Disability and Progress- February 1, 2024- Author Ann Chiappetta

[00:00:50] Speaker A: Satings. And thank you for joining disability and progress. And this is KFEI, 90.3 FM, Minneapolis, and kfei.org. We bring you insights into and ideas about and discussions on disability topics. My name is Sam. I'm the host of this show, and Charlene Doll is my PR person and research woman. Hello, Charlene. Good evening, everybody. Tonight we are, or today we are speaking with Anne Chiapeta. Anne is the author of a new book that she's going to be talking about called Imperfections. Hi, Anne. Oh, I'm hoping you're there. You there, Ann? [00:01:39] Speaker B: Hello? Can you hear me now? [00:01:40] Speaker A: I can hear you now. It's okay. The world know all this electronic stuff. So thank you very much for coming on and spending some time with us. We really appreciate it. Why don't we start out by having you do your typical, tell us about how your beginning started as a writer. [00:02:05] Speaker B: Sure. Thanks a lot for having me on. I know. How many times have I been on? I don't know, third time I was. [00:02:12] Speaker A: Going to have to start billing for chocolate or something. I don't know. [00:02:17] Speaker B: You're always so gracious, Sam. I love so I wasn't always a published writer. I didn't get published until after I decided that life just isn't long enough and what am I waiting for? I started out in 2016 and I haven't stopped since. I found the right people to help me publish my book. I found the right, I guess, the right amount of inspiration. I started out with poetry, then I kind of spread out a little bit and experimented with a memoir about being blind and training with a guide dog. I did a short story collection, poetry and essays, and now I'm on to contemporary fiction writing. [00:03:10] Speaker A: What was the first piece that you wrote professionally? [00:03:15] Speaker B: Oh, boy. [00:03:17] Speaker A: Testing you. [00:03:18] Speaker B: Yeah, a long time ago, right when I first started losing my vision and really kind of being in that position of who am I now? Where do I fit into this world? How am I going to cope with all of this? I wrote a poem and I don't even remember what the poem was, but I got into this little poetry review and that was like back in the early 90s or mid ninety s. Oh, wow. Yeah. So that was like my first real kind of. That actually gave me hope and kept me going. [00:04:03] Speaker A: Is it out there like, did you, you published it and everything? [00:04:07] Speaker B: Yeah, it was one of those little poetry journals that, you know, how you used to be able to print on a five, eight and a half by eleven piece of paper and then fold it in half and staple it right. It was one of those. Cool. So it's long gone now. Yeah. [00:04:30] Speaker A: How many different styles or types of things have you written? So you talked about poetry, poetry, nonfiction. [00:04:42] Speaker B: Like memoir and essays and things like that. And then in terms of fiction, I'm kind of into urban fantasy right now, trying to develop that side of a genre for myself. And the contemporary fiction, what I'm trying to do, I think, is I'm trying to develop who I am in terms of my, like, so that somebody could read something and say, oh, that's an Anne Chapetta piece. [00:05:18] Speaker A: There you go. That's my old kind of like, you know, you can read and like, oh, that's Stephen King. Must be cool. [00:05:26] Speaker B: And you can only achieve that through a lot of practice. [00:05:30] Speaker A: Yes. Sorry about that. So what's your favorite genre? [00:05:39] Speaker B: To write or to read? [00:05:41] Speaker A: Oh, both. [00:05:44] Speaker B: Okay. All right. So to read, definitely science fiction and fantasy, I love that. That can incorporate everything from, like, Sanderson to, to Robert Heinlein. I mean, all over the place. Even Nora Roberts gets into fantasy. And I love her contemporary stuff. It's brilliant. I just love it to write, I think I like to write, like, contemporary fiction. I like to incorporate different pieces in different genres. So it might have a little hint of romance or maybe a little bit of mystery or some suspense and drama in it, but I don't want to put myself in a place where that's all I write. [00:06:37] Speaker A: Yes. Kind of pigeonhole yourself. [00:06:39] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:06:42] Speaker A: Well, that's wise. How does one do that, though? Not repeat themselves the same over and over and over. [00:06:53] Speaker B: It's hard. And I think this novel is very reflective of the first one, even though it's different characters and