AUTHOR INTERVIEW: EJ Apicello, author of Your Crossroads. Your Choice. @ejapicello
Welcome to EJ’s real, crazy,
emotional, probably too honest journey. She is an everyday girl in this
everyday world trying to keep her head above water. Within the pages of this
book you will learn about the things that have broken EJ down and the
steps she is taking to build back up. You will see, that this story is written
in a unique, general, conversational voice, which was her choice. She wants you
to be able to picture yourself in her shoes, relate her trials and tribulations
to yours and see that you too can find your happiness. Even if you don’t
realize this yet, every single one of us possesses things inside of ourselves
that we didn't know were there. It took EJ’s life taking a crazy right turn and
dumping her at the lowest possible point before she could see the strength
within herself. We are not defined by what we do, we are defined by the choices
we make. EJ decided when she put pen to paper that she wanted her choices to
start defining her as strong, confident, secure and above all else, happy. So,
who am EJ? How about who she was - a self-loathing shell who put everyone
else’s happiness before her own. Herein lies a story about finding that
happiness and all of the ups and downs along the way. See who EJ was and who
she is trying to become and maybe, somewhere in there, you will find out a
little about yourself too.
Her latest book is the self-help, Your
Crossroads. Your Choice.
WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK
About the Book:
Welcome to my diary, my journey,
as I tripped and crawled through the darkest time in my life- when I witnessed
people that I held incredibly close to me shatter my very existence with
their words and
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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?
This book came from my life -
literally. Every story I share and realization I make were authentic
experiences I was having while writing all of the crazy down! The past few
years led me down some dark paths and emotionally I hit rock bottom. Writing
this book was the beginning of a major shift in my life, that I was in control
of my choices and my happiness. Sometimes it was difficult for my fingers to
keep up with my brain!
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?
Despite the ferocity with which I wrote this book, the
process itself was extremely hard. I am putting my deepest, darkest secrets out
there for the world to see. Basically, think of it as the equivalent of having
your naughty time pictures plastered on the billboard at the entrance to your
hometown. Why did I do it if it was going to expose such intimate parts of my
life? Because the events that have happened to us are not what make us special
- bad things happen to everyone. It is the choices we make in how to handle
those events that make us who we are.
Q: Who is your publisher and how did you find them
or did you self-publish?
After some extensive research I chose to invest my
energy into Page Publishing. I chose a hybrid method of publishing, something
that had aspects of both traditional publishing houses and self publishing
platforms.
Q: Is there anything that surprised you about
getting your first book published?
Yes! There is one odd but very deflated
moment in this process that is vividly etched into my memory! Forgive my
rambling, I assure you it has an important message! I did not remember that I
was supposed to get some proof copies sent to me to review before final
publication. About a month ago, I was relaxing at home when a knock on my door
startled me. I opened it to find a very plain brown envelope lying on my
doorstep. Not remembering if I had ordered anything online recently, I checked
the name and sure enough it was addressed to me. I shrugged my shoulders, took
it in, put it on the table and promptly forgot about it. Later that evening, I
had made my specialty, frozen chicken parmesan (I hate to cook) and decided to
open the mystery package. As I pulled the release cord, out toppled ten crisp
new copies of my book. And that was it. There was no applause, no shower of
money, no offer from Lifetime to make a made for TV movie, not even a phone
call or Tweet from Ellen DeGeneres. No, I was sitting at home alone in yoga
pants and a tank top eating a frozen meal. It was then that I saw the amount of
expectation that I had unconsciously put into that moment. I was at a
crossroads here - I could choose to wallow in self pity or I could choose to
alter my perception of the event. I chose to re-evaluate how I looked at that
moment and came up with this: Damn, my first book is actually published.
Q: What other books (if any) are you working on and
when will they be published?
I am working on a sequel to my first book. While I
feel that I wrote this one in a place of anger, hurt, betrayal and turmoil, I
want write the follow up from a place of patience, kindness and healing. I am
also adapting this book to make it more kid friendly, (aka no curse words). By
day I am a middle school science teacher. Middle school is a tough age for any
kid and I believe that some public schools are lacking in successful
curriculums centered around strengthening the emotional resilience and mental
well being of their students. I plan to be to incorporate tools and strategies
into the young adult version so parents and kids to have a common ground to
start from.
Q: What’s one fact about your book that would
surprise people?
I think people are going to be surprised to read that I was
never truly in love with my husband - and that some part of me always knew it.
Q: Finally, what message (if any) are you trying to
get across with your book?
I shared my story in the hopes that it would empower people who are standing at a major crossroads
in their lives. Encourage them to find strength and confidence in the choices
they make so that they can find their happiness. Your crossroads. Your choice.
Q: Thank you again for this interview! Do you
have any final words?
Let me know what you think of the book, I hope some or
all of it resonates with you in a powerful and meaningful way. Or at the very
least you can read my story and feel better about your own life! Check
out my website if you want to drop me a line! www.ejapicello.com
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