[Helping authors promote their books. Being profiled does not necessarily mean I recommend the book.]
Theresa Rizzo is an award-winning author who writes emotional stories that explore the complexity of relationships and families through real-life trials. Born and raised in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, she currently lives outside of Boulder, Colorado with her husband of thirty years. She’s raised four wonderful children who are now scattered across the country.
What has been the best part about writing this book?
The best part about writing He Belongs to Me is I get to indulge my passion for romance, but also couch it in a realistic setting.
Most people know the excitement and joy of falling in love, but they also experience the heartache that can go along with that. We make ourselves vulnerable, when we give our heart to another. Love is a double-edged sword and most of us –at one time or another—feel both sides of the sword.
Life and love are messy and complicated, filled with highs and lows, laughter and tears. Relationships are messy and work—all of them—but the good ones are worth it. In He Belongs to Me, I get to explore those intricacies and hopefully entertain my readers along the journey.
Can you tell us about your next book?
My next book, due out in the fall, is Just Destiny. Jenny is a beautiful young woman whose seemingly perfect marriage to Gabe is shattered by a tragic accident that leaves her husband brain dead. Devastated at the sudden loss, she decides to preserve the best of their love by harvesting Gabe’s sperm for later insemination.
But her husband’s powerful, grieving uncle, the man who raised him, thinks of Jenny as a gold digger and is willing to risk exposing long-held family secrets in court to stop her.
The prospect of a grueling trial tests Jenny’s resolve, until an unexpected ally comes to her aid giving her the opportunity to win and the possibility of a second chance at happiness.
Favorite ice cream?
It’s a toss up between peppermint and mint chocolate chip—but if I want a sundae, I prefer good old vanilla
Which do you prefer, Facebook or Twitter?
Facebook—hands down. I write long books and I like to talk, obviously, being brief is a challenge for me . Plus I am a very visual person—I like pictures.
What is your pet peeve?
I tend to be OC, so I have many. Don’t judge—I’m working on it. In my next life I might only have a dozen. Pet peeves . . . top of the list, I HATE clutter. When a kid (or husband) comes in the house and kicks off her shoes at the base of the stairs, drops her purse, sunglasses, phone, car keys all over the kitchen counter then gets out her second glass of the day and leaves that on the coffee table, then tears into the mail and leaves ripped envelopes or coupons scattered around the kitchen after she made lunch and left the cheesy Panini press out . . . I want to kill. So I go and write, and undoubtedly it doesn’t go well for my characters.
Oh—did you mean pet peeve with regards to books?
How did you come up with the names of your characters?
For my heroine, I wanted an aristocratic-sounding name and Catherine seemed to fit the bill. And Thomas is named after a guy I had a crush on as a kid. I doubt he even knew I existed, but he was really sweet to me and a good person. He was someone with integrity and principles—even as a teenager. I admired him a lot.
If there is something you could change about this book, what would it be?
Great question! Given the feedback from the early reviews . . . I’d spend some more time fleshing out the grandparents, Eric and Sarah. I’d make them reach out to Catherine a little more and show more regret for what they were doing.
It seems readers think they’re evil, but I hadn’t intended that. They truly believe they are doing what’s best for their grandson—and even for Catherine. Eric especially. Sarah is a terminally damaged soul riddled with insecurities. She is to be pitied not hated.
Given Eric and Sarah’s life experiences, their personalities, and flaws, I do believe that they did the best they could. Their intentions weren’t malicious, just misguided. I’d work harder to make the reader understand that.
He Belongs to Me is a love story . . . a tale of betrayal and deception and of a young mother's determination to recover what belongs to her.
Forced to leave her baby and tricked into relinquishing her parental rights, four years later Catherine Boyd is back and she'll do anything to regain custody of her son--even reconcile with the husband falsely accused of killing their son's twin.
All in the name of love for a little boy, generations of pain and tragedy are exposed in a courtroom drama.
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Thanks for having me on your blog today, Jinky. You had some really interesting questions.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun interview! And "He Belongs to Me" sounds like a terrific read!
ReplyDeleteJinky, please tell your daughter I'm on a Hummingbird kick as well. They're just the cutest little birds possible!
Thanks for stopping by, Kittie! Hummingbirds are the cutest little guys, though if they buzz past you the noise they make can be a little alarming--like a huge bumble bee.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jinky, for bringing us this lovely interview with Theresa. And, Theresa, congrats on the release of your book. I've been waiting to get my hands on it, and I picked it up the first day out. Now, I'm champing at the bit to get to it--probably this weekend since I've just learned that we are in for a deluge here in Upstate New York. I love your cover--it seems to make a vow to support the story within. Also, congratulations on the wonderful reviews you've been getting. Speaking of which, I guess if multiple readers are commenting about needing more from the "grandparents" in your story that as authors we have to sit up and pay attention. But sometimes I wonder if too much fiddling ruins the integrity of what you're trying to accomplish for your story and also if it can make your secondary characters
ReplyDeletetoo overpowering. But fan reviews are important for helping us to think about these little nuances in our next stories.
So happy to hear I have a comrade in arms in the Crusade Against Clutter. When the nieces and nephews and now great nephews bop into town, I have to grit my teeth until they leave. But I'd rather have them here than not.
Anyway, I wish you the very best in your journey with He Belongs to Me.