I hope everyone is enjoying or did enjoy Mother's Day. This year, fortunately, my birthday did not fall on Mother's Day though my family tends to celebrate my birthday, my dad's birthday and Mother's Day all on the same day anyway. This year, we will not be doing that so perhaps I will catch up on all the things I have missed while I was away at the convention this last week.  We can only hope.

In honor of Mother's Day, I am bringing you an interview with Denise De Sio, the author of Rose's Will. The book focuses on a family, especially the mother.

 Welcome to A Book A Day Reviews Denise!

Congratulations on publishing your first novel. What are some of the main themes in “Rose’s Will?”

“Rose’s Will” explores the love, moral commitment, compassion, the quest for authenticity, and the choices that make or break us.

Rose D’Orsi is the central character in “Rose’s Will” but we see her only through the eyes of the other characters.This of course has been used before very effectively but tell us how you made the decision to use this style.

We all know people who have no ability to evolve, people who still believe exactly what they were taught when they were seven. At seventy, Rose is one big broken record, and giving her a voice would bore a reader to death! However, people like her don’t live in a vacuum. They have relationships. “Rose’s Will” concentrates on those relationships.

In order to deal with their mother, Rose’s children have settled into very different roles. I don't think that is so very different than my family. Can you give us a brief idea of how the characters ended up in their roles.

Yes, Glory is the rebel. She leaves her abusive childhood behind at seventeen and spends most of her life estranged from her mother.  Ricky is a people-pleaser and ends up feeling stuck in the role of his mother’s resentful lifelong caretaker after Rose is abandoned by both her husband and Glory. These two paths define their lives.  

What about Eli? 

Yes, Eli, our wealthy Bulgarian Holocaust survivor is certainly a charmer! His capacity for unconditional love is enormous and I have yet to meet a reader, male or female, who doesn’t absolutely fall in love with him by the end of the prologue. That’s why I open the book with a heartwarming love story between Eli and Rose, who meet each other at the Senior Community Center on Kings Highway.

“Rose’s Will” touches on some pretty serious issues (the Holocaust, 9/11, child abuse, terminal illness), so I was impressed with the amount of humor you used throughout the book, mostly in the telling of family tales. The Maxwell House story was hilarious!

Yes, Glory in particular uses humor to cope with painful situations, and Eli has a wonderfully dry, educated wit that conjures up the eternal twinkle in his eye. The Maxwell House story is 100% true, by the way. I think every family has delicious gossip that, given enough time, becomes grist for family mill for generations to come. Rose’s Will contains quite a few of mine.   

How did you choose the title?

I’m usually horrible with titles, but this novel titled itself. Rose’s Will is a double entendre that conveys both Rose’s stubborn willfulness and her legacy.

Tell us anything we might find interesting about you.

Other people think I’m much more interesting than I really am. I think I’m stable, rational and organized, yet I’ve been described by others as wacky, unbelievable, and outrageous. I just don’t get it.

I've heard the same about me.  You should write a book, they say but they don't see me through my eyes. I suspect that your readers will feel the same about you, even if you don't find yourself all that interesting!

Who is the perfect reader for your book? Please do not say "everyone." ;o)

Okay then, almost everyone. It’s gotten five-star reviews from men and women from 20 to 85. Why? Because almost all of us have compromised who we are, hoping to gain love and acceptance from someone close to us.

What obstacles did you encounter in getting this book published? How did you

overcome them?

The only obstacle that I encountered in getting this book published was my own fear of failure, or maybe success. I’ve written all my life and never made a serious effort to get published. When I let it slip, in my social circle, that I’d finally finished a novel, my friends and family put the screws on me. “Send out that manuscript…or else!” I grudgingly sent out about 8 query letters and two partial manuscripts before 48fourteen.com miraculously picked it up.

What is the best advice you could give other writers about writing or publishing?

There is no “most important” piece of writing advice that wouldn’t take up an entire book of grammar and punctuation. Either you have a command of the English language or you don’t. If you don’t and you have a great story to tell, you have two options: educate yourself, or get a ghost writer instead of inflicting a bad product on your readers.

I have read many books where the grammar has destroyed the story but equally have read books where the grammar could not possible save the story. A balance is very important. You certainly do well.

Where can readers learn more about you and your book?

You can purchase Rose’s Will for only $4.99 through my website at DeniseDeSio.com where you’ll find direct links to buy it from Amazon for Kindle, Barnes and Noble for Nook, and on my publisher’s site at  www.48fourteen.com  for all other devices. COMING SOON! Look for Rose’s Will in print this summer!

Thank you for stopping by, Denise!

Final note from Denise:

BUY ROSE'S WILL for KINDLE
BUY ROSE'S WILL for NOOK
BUY ROSE'S WILL TO READ ON YOUR PC OR LAPTOP (use PDF file)
BUY ROSE'S WILL for ALL OTHER DEVICES (PDF, MOBI, EPUB)

Like me on Facebook! http://facebook.com/ReadMyBooks
Tweet to me at @Topbee
Blog me at http://DeniseDeSio.com

PS: Don’t forget to “Like” Rose’s Will on Facebook,