Thought Wheel

Ann Chiappetta

Interview on the In Perspective show

| Filed under Fiction novel writing reviews writing

SAVE THE DATE!

Friday September 6, 2024

5pm Eastern: In Perspective

Featuring Annie Chiappetta, author of “Imperfections”

Sponsored by Branco Events

Listen on ACB Media 5

Say to your Amazon device, “ask ACB Media to play 5.”

Join in Clubhouse

To receive Zoom call-in information please send your name, your email address and your request to receive call-in information to: community@acb.org

 

More about Ann Chiappetta and her work…

 

Imperfections by Ann Chiappetta

© 2024 By Ann Chiappetta

For Lainie, feeling unwelcome is only the beginning of her struggles. Her mom is addicted to

painkillers, her stepfather is a felon, and her dad traded her in for a new family.

 

So what if she’s kicked out of high school? Determined and attractive, Lainie sets out to make

her own path.

 

Shane, the young man she begins dating and believes is trustworthy, transforms into a

possessive and cruel boyfriend. When Efren, Shane’s older cousin, enters her life, Lainie grasps

onto a sliver of hope, falling in love.

 

Shane’s obsessive and abusive treatment of her, however, casts a deep shadow over Lainie and

Efren’s chance to find safety and a future free of the fear of Shane’s sadistic retribution.

 

Will their love persevere, or will Shane’s pervasive and negative influence push Lainie and Efren

apart, forcing them to love secretly?

 

About the Author

 

Ann Chiappetta, M.S. Poet and author

Ann’s award-winning poems, creative nonfiction, and essays have appeared internationally in

literary journals, popular online blogs, and print anthologies. Her poems have been featured in

The Avocet, the Pangolin Review, Plum Tree Tavern, Magnets and Ladders, Oprelle, Western PA

Poetry Review 2024and Breath and Shadow. Ann’s short story, The Misty Torrent appeared in

the Artificial Divide anthology published by Renaissance Press (2021).

 

Ann is the recipient of the 2019 GDUI Excellence in Writing award and the WDOMI 2016 Spirit

of Independence award.

 

Independently published since 2016, the author’s six volume collection includes poetry,

creative nonfiction essays, short stories and contemporary fiction.

 

Diagnosed in 1993 with a rare form of progressive retinal disease, Ann accepts vision loss as

part of her life but doesn’t let it define her as a whole person.

Contact Ann by visiting her website:

www.annchiappetta.com

 

 

 

 

Braided Love 5 Star Book Review

| Filed under Fiction novel writing Relationships reviews

Book Review

Braided Love

Author Jo Elizabeth Pinto © 2023

Genre: Contemporary/YA fiction

Available in print and eBook formats from Amazon/Kindel/D2D and other eBook sellers

 

By Ann Chiappetta

 

From the book jacket

 

Summer on the ranch seems safe and predictable for Brenda. All she has on her mind are trips into town with Nick Haynes and the horsehair rope she’s braiding so she can start training her Morgan colt, Tenacity. Then Cathy arrives from the city with a troubled past and an uncertain future. As Cathy adjusts to life in the country, both girls begin to figure out what family bonds really mean to them in a world that isn’t as simple as it appears.

 

Jo Elizabeth Pinto is the kind of writer who knows her craft. Her stories and characters grab you and don’t let go. You will be thinking about this story months after reading it.

 

I am fortunate to have interviewed Jo; her soft-spoken voice and humble attitude are charming qualities but it is her passion about telling a good story and showing readers what it means to be human I find most intriguing.

 

Jo writes characters who aren’t perfect. Most are broken and scarred yet jo E. Pinto weaves in hope and healing.

 

Let’s not forget about the conflicts presented in this family story.

 

Brenda and Cathy’s instant dislike of one another might seem typical girl drama but when one goes deeper into the story, the onion is peeled and the reader is drawn into situations and emotions much deeper than superficial girl stuff. The adults presented in this book are also facing conflict and I found the author’s skills in introducing them into the story masterful. The family’s constellation of surviving pain is balanced by love. Romantic love, filial love. Binding friendships are woven into this wonderful, memorable story of keeping what is important and cherished within a family and among friends.

