Name: Agostino Scafidi Author of:The Invisible Papers and The Anchor That Stopped The World*Interviewer comments are in bold.
1. What inspired you to write your first book? I have toyed with the idea of writing a novel of some kind over the years. I never quite knew how to go about starting it and simply had no idea what I’d write about to fill up such a length of pages! One day, I don’t know which day exactly, I seemed to have more gusto about the idea than ever before and I even had some inspiration concerning the book’s subject matter! I basically ran with the seedlings of ideas I had and developed it as I went along. The first book I wrote is called The Anchor That Stopped The World and it’s not a novel of traditional length. It’s 107 pages but it feels like a complete story with all the loose ends tied up so to speak!When you have the inspiration run with it. Inspiration can be far and fleeting so take advantage of it when you have it, but don't dismiss the write every day work ethnic either. I can't promise everything you write will be good, but you are sure to improve.
2. What genre do you consider your book(s)?Well, I’d classify the two I’ve written thus far under Fiction, however each book is a different sub-genre.3. Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life? In The Anchor That Stopped The World I drew from personal experience in many instances to write the story, however I made sure I changed things up enough to keep things in the Fiction classification as well as to keep me out of trouble. ;) As for The Invisible Papers, I again deferred to many instances of personal experience but there is a large portion that is also purely fictional and just like the other book, it all was run through a fictionalization process per se! 4. What books have most influenced your life most? A number of books by Carlos Castaneda have had a great influence on me.The writings of Eckhart Tolle as well. I have taken something so many things, large and small from almost every book I’ve ever read. Another huge favourite of mine is Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series. I remember Cloud of Sparrows affecting me quite a bit many years ago although my memory is vague on it now. Jiddu Krishnamurti, Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len… I can’t think of anything else at the moment.
5. If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? Stieg Larsson and/or Carlos Castaneda.
6. What book are you reading now? The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window and Disappeared
7. Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest and why? I can’t really say. I’ve kind of been in a mode where I’m reading books from non-current authors, so I haven’t really gotten around to anything contemporary recently, except of course for The Hundred Year Old Man... but I could hardly say I’m a huge fan of the author since this is my first instance of exposure to him. 8. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book? No. I wouldn’t change a thing. 9. Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it? What I learned specifically from writing The Invisible Papers is that even though I’m walking forward in the dark, as long as I follow that connection and inspiration, I will reach an end and it will make sense.
10. Do you have any advice for other writers? Don’t follow anyone’s advice. ;)
11. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? Well if you are a reader of mine and you are reading this, I’d like to say thank you so much for reading!12. What do you do to overcome writer’s block? I look within and connect to the unknown and limitless source that’s in us all and that connects us to the universe. Otherwise, I just take a break and do something else. 13. Do you write an outline before every book you write? No. If I ever feel the need to then I will but up to now, I haven’t needed one.
14. Have you ever hated something you wrote? Hated? No. Disliked? Maybe. 15. What was you favorite book or series as a child? I liked Dr. Seuss books. I don’t really remember anything else.16. What is your favorite television series? It’s impossible to choose just one series. I enjoy many different TV series and have enjoyed many. Okay… Star Trek (TNG, Voyager, DS9, etc)… Oh my… I can’t think of even one other series at the moment! I’ve seen so many! … I am still drawing a blank. Unbelievable. Anyway, next! 17. Do you have any unique talents or hobbies? It’s not really unique, but I can play the guitar. I’ve been playing for over 16 years.18. How can we contact you or find out more about your books?My eBooks are for sale on the Amazon kindle store and accessible via http://amazon.com/author/agostinoscafidiYou could contact me on http://twitter.com/AgostinoScafidior at http://goodreads.com/AgostinoScafidiand if you really try you can find me on Facebook. 19. What can we expect from you in the future? I’ve been getting into reviewing the books I’m reading and the TV shows and movies I watch, so you can expect to see some more of those (I’m reviewing tv and film on IMdB). I will probably be getting started on a new novel once I finish my promotion cycle for The Invisible Papers, but I have no idea when I will begin or what it will entail.