- What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?
I’m Tony Passarelli and I was born and raised in Nottingham, England.
- What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarise it in less than 20 words what would you say?
Nash of the Thieves’ Guild. It is a short, slightly rude, fantasy comedy.
- Who is your publisher? or do you self publish?
I self publish. The potential of the internet is just starting to be realised I suppose. Now it is no longer a case of ‘not what you know but who you know’. Sites such as Lulu and Create Space have opened doors to millions of independent authors all across the globe. The power of publishing has shifted in favour to the author.
- Which of your books were easier/harder to write than the others?
My novelette Strength of a Giant was the hardest to write. I was dealing with central characters such as Emanuel (the Son of God) and the Archangels, all of whom had mental abilities far superior to my own. It was a challenge to write for such extraordinary personas.
- Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?
Yes, it is called The Book of Biden. It is a fantasy series. The book itself will be broken down into individual novels.
- What genre would you place your books into?
With the exception of Strength of a Giant which is Science Fiction, I write Fantasy.
- Do you have a favourite character from your books? and why are they your favourite?
That’s a tough call. I imagine that most authors have a varying degree of affection for all of their characters. You know you cannot have Dumbledore without Voldemort...
I’m fond of the boy thief Nash. He’s at an age where I can throw him into the dangerous adult situations but still young enough to get some humour and comedy out of his naivety.
- Where do you get your book plot ideas from?
I try to write a truthful story. It doesn’t matter that it is fantasy fiction as long as the truth is visible. What would the character do next? How does he or she get from location A to location B? I find that if I give the character their own voices then they begin to tell the tale themselves. I as the author am just the channel or vessel.
- Do you gift books to readers to do reviews?
Both of my short stories are available from Smashwords for free downloads.
If anyone would like to receive a hard copy of Strength of a Giant for review, then they should contact me in private message on Goodreads and I will post out a paperback version for them, free of charge.
- What do you think makes a book a really good/bestseller ?
Reviews! Just take a look at the best sellers lists on Amazon. They have hundreds and hundreds of reviews! The only way for a book to get noticed and get the sales is to have a good batch of reviews from the early days of publication.
- Have you ever suffered from a "writer's block"? What did you do to get past the "block"?
You’ve got to bottle the inspiration when it crops up. Pen and paper in every room of the house so that when an idea pops up you can write it down.
Know when to walk away...
Sitting at a computer screen with writers block can drain your morale. Never get disheartened by it, if the writing isn’t happening then go and do other things. When the inspiration does come, you can get writing, because you have got all those other chores out of the way.
- Which format of book do you prefer, ebook,hardback, or paperback?
A good paperback. I guess I am still old school.
- What are you currently reading? Are you enjoying it? What format is it?(ebook, hardback or paperback)
Birthright, Book one of Ilona the Hun by Erika M. Szabo. It is a romantic fantasy by a new and upcoming independent author.
- Do you think ebooks will ever totally replace printed books?
No, but in future I can imagine that the hard copies will be sold to customers with a free digital download of the online version. A bit like the digital copy of a film that is supplied with the DVD version.
- What do you think about book trailers?
It’s a good idea to have one if you can, extra advertising and publicity.
It will be interesting to see if the video reviews take off. Amazon has the option already available to customers.
- What piece of advice would you give to a new writer?
First and fore-most, write a great novel. Then proof read and edit. Take a book off your bookshelf and understand the layout of the text and how paragraphs are set. When you are confident that your book is of equal quality to the mass paperback editions then you can self-publish.
Where can readers follow you?
Goodreads Tony Passarelli
Amazon Tony Passarelli
Thank you Tony for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take the time to do this interview for my blog!
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