After so many ups and downs, mental and emotional struggles, delays, it seems surreal that a project that played a key part in my desire to become an author is finally done and available to the world.

Imania Margria – 27 February 2023

The Back Flap

Amadora Morelli is young, attractive, and tough. Even tough enough to prove to the crime syndicate she was born into – and especially to her overprotective father – that she can handle the bloody day to day details of working in the lower-level trenches of the family business, unbeknownst to them.

Or so she thought. The last thing she expected to sabotage her covert scheme was falling in love. Especially with a potential enemy.

She isn’t even supposed to be here. Her father Don Basilio Morelli, one of the tristate area’s most notorious crime bosses, absolutely forbade his precious Amadora any involvement the family’s hereditary way of life despite her insistence to the contrary. But he, like everyone else, underestimated Amadora’s inborn stubbornness, and now she has infiltrated her brother’s circuit disguised as Johnnie Barbone.

That’s when she meets Darian Mancini, a man bent on revenge who suspects the Morelli family of being the deserving recipient of his vengeance. But he, too, runs into an unexpected problem when, during the course of his investigation, he meets and falls for the beautiful Amadora.

As the unanticipated circumstances come to a head, Amadora finds she must discover where everyone’s loyalties truly lie, including her own. Will she stop at nothing to carry out the duties which fall upon her alter ego and finally prove her worth to her father? Or will Johnnie Barbone’s identity remain a secret? Is Darian’s lust for vengeance his deepest allegiance? Or will love have the final say?

Eyes is a suspenseful crime drama full of desire, betrayal … and maybe, love.

About the book

What is the book about?

Eyes follows Amadora, daughter of New Jersey mafia boss Basilio Morelli, as she fights to earn his approval by climbing the ranks of her family’s business under the guise of Johnnie Barbone. However, while maintaining her ruse, she falls in love with Darian Mancini, the son of a grocery store owner and one of Johnnie’s targets, which raises the risk of her scheme, threatens her life, and makes her doubt what it is she truly desires.

When did you start writing the book?

I started writing Eyes in spring 2008.

 How long did it take you to write it?

I finished Eyes’ first draft on May 7, 2014. Since then, it’s had several updates; so all-in-all, it took me 14 years to finalize Eyes.

 Where did you get the idea from?

I’m a huge game nerd and big fan of Mario Puzo’s works. So, the initial idea came from my love of the Godfather series, and Darian Mancini was actually the character I used while playing the Godfather: Don Edition game (game for the PS3). The concept of Amadora and her alter ego, Johnnie Barbone, was inspired by the main heroine, Sovay, in the book of the same name by Celia Rees. Sovay and The Godfather are two of my favorite novels. I’ve read them so much the covers are almost falling off.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

In the initial writing phase, there was only one moment where I struggled emotionally not because of the context but an incident that occurred. At that time, I wrote off the cuff and didn’t really do chapter outlines or writing them long-hand first, like I do now; so, after completing the first ten chapters, I lost the disc drive they were on and had to reconstruct chapters 8-10 because my computer only backed up the first seven chapters. That was a pain. I had trouble writing for months, because I was so devastated after losing that drive. However, I did find it some time later, but by then, I already completed the initial draft.

I also struggled a lot during the rewriting process, because I was expanding the characters’ roles, worlds and converting it from a close-ended stand-alone to an open-ending first book of a series.

What came easily?

The dream sequences and dark scenes were easier to write than the romantic scenes. Probably because I enjoy writing mysterious, dark sequences more now after completing The Pacemaker.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

Eye’s characters are all fictitious.

Do you have a target reader for this book?

This is a New Adult book, so it’s targeted to readers 18 years and older, who like reading dark, romantic crime suspense stories.

How was writing this book different from what you’d experienced writing previous books?

This was very different from writing The Pacemaker because this went under a thorough rewriting phase and several editing reviews just to expand the first book into a series opener instead of just a stand-alone. It was a very taxing process, with many setbacks, sleepless nights and early mornings, but was worth it because I can finally introduce Eyes to the world.

What new things did you learn about writing, publishing, and/or yourself while writing and preparing this book for publication?

Since this process was much more thorough than previous ones, there were many helpful skills I learned about to help me as an Independent Author. Here are a few things I learned about writing, publishing and myself while completing Eyes (Many of these I used later in my process):

1. Evernote is a writer’s best friend. It has a bunch of useful templates to help plan your book, organize your notes, outline chapters and keep track of your characters. You can also scan your notes into a virtual notebook, which organizes important notes and minimizes paper clutter, or make task lists to help you get things done. Google Tasksboard is useful too.
2. Prep, Goal and Check lists are majorly helpful when trying to stay on track and meeting deadlines. Making lists for your overall goals, chapter goals during each you visualize the steps you need to take and take pride in the small accomplishments as you cross them off your list.
3. Logs really helped me keep track of my progress and helped motivate me to finish what I started.

Eyes really challenged me as an author. The struggle of completing it motivated me to learn new ways to accomplish my various goals and better organize my tasks, notes and thoughts, so next time, the writing process will be a lot smoother. Finishing Eyes and finally publishing it, is a bittersweet moment. I’m happy it’s over so I can focus on my next project but I’m sad this part in Amadora’s journey is over. After so many ups and downs, mental and emotional struggles, delays, it seems surreal that a project that played a key part in my desire to become an author is finally done and available to the world.

End of Interview:

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Get your copy of Eyes from Amazon US or Amazon UK.