Ask the Author: Deb Caletti

“Ask me a question.” Deb Caletti

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what was your inspiration for girl, unframed, and what were you hoping readers would take out of it?

Deb Caletti My inspiration was actually the real-life stabbing of Johnny Stompanato, the boyfriend of film star Lana Turner, by her daughter in the late 1950's. I wanted to explore the themes of objectification, and how they played out in my own life history, and hoped readers would relate. You can find out more on my website (www.debcaletti.com). Just click on the Girl, Unframed book image, and lots more info. will pop up. :) Thanks for asking!

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-this isn't a question.- I just wanted to say that your new book (The Epic Story of Every Living Thing) It sounds and looks amazing!!!! I hope to be able to read it in November (2022)! I freaking LOVE the cover tho! I don't like real people on covers... LOVE the artwork, colors... everything! ?(had to use one or i couldn't post this!)

Deb Caletti Wynter!! I am so happy you love the cover! Isn't it beautiful?! I think it's one of my favorites ever. :) And I hope you like Epic Story, too! After we've all had a few hard years, I thought we needed a feel-good book full of love and hope (and also stuff to think about, as always). Thanks for reading! :) :) :)

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This is not a question but I just finished reading A Heart in A Body in the World and I cried and cried during Annabelle's speech. Thank you so much Deb for saying what needs to be said about how we treat women in this world. How we are second class citizens who have different rules of protection and acknowledgment. Thank you for speaking about the children that have needlessly been killed by terrible violence. ?

Deb Caletti Hi Georgia! I apologize for the delayed response, but I'm only seeing this now. I just wanted to say THANK YOU for your kind words, and for reading HEART. It means a lot to me. xo

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I'm an aspiring writer, but I'm dealing with two things: I get discouraged every single day because 96% of manuscripts are rejected, and I haven't had an idea for years, literally. There's too many people wanting to be writers, and knowing there's so much competition just kills me a little every day. When I get motivated, immediatly something appears about the industry that kills it. Any tips on how to deal with this?

Deb Caletti These are actually ongoing issues, even for published writers. The business is hard, and coming up with ideas and executing them well enough to stay competitive is a struggle. Every person has to find their own way to stay focused on what's most meaningful in the work itself (and, I'm convinced, this is your surest route to being/staying published anyway). I can only speak for myself, but before I was published, I WANTED THIS BAD. Making sense of the world through words was who I was. As a lifelong lover of books, I knew this was the life that I was most meant for. This need was larger than obstacles and rejection. And... I STILL want this bad, and making sense of the world through words is STILL who I am, and the need to do this crazy thing is STILL larger than obstacles and rejection. I don't know if this is a "tip" exactly, but I know it was this deep need and these self-truths that drove me to write five books (one after the other), before I was published, and that keeps me writing books now. Actual tip-tips? Focus on the page. Understand that this is part of the business you're hoping to be part of. Know that it can take years to develop your craft (same as ALL crafts). Read writing that inspires you. In regard to this dream: Be like a dog with a knotted sock - hold on with all your might and don't let go.

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Deb - I read your quote "“It was one of those times you feel a sense of loss, even though you didn't have something in the first place. I guess that's what disappointment is- a sense of loss for something you never had.” I'd like to ask your permission to use it in the beginning of a chapter of a book I'm writing. Please let me know if I may use it and if so, how you would like to be credited? Thank you.

Deb Caletti Hi Suzanne -

Apologies - I'm only seeing this now. Can you please send me more information through my web site email Deb@debcaletti.com? What is your book exactly? Who is publishing it? How will the quote be used? I'll need this to forward on to my agent and publisher.

Thanks!

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Are you still writing books for young adults?

Deb Caletti

I am! My book, Essential Maps for the Lost, came out last year, and I'll have a new YA coming out in 2017. :)

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I just finished "He's Gone" and I loved it. My favorite thing about the story, which was fantastic, is the pacing of your writing. You wrote in a way that made things move faster and sometimes more laconic. I'm so impressed. Thank you! (not really a question?)

Deb Caletti So happy you liked it, Molly. Thank you! My new book for adults, WHAT'S BECOME OF HER (similar pacing, maybe a bit more page-turn-y?) is coming out in April. I hope you'll look for it. :)

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If you were to pick one of your books to be made into a movie, which one would it be? -Thanks! :)

Deb Caletti Hi N -

Tough - so many books! I think Wild Roses would be a great movie. My book for adults, The Secrets She Keeps, would also be a good one! :)

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This isn't so much a question; but I LOVED stay! I got hooked and I think I finished it in two days because I couldn't put it down, I loved how it jumped back and forth between her and her dad and her and him, very well done! :) are you writing anything new?

Deb Caletti Thanks, Morgan! So glad you liked it. I've written several books since STAY... My last YA release, THE LAST FOREVER came out in 2014, and will be out in paperback in April. I also have a new YA combining this April, ESSENTIAL MAPS FOR THE LOST. (In 2015, I released my second book for adults, THE SECRETS SHE KEEPS :) I usually have a book a year, so I'm ALWAYS working on something new! Thanks again, and happy reading! xo!

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Stay is such an amazing novel and beautifully captured the nuances of an abusive relationship. I felt like if I'd had that novel as a teenager, I might have recognized the warning signs in my first relationship much sooner. Was this book based on personal experience? If so, was it difficult for you to write?

Deb Caletti Hi Amanda -

I have had some experience with an abusive relationship, though the book isn't based on actual events. Those kinds of things ARE hard to write, but I do believe that honesty is the most powerful thing you can bring to writing.

Thanks for asking, and thanks for your kind words!

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