I’d like to introduce to you the latest author in my round of author interviews, Amy Rachiele. Thank you, Amy, for taking the time to chat to me. Please sit down, get comfortable and let’s begin.
About Amy Rachiele
Amy is a widowed military spouse and brat who spent many years volunteering and on staff for the Army National Guard, and who has a propensity for writing about alpha-male mobsters. Her first self-published book is Mobster’s Girl and it made it to the amazon’s bestseller list for romance and family saga.
She devoted 10 years to teaching at-risk students at the secondary level and watching reruns of Star Trek. She holds a Master’s degree from Rhode Island College in English and Secondary Education.
Besides writing, she enjoys scrapbooking, sewing, traveling, and pretending to know how to knit. Amy lives in Massachusetts with her son.
What’s the name of the book you’re here to promote?
Mobster’s Gamble
Tell us a bit about your book
“I can’t change it. Sometimes you just have to live with it.” ~Anya, Mobster’s Gamble
Carlo Caruso runs the family businesses. The son of mob boss Ennio Caruso, Carlo knows his place and he is up to the challenge of taking care of both the casino business and the not-quite-legal “other” business, all without drawing unwanted attention from the authorities. But when a group of cult extremists, headed by a guy who calls himself Priest, decides to target his family’s casino as a den of sin while attempting to recruit for their cause, Carlo may be in for a challenge he has never been trained for.
Anya was born inside the walls of a cult and has never known anything different. Anya’s beauty has always stirred the wrong kind of attention from the leader and then, when he was gone, his son. Anya has had a complicated and volatile relationship with Priest since she was a little girl toddling around in the religious commune. She knows she deserves better but has no idea how to go about getting it.
Can Carlo and Anya overcome their upbringing and find love?
How important are character names to you in your books? Is there a special meaning to any of the names?
The names of my characters are significant in two ways. The Italian Mafia aspect and the way I view the muse of the character in my own mind sort brings them to life. I don’t sift through google looking for names. They always come to me in a ethereal form, wispy and demanding in the back of my thoughts.
Give us an insight into your main character. What makes them unique?
The novel is written in 1st person alternate. Carlo and Anya are the main characters. Carlo and Anya come from two different worlds but both feel trapped in their own microcosms. Both of their environments are violent and controlled. The story’s main plot is their love story and the subplot that runs through my series about mobsters runs under the surface. Their uniqueness stems from their upbringing and how they use it in their adult lives.
Where do your ideas come from?
I grew up in an area that had a high Mafia population. I took the stories I heard growing up and the alpha-male men in my life and mashed them together to create my own Mobster Universe. This book is the first in a second series I am writing. The first was The Mobster Series, Mobster’s Girl was book one.
Have you always liked to write?
I have always liked to read! I started seriously writing in 2008 when my own characters started manifesting from my previous life exposures and experiences. I am first and foremost a reader.
Do you read reviews of your book(s)? Do you respond to them, good or bad? How do you deal with the bad?
I don’t really read reviews. I write them for books I enjoy that I read. The reason that I don’t read them is because the book is what it is and everyone is reading from a different perspective. You either like or not, it is that simple. The book isn’t going to change but people do. I have started books years ago that didn’t hold my attention and now I restart them and can’t put them down. I sometimes read reviews of books I am interested in. If the novel has many conflicting or contradictory reviews, I will buy it to find out what the fuss is about. I do that with movies as well.
Do you have a favourite conference / convention that you like to attend? What is it?
I love the Writer Unboxed Unconference. It has an amazing dynamic that brings together people that write on the back of napkins to famous authors. There is no segregation of published or unpublished. You go to it because you love to write!
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on book two in this series, Mobster’s Fate: Alex and Meryl’s story.
Can you give us a few tasty morsels from your work-in-progress?
“It sounds crazy but no one can tell me that I don’t know what I feel. Meryl has changed me from the inside out. I’ve told millions of lies, I’ve killed people, but now Meryl is in everything I do. No matter what, she is there.” ~Alex. Mobster’s Fate
Where can readers go to discover more about you and your books?
Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Amazon Author Page | Instagram | Goodreads
You can also sign-up for Amy’s newsletter at http://www.amyrachiele.com/free-ebook/
Available formats: ebook and paperback.
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