stuff. And I realized that when I started out with it. But I let it happen because I have to grow. And the only way I can grow is by doing so. I tried to change circumstances and things and plots and all of that, and some of it is similar, but I think it's different enough. Almost reminds me of a series. [00:07:29] Speaker A: Stay tuned. All right, Charlene, what does it take. [00:07:36] Speaker B: To stay in the game as a. For. Well, it definitely takes a sense, a large helping of curiosity, and then everything else seems to come after that. It takes a lot of reading. You've got to be a good reader to be a good writer. It takes discipline. It takes the ability to be able to say, okay, enough feeling sorry for yourself. You didn't get that many sales on your book. You have to keep going. So it takes a little bit of confidence in yourself and also anything else that you have brought into your writing life from your other endeavors, because you're not just a writer. You may be a writer, and you may be a law professional. You might be a writer and be a professor, or you might, like me, be a writer and also have had a career as a therapist. So you bring all that in there too. [00:08:48] Speaker A: I suspect you have that bang of release when you release the book, but maybe something may happen along the way to kind of give you another string of sales on a book. Does that ever happen, or does that generally work? [00:09:06] Speaker B: I think what happens is that you've got to plumb all different resources that you have. First, you might tell your friends and your family about your new book, and then you expand out to your networking. I even tell my pampered chef lady, there you go. And sometimes I get a sale or two from that, because then she'll share it with all her clients or customers. And, like, if I go on one of her Zoom meetings or whatever at a hostess club or something, I'll share that, and then somebody will say, oh, email me. I want to find out more about you. And then, boom, there's a sale. So it happens in a lot of different places, and it's always gratifying when it comes from one of those connections. [00:10:01] Speaker A: So your new book, imperfections, how did you come up with a name. [00:10:08] Speaker B: That name for that book? I had that name. Okay. So going back to the beginning, this manuscript sat in my manuscript closet for 15 years. [00:10:21] Speaker A: Is that common? [00:10:22] Speaker B: Yeah, it's common. Got to dust it off. Oh, man. So I had to reread it. I had to decide whether or not it was worth updating to make it, because I wrote it on Anano rhymo challenge long, long time ago, and I had to make a decision. Do I want to put the effort into it? And it already had the name imperfections. [00:10:56] Speaker A: So how do you come up with any title for a poem or a book? [00:11:03] Speaker B: Interesting question. I usually go through iterations, at least three before I find the right one. And that's just the way it happens for me. Like, I might have the original name for the book when I make a file for it in my computer. Well, I'll just name it blah, blah, blah, right? And then that doesn't last very long. And then once the book becomes more and more developed, I decide that it's got to have a new name. And then a couple of months will go by, and I'll play around with names, and then one will finally stick. I don't know. It's a mystery. [00:11:48] Speaker A: So imperfections. Tell us a little bit about that. [00:11:52] Speaker B: Okay. Well, I do have a little blurb. Would you like me to read my blurb? [00:11:55] Speaker A: Yes. [00:11:56] Speaker B: It's like a 1 minute blurb. Okay. Let me get to my blurb. Okay. For Laney and efren, affirming their love for one another means to leave it behind. Recovering from a random assault after relocating from New York to California, Lainey struggles to put her life back on track. Shane, the young man she thought was trustworthy, transforms into a possessive and cruel boyfriend. When efren, Shane's older cousin, enters her life, Lainey grasps onto a shard of hope, falling in love. Shane's obsessive and abusive treatment of her foreshadows Lainey's chances to find safety and a future free of Shane's sadistic retribution. Will their love persevere, or will Shane's pervasive influence push Lainey and efren to love secretly or forever force them? [00:13:06] Speaker A: Ah, thank you. [00:13:08] Speaker B: Sure. [00:13:10] Speaker A: So you're right. This type of book is not necessarily new to you. How is this different from what other stuff you've written before? [00:13:24] Speaker B: Without getting into the weeds about the craft