 

I would recommend this book to young adults and general readers and anyone interested in family-related subjects involving adoption and foster care and children with disabilities.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 Stars

 

 

 

Imperfections Blog Tour Stops 📔

| Filed under blogging Fiction novel writing

Imperfections

Blog  tour dates and links

Thanks to Goddess fishPromotions  and Marianne Judy and all the bloggers mentioned here and, of course all the people who posted comments and reviews.

 

 

 

 

 

Westveil Publishing

Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read

Hope. Dreams. Life… Love

Long and Short Reviews

Literary Gold

Fabulous and Brunette

Books+Coffee=Happiness

The Pen and Muse Book Reviews

 

The Avid Reader

 

Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews

 

The Faerie Review

 

Our Town Book Reviews

A Wonderful World of Words

 

Gina Rae Mitchell

 

Sandra’s Book Club

 

 

tour banner

 

 

New on Audible.com

| Filed under Fiction novel writing

Hope for the Tarnished

© 2022 By Ann Chiappetta

You don’t choose who you love, it just happens.

Follow young Abbie Raymond as she traverses concentric rings of tragedy, hope and healing.

Listen now  on Audible.com Narrated by Lilian Yves and Vincent Lee Gracen

https://tinyurl.com/yk3k63uu

Amazon in print Hard and soft cover ` Kindle ` eBook` Smashwords

What Readers are Saying

“It kept my interest and I cared about the characters.  I liked the mixture of problems and people who supported Abbie.  It also had a good blend of drama and rest between troubles …”From Lisa B.

 

It’s excellent. I couldn’t stop reading it.”

 

Link to full review: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1134230

 

From Trish Hubschman

Author of the Tracy Gayle mystery series

 

Add my book to your reading list

Good Reads:

And Smashwords

 

A couple walking on the beach at sunset. They are silhouetted
 by the brilliant colors  reflected on the water.

Annie Shares News July 2023 newsletter

| Filed under nonfiction novel writing Writing Life

Annie Shares News Volume 2 Issue 7 July 2023

anniesharesnews@groups.io Subscribe anniesharesnews+subscribe@groups.io

www.annchiappetta.com

 

Summer greetings!

🏖️ 🩴 ✈️ 🍹 🧳 🚢

New Projects and New Beginnings

June and July are busy months for me and my family. We take on projects and enjoy long weekends driving to regional fairs, events and picnics. I’ve been an active member of the American Council of the Blind for over twenty years. Our National conference and convention is in July. Since  the pandemic, ACB has incorporated it’s virtual and in-person attendance,  accommodating a hybrid program and schedule. Now that I am invested in and serving as the Friends In Art affiliate President, my time and passion for the arts and FIA  keeps me busy in late June with the virtual program as well as attending some of the hybrid events. I wanted to attend the in-person portion of the conference taking place in Schaumburg, Illinois but circumstances have kept me from doing so. Positive circumstances, like house hunting and finishing my second novel. 😊

 

July is Read an eBook month.

All my Books are On Sale DURING JULY

Now is your best chance to find my entire eBook collection for a promotional price at @Smashwords as part of their Annual Summer/Winter Sale! Find my books and many more at https://www.smashwords.com/shelves/promos all months! #SWSale2023 #Smashwords

 

 

I support learning something new each year post-retirement. Last year it was Zoom and all its bells and whistles.  In 2021 it was  learning how a two-channel USB connector and studio microphone and headphones worked with my pc and crafting a portable noise damper. Yes, folks, I used a twin sized sheet, 12 x 12 foam tiles and plenty of safety pins to  make a tent. And, no, I am not taking pictures. It is too embarrassing. It works when needed, that is all I will tell you .

This year I am learning how to use a digital audio workstation, or DAW, called Gold wave. I am working on recording my next poetry collection myself. 😉

The novel? Imperfections is in final rewrite mode. It comes in under 300 pages and is a romance.  But it is  more than a romance; it is a great story about  love, hope and healing. It’s not too late to be a beta reader. Email me at anniecms64@gmail.com if you would like to read an advanced copy and provide answers to six targeted questions.  Once you return your answers, I will compensate you with a copy of the book.

