Title: Valerie's Retreat
Author: Joseph M. Rinaldo
Release Date: 31st October 2013
BLURB from Goodreads
Valerie, a middle-aged woman, leading an average life as a head teller at a bank finally finds her soul-mate, Franco. He's sixteen years younger and studying for a Ph.D. in Archeology, but they click. Suddenly, the evil hand of fate causes their lives to fall into a downward spiral. They lean on each other. Trying to find happiness they happen to commit a little crime - make that a little felony, and dash out of the country. Now they're happy - mostly.
PURCHASE LINKS
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
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What
is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?
Joseph M. Rinaldo; born in Danville, Illinois, but only lived the
first six months of my life there, and grew up in Owensboro, Kentucky; now I
live in Nashville, Tennessee, with my wife and daughter.
Did
you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?
I grew up wanting to be a Financial Counselor helping people manage
money. Then I learned that people who can’t manage money probably can’t pay a
money manager. The actual impetus for me to begin writing came while I was
reading Three Weeks With My Brother
by Nicholas Sparks. When I got to the part where he received a million-dollar
advance, I thought, “Holy cow! He’s a good writer, but I know I can do this,
too.” I’ve been writing since that day in 2004.
What
is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarise it in less than 20
words what would you say?
Valerie’s Retreat tells about the life of a Cougar. Not the
sex-hungry older women looking for another younger man trophy, but a woman you
could relate to and will probably like.
How
long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to
finishing writing it?
That's harder to answer than
one might think. I wrote Valerie’s
Retreat in a few months, since I was working part-time. However, I
reread/edited it twice, my wife edited it once, and we had a professional
editor. Start to finish, all of that takes somewhere in the nine-month range.
What
genre would you place your books into?
I don't have
a favorite genre. The stories that pop into my head get written down. They
haven't fit nicely into a genre, which I think makes them more interesting.
Genres force the writer to follow rules. A romance requires a nice tidy happy
ending, which guarantees the book will be completely void of suspense.
Action/adventure loses something when the hero is hanging on the cliff, verging
on a fall to his death, but you’re only half way through the book. Golly –
think he survives? Genre mandated rules stifle creativity. I’m proud to say my
books defy genre, and I hope you find the twists and their conclusions
unpredictable.
Where
do you get your book plot ideas from?What/Who is your inspiration? Valerie's Retreat follows
the life of a forty-one-year-old woman who happens to fall in love with a man
sixteen years younger. My wife is sixteen years older than I am, so that might
have helped foster this idea for a book. The jokes Valerie must endure, such
as, "Do you have to cut his meat for him?" are actual barbs my wife
received during our dating process. Like Valerie, I also worked in a bank.
Unlike Valerie, I never considered robbing the bank where I worked.
Valerie doesn't consider herself a
"Cougar". Franco, her boyfriend, happened to attend the same church
singles dance on the same night. They talked, talked some more, went on a date,
and presto- they're boyfriend/girlfriend. That's how it happened with my wife
and me. "Cougar" makes the women dating younger men seem somewhat
predatory. That isn't the case at all with Valerie or my wife. For the record,
my wife never considered robbing a bank either. Well, maybe considered, but
never planned it out.
Do
you have anybody read your books and give you reviews before you officially
release them?ie. Your partner, children, friends, reviewers you know?
We’ve changed our approach over time. A Spy At Home, my first book, was self-edited. This will sound
counterintuitive, but reviewers have not mentioned the editing as a problem
with the book. Hazardous Choices, A
Mormon Massacre, and Valerie’s
Retreat were all professionally edited by David Pudlewitts, a great editor!
Mr. Pudlewitts made those stories better, and I’m lucky to have found him. As
for the process, the first editor is me with a reread, my wife edits the book,
and then it goes to David. I hope you like the results!
Do
you gift books to readers to do reviews?
Sure, I
know from experience that a free book won’t guarantee a good review! And,
that’s as it should be.
What
do you think makes a book a really good/bestseller ?
I trust everyone understands that the “bestseller lists” have
nothing to do with how many books were sold. I tried to find the person at the
New York Times who compiles the list. I assumed the publisher sends that person
to a Caribbean resort for a week, and PRESTO their book is on the bestseller
list. – Sorry for the rant but that
system ensures self-published authors will never be on a bestseller list. As
for what makes a great book, I think it’s when you keep thinking about it after
you finish it. I hope readers will keep debating with themselves how much
forgiveness and compassion Valerie deserves long after they complete Valerie’s Retreat. Her bad decisions
have to be seen in light of a traumatic childhood. Where she falls on the
morality scale is up to the reader.
What
do you do to unwind and relax? Do you have a hobby?
As a family we love to go boating. Without giving away too much of Valerie’s Retreat I hope you find
Valerie’s love of boats endearing.
Where
can readers follow you?
Your blog details?
Your blog details?
Read Rinaldo, my blog, is located at http://wwwjosephmrinaldocom.blogspot.com
Your website ?
Rinaldo Write, my website, is at http://www.josephmrinaldo.com
Your Facebook page?
Your Goodreads book page?
Your
Good reads author page?
Your Twitter details?
And any other information you wish to supply?
I understand people are hesitant to give independent authors a
chance. If any of my books: A Spy At
Home, Hazardous Choices, A Mormon Massacre, or of course Valerie’s Retreat (all available on
Amazon in both ebook and paperback formats) interest you,
please go to the free "Click to Look Inside" and sample the first
chapter. If a book grabs you that quick, you'll probably be glad you got it.
Also, if you are in a book club that reads one of my books. I'd be honored to
join your discussion. Feel free to contact me through Facebook or my website,
www.josephmrinaldo.com.
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