and all that stuff? I think the female character has a little bit of hidden strengths and slowly develops them over time. A little bit differently than in my first book. I also made her experience some trauma in a different way than the first book. At first, she had a head injury and all that stuff, so there was that. I also added a lot of other elements to the story because it was also updated, and I had to figure out how to incorporate cell phones and technology and all that stuff. So it was very different from my first book. Hope for the tarnish was pretty much in the 1970s and 80s eras. This is updated, so that was interesting. That was a lot of fun, actually, because I felt like a grown up. I was a little bit more grown up in that. And the love interest and what they go through, that was a little different as well. And interestingly, because the love interest is irish, Efren is irish. I have an irish friend, and I said, could you please read this and make sure? I didn't want to insult the irish people or anything. He read it for me and he was like, yeah, it's fine. It's good. Okay. Thank you. So he was my sensitivity reader for a lot of that cultural stuff that I didn't want to misquote. [00:15:30] Speaker A: Is that something you do often if you're going to step outside the box of what you're used to? [00:15:35] Speaker B: Yeah, it's something you need to do. You don't want to misstate something or make an assumption or even a microaggression. You might not even be aware that there might be something that's misstated. Being a good writer means being responsible about those things. [00:15:58] Speaker A: So is Lainey your favorite character in this? [00:16:03] Speaker B: I'm sorry, what was that? [00:16:04] Speaker A: Is Lainey your favorite character in this book, or who is. [00:16:10] Speaker B: No, I think Efren is. [00:16:12] Speaker A: And why would that be? [00:16:14] Speaker B: Because he is like a grounding for her. I wouldn't say he rescues her, but I think he's left in the dark a bit about her trauma and stuff. And then when he finds out about it, he could just said, oh, that's no way. I don't want any part of this. This is too much for me. And that would have been a realistic response to something like that at the curve of the book. But he didn't. He stayed on and said, no, I love you, and I want to try to figure this out. [00:16:56] Speaker A: What do you want people to take away with this book? [00:17:02] Speaker B: Probably that there's hope that even though life can throw you a lot of difficult things and that you struggle not to turn away for the opportunity to heal and to move on and find love. [00:17:28] Speaker A: Who's the hardest character that you had to write about in this book? [00:17:32] Speaker B: The hardest character? It was shane. I'm not used to writing such cruel, vindictive characters, and, yeah, that really challenged me. [00:17:49] Speaker A: Is there anything more you want to say about this book, Anne? [00:17:56] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that going into contemporary fiction the way I have and trying to not be perceived as just a romance writer or just a fiction writer has been a big challenge for me, personally. I appreciate the people who read my books. I appreciate the people who leave their feedback or rate my book on whatever their platform is and just want everybody to know that being an independent author means all the control is mine, but it also means that all the marketing and all that stuff is also my responsibility and to always be kind to people and artists, because a lot of times we're artists first and we're marketers second. [00:19:00] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:19:01] Speaker B: A lot of times we struggle with that. [00:19:04] Speaker A: Well, it's hard to be top at everything. [00:19:07] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:19:08] Speaker A: And I hear congratulations are in order. Miss third place winner in the 2023 homecoming poetry contest. [00:19:20] Speaker B: Yeah, that was a total surprise for me. [00:19:23] Speaker A: So the poem that you won on was called where the Heart lives, right? [00:19:30] Speaker B: Yes. [00:19:31] Speaker A: When did you write it, and what was the inspiration for joining this contest? [00:19:38] Speaker B: So I wrote that poem. I believe it was back in 2021, and I wrote the poem because I moved to Pittsburgh from New York, and my old office in New York was literally right beside the. So I heard, always heard, the filter of life going on beyond my office. Bird singing, the UPs driver, cars leaving the highway, all this stuff. And I was