An Interview with A. B. Wallace, Antonietta

Betsie: To start this off, why don't you give an idea of what the book is about? 

Vintage Blood and the Sacred Scepters is about love, betrayal, hate, and life.  And it all happens in a world of magic where humans, werecreatures, vampires, enchantresses, and warlocks co-exist. 

Betsie: Where did you grow up and was reading and writing a part of your life? 

I grew up in North Bergen, NJ and reading and writing were not part of my life.  Well, not willingly that is.  Assignments from school included reading and writing, but they were done out of necessity not out of true enjoyment. 

Betsie: How long have you been writing and in what capacities?

I’ve been writing for about seven years now.  I write short stories, novels, and have written screenplays as well, and I write them in order to entertain. 

Betsie: Has there ever been a time when you wanted to throw in the towel and give up? And if so, how did you defeat those instincts? 

Yes, several times.  Whenever my family begins to take-up so much of my time that I feel overwhelmed and unable to continue…then I start feeling cheated and it’s this feeling that brings me back to reality.  It’s not blaming others really, just realizing that some days are going to be rougher to get through than others, but tomorrow is another day, and so on.  What I can’t do today, I’ll do tomorrow.  And that’s what keeps me going.  What you can’t do today, you can do tomorrow, and so on. 

Betsie: Do you have any hobbies? What are they? How do they enhance your writing? 

Actually, it’s been my writing that has brought about a hobby for me.  I collect story related items such as werewolf model, statues of gargoyles, pictures of wolves, fantasy art works, autographed copies of novels from authors.  Anything that catches my eye and intrigues me can become a part of a story I’m writing, or be a character in a story, etc.  Pretty much it feeds my obsession at the time.  And I do get obsessed when I’m writing. 

Betsie: Articles and media alike make it sound as though the only way to rise to the top is to sacrifice. What do you find to be good sacrifices? 

Ah, house cleaning definitely.  Scrubbing bathrooms, washing windows, doing dishes.   And I must admit I do sacrifice this in order to write.  But in order to rise to the top I believe the true question should be what are you not willing to sacrifice to rise to the top?  Loved ones, living life, enjoying nature, etc….  Once you know that, you’ll know what you can sacrifice.  Me, I still think house cleaning is a good one to sacrifice.

Betsie: What’s the coolest thing a reader has said to you? 

With eyes wide open and a big smile on his face, he says, “Toni, I didn’t know there were good werewolves.” 

Betsie: Do you think that as a writer you are more prone to watching what goes on around you and observing behaviors than most people are? 

Yes.  But strangely enough I intentionally started doing it after I started writing.   It comes with the territory, I think.  Once you start writing you just start watching.  You can’t help yourself.

Betsie: Who are some of the authors you consider to be "don't miss"?

Some authors’ works I truly enjoyed reading recently are Owl Goingback, Jason M. Light, Robert R. McCammon, SS Kingsolver, Karen Taylor, L Marie Wood, Laurell Hamilton and Anne Rice.  There are so many more I’ve on my list of books to read and am pretty sure most will be authors I will consider to be “don’t miss”. 

Betsie: If one were looking to start his/her own career as a writer, what would you suggest his/her first step to be? 

Decide what your want out of writing, your goal.  Then proceed from there.

Betsie: What kind of movies do you enjoy? 

Blockbusters.  Some films from Independent film makers. Anything to do with werewolves and vampires. Horror, science fiction, fantasy, thrillers, mysteries, detective, police, and romance as well.Shoot, there isn’t much that I don’t like. And there isn’t much that I’ve not seen. Now you know what I did for entertainment before I knew reading would be so much fun. 

Betsie: What is your favorite city to visit, but one that you wouldn’t want to live in? 

Las Vegas.

Betsie: What’s the best part of being a writer?

The best part of being a writer is knowing I was able to get someone’s mind off of his/her problems for a while by entering my world.  

Betsie: What's next? 

So much. I’m working on the next two books of the Werecreature series. Vintage Blood and the Sacred Scepters is the first. I’ve several other projects I’m working on as well, but these I work on when I hit writer’s block on present project. 

Betsie: We hope you enjoyed learning about A.B. Wallace and we hope to hear more about her works in the future, until then here's to wishing her great success!