NEW RELEASE
Closure by Sylvia Stein
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| Book cover of Closure |
I would like to welcome Sylvia Stein to my blog. Her book Closure has been released this week, so I took some time out of my schedule to ask Sylvia a few questions about the book and what it's like being a writer.
Q: Welcome Sylvia, can you give the readers a brief synopsis of
your book.
Garrison James had it all. A terrific home life and a loving family. Together, he and his wife Lila built a successful ranch and construction
company. His world changed the day he lost his wife to cancer. He turned
to the bottle and became a monster. Sara, his
daughter, tried everything to please him.
After years of abuse, Sara’s aunt visits. She
recognizes the abuse and removes Sara. The frail girl begins the delicate
journey of finding herself, while struggling to leave her father and the
monster behind.
Despite the emotional and mental scars she
carried, Sara manages to start a new life. She is finally happy.
A phone call changes everything.
Will Sara continue her new life? Can she face
the monster, or will she find closure?
Q: Tell us a little bit about
yourself, and when your interest in writing began.
For me writing
was always something I loved. It began
in middle school. Then over the years I
would write stories here and there but it did not come back full circle for me
until 2010. I had my third child and I
was at home a bit and there I began focusing my energy on just that.
Q: Closure is your first novella, what prompted you
to write this story?
Well it all
began in my writing class at SNHU it was last January 2013. I wrote it as a short story and I really
liked the characters. After speaking
with one of my author friends. She
encouraged me to try expanding it. We
then began working on a few drafts and then getting feedback from other authors
and my SNHU writers gathering group. Closure expanded and became a novella.
Q: What challenges did you face when writing Closure?
As far as the
challenges I faced when writing it was that the first few drafts needed
extensive work and I ran it by two of my author friends and beta readers and
they all concluded it was a great story but it was only a skeleton of a story
more like all tell and it needed more show.
Therefore, my editor and I, who prefers to remain nameless due to her
heavy workload, worked on making it just that.
Q: Are there any characters in Closure that you can
identify with and why?
I can most
certainly identify with Sara. Although
my mother is very much alive we went through many challenges with my father
because he was an alcoholic. Do not get
me wrong he was a great man sadly though because of the alcohol he could not
keep a job as we were growing up and this made it hard for my mother and all of
my siblings and me. Over time he found work
and got sober but my mother could not deal with it and they divorced when I was
7 years of age. This is why Sara James
is such an important character to me and I wanted to bring her story because I
know there are others who can relate to her.
Q: Are there any messages in this book for readers
or is it simply to entertain?
This is a great
question. My intent with Closure is to
bring awareness of how cancer, alcohol, abuse and bereavement can affect a
family and my hope is to be able to tell Sara and Garrison’s story in the hope
that it touched and helped the readers in some way.
Q: When writing, do you have any specific routines? What are the best and worst things about
writing?
My main routine
with writing is to write it all out on composition, and then sometimes I create
outlines for the characters and then begin to type it all out. I also have to play some type of music as I
write. I love classical and movie scores.
The best part about writing is creating stories and characters for all
of my readers. The worst part is to find
the time to write since I have three children and a husband, school, work. I have to work hard to find the best
times. Luckily my husband has been so
supportive of my writing and he will take the kids sometimes in the weekend so
I can have a few hours of writing to myself.
I also write late on my days off.
Q: Do you have a your favorite author? If so, who and why?
That is a hard
question I love so many authors. I think
they all have something different they bring to the table. However one of my favorite all time writers
has always been Stephen King and Jodie Picoult.
I love the elements that King brings and his best advice for being a
great writer is to read and if you do not read then write. As far
as Jodie Picoult I love how she connects with her readers and makes the readers
feel so many emotions.
Q: Do you read? If so what type of books does you read?
Yes I love to
read. There are so many genres I
love. Right now I am reading your book
Chrissie Parker and I love it. I also
have read so many great books. I also
love working with my SNHU Writer’s group and coming up with new ideas for
books.
Q: Thank you Sylvia! What other writing work can we expect from you
in the future?
Well right now I
am working on a Nano Novel Month Novel.
It is called Clarity and it is a story of a young woman trying to move
on after her fiancé dies in a car accident. Then I am also working on a Psychological Thriller entitled, Battered
Mind. Right now I am just trying to
narrow them down.
Q: Tell the readers something interesting about
yourself that others may not know.
I love to sing
and write songs. My favorite thing to do
besides writing stories is karaoke and I love developing new ideas for songs.
Quick fire round
Sweet or savory - Savory
Beach or countryside - Beach
EBook or paperback - tough one I love both.
Classic or modern - Classic
Sun or Snow - Sun
About the Author
Author Sylvia Stein began her path to writing when she joined the Writer's Group on Linked in 750 in 2012. She continued her journey by creating short stories, which were published, in the Giant tales Anthology series.
While obtaining her Masters degree at Southern New Hampshire University online, author Stein built built a solid foundation with her colleagues who encouraged her to continue writing. That's when Closure was born.
With the help of her editor Closure grew from a short story to a full novella that Author Stein is excited to share.
Closure is her debut book as a solo writer. To quote Stein "This is the first of many to come."
If you would like to know more about Author Sylvia Stein's book here is a link to each of them:
Follow Sylvia!
If you would like to learn more about Sylvia Stein, you can find her on the following social media.