like. And there was always action, and there was always auditory information coming in whenever I was in my office doing work. And this poem was just an offshoot of that. But I wanted to end the poem with something that was something peaceful and something that resonated with you. I've been hoping that when somebody would read the poem, that despite all of this noise and all of this stuff going on, that the important thing is the people that you love. [00:20:53] Speaker A: Is there a part you'd like to share with us? [00:20:56] Speaker B: Sure. [00:20:57] Speaker A: Okay. [00:20:57] Speaker B: Now, unfortunately, I can't read the whole poem because of copyright. Because once the poem is accepted into an anthology, they have temporary use of that poem exclusively until it's released in the book, and then after that, it reverts back to you. [00:21:14] Speaker A: And when are they releasing it? [00:21:16] Speaker B: She didn't say. Oprell Publications is a small imprint, and they do a lot of different types of chat books and fiction and nonfiction books. So I'll get more information. I think it's coming out in the spring, but I'm not sure when. I don't know if that's April or May or June. I'll get more information on that once they decide to start sending out the spec of the poem and I have to approve it and that kind of thing. [00:21:51] Speaker A: All right, well, why don't you share a piece with us? [00:21:54] Speaker B: Sure. So here we go. Presence, human touch. Holding hands before slipping off to sleep. [00:22:09] Speaker A: Such a small piece, I know. Yeah. It does give you a nice sense of this romantic type poem. Is that your favorite part of it? [00:22:27] Speaker B: Actually, my favorite part was the stanzas after that. But if I read those. If I went to read those other stanzas, I would have just been missing one. And I'm like, yeah, well, I don't. [00:22:41] Speaker A: Want to get you in trouble, but. [00:22:42] Speaker B: I don't want to get in trouble either. [00:22:48] Speaker A: When does imperfections come out? Has it already come out? [00:22:52] Speaker B: No, actually, it's in the process of being line edited. And I expect probably the beginning of March is when the release will be. We're trying to make it near my birthday. It'll be a birthday release. [00:23:08] Speaker A: That would be cool. [00:23:10] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:23:11] Speaker A: So is that when you do any talks and whatever mostly is towards the front of that end of that book when it comes out? So you can kind of promote it? [00:23:23] Speaker B: Yeah, there's a whole level of things that you need to do or that you can do. The first thing is to get reviews, advanced reviews, which I'm working on, and then the release itself. And I have a couple of appearances to make. I also want to work on doing some readings at my local libraries here around where I live. So I'm trying to establish that as well. Kind of got out of that because of COVID and getting back into the routine. It's just been difficult, but I'm working. [00:24:05] Speaker A: On it, I think for a lot of people. Yeah, you used to be part of a writing group. Are you still? And if so, how does that help your career? [00:24:15] Speaker B: Sure, I am still part of behind our eyes, and I really appreciate the group because it's helped me be better at what I want to be better at. So crafting poetry, learning more about how to be a better fiction writer. And also I like helping other authors step it up. And so I do that by chairing the book launch committee, which takes authors who are members of behind our eyes and allows them to create a book launch and practice public speaking. And we do it over Zoom. And I find that really gratifying because a lot of writers don't share their work because for fear of being criticized or they're afraid to speak in public and things like that. And we try to offer them avenues to practice so that they can branch out a little bit and share their work with other people. [00:25:25] Speaker A: And I suspect people who are. I mean, I suspect it's hard to find the right writing group. I don't know this, but is it so that the writing groups have different complexities of maybe some are a little higher caliber than others, or they're for more advanced writers than others? How does one find a writing group that is appropriate for where they are? [00:25:53] Speaker B: Yeah, it takes a lot of effort and exploration and being honest about what you need as a writer and how to find the right groups. I think before we had this big pause with COVID and everything, it was a little easier to make contact with, like, for