IMPERFECTIONS

Ann Chiappetta

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GENRE:  YA Contemporary Fiction

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For Lainie, feeling unwelcome is only the beginning of her struggles. Her mom is addicted to painkillers, her stepfather is a felon, and her dad traded her in for a new family.

So what if she’s kicked out of high school? Determined and attractive, Lainie sets out to make her own path.

Shane, the young man she begins dating and believes is trustworthy, transforms into a possessive and cruel boyfriend. When Efren, Shane’s older cousin, enters her life, Lainie grasps onto a shred of hope, falling in love. Shane’s obsessive and abusive treatment of her, however, casts a deep shadow over Efren and Lainie’s chance to find  safety and a future free of the fear of Shane’s  sadistic retribution.

Will their love persevere, or will Shane’s pervasive and negative influence push Lainie and Efren apart, forcing them to love secretly?

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EXCERPT

This was the one place Shane didn’t go, the one location I felt safe, thanks to the security.

I was returning to my car when I noticed Ray standing next to it.

“Lainie, what’re you doing here so late?” he asked.

I’d forgotten that he’d been staying here until his Malinois bitch, Gemma, whelped.

The weight of what had just happened emptied me. The adrenaline rush left me and I wanted to bury my head in a pillow and cry. But I couldn’t. I closed my eyes and leaned my back against the car for support.

“Shane?” he asked.

“Who else?” I said.

He put an arm around my shoulder. We headed to the office. I appreciated the strength and protective feeling of his gesture and wanted to break down right there and cry, tell him everything, but I held back.

I perched on the arm of the couch while he made tea. I wanted to tell Ray what Shane had done, but I wasn’t ready. I couldn’t trust anyone with that knowledge. If I told anyone, they would think I was weak, incapable of defending myself, and then unfriend me or pity me. I had to hang onto what was good in my life and not ruin it with something so shameful.

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INTEREVIEW WITH ANN CHIAPPETTA

Often writers started out as readers. Was there a particular book that inspired you to be an author?

James Herriot is one of the most influential writers for me. I began reading his stories at age fourteen . I still read his work periodically. His work resonates with me. I am challenged by writing  first-person narratives and his writing transcends my subjectivity towards a first person POV and narrative. His descriptions of a story’s location is well crafted and his descriptions of the people and animals is spot-on. He balances his work, showing as much about the people as the animal characters and through this layered balance, I find it profoundly impactful as the reader. I only hope to be as powerful a writer one day. I think this is also why I include animal characters in my work as often as possible. I find it adds a level of connection with readers. 

Did anyone give you writing advice when you were first getting started? Do you think it helped?

I am receptive to constructive advice and suggestions, it is the path to growing as a writer and poet. My Mom was my biggest fan. She insisted my writing was good and always wanted me to get published. I found advice shared by writers like Michael Crighton and other well-known authors helpful. I also listen to the lesser-known authors and poets. There is plenty of advice floating around. I stick with what I know, check the facts, read more than I write, read genres I also write as well as read genres I don’t write. I view advice as feedback, only I can determine whether or not the feedback is going to benefit my work. Of course exceptions are made when collaborating with other writers and professional editors. There are also hard stops like when formatting and grammar rules are taken into consideration.

What is the scariest thing you face as a writer? How do you handle it?

For me the scariest thing would be running out of ideas to write. Fortunately, my imagination is prolific and ideas plop into my brain fairly often. I list ideas for stories and poems in a document on my computer. Most of them are in my head, though. I also think about not having enough time to write everything I do want to write.  

What inspired the idea for your book?

The story idea developed from writing a memoir. The obsessive boyfriend was a real experience and I ran with it. The draft sat in the closet for years, mostly finished. After I published my first novel, Hope For the Tarnished, it felt right to pull it out and finish it.

If you could meet your characters, what would you say to them?

Great question! I’d tell Lainie trauma made her resilient. I’d tell Effren to get a puppy to practice parenting. I’d tell Lainie’s best friend, Jo to have fun at her Cinderella splendorific wedding. I’d tell Shane he wasted his life doing drugs and being hateful. I’d let them all know how each of them was a key to making the story believable and meaningful to me and the others who will or have read it.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ann Chiappetta, M.S. Poet and author

Ann’s award-winning poems, creative nonfiction, and essays have appeared internationally in literary journals, popular online blogs, and print anthologies. Her poems have been featured in The Avocet, the Pangolin Review, Plum Tree Tavern, Magnets and Ladders, Oprelle, Western PA Poetry Review 2024and Breath and Shadow. Ann’s short story, The Misty Torrent appeared in the Artificial Divide anthology published by Renaissance Press (2021).

Ann is the recipient of the 2019 GDUI Excellence in Writing award and the WDOMI 2016 Spirit of Independence award.

Independently published since 2016, the author’s seven volume collection includes poetry, creative nonfiction essays, short stories and contemporary fiction.

Diagnosed in 1993 with a rare form of progressive retinal disease, Ann accepts vision loss as part of her life but doesn’t let it define her as a whole person.

The author resides in western Pennsylvania with her husband, retired guide dog pet dog and cats, striving to develop a mutually-beneficial relationship with her assistive technology.

Contact Ann by visiting her website: http://www.annchiappetta.com

Subscribe to Ann’s blog http://www.thought-wheel.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com /verona.chiappetta/ 

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GIVEAWAY

Ann Chiappetta will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

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