Authorsday. Jannine Corti Petska

Today I welcome Jannine Corti Petska author of Corinna and the Nobleman. I put her under the microscope and I think you'll find her anweres entertaining. So welcome Jannine.

1. When did you know you wanted to be a writer? I wrote all my life. I was the student who turned in 10 page essays. English and writing were always my favorite subjects. But it wasn’t until my three daughters started school that I tried writing a novel.

2. How long have you been writing? If I remember correctly, I’d say nearly 30 years.

3. How did you pick the genre you write in?

I began by writing historical western romances. I read all kinds of romances way back when, but growing up in the Southwest made it easier to write the westerns. When I got the idea for an Italian medieval, it took me five years before I actually attempted to write it. I was intimidated by the nuances of the medieval period, yet I loved it. I think the medieval era is full of romance and growth in both humanity and technology. The arts and the music were fabulous. The poetry and literature were so out there. In many ways, I think it compares to writers today writing outside the box.

4. Do you plot or do you write by the seat of your pants?

Pantser all the way, lol. Plotting is too creatively confining.

5. What drew you to the subject of Carina and the Nobleman, book one of the Sisters of Destiny trilogy?

I came up with the idea of medieval psychic sisters when the Ballad line at Kensington came about. The books, whether two or five, had to be connected. Before I could submit the first book, the line folded.

6. What was the name of the first novel you wrote? Did you try to publish it?

Oh, goodness. This goes back a long, long way. It was an ambitious historical romance I had named Through the Eyes of Faith. I think it was 170,000 words. It went from Louisiana, to England, to the Crimea, back to England and then Louisiana. Or close to that order. Actually, I did submit it and learned a lot my writing. I was always told I could tell a story, but….. I intend to work on it one day, probably turning it into a mainstream with romantic elements.

8. What do you know now that you are published that you didn’t know pre-published that you wish you knew?

It’s not so much what I know now in the way of writing as it is all the ways to market a book. I sold my first book to Kensington in 1999 and knew absolutely nothing about marketing. The year after the book was released, I sold another to an e-/POD publisher. That book would have done much better had I known some of the ins and outs of promoting like I do today.

10. What was the best writing advice someone gave you?

It was very simple: Never give up.


Author Bio:

I was born in New York to Italian parents whose first language wasn’t English. Growing up with Old World values gave me a different perspective of life; however, I was also very sheltered and my vocabulary limited. My talent for writing showed itself when I was in high school. But I didn’t write my first book until I was in my late twenties.

Although I had wanted to be an interpreter working for the U.N., I ended up a stay-at-home mom to three daughters. My husband and I have several grandchildren now, and we live in Southern California.

Book Blurb:

Forced to the streets after her mother dies, Carina Gallo is desperate to survive and find her long lost sisters.
Consumed with locating his missing brother, Count Luciano Ruggero has forsaken his needs.
When Luciano catches beautiful and vulnerable Carina stealing from him, he takes pity and cares for her until she's strong enough to work off her crime. Carina is forever grateful to Luciano, yet fears he will learn of her wicked secret and condemn her to burn.
Will Luciano and Carina find a way to feed the mutual passions they share, or will heresy and obsession with lost family destroy them both?