Catching Up with Theresa Rizzo

The Reading Cafe is happy to welcome back Theresa Rizzo. Theresa is here today to discuss her new release, Just Destiny. Our review of Just Destiny is below this post. Theresa will also tell us what she has in store for us in 2014.

Let’s talk to Theresa.

TRC: Hi, Theresa.  Thank you for taking the time to visit us again at The Reading Cafe, to discuss your upcoming new release “Just Destiny”, as well as to give an update as to what you have upcoming in 2014.

Theresa: Hi Barb, thanks so much for having me on The Reading Café!

TRC: Your first novel, He Belongs to Me had wonderful reviews.  How did you feel, especially being your first book, with the positive reviews, and commenters saying how much your story effected them emotionally?

Theresa:  I couldn’t be more pleased with the warm reception He Belongs to Me has gotten. I worked hard for more than a dozen years learning the industry and growing in my craft and it’s great to see how this story touched people’s hearts and entertained them.

TRC: You have just released your new novel Just Destiny, would you please give us a brief description of the book?

Theresa:  Just Destiny is a love story wrapped in suspenseful courtroom drama. It’s about a grieving young woman, willing to risk embarrassment and possibly revealing long-held family secrets in court, for the right to conceive her dead husband’s baby, and her lawyer, best friend’s struggle to help her, despite his reservations.

You can order Just Destiny at  these links:
.Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBookstore /  Smashwords

TRC: Can you please tell us how you come up with the idea of this story?

Theresa:  My husband was on a business trip on my birthday, so my sister and brother-in-law took me out to dinner to celebrate and I’d cut out this article in the newspaper about a woman being sued by her deceased husband’s family to keep her from having his baby after he was dead.

The idea of having your dead husband’s baby seemed bizarre, but still it struck me as a frivolous, ridiculous lawsuit.  I figured it wasn’t anybody’s business, after all once you get married, your body’s mine and mine’s yours, right?

My attorney sister got this puzzled look on her face and said, “Actually that’s a really interesting legal issue.  I wonder if sperm is considered property . . .”

And then my brother-in-law looked at her, saying, “I’m not sure I’d want you to have my baby after I’m gone.”

So we discussed some legal and moral implications of the situation and what had initially seemed so incredibly simple and private suddenly became complicated and intriguing, propelling me to do some research into the legalities and morality of the issue.

I was so fascinated with the idea that I had to build a book around it.

TRC: Your first two books, He Belongs to Me and now Just Destiny are very emotional stories. How much research do you put into these books?  Also, when writing stories that have such deep emotional conflicts, do you find it difficult to write?

Theresa:  I do a TON of research—actually it seems that each book requires more and more research.  I have binders and word files FULL of research that take as much as a month or three to accumulate.

Not only do I research on-line, but then I email experts in the industry asking questions, make field trips to locations where I set various scenes in the stories, or asking my legal and medical experts to read scenes/chapters etc and reword dialogue so it sounds accurate and natural—or tell me where I’m taking artistic liberties.

For instance, an attorney would NEVER hold up a finger and tell a judge to wait a minute as the attorney did in He Belongs to Me—however it worked for the story and added to the drama, so I kept it.

I only write stories that fascinate me, so I enjoy learning new things, but also, I really don’t want to be inaccurate. I want to give my readers my very best effort and produce a story I can be proud of.

You know, I love writing deeply emotional stories and when I cry or chuckle writing something, I know it’s good.  I cried and cried while Jenny was in the hospital with Gabe. Setting up the story just broke my heart. But I ADORE the holiday party that Jenny accompanied Steve to. Writing that, reading that, made me really happy.

And my heart ached for Steve’s situation.  He was living one of my worst nightmares. But I don’t mind putting my characters through the wringer because I KNOW they will have a happy ending.  In the beginning, I have no idea what that happy ending is or how they’re gonna get there, but I promise myself that I will help them fix things and they WILL have that happily ever after.

TRC: Do you have any desire to write in another genre?

Theresa:  I have written a romantic suspense I’m going to publish early 2015 and have a rough draft of another romantic suspense I’ll finish and put out after that.

I write the story that I can’t get out of my head regardless of genre, but you’ll never find me writing a historical –I simply don’t have the “voice” for that as much as I enjoy reading them.

TRC: Would you like to share with us what you are currently working on, and what you have in store for us in 2014?

Theresa:  In the fall I’ll put out my next book, The Lives Between Us, which is book dealing with love, loss, revenge, and making hard choices. Here’s the description:

Grieving the loss of her beloved niece, reporter Skylar Kendall plots revenge on the US Senator who opposed life-saving stem cell research and therapy. She becomes romantically involved with his best friend, putting her in the perfect position to tear the senator’s world apart when tragedy strikes.  Only, she hadn’t counted on falling in love.

Sen. Hastings’s tragedy would absolutely make Skylar’s career and satisfy her thirst for revenge, but can she betray her new love and friends?

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Theresa:  I want to thank you for having me on your blog and reading and reviewing my books. The greatest challenge for any self-published author is discoverability and I am so very grateful to every single generous reader who makes the time to write me a review and tell a friend about my book or host me on their blog.

Thank you so very much for your support!

TRC: Thank you, Theresa for giving us an update on Just Destiny, as well as what we can look forward to in the future.  It was a pleasure talking with you again.  We wish you good luck with the Just Destiny, and hope to catch up with you again.

You can find more about Theresa on the web at www.theresarizzo.com, or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter or Goodreads.
Theresa has graciously offered to give one member of The Reading Café a chance to win an e-copy of her new release, Just Destiny.

1.  You must be a member at The Reading Cafe. If you are not a member, please register using the Log-In at the top of the page, or by using one of our social log-ins.

2.  If you are using a social log-in e.g. Twitter, please leave your email address along with your comment.

3.  Giveaway open Internationally

4.  Contest runs from March 30 – April 3, 2014