I have a very talented lady here today to tell us all about her new women's fiction/historical fiction novel, Defiance and Redemption: A Lifetime of Unbroken Bonds. Her name is Maria J. Andrade. Enjoy the interview!
First, find out more about Maria and her hot new book...
Maria J. Andrade was born in Ecuador, South America, and raised in New York and California. She has a bachelor of arts degree in English literature and a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. As a licensed therapist and writer, Maria has been diving into other people’s minds and her own, through dreams, poetry, and books for over three decades. She traveled with the Four Winds Society where she studied and was initiated into Andean shamanism in 1990.
Before Maria retired as a therapist, she specialized in women’s issues and founded the Wise Women’s Circle a ritualistic and transpersonal study group that continues today. The women support each other through life’s challenges and in the growth of mind, body, and spirit.
Maria Andrade’s books for children and adults is found in a variety of genres. This is an unforgettable first novel that reflects her imagination and creative storytelling.
Defiance and Redemption is her latest release.
Visit her website at www.booksasfriends.com or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.
Based on a true story, Defiance and Redemption, A Lifetime of Unbroken Bonds, brings to life the joys, dramas, and triumphs of two sisters, Eva and Victoria Alisio and their loyal friend Marta. The sisters are raised by their atheist Grandfather Marcus and religious Grandmother Maria Luisa. Eva, a proud and strong-willed young woman defies her family, society, and culture, faces scandal and disgrace, for her forbidden love affair. Victoria finds herself in the center of a multigenerational conflict as her benefactor bestows a great inheritance on her excluding the rightful heirs. Marta, loyal to the childhood bond with the Alisio sisters, brings humor and support to their twists and turns of fortune. The young women’s bond of love, and perseverance, carries them through ordinary and extraordinary losses, triumphs, and ultimately to their destiny in the United States.
An important novel about 20th Century women, Defiance and Redemption, is an absorbing epic that moves through decades and destinies. It blends personal and historical events into a collective tale of self-determination, love, and sisterhood.
As a book bloggin’ and book luvin’ Princess, I’m always
curious to find out how authors got the ideas for their books. Can you tell us how you got the idea to write
your book?
It may be a cliché but, truth is stranger than fiction! So,
I created a fiction novel based on the true events that happened to the amazing
women I grew up with. In the story, they are called Eva, and Victoria Alisio,
and the story includes their loyal friend, Marta Benechi. Eva and Victoria are
sisters raised by their grandparents. In real life, their sisterhood lasted
over eighty years! In the novel, we see the first third of their lives when
they were children and became young women, how their lives merged, and what
happened to them.
Eva and Victoria’s grandfather tells them. “Life is like a roller coaster ride. Sometimes things are going great, and you feel the joy of the heights. Sometimes, you will face overwhelming downturns. Hold on tight because everything passes.”
This will be a hard lesson for the young women. The sisters
and their lifelong friend, Marta, will be challenged by love, passion, scandal,
and loss of fortune. Eventually they will attain their hard-earned freedom by
together immigrating to America.
The roller coaster dialogue is fiction. What each woman
endured is not. One of them will face a love affair that leads to scandal, and
she will be catapulted out of society. Another will be caught in a
multi-generational conflict over a large inheritance that leaves her wealthy
beyond her dreams but isolated from family. Their friend Marta will face a life
and death battle with illness. Yet their bond of sisterhood, their humor, and
courage, helps them survive their challenges. These were women in my family I
was close to. One of them was my mother.
Can you tell us a little about the main characters of your
book?
The protagonist or main character is Eva Alisio. She is a free-thinking, daring, young woman who began her life in the early 20th Century when the collective thinking was that women had but one future to marry and have children. That character is based on my mother. As an adolescent, she had a child out of wedlock. The conventional wisdom at that time was that to avoid shame and disgrace she must either marry immediately, abort the child or give it up for adoption. But she was abandoned by the man she
loved, so at the tender age of sixteen, she decided to keep her baby against the advice of her family. Her defiance led her through a series of events where she faced scandal and shame and was catapulted out of society. She nevertheless persevered in her self-determination and eventually she was reaccepted by the very people who rejected her.
Her courage, self-determination, and vision for her future
were inspiring and had to be told. The women’s strong bond of sisterhood helped
my mother and the other women overcome profound challenges. They eventually
sought out a new world together and, in their youth, they left their country to
seek a better future in America.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what
would that be?
You came to this country from South America at four years of
age. Very soon you learned the English language. Soon after that, you loved
words, poetry, storytelling. It is true what Wordsworth said, “The child is the
father of the man” or woman in this case. I am glad to follow in my younger
self’s footsteps!
What would you say is one of your interesting writing
quirks?
I like to incorporate humor in my writing. It’s not always
intentional but I personally enjoy it and I hope readers will too.
Do you hear from your readers? What do they say?
Since the recent publication of, Defiance and Redemption, A Lifetime of Unbroken Bonds, I have heard such comments as “I got your book and read the first fifty pages and only put it down because my eyes got sore.” Yesterday, a woman said, “Your book is a page-turner, and in two days, I am almost finished reading it. I had to stop reading last night because I had to get up early for an appointment.”
I thought it would be a book that would attract more female
readers but not so. Men have also written some great reviews on the Amazon
website.
What is the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
I think I have
given myself the toughest criticism. I would not make a good editor. So, I
often get very frustrated with myself when I cannot see the editing errors I
make. It is a constant uphill battle to try to make corrections I miss! Some
writers are great at this and I take my hat off to them.
What has been your best accomplishment?
I hope readers can
say what those are better than I. My hope is that my writing is entertaining,
and in some ways inspirational. I like to see people relate to the stories I
write.
Do you Google yourself?
Why would I?
How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?
None at the
moment.
Fun question – if you were princess or prince, what’s one
thing you would do to make your kingdom a better place?
I would have everyone experience what spiritual traditions call the luminous body which is the template of the physical body. It is inherent in all life. It is beautiful and indestructible. To experience that is to know that we are all connected, and our time on earth even if we live 100 years is limited. Our origin and end is spirit. That is what one of my characters says in the poem at the end of my novel, Defiance and Redemption.
Do you have anything specific that you would like to say to
your readers?
I enjoy hearing from my readers and thank you for keeping in touch! For those who want to know more about my books for children and adults visit my website or drop me a line at:
www.booksasfriends.com or on my Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/mariaandradebooks
Read the reviews or leave one for Defiance and
Redemption, A Lifetime of Unbroken Bonds here: https://lnkd.in/gBKvHK6Z
Or feel free to ask questions on my
GoodReads page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2837778.Maria_J_Andrade
If you are a
Latinx book reader here is where you can chat with me about the Spanish version
of my latest novel, Desafío y redención,
Una vida de vínculos intactos
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59243540-desaf-o-y-redenci-n-una-vida-de-v-nculos-intactos
I want to thank you, Book Blogging Princess, for inviting me to your website to chat with your readers. I appreciate it and hope that it was as enjoyable for you as it was for me!
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