Before the Rain Falls Book Blog Tour, Author Interview, and Giveaway #LoneStarLit

Interview with Author Camille DiMaio

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

My husband nicknamed me “Anne Shirley,” so if you’re a Green Gables fan, that should be a good start! I am optimistic, imaginative, and adventurous. I have more stories brewing than I do time to write them.

That may be because I homeschool our four children and assist my husband in our real estate business. We’re taking some big steps right now to let writing become my full-time career.

How did you choose the genre you write in?

As a reader, I’ve always been a fan of historical fiction. Textbooks were way too tedious for me to retain the material. But sweep me up in a story, and I’m all ears. An early one that I recall was called Desiree by Annemarie Selinko. It was the true story of the French farmgirl who was the first fiancée of Napoleon Bonaparte – until he rose in the ranks of the military, married the captivating Josephine, and became the Emperor of France. It’s absolutely captivating and spurred me to read much more about that era. But it started with this simple love story that become something much bigger.

I enjoy writing historical fiction because the research takes me on tangents that I never expected. I have studied the right way to harvest broccoli, diapers in the 1920s, the Welsh version of St. Valentine, and much more.

Can you tell us about any challenges getting your first book published?

My debut novel, The Memory of Us, came out in May 2016. It was inspired by the classic Beatles song, “Eleanor Rigby” – the story of an old priest and an old woman. I wondered – what if they had a history?

I wrote the first draft in six weeks and started sending it off to agents – unedited! Of course, I got rejection after rejection. I decided I needed to really delve into the craft of writing. I attended several writers’ seminars and slowly learned how to make the story stronger and stronger. It took several years of occasional rejections (I wasn’t querying too often, as a busy working mom), but eventually I tweaked it enough that I got a “yes”!

What was your favorite chapter to write and why?

My favorite chapter is early on in the book. My ninety-year-old protagonist has just returned to her childhood home after seventy years in prison for the alleged murder of her sister. It looks at the place of her youth with old eyes as she recalls family moments with her parents and sister that shaped a happy childhood. Until things went wrong. We learn a bit about her incarceration and receive a hint as to the purpose of the story, the next part of her life – what she calls The Truth Days.

What project are you working on now?

I am just about to finish and turn in a manuscript for the tentatively titled The Way of Beauty, which will be my third book. It comes out in April 2018. It spans a fascinating piece of New York history from 1900-1963: the construction, heyday, and demolition of the glorious Penn Station that once stood where Madison Square Garden is now. The lives of three generations of women intersect with the goings-on of the station, paralleling its own arc.