This month, we’d like to introduce you to debut author, Suzanne Palmieri, and her new book, The Witch of Little Italy! We’ve fallen head-over-heels for The Witch of Little Italy and can’t wait to share all the magical things happening with this book.

A little bit Practical Magic, a little bit YaYa Sisterhood, The Witch of Little Italy is a charming book for any woman looking for find her way. When Eleanor Amore returns home to her estranged family in the Bronx after becoming pregnant by an abusive boyfriend, she allows herself to find comfort and support from her grandmother and great-aunts. As Eleanor enters and embraces her family’s magical world, she discovers old family secrets that will either heal or break apart the Amore clan. 

We asked Suzanne some fun questions so you can get to know her better…read more below:

What inspired you to write The Witch of Little Italy?

There were so many factors! It was the third novel I wrote (first published) and I was really beginning to understand storytelling. I fell in love with re-telling some of the histories I took from my own family and putting those situations, stories, losses, loves, triumphs and secrets into a fictional setting. Our lives are so rich… even the simplest moments. The Witch of Little Italy was a vehicle for me to explore the richness in everyday life.

When readers write me letters telling me that they felt as if they were part of the Amore family, I smile because it was a glimpse into a common human experience. The other thing I discovered while writing that novel is how we can rewrite our own histories… sort of narrative therapy. Because even though my life circumstances were similar to those of Eleanore Amore at the beginning of the novel… I didn’t have a magical family to return to. I wish I had. So, I wrote it that way!

Is there a message in your book that you want readers to grasp? 

YES. Our relationships are laced with loss. If we allow that loss to affect our love, we begin to destroy the foundation of family. This can take generations or it can happen in a second. Either way, I want the readers to remember their own connections and to begin to heal old wounds so  they can move forward. It’s the basis for all my novels–finding your way home. Most of my family is gone now, so I never had the chance to do it with them. I can only do it with my own children and through the books I write. It’s a lovely feeling, but it’s sad, too–for me, not my characters!

Describe the experience writing your first book.

My first book was an outpouring of emotional “vomit.” I didn’t know what I was doing, and I’m glad! I was able to create a novel and tell a story and get the garbage out so that my subsequent novels were free of all the torture (so to speak!). I didn’t think I was writing a novel–I was writing to stay sane. I learned so much about publishing by trying to sell that novel to agents.

The most important thing for new writers to know is that they must KEEP WRITING. That first novel was one I had to let go of quickly, and the second one as well. Though both books may see a shelf someday, that wouldn’t have been true if I didn’t keep writing new stories because it’s very rare for a first novel to sell. Those that can do it, I tip my pen to you!

What was the hardest part of writing for you?

It’s the feeling I have when a novel goes into production, and I know I could make it better, but it’s out of my hands. It’s very uncontrollable and terrifying to know there are things you can fix in book that is about to hit the shelves. Because of this, I don’t read a book of mine after it’s published. Pieces, yes, just not the whole thing. I know. Crazy.

What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview? How would you answer that question?

That’s hard to answer! But really? I’m a reader. So I guess I want to be asked what type of novels I love to read. I love to read great stories, across genre. I want to tumble headlong into a book–I want to get lost in the world woven for me. Some authors that do that for ME (and it’s a subjective thing…) are Stephen King, Alice Hoffman, Lesley Kagen and many others. Some great older novels that transported me are The Secret Garden, the Anne of Green Gables series, and Sara Crew. I’m a sucker for a story that shows people overcoming adversity to learn more about themselves. Oh, and if there’s a little magic in it? All the better. WAIT!!! That’s how I write!

Back to question number one… The inspiration behind all my books are the novels that saved me one page at a time when I was growing up–the novels that showed me how others lived, the novels that gave me a much needed escape. Yeah… that’s how it goes!