Author Interview: Jennifer Pezzano

SC: Thank you so much for joining us to share your new book! When you first asked me to read your novel, I wasn't sure how long it would take since my schedule was so busy that month. I wound up reading it as fast as you would send it, and everything else got pushed aside until I finished. It is so exciting that you are about to make it available for everyone to read. I'm sure everyone would like to know more about you, so tell us a little about yourself.  

Writing has always been a deeply therapeutic tool for me ever since I was very young. I was always scribbling away in a notebook. As a teenager I got heavily into poetry and devoured every book I could find in the library. I used to sneak into darkened coffee shops during open mics and boldly read my work to a roomful of strangers much older than me. The ability to portray profound emotion through such few words has always mesmerized me, and in a way, poetry saved me from a childhood saturated with a lot of trauma. In high school my English teacher took me under his wing and helped me self-publish my very first collection of poems. But it wasn’t until last year that I decided to sit down and attempt to write a novel, blending my love of a good story with the beauty of poetry.

When I am not frantically typing away at my computer, I am attempting to juggle parenting, mindfulness, and self-growth. My happy place is by the water, whether it is a lazy river, a placid lake or the turbulent power of the ocean, water has always grounded me, and I try to escape to the stillness of nature whenever I can. 

Where does your inspiration come from in your books?

Both my stories are very heavily influenced by love and pain. I truly believe that these are the 

two most powerful things in life that mold us into who we are. And the strength of facing these aspects within ourselves can be incredibly cathartic and transformative. I used to think of myself as a bit of a cynic when it came to romance, but when I began to write I discovered another side of myself in the process, turns out I am a gushy romantic after all.😉 In terms of this story I wrote, I wanted to portray a different take on the heavily saturated vampire trope. I have always been fascinated by the concept of the vampire, I read a lot of Ann Rice in my early twenties, but was never fully satisfied with how they were portrayed. I felt compelled to approach this genre in a way that was more digestible to the general public, but also pull in more aspects of eroticism, spirituality and healing, because I feel like all these things are so intrinsically connected to one another.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

It’s hard to say which book is my favorite. The two I have written are so vastly different from each other. I don’t want to get stuck in a box, so I am exploring all avenues of narrative within my writing. Though I will say, writing Awakening was the most fun. I am a pantser, so when I sat down to write this story, I had no idea who these characters where or what this story was really going to be about. What started off as a short story grew into a 3-part novel. It was exciting to watch it bloom and unfold gradually before me, surprising me with twists I didn’t see coming. I became the reader and the writer, and it was such a fascinating journey for me.

Do you have a favorite character that you have written? If so, who? What makes them so special?

In a sense, I have fallen in love with all of my characters. They have become such a part of my psyche, like comforting friends that sit beside me. But the soulful character of August was heavily molded from aspects I have always been deeply drawn to in others. 

What can we expect from you in the future?

I have an idea of a story on the back burner. It will be a historical fiction set in Poland during WW2. So I have a lot of research to do, and I feel like this one will be a beast that may take me considerably a lot longer to write then my other two. I also love dystopian novels; Margarete Attwood being one of my favorite authors, so one day I think I would love to try and tackle that genre as well.  There is quite a plethora of avenues I would like to explore with my writing; I think I just needed to get some romance out of my system before I wrestled with the heavier stuff. 😊

How can we contact you or find out more about your books?

I am absolutely terrible at self-marketing, and do not keep up with social media very often. But if you want to take a peek of this journey of mine you can check me out below.

Website: https://www.jenniferleighpezzano.com  

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PezzanoJenni  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.pezzano.7 

“Awakening” coming in December of 2020. 

“Light Among the Shadows” coming sometime in early summer of 2021.

 Can you share a brief excerpt from your novel? 

Absolutely! (Click here for Chapter 1 of Awakening by Jennifer Pezzano)