Virtual Book Tour Guest: Interview with Joe Canzano, author of 'Magno Girl'

Joe Canzano is a writer and musician. He lives in New Jersey, U.S.A., in a house with a basement where he usually stays. Occasionally he leaves the basement and visits the kitchen. 

He is a graduate of Rutgers University, where he majored in English. His short stories have appeared in a half-dozen printed literary journals, as well as in the Akashic Books online series, "Mondays are Murder."  

He recently formed his own publishing company, Happy Joe Control, and published his debut novel, Magno Girl. 

For More Information

• Visit Joe Canzano’s website.
• Connect with Joe on Facebook and Twitter.
• Find out more about Joe at Goodreads.
• Visit Joe’s blog.
• More books by Joe Canzano.
• Contact Joe.

About the Book:

When a Manhattan pizza maker is found dead in his own dough, Magno Girl enlists the aid of her biker ninja boyfriend to help solve the crime – and quickly discovers there’s more to the pie than meets the eye, including a sinister plot that spans the globe. 

Magno Girl leaps into action. After all, she can fly, she can fight, and she can use her fearsome superpower, the “Gaze of the Guilt,” to bring a hardened criminal to his knees. But the road ahead is hard. The city’s other superheroes despise her, and the cops don’t want her around, and her own mom won’t stop spitting out advice about marrying a “respectable guy” and trading in her crime-fighting career for a baby carriage—but is she attracted to “respectable guys”? And is she interested in emotional commitment? And will finding real love be her biggest challenge of all? 

Welcome to the world of Magno Girl, an absurd place filled with humor, action, and romance.

For More Information

• Magno Girl is available at Amazon.
• Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
• Download at iTunes.
• Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

Q: Welcome to The Writer's Life!  Now that your book has been published, we’d love to find out more about the process.  Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning?  Where did you come up with the idea to write your book?

I was talking to my wife about superheroes and how a character named Magnolia could become “Magno Girl.” The next day, the first line of the book popped into my head. Many rewrites later, I believe it is the only line in the book that has never been changed.

Q: How hard was it to write a book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier for other writers?

“Hard” is a relative term. I’m a perfectionist and so writing can be hard—but my grandfather was a coal miner, and the last time I checked I never lost a lung while I was typing on my laptop.

I don’t know if I’m qualified to give out tips, but in my opinion it’s important to be objective about what I’ve written and never quit.

Also, if you want to be a writer, please read some books because that’s the best way to learn how to write them. Watching movies is not the same thing. The fact that you’ve seen Aliens twenty times will only marginally improve your ability to write a sci-fi novel.

Q: Who is your publisher and how did you find them or did you self-publish?

I formed my own publishing company called Happy Joe Control.

Q: Is there anything that surprised you about getting your first book published?

I like the marketing aspect more than I expected. Everything has been fun. It’s a party every minute.

Q: What other books (if any) are you working on and when will they be published?

I’m working on a romantic comedy about love, sex, and the supernatural. It will be published before the end of the year. Next year I plan to publish two more books.

Q: What’s your favorite place to hang out online?

You can sometimes find me on twitter @happyjoecanzano.

Q: Finally, what message (if any) are you trying to get across with your book?

Be yourself and don’t give up.

  

Q: Thank you again for this interview!  Do you have any final words?

Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.