On episode 35 of The Porchlight, Bethany Hegedus speaks with debut author Lucia DiStefano about her YA novel BORROWED, a genre-bending book about the mysteries of cellular memory in a teen girl who receives a heart transplant. Lucia is a first generation Sicilian and the daughter of an olive farmer. She grew up in Connecticut and now lives near Austin, TX. A former high school English teacher, Lucia now not only writes fiction, but she also works as an editor, ghost writer, and writing coach.
Bethany calls this episode a master class in creativity as she and Lucia delve into what Norman Mailer calls “the spooky art” of writing and the magic and mystery of the creative process. They discuss how the seeds of ideas are first planted in a writer’s mind as well as the many iterations ideas can go through as they evolve into a book. Lucia talks about how much she loves to ask the big questions, the ones that don’t have easy answers, and how she explores that in her work along with the question: how much control do we truly have over who we are? She and Bethany also ruminate on the importance of feeling excited over a good day’s work and remembering to enjoy the process of writing. Find out more about BORROWED at https://elephantrockbooks.com/ya-contest/ and find Lucia on Twitter @LuciaDiStef
Blog tour schedule:
August 1: Cover reveal at YA Interrobang
September 4: Review at Alice Reeds
September 10: Author interview at Alice Reeds
September 24: Cover reveal at BubblersRead
October 8: Review at Liz Loves Books
October 9-15: Giveaway at Miss Print
October 15: Review at BubblersRead
October 17: Guest post at Liz Loves Books
October 22: Excerpt at YA Interrobang
October 25: Author interview at YA Outside the Lines
October 31: Author interview at Katya de Becerra: The Last Day of Normal
November 1: Giveaway and guest post at Carina’s Books
November 5: Author interview at BubblersRead
November 12: Author guest post at BubblersRead
November 14: Author interview at Cynsations
November 19: First impressions video with YouTuber BookRatMisty
November 20: First impressions on The Book Rat
November 20: Author interview at The Story Sanctuary
December 3: Review at The Story Sanctuary
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Lucia DiStefano: A former high school English teacher, Lucia DiStefano currently works as an editor, ghostwriter, and writing coach. First-generation Sicilian-American and daughter of an olive farmer, she admits to having recurring pasta dreams. Hailing from central Connecticut, Lucia lives near Austin, Texas with her husband and an old bloodhound named Waffle.