AUTHOR INTERVIEW: LindaAnn LoSchiavo (Poetry Author) + bonus poem video sneak peak!

Hello my lovely stars, ✶

Poetry author LindaAnn LoSchiavo came out with a speculative fiction poetry collection last December 2019 ♡ Get to know the author of "A Route Obscure and Lonely" more with this exclusive author interview!

Finish reading this post until the end to catch a glimpse of one of her poems in VIDEO form!! How cool is that?

┈ Where were you born/grew up at? ┈

LoSchiavo: I was born and bred in NYC. Currently, I live in Greenwich Village.

┈ What was your inspiration for writing the book? ┈

LoSchiavo: I've had numerous real-life spirit encounters. The few friends I shared these with were fascinated. The book opens with a poem about the voice ghost who summoned me while I was nursing my dying mother in my parents' house (in September 1991). After years of NOT writing about it, I decided to collect some of these in a book -- along with other supernatural themes.

┈ What came first, the novel or the title? ┈

LoSchiavo: The poetry collection was emerging first, then a title -- a phrase borrowed from a Poe poem.

┈ What are you passionate about these days? ┈

LoSchiavo: With COVID-19 taking over NYC -- New York was up to 1,000 deaths per day in April 2020 -- I'm passionate about increasing my exotic plant collection, which increases the oxygen level in my apartment.

I'm passionate about the social justice and #MeToo movements.

I continue to be passionate about writing deadlines, my "to do" list, and my Siamese cats.

┈ What do you like most about writing? ┈

LoSchiavo: What I like most about writing is making the quotidian exotic and the exotic (and invisible) more understandable to others.

┈ Where is your ideal place to write and/or read? ┈

LoSchiavo: The ideal place to read or write is in my apartment, blessed with quiet neighbors.

┈ Describe yourself in 5 words or less! ┈

LoSchiavo: Ambitious. Disciplined. Versatile. Bohemian. Cat-lover.

┈ When did you first consider yourself a writer? ┈

LoSchiavo: I began writing metrical verse when I was 3 1/2 years old.

My first poem was accepted for publication when I was 9.

My first stage play was written and produced at age 9.

There was no question in my mind, at age 9, that I was meant for this.

┈ If you knew you'd die tomorrow, how would you spend your last day? ┈

LoSchiavo: Well, I hope I last longer than tomorrow but, if I knew for certain, then I'd spend the day writing instructions to others about formal bequests, which first editions on my shelf are most valuable, closing bank accounts, which relatives should get my jewelry, who should inherit my cats, etc.

┈ What would you like to say to aspiring/beginning writers in the community? ┈

LoSchiavo: To all the aspiring writers out there: read daily, write daily, submit, don't quit. Monitor your progress by joining a critique group and/or taking writing classes.