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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Interview and Giveaway: Incantation Paradox by Annamaria Bazzi

Description:

Magic is an illusion. It doesn’t really exist. Or does it?

A horrible car accident destroys Dolores Reynard’s life. But instead of waking up in a hospital bed, she awakens in a teenager’s body. Soon, she discovers she is at the heart of the murderous mystery surrounding the death of Mona, the young girl whose body she occupies. Caught between an evil greater than she ever imagined and a wizard who heals her tattered heart, she is forced to play a dangerous game of intrigue in the hopes of finding a way to return to her previous life.

Will magic be her ally, or will it lead to her demise once and for all.

MB's INTERVIEW

Having in view Incantation Paradox subject: what do you think magic is: illusion or reality (or how much a writer must believe in its stories)? 
Magic is that place that makes the impossible a reality. It is the corner of the imagination where anything can happen. Magic isn’t just a ball of fire created by the manipulation of elements or the ability to heal wounds and other sicknesses. Magic is a state of mind where creation is possible. 

Magic is the smile you see on your child’s face when you announce that a red dragon named Scarlett moved into your attic, and every so often you venture up there with your child to look for the dragon and, instead, you find the eggs that will one day hatch into little dragons. Yes, Scarlett lives in my attic and Ariana and I used to go up to try and get a glimpse of the dragon, but instead would find her eggs. This is the magic I write into my books. 

Between short stories and novels: which do you prefer to write and how different is to write them? 
That’s an interesting question because several years ago I attended a short story workshop to improve my novel writing. In my mind, a chapter in a book is like a short story and should contain all the element of a short story including climax and resolution (of a minor problem being tackled in the novel). I found that learning how to craft a well-written short story helped me shape better chapters. I love writing novels, but after that workshop, I started to work on a collection of short stories I hope to release after the new year. 

You lived your childhood in Italy. Did the Italian, European culture influence your imagination, writing? 
Since I came to this country at the age of 12, I can say that I’m almost completely Americanized. At the same time though, having been raised by a strict Italian family a few things have remained with me. My language is always too formal in my first drafts and needs to be toned down. My protagonists are at times too liberal and I find I need to tone them down a bit also. I can say that very little of my Italian culture ever makes it into my novel, and maybe that’s a bad thing. 

How important is to transmit a message through your books? 
Incantation Paradox has no message. It is the only book I’ve ever written for the sole purpose of pleasure. Although, if put in the hands of critics, they might discover the message that I should have intended to pass along to my readers. 

Usually, I write about themes that in real life don’t make sense to me. Therefore, I take the situations and place them in a fictional world where I can solve the problems in a ways that make sense to me. 

About the author:
Although born in the United States, Annamaria Bazzi spent a great deal of her childhood in Sicily, Italy, in a town called Sciacca. Italian was the language spoken at home. Therefore, she had no problems when she found herself growing up in a strange country. Upon returning to the states, she promised herself she would speak without an accent. She attended Wayne State University in Detroit Michigan, where she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Computers with a minor in Spanish.

Annamaria spent twenty years programming systems for large corporations, creating innovative solution, and addressing customer problems. During those years, she raised four daughters and one husband. Annamaria lives in Richmond Virginia with her small family where she now dedicates a good part of her day writing.


1 comment:

Annamaria said...

hello, Anubha, thank you so much for hosting the tour stop for Incantation Paradox. I had fun stopping by.