Making
one’s own dreams come true
Interview
with Andrea Ansevini and Sara Marino
by
Maria Teresa De Donato
Today I am very pleased
to introduce you Andrea Ansevini and Sara Marino, two friends and fellow
authors whom I had the pleasure of meeting some time ago and who also hosted
myself and another author, Vinicio Salvatore Di Crescenzo, on their Youtube channel.
Andrea and Sara are very
active on socials (and not only). They are two smart guys, easy going,
intelligent, and equally determined to be successful in life and whom I admire
a lot. It is a pleasure to have met them and to be able to consider them not
only colleagues but also friends.
As for the title I gave
to this interview, I was inspired by the advice that Sara's grandparents gave
her since she was a child: “Never stop fighting to make your dreams come
true”, a thought I fully agree with.
There are many aspects to
consider with them and, therefore, just as Sara would say "I throw the
ball" to them.
MTDD: Hi Andrea, hi Sara.
Welcome to my Blog and Virtual Cultural Salon. I am very happy to have you as
my guests today.
AA:
Hi Maria Teresa, thank you for hosting us.
SM:
Hi Maria Teresa, thanks for the hospitality.
MTDD: Let's start by
introducing yourselves to our readers: Who you are, what you do for a living,
and any other information you wish to share with all of us.
SM: My
name is Sara Marino, I was born in Prato (Region: Tuscany, Italy) on January 6,
1979. In my life I have done many jobs but unfortunately because of Covid, now
I'm at home. I have a great passion for reading, writing, and painting as well
as for everything that hides in the dark and awakens my imagination.
AA: My
name is Andrea Ansevini, I was born in Ancona (Region: Marche, Italy) on April
30, 1979. I am employed in an electronics company in the intercom sector as a
test worker. I have many passions. Writing comes first, but I also have a
passion for music, photography, and everything related to fantasy, because I
have always had a sharp imagination.
MTDD: Now, a must ask question:
How did you end up writing and subsequently publishing your books?
AA:
I started writing in 1990-91 by chance at the age of 11. One day I wrote a
thought that I had in mind and a first rudimentary poem was born. I started
writing books in 2010 since I often like to challenge myself. Having already
had several poems to my credit, I later decided to give short stories a try as
well; however, since they weren't enough for me, I said to myself "why not
try writing a novel?" and that’s what I did. In 2015 I self-published my
first novel.
In 2016 I met Rita
Angelelli from Le Mezzelane Publishing House at an evening charity event that I
had conceived and organized with a librarian from a nearby town to raise funds
for the earthquake victims of central Italy. That evening I met Rita for the
first time; we exchanged our contact details, and I sent her a novel I had just
finished: the well-known “Beyond the door”.
SM:
I loved writing since I was 15, but the first works I wrote will remain in the drawer
forever. About ten years ago, I eventually decided to follow my dream and let
my imagination create the Rebecca and Marcus saga where I was able to give way
to my ideas about vampires and their immortal life. I was able to publish it in
June 2017 after discovering Le Mezzelane Publishing House on Facebook
MTDD:
Andrea I know that you have already participated in numerous literary
competitions, also receiving special and honorable mentions.
Why do you think it is
important to participate in these competitions and with what criteria do you
choose which ones to take part in?
AA:
I decided to participate in these competitions always to keep challenging
myself and also to compare myself with
other people who have my very passion, regardless of the result because the
important thing is to participate. I do not mention them because there are many
competitions in which I took part and many, as you said, are the prizes I won as
well as the various mentions I received. Among all are 42 awards received
including cups, plates, and medals. I choose only free contests, and rarely, only
every now and then, some which might require a fee to be paid.
MTDD: Sara, I don't know
if you have participated in literary competitions and received awards as well.
Whatever the case, can you explain your experience and your personal view as
author on whether or not you participated in them and why?
SM:
I rarely participated in literary competitions. I took part in two literary
competitions with Le Mezzelane Publishing House. One on horror stories
"Dark Presences", where one of my stories though not a finalist was,
however, included in the anthology. The other for the literary competition
"It is not your fault" anthology on disorders and bullying where
there is also one of my stories. I find that the experience of literary
competitions is interesting and an important step to grow as an emerging writer,
so I recommend that new authors look into this world.
