Friday, October 26, 2012

Book Tour Guest- Marie Fostino




Biography:


So let me introduce myself. I was born on the out skirts of Chicago, Ill and the oldest of six children. I spent a lot of time in Wisconsin with my grandparents during the summers growing up. They had a milk farm and so I learned to milk the cows and clean out the smelly barn. I graduated high school in 1972. I met my husband in October of 1973 and I was only nineteen years old. We got married that following April in 1974. We have five children, four daughters and one son. My husband moved us around a lot and we lived in Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Maryland, and Arizona. Arizona is where we have laid our hats. Can't move if I wanted to because three of my children and four of my grandchildren.



http://www.mariefostino.com;http://mariefostino.weebly.com; http:// www.mariefostino.blogspot.com ;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-dWlsgM9LA&layer_token=3c1917039222373



Author Interview:


1. How did you come up with the idea about your book? 
 I love to read and one of my all-time favorite is Romeo & Juliet.  The original was written by William Shakespeare about two young stars – crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. In time there was West Side Story written by Arthur Laurent’s, about rivalry between street gangs and ethnic groups. A member of the Sharks, from Puerto Rico, falls in love with a member of the Jets, Polish American which only leads to fighting and ultimately death. Next came out the Modern Day Romeo & Juliet in a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Clair Danes.  So I came up with the idea, What about using that thought involving the two gangs that tried to take over Chicago in the 1092’s.

2. • What was the hardest part of writing your book? 

I think the hardest part for me was the baseball scene. My husband helped me with that part since I am not really into sports.  

3. • Did you do research for your book? 

Oh yes, I read books and looked articles up on the internet and watched movies to help me create my characters. Since this is about a part of history that really happened I wanted to make sure I had the facts straight. But since it is also fiction, I made up a couple of characters that really didn’t exists and put them in my world.  My grandfather worked for Al Capone and he owned a little corner store which the mop kept safe for him. So I used that idea in my book and decided to make the man who owned the store a relative of Al Capone. This is how Rosemary came about, the girl who fell in love with a man from the wrong side of the tracks.  George Moran was also a gang leader who fought with Al Capone for Chicago. Jon May was a hired mechanic for George Moran and even though he had small kids, I made this part fiction and gave him a son old enough to fall in love. This began my story of a new kind of Romeo & Juliet.Both with attachments to the opposite gangs of Chicago which could only lead to trouble.

4. • How long did it take to write it? 

 It took me maybe six months to write and re-write to make sure I had the facts correct. Then I sent it to an editor. 

5. What you want your readers to know about your work? 

I enjoy writing. My books will never be best sellers, but they are enjoyable and will take you away from life for a little while. This book is not very long, but you will get a whirlwind tour of Chicago and learn a little history of Chicago in the 1920’s along with the enjoyment of a little romance thrown in.  I have written three other books and finishing another one.

I wrote my first book, Alzheimer’s A Caretakers Journal, from journals I kept while taking care of my father in law with his Alzheimer’s.  

My book The Silver Locket came to me after my first grandchild turned fifteen years old. The memories came flooding back to that time her mom (my daughter) was pregnant while in high school which was the idea behind this book. 

My third book A Struggle of the Heart came next as I looked back into my life when I changed careers from being a beautician to a paramedic due to the Oklahoma City Bombing. But I decided to make a romance triangle to make this book a lot more interesting. 

6. Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it? 

 I actually learned a lot more about the city of Chicago, which is a city I am in love with. I mean sure I have done some traveling and there is New York with the Statue of Liberty and there I France with the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. I loved Rome and the Colosseum and Trevi Fountain. But there is a kind of magic to me about the City of Chicago. The night life, the noise, the real tall buildings are just a little about this city that makes it so appealing. Let’s not forget you can go to the zoo, or the beach or the top of the John Hancock building to see and feel the magic of this city. In fact I went back to Chicago looking for the garage where the Valentines Massacre happened but I was disappointed to see it was gone. 






About the Book:

My story takes place in the turbulent era of the 1920’s, prohibition and gangs running rampant in the streets of Chicago. You will enjoy this new version of the events leading up to one of the bloodiest days in Chicago’s history with Tommy-guns, gangsters and a love story throw in.







2 comments:

  1. Dianna nice to meet you and some other authors through your blog
    Thanks for your visit to New World Creative Union

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice to meet you as well and thank you for the visit. Please stop by again. All my best, Dianna

    ReplyDelete

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