Guest Post – Joanne DeMaio

I’m delighted to welcome Joanne DeMaio to A Slice of Life Writing today. Joanne was one of the first people I met online when I first started my blog four years ago. Over the years I’ve enjoyed learning more about living a choice life and owning our choices from her. More recently I’ve been celebrating the release of her first novel, A Whole Latte Life. Welcome Joanne!

I find that real-life always provides the best writing inspiration.  Shortly before I began writing  Whole Latte Life, several friends, for different occasions, planned weekend outings to New York City.  So I thought that a weekend outing with friends in the city would resonate with women readers.  And such an outing is just filled with drama and plotting possibilities! So I launched my novel from that situation.

But real-life includes more than experiences.  It includes settings from our days, too.  My novel’s settings are reflections of places important to me.  The town of Addison is a blend of the two towns I consider home.  The coffee shop across the street from the Green with its wishing fountain, the cove, the historic homes, these are all places I’ve been to in reality.  The seaside setting of Anchor Beach is drawn from the time I’ve spent at the Connecticut shoreline for many summers of my life.  To me, place is almost a character and so I’m very aware of the settings around me and their details that can build a story.

As an author, I find that the best recipe for writing is to take these different aspects of our own lives, bring them together and then ask a question of them.  Consider issues readers might wonder about and explore them on the page with the framework that life itself has brought to your story.

Thanks for hosting me today, Linda, to share my own “slice of writing life.”  Happy writing to all ~ Let your days inspire the page!

Joanne DeMaio is an author of contemporary women’s fiction, blending family, coffee and  friendship on the page. Her novel Whole Latte Life is an Amazon best seller in Women’s Fiction/Friendship as well as a Kirkus Reviews Critics’ Pick. In addition, her music essays have appeared in literary journals, celebrating her passion for song, in print. Joanne lives with her family in Connecticut. To learn more, visit Joannedemaio.com.