MTDD: Tell us about your
publications, genres, topics covered, which of your books and possibly
characters you are most fond of and why.
SM:
My favorite genre is definitely fantasy. I love every facet and every creature
of this genre, and immerse myself in every story. In my books, "Monster"
in reality most of the time he is not really as such. Their feelings, their
emotions are always pure and sincere. I love all my characters, but the
protagonists of the Rebecca & Marcus saga have a special place in my
heart, having been created in a very special time of my life. Right now,
however, I have a new saga, with four Vampire Brothers, with whom I feel a very
strong bond.
AA:
My favorite genre is fantasy first and foremost. I also love horror, gothic and
noir. I really like to fantasize and be part of the story, in fact often I also
like to bring Andrea Ansevini into my stories. I like to live with my
characters that I create and who live like me by transmitting some message that
draws the reader into the story. In my novel “Oltre la porta” (Beyond
the door) I am particularly fond of Michele, because he is one of us and many
of us can find ourselves living the situations that happen to him and I love
him as if he were my brother. I have many projects, one of them is a noir that
I sent to CE and I hope it will come to light soon; moreover I am also very fond
of Pinocchio whose sequel to the well-known book by Collodi we all are familiar
with will be released soon; even if it is still a manuscript that I have on the
PC I have become attached to a book, "The most beautiful summer of my
life" because I tell a touching story that really happened to the
brother of a dear friend of mine.
MTDD:
You are both very active on socials both with your personal profiles and with
your authors’ respective pages and in particular on your profiles where you
regularly post video-interviews that you do with other writers and which you
then upload to your Youtube channels.
How did this idea come
about? Why did you decide to conduct these interviews together, and what has
been so far your experience with the various authors you met, even if only
virtually?
AA: We
came up with this idea in early February and we realized it in March during the
lockdown. We liked making presentations together which unfortunately wasn't
possible, so we opted for those online and started getting ready for them.
The experience with the
authors was a subsequent consequence. Seeing that many were making these
presentations online, Sara and decided to do something similar. At an online
presentation we launched this challenge and people responded enthusiastically
and it was an unprecedented success.
SM:
As Andrea said, the lockdown due to Covid pushed us to try an adventure that at
first was supposed to remain only among us, but which then, extended to the
other authors, opened up a new world for us, new friends, beautiful books, and
bonds that are and hopefully will last for a very long time.
MTDD: Leaving aside the
Covid emergency which has actually disrupted the lives of all of us, how do you
spend your free time? Do you have other passions or hobbies that you cultivate?
SM:
In addition to writing, I read books of all kinds and also many manga. I also
love to spend my free hours often drawing with various techniques. Pencils,
markers, watercolors, on canvas, on glass.
AA:
Besides writing, I read a lot of books of all kinds. I really like composing
music, going for walks, and taking photographs of landscapes and backgrounds
which I then use as a background for my poetic texts. As I said I have a
passion for photography, in fact I haven’t mentioned it before, but I also do
photo shoots.
MTDD: The
books you have published are numerous and it would be impossible to consider
them all in depth in a single interview. We, therefore, might need to postpone
that to our next one. In the meantime, all those who wish to buy your books or
simply contact you, how can they do so?
AA: http://negozio.lemezzelane.eu/testimonial/andrea-ansevini
https://www.facebook.com/andrea.ansevini/
https://www.facebook.com/andreaansevini79
http://negozio.lemezzelane.eu/prodotto/oltre-la-porta-carta
https://www.amazon.it/Oltre-porta-Andrea-Ansevini-ebook/dp/B077S91RBY
SM:https://www.amazon.it/SARA-MARINO/e/B0775VPJ5T?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2&qid=1613064006&sr=8-2
http://negozio.lemezzelane.eu/testimonial/sara-marino
https://www.facebook.com/marinosara79
MTDD: Thanks Sara and Andrea
for accepting this meeting. I look forward to seeing you for an upcoming
interview.
SM:
Heartfelt thanks to you and I hope to hear from you at the next opportunity.
AA:
Thanks to you for the hospitality and I hope to see you soon on other
occasions, since I have many books on their way some of which I am writing on
my own while others in collaboration with other authors, including one with
Sara.