instance, your local libraries, or maybe even a local writers group or poetry group that might have developed in your local area. We're getting back to that now, so it's getting a little easier. I first started out in a critique group that met via email because none of us could find an in person thing that we liked, and we were all like minded. We all wrote either horror or fantasy or science fiction of some kind. And so that's another thing. Keep in your genre if you can, if you write poetry. Join a poetry writing group. If you write memoir, try to find a memoir writing group. [00:27:03] Speaker A: But someone like you, you've kind of extended beyond. You're in a couple of different genres. So how do you. [00:27:14] Speaker B: All right, so I have a poetry writing group. [00:27:17] Speaker A: So you split it up. Okay. [00:27:19] Speaker B: Right. And then I've got people that we trade fiction and stuff, so I have another set of people for that. And then I also sometimes do focused workshops, and you do have to pay for those. However, if you follow somebody who writes and who also instructs and you like them, and they offer a workshop and say, it's like a two hour workshop and it's $50, it's worth it, because you'll get more out of that two hour session with someone that you like and admire and who you feel helps you than if you didn't. And it's a good way to invest in yourself. So I've done those, too, and those are very helpful. [00:28:15] Speaker A: So what I'm taking away from this is if you're just starting out and you're in a certain genre, stay with that genre as far as in regards to the writing group critiquing. But if you want to dabble in a lot of different things, you may have to go off and find different writing groups to kind of share that with. Is that what you're saying? [00:28:39] Speaker B: Yes. It's really hard to. Like, if you write nature poetry, you don't want to be in a group of writers that write avant garde or experimental pieces. Somebody's writing a sonnet, and then you're there writing haiku. I don't think it will work very well. I mean, some of it might. [00:29:07] Speaker A: Well, there might be a group that does a mishmash of stuff, but, yeah, who knows? I guess. [00:29:15] Speaker B: Yeah, it's about the people, too. You've got to connect with the people that you're sharing with and feel safe in there and feel validated. I know people have told me about their negative experiences, about not being validated or feeling safe, and they have valid points. So it's a hit and miss. You've got to do your homework and hope for the best. Take chances. [00:29:46] Speaker A: So, Anne, what is new on the horizons for you after this? [00:29:54] Speaker B: So, I don't know. I think I'm probably working on getting another poetry book situated, but that probably won't be known until next year. I mean, I'm gonna. We just moved, so from one state to the other, so we're still putting down our roots and getting all my ducks in a row and that kind of thing. But yes, I haven't done much with writing other than getting the book launched ready and that kind of thing. [00:30:40] Speaker A: It feels to me, though, you kind of branch off into a lot of different things. You dabble in a lot of different things. Like you said, you do kind of take chances. How do you decide what you're going to do next or what you might do that might not be as good for you? [00:31:01] Speaker B: I don't know. But I will tell you, I don't believe in writer's block, and I believe that this has something to do with your question. Just give me a second. So I believe that whatever is ready to be written will be written. It will come out of my head and it'll happen and I'll get an idea. And my process, my creative process, I don't question it anymore. I just let it happen. And if I'm going to be writing x or Y, then I write x or Y. If I feel like I have some creative stagnation going on, I will invest in like a writer's workshop or work on somebody else's work with them or do something that's creative, but not pressuring me to do this because I feel like I have to do it. And I think that's part of it. It's taking the discipline and taking the creativity and molding them together into something that just works for me. [00:32:09] Speaker A: And do you have your name on other books that you've written with people? [00:32:17] Speaker B: I helped edit a guide dog user's handbook for GDUI. My name is in that and I did the introduction to that book, and I think that's it so far. I would love to collaborate on a fiction book with somebody, but that's a lot of wishing. [00:32:45] Speaker A: So how does that work? If someone