Chatting with Cecilia Galante

Today I am fortunate to chat with author Cecilia Galante. Cecelia is the author of The Invisibles – A Novel. See promo after the chat.

I asked Cecilia to share 10 fantastic things to do in the state she grew up in.

This is hard to answer, since I was born and grew up inside a fanatically religious cult in upstate New York. Since I rarely left the grounds (I think I remember going off the compound twice) I really don’t have any recollection of the outside world. I’ve heard that upstate New York is full of fun things to do however, such as white water rafting on the Delaware River, hiking through the New York portion of the Appalachian Mountains, and visiting historical sites like Saratoga Springs, Adirondack Park, and Lake Placid.

If you had a choice to live anywhere in the world where would it be and why?

I haven’t been to too many places in the world yet, but the most beautiful places I have been (and where I would choose to live if I could) would have to be Florence, Italy and La Jolla, California.

What is your writing process?

Since I teach full time and have summers off, I actually have two writing processes. During the school year, if I am working on something new – especially a first draft that my editor hasn’t seen yet – I get up at 4:00 am and write steadily until 6:00 a.m., when I have to stop and get ready for school. (Lots of coffee here!)

If I am at the point of editing something during the school year, I won’t adhere to such a rigid schedule. I believe the first draft of a new book needs to come quickly and fluidly, which is why I discipline myself to a daily, two-hour morning time-frame.

Editing, on the other hand, is a much more relaxed process for me, since most of the framework is already there. During the summer, as you might imagine, anything goes. My kids go to camp, so I have loads of time to myself, but I definitely don’t waste it.

I’ll spend half the day writing and the other half walking, thinking, and basically ruminating about what I’ve just written. It’s really the best time I have to get a leg up on new projects.

Still, when it comes time to go on vacation with my husband and kids, I put my pen down and go. The books can wait. I’ll never get that time back with my family.

Share a bit about your unusual childhood and your inspiration for The Invisibles.

I had an unusual childhood, born into and raised for the first fifteen years in a fanatically religious cult in upstate New York. Children were separated from their parents at six months old, which meant that I was raised for the first three years of my life in a mass nursery with other children my age. Needless to say, the bonds I formed with these children – most of them girls – were as strong as any I’ve ever shared with anyone in my life.

The cult leader died when I was 10 years old, and the cult itself finally dissolved when I was 15. This lead to families and parents scattering all over the country, taking their children – and my soulmates – with them, some of whom I never saw again.

I spent years wondering what had happened to these girls and what might happen if we ever saw each other again, and this became the inspiration for The Invisibles. What kind of women might these girls have turned into? How similar – and different – were they to the children they once were? And what, out of all the memories we unanimously shared, were we going to be able to come to terms with? To forgive and then move on, once and for all?

Thank you Cecilia for spending time with us and sharing your wonderful heartwarming story. I’m excited to read The Invisibles.

The Invisibles: A Novel by Cecilia Galante
Release date: August 4, 2015
Publisher: William Morrow

Synopsis

In the vein of Meg Donohue and Jennifer Close, comes Cecilia Galante’s adult debut about the complicated and powerful bonds of female friendship–a compelling, moving novel that is told in both the present and the past.

Thrown together by chance as teenagers at Turning Winds Home for Girls, Nora, Ozzie, Monica, and Grace quickly bond over their troubled pasts and form their own family which they dub The Invisibles. But when tragedy strikes after graduation, Nora is left to deal with the horrifying aftermath alone as the other three girls leave home and don’t look back.

Fourteen years later, Nora is living a quiet, single life working in the local library. She is content to focus on her collection of “first lines” (her favorite opening lines from novels) and her dog, Alice Walker, when out-of-the-blue Ozzie calls her on her thirty-second birthday. But after all these years, Ozzie hasn’t called her to wish a happy birthday. Instead, she tells Nora that Grace attempted suicide and is pleading for The Invisibles to convene again. Nora is torn: she is thrilled at the thought of being in touch with her friends, and yet she is hesitant at seeing these women after such a long and silent period of time. Bolstered by her friends at the library, Nora joins The Invisibles in Chicago for a reunion that sets off an extraordinary chain of events that will change each of their lives forever.

The Invisibles is an unforgettable novel that asks the questions: How much of our pasts define our present selves? And what does it take to let go of some of our most painful wounds and move on?

Add The Invisibles to your Goodreads shelf.

About the Author

Cecilia Galante is the author of several middle grade, young adult and adult novels. She also teaches 8th grade English at Wyoming Seminary Prep School, and teaches creative writing in the MFA program at Wilkes University.

Connect with Cecilia: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads