News of Cristina Rizzuto from "Open Book Toronto"

Read interview with Danielle Webster of  "Open Book Toronto".

Cristina Rizzuto is the author of the forthcoming poetry collection, The Music Makers (Blaurock Press), which will be released in May. Her work has appeared in Dragnet Magazine and Inquire Publication. You can find Cristina online at her blog, Crisitina’s Library.
Cristina talked with Open Book about her collection and the “simple melody of ordinary existence.”

Poetry with Cristina Rizzuto

An Interview With Colin Fullerton

Halifax’s Colin Fullerton discusses the writing of Like A Road, and how he got from being “raised on a farm on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere” to being a prolific novelist.

Blaurock: I understand you started writing Like A Road in 2007 after a few other attempts?  Is this your first published novel?

Colin Fullerton (CF): Yes, Road is my first published novel. I’ve written thirteen so far.  The subjects vary.  My first three were pure crap.  They’re available in the Kindle store for 99 cents if you like to read crap.

Blaurock: Define crap.

The first one was about a couple of friends who lived in a summer town…romance ensues.  My wife liked it.

The second was about a father/daughter tending a lighthouse on Nantucket Island after the end of WWII.  Romance ensues…

The third was about a broken down rodeo rider who was forced to work at ranches and farms so that he could continue to pursue his dreams. My dad liked it.

Blaurock: What is your writing process like?  What time of day do you like to write?  Where?

CF: I'm a morning writer, where doesn’t matter to me. I like to listen to music while I write; Bon Iver was the soundtrack to the last one. I write on a word count: 100 words per 5 minutes, 1200 words Monday to Friday, 2000 words Saturday and Sunday, for a total of 10,000 per week.

Blaurock: What inspired the story of Like A Road?  Have you ever been to prison, flown in a hot air balloon, or done yoga?

CF: I don’t know where this one came from.  I was walking my dog one morning and the first line popped into my head. 

I have not been to prison, or in a hot air balloon.  I started doing Yoga a couple of months ago.  I have yet to find nirvana except in my CD rack. 

I am not a researcher, I just write whatever pops into my head; never let the facts get in the way of a good story. 

Blaurock: Can you talk a bit about theme of decision-making in the book?  Jerry chooses at different points throughout the book to ignore his strong instincts, and at other times follows them.

CF: Decisions are a constant theme in my novels. I am fascinated with alternate realities, about how even one small decision can change your life. Ever come close to a car accident, where you almost missed t-boning a car by about 2 seconds? Now imagine if you hadn’t stopped to look at yourself in the mirror just before you left your house. That’s scary to me.

Blaurock:  In general, do you think that the voice inside our head or our gut feelings should be listened to?  Are they usually right or wrong?

CF: Mainly I view this as a person’s inner strength; you have to have it or things go wrong.  I always go with my gut.

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For excerpts from the book, visit: http://pinterest.com/blaurockpress/like-a-road/

Author Interviews -- more on the way!

Watch this spot for upcoming interviews with Colin Fullerton, author of "Like a Road", and with Antonio Michael Downing, author of "Molasses".