Hello, I’m pleased to bring you our next interview today! It’s with Zia Wesley, author of Notes from a Broad – My Uncensored Year in Italy.
I hope you enjoy it!
Best,
-Vincent Lowry
Interview:
1) What is your author name and in what state do you live (or country if not in the US)? Zia Wesley, Colorado presently and moving back to California in October.
2) What is the title of your newest book and what is the genre?
Notes From A Broad: my uncensored year in Italy.
3) What is the book about?
On my seventieth birthday, I gifted myself with a whole year of living in Italy. I was alone, blonde and single and I took notes because I’m a writer. At the end of the year I had enough interesting encounters and experiences to create a book
4) Where did you come up with the idea?
During the year leading up to that great big birthday, everyone kept asking how I was going to celebrate and the only consistent answer was to fulfill a lifelong dream and live in Italy while I learned to speak Italian.
5) How long did it take you to write it?
I wrote whenever there was something of interest to write about and that included personal insights and very personal inner growth experiences…even at that ripe age we still change and learn.
6) Did you learn anything from the project?
Innumerable things! I learned so much about lifestyle, friendship, love and family — came to understand some interesting patterns in my behavior, learned what I did and did not want going forward in my life. And of course, I learned how to live within the Italian philosophy of “Il belle far niente” the beauty of doing nothing. I think it is the missing element in American society that is causing all of the stress and stress related imbalances in people and consequently, in our society.
7) Do you have an author website and/or blog?
I had two wonderful websites for many years that were hacked a year ago so I have a brand new one and it has a blog: notesfromabroad.biz
8) Do you have any success tips to pass on to fellow authors? How about any great editors/cover artists?
My success tip is to incorporate insight meditation with writing. It helps the creative process as well as quiets the judgement that can arise during writing. It is most important to separate the writing (creative) process from the editing process as it’s impossible to fully be creative when you’re second guessing and correcting yourself. My friend and author, Neal Rogan, describes it as the weaver and the tailor; first weave the cloth and then make the suit. I have several different editors I use for different types of books and would be happy to pass their information along to interested authors if they contact me through my website, good reads or facebook messenger. I also have an excellent cover artist who did The Stolen Girl and The French Sultana covers. He can be found at clarkwalker.net. The cover artist for Notes has unfortunately retired.
9) What genres do you like to read? Are you open to reading new authors and reviewing their work?
I love memoir, biography, fiction and historical fiction, science fiction, and scientific books like Sapiens and Pandora’s seed that explain humanity because I find it so fascinating. I love reading and mentoring new authors and would be happy to review them as I do that in my head while I read anyway.
10) What is your favorite book of all time and why?
Impossible to choose just one but a few that changed me in some way are: West With the Night by Beryl Markham, The Diary of Anais Nin, Jitterbug Perfume by Tim Robbins, Gone with the Wind, and Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari.
Other Books by Zia Wesley:
Vincent
E-Author Resources 