Welcome, Ann Pino

As those of you who have stopped to read my Welcome page know, I’m adding a new feature here in Alice’s Restaurant. Actually, it’s a feature I’ve had in place for a long time, but haven’t made much effort to exorcise before. Namely, I’m going to be featuring other writers on Mondays.

To start, let me introduce you to Ann Pino, who writes and posts some wonderful Science Fiction. For the last few weeks I’ve been enjoying Steal Tomorrow, which is available both on her site, and through Amazon. Now she has a new book coming out. Please welcome Ann.

The idea for Maelstrom knocked around my head for a long time before I started writing it. Susan Helene Gottfried had once told me in frustration that she’d have better luck getting her rock and roll novel published if the roadies were werewolves, and I was charmed by the idea. Why not, I wondered, write about an entire rock band of demons? I pitched the idea to Susan as a possible web fiction project, but she had too much on her plate, and honestly, I was caught up in dark, angsty Steal Tomorrow at the time.

Then in September 2008, Hurricane Ike hit and although I was well-prepared, there was something about living the makeshift life of one of my fictional characters for a week that temporarily soured me on the post-apocalyptic fiction which was my usual genre. I needed to keep writing, but I needed something radically different. I dusted off the idea for Maelstrom.

I’m embarrassed to say the characters came to life right away and practically wrote the novel for me. The band kept me in stitches as they put their poor human manager, Ricky, into one ridiculous situation after another. I giggled during office meetings and I sometimes couldn’t sleep for all the crazy things the band was planning to do to make Ricky’s life miserable, all the while insisting he make them famous. As for Ricky, how was he supposed to turn these misfits into superstars? And more important, how was he supposed to handle his growing feelings for the sexy djinn guitarist who didn’t believe in love?

Ultimately, this novel came to be more than just a romp; it became a story about how our lives can turn for the better, even when things look pretty grim. I hope some of my readers see past the hijinks and take away the same message I got from writing it— your lucky day might come disguised as a disaster, but if you give it your best shot, you just might see your dreams come true.

My author blog: http://www.ampino.com
Maelstrom blog: http://www.maelstromrock.com
Publisher site: http://www.lldreamspell.com/
Maelstrom will be available after May 15 on Amazon.com and direct from the publisher. It will also be available on Fictionwise, date TBA.