wants to collaborate, do they usually go to you? Do you go to them and say, hey, let's write something together? [00:32:57] Speaker B: I've heard a lot of different versions of how it works. I think you just have to find somebody who wants to experiment with you and take a chance and see what happens. Go for it and see what happens. [00:33:16] Speaker A: Tell me again when the book is approximately scheduled to be released and how people can get it. [00:33:23] Speaker B: Okay, so we're working on a March 1 release of imperfections by Anne Chapetta. My website is www.annchapetta.com. [00:33:34] Speaker A: You better spell that last name there. [00:33:38] Speaker B: And you'll be able to get my books on. You can get all my books on Amazon Kindle, all ebook platforms, smash words, and most of my books are available on audible. We're waiting for hope for the tarnish to be released on audible, hopefully in the next couple of months as well. And then the audible version of imperfections will follow sometime in the fall. [00:34:03] Speaker A: I've probably asked you this before, but what about Bard? [00:34:10] Speaker B: So all of my books, except for the last two books are all up on bar as well. [00:34:14] Speaker A: Cool. [00:34:15] Speaker B: And bookshare. [00:34:17] Speaker A: Oh, that's awesome. Congratulations. [00:34:19] Speaker B: Thank you. [00:34:20] Speaker A: Exactly. So anybody who wants to get deep into the author of Anne chief Pere can do. Yes, and although it's nice if they buy the book, but yeah, getting it on audio, is it hard to get on Tabard. [00:34:42] Speaker B: If you do? But there's two ways you can do it. You can ask people to request the book and then it goes into the bard queue, and then it takes time for them to assign it to a studio to record or whatever. Or like me, I do it privately and then I send the NLS the audio files. And then they have us record a couple of little blurbs so that they can put it up and then they format the files that way. But they do charge you for that, by the way. But it's a nominal fee. It's not that much. [00:35:24] Speaker A: If anybody doesn't know what Bard is or national library service. NLS is national library Service, and they have braille and digital audiobooks that they host on their website. And it's for the blind and visually impaired, probably for dyslexic, too. I'm trying to remember who all qualifies for it, but they're free books that are in braille or audio that give people a chance to be able to read those books that can't just go to the library and pick up a book and say, I'm going to read this now. So that's kind of nice. Is there anything more you'd like to tell us about you or your book before we go? [00:36:14] Speaker B: Just that I hope that people are interested in it. And if anybody has any questions, you can definitely contact me from my website and I look forward to getting some feedback. [00:36:25] Speaker A: Will you give us your website once more? [00:36:27] Speaker B: Ww dot anshapetta.com. You want me to spell my name out? [00:36:32] Speaker A: You better. [00:36:33] Speaker B: All right. So it's a n n c h I a p p e t t a. [00:36:39] Speaker A: People like me that are bad spellers. Thank you, Anne. I always appreciate you coming on, and it's been fun. And good luck in the future of your writings. [00:36:51] Speaker B: Thank you, Sam. Appreciate you. Thank you, Charlene. [00:36:55] Speaker A: All right. Excellent. Well, we always love having her on. She's always fun. And her books are interesting. So I want to remind you that if you'd like to hear something on disability and progress, you can email us at Sam at disabilityandprogress. No. Where am I? Boy, I've been out, haven't I? You can email us at [email protected] that's it, right? Well, you laugh, but let's see when I quiz you next time. [00:37:32] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:37:33] Speaker A: [email protected] you can send your feedback and your email and suggestions to us. We love to receive them. I do get back to you, even if it's not the very next day, so be patient, please. And we always love to hear feedback. But thank you for listening. And you've been listening to kfai 90.3 FM, minneapolis and kfai.org. This is disability and progress, and we hope to hear you back next week or see you back next week. You can email me at [email protected] and join me and charlene doll back here. And you were listening to Joseph Baird, and we were speaking with Auntie PETA about her book imperfections. If you have a suggestion you'd like to hear us more or more of, please email me and talk about it. Thanks for listening. Good night. Everything close.