I get an email from a woman I didn’t know at all. She had tracked me down (my website wasn’t up back then) to tell me she had cried and laughed and felt like she knew me after reading my book. That’s the day I felt like an author… like all had been worth it. I have gotten other such emails. I save them all. Reread them all the time. I thought about my readers before they existed. I loved them, writing one more page, in case they ever read it. And now, it’s an amazing feeling when I get to meet them, connect, know that I reached them after all.


Anna: Over the past six months I have met some wonderful women aspiring to become published writers; some single, married, divorced, some mothers, some know, all too well, the heartbreak and betrayal you write about your character, Erika Luna, enduring. As these women try to enter a new world in search of becoming published authors, what words of inspiration can you share with them?


Anjanette: SIT. YOUR. BUTT. DOWN….and do not get up until you’ve written 3 pages (if it’s every day) or 10 pages (if you can only afford to write on Sundays.


That’s it… write. Read. Write. Read. Think of your reader, not of yourself. Enjoy your book before it’s born. It will happen. Write. Read.


Anna: I read on your website that your favorite quote is "When you're going through hell, keep going," by Winston Churchill. What meaning or impact has this quote had in your life?


Anjanette: It’s another way to say hope. If you stay still when you’re in hell, you’ll never get out. If you trust, and you keep going, there’s hope that things will be better. But you’ve got to keep going. I remind myself of this all the time.


Ms. Anjanette Delgado, I greatly appreciate your time with me and for making The Sol Within a stop on your Virtual Blog Tour. I wish you all the best with your debut novel, The Heartbreak Pill.


~Anna Rodriguez


Thank you Anna. I wish all bloggers/journalists/writers took the time to do their homework as you have. I loved your questions and am honored to be featured on your site.


Un abrazo ,
Anja

Followers: Don't forget to leave your comment or question for your chance to win an autographed copy of Anjanette Delgado's debut novel. The winner will be announced Thursday, Nov. 12th. If you don't win...no worries, just click on the button below to purchase your copy from Amazon today...or as a great Holiday gift!

I must give a tremendous "Thank You" to author and Editor, Jo Ann Hernandez of Bronzeword Latino for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful event, the Latino Virtual Book Tour, and for introducing me to such a wonderful Latina author and person...Anjanette Delgado!

Wishing you dreams to fulfill and the inspiration needed to do so!

~the sol within~
Anna
  

ISBN: 1-7432-9753-9

The FINAL COUNTDOWN

It's been quite some time since my last post, but I have been busy and I am very excited about all the things that I've been up to.  For example, I was a guest on someone else's blog.  I will give more details about this article later this week. 

I have been writing like crazy...a new children's book, a YA novel, and I am working on an outline for another novel. 

I have also been working on hosting my very first Latino Virtual Book Tour.  Author and Editor, Jo Ann Hernandez of Bronzeword Latino, sets these tours up and included me this time around.  I am thrilled, excited, and can hardly wait to host the author of The Heartbreak Pill, Anjanette Delgado.  This is her debut novel which is set in Miami.

Anjanette Delgado will be around tomorrow to answer your questions, so please leave comments or questions for her.  My interview with Anjanette Delgado is...WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11th.
Please don't forget to stop by and check out our discussion!

Wishing you dreams to fulfill and the inspiration needed to do so!
The sol within
~Anna~

Give it a listen!  The music that inspired this post:
~The Final Countdown by Europe