 

My guide dog, Bailey, has recovered from his surgery and  is healthy.  He is still working part-time for me, enjoying  road trips and attending presentations. I am blessed with the gift of independence in the form

of a great dog. Bailey will retire soon but indicates he still wants to work, so we  will continue, being mindful of his condition.

 

I was featured in an article discussing the digital divide for people with disabilities. Go here to read it.

 

The energy I’ve absorbed  from the recent summer solstice  fills me  with exciting plans. Relocating  to another State  is happening soon as well as  decluttering our current home in advance of the move.

 

May warm breezes and pleasant experiences be with you.

Until next time,

Annie and Bailey

Annie and yellow lab Bailey licking her face

Bailey licking Ann’s face

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annie Shares News Vol. 2 Issue 9

| Filed under blindness blogging novel writing

Annie Shares News Volume 2 Issue 9 September 2022

Tell a friend and help me share writing by subscribing to my low traffic email list. it’s simple. send a blank email to:

Anniesharesnews+subscribe@groups.io

🌑 🌓 🌔 🌕 🌙

Wonderful Things Afoot

 

The creative life is often compared to an ebb and flow, like tidal or moon phases. The last two months were a prime example. I barely wrote anything more than email correspondence due to being removed from our home of thirty years no thanks to asbestos contamination in our old floors. During a vacation in temporary housing via an Airbnb to await the asbestos abatement and installation of new floors, no thanks to hurricane Ida, I managed only one poem. I disconnected and it was probably for the best. I read, I soaked in the blessed silence, basked in the sun, brushed Bailey until my arm was tired, took in the evocative smells of country living and scratched my bug bites with complete complacency.

 

The day prior to our return the stress flared and another two weeks of creative cut-off overtook me, but this time it wasn’t attributed to adjusting to the ambiance of country living and black bears eating the tasty apples from the tree in the yard next to us. It was frustration and disappointment that shut me down. Our home was in chaos. Boxes from floor to ceiling, many of them unmarked. It was beyond dirty, our appliances were unplugged and left to leak all over the kitchen floor.  The list goes on but it is behind us now. It was a helpless feeling, for sure.

 

The lifeline appeared when I attended a few writing-related zoom meetings. The first was the regular Friday afternoon Writing Works Wonders  Community Call podcast streamed by the ACB Media Network. It helped me reconnect with my creativity by providing a writing prompt and it resulted in a poem which will be in a sweet little online literary pub called the Plum Tree Tavern. Then, the following week, the WWW hosts Kathy and Cheryl provided a second prompt that resulted in yet another poem, posted below, which was well received by other writers and is looking for a publication home.

 

Thanks to a fellow author and editor, Robert Kingett, I signed up for an open mic call and I read five of my more recent poems and was thrilled to receive high praise from the listeners. The facilitator followed up with me resulting in an opportunity to record one of my guide dog poems. It will be added to a poetry project for the  Chicago Public Library.

 

While writing is solitary, the sharing of it is not; the sharing is what pushes me to write, to create and keep a productive mindset.   Being good at something like writing and hearing others say my writing is good gives me a feeling of belonging and purpose. I’d lost those two aspects of self when I became blind and reclaiming them over the years felt like gluing the jagged pieces of my soul back together.

 

Opportunities abound, from online writing prompts given by Writing Works Wonders to focused feedback and email lists to connect like   in the writer’s group, Behind Our Eyes. One never knows where the opportunities and connections will appear but one thing is sure, striving to produce good writing and sharing it with readers is the goal.

I value you all, it is you, the reader, the listener, the literary compatriots, for whom I write. I will keep writing as long as you keep reading and listening.

 

 

Summer’s Book

By Ann Chiappetta ©

 

August is

A perpetual ending

Of wilting haiku blossoms

Of Heat and drought and rain on wind chimes

Of crisp leaflets capturing autumn’s promise and

open fields of earth’s parchment

awaiting to harvest and scribe

richness into Nature’s book with stories of Winter white.

 

2022

 

Dreya sends her fanciful smile your way, what’s better than a book dragon asking her friends to read more books?

This image requires alt text, but the alt text is currently blank. Either add alt text or mark the image as decorative. Dreya the red and green book dragon smiles and floats in the air with her best friends, winged books and musical notes.