Interview with Donna Galanti, Author of A Human Element

Donna Galanti writes murder and mystery with a dash of steam as well as middle grade adventure fiction. She is an International Thriller Writers Debut Author of the paranormal suspense novel A Human Element, the short story collection The Dark Inside, and Joshua and The Lightning Road.

She’s lived from England as a child, to Hawaii as a U.S. Navy photographer. Donna dreamed of being a writer when she fell in love with the worlds of Narnia and Roald Dahl attending school in a magical English castle where her dark imagination ran wild in an itchy uniform (bowler hat and tie included). She now lives in Pennsylvania with her family in an old farmhouse. It has lots of writing nooks, fireplaces, and stink bugs, but she’s still wishing for a castle again—preferably with ghosts.

Her latest book is the paranormal romance, A Hidden Element.

For More Information

• Visit Donna Galanti’s website.
• Connect with Donna on Facebook and Twitter.
• Visit Donna’s blog.
• More books by Donna Galanti.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?  

I am adopted and an only child, which both come to play in my books, and I love being alone! My other loves are bicycling, kayaking, and reading. I was a bit of a nomad until I settled into the career of novelist. I wandered from being a U.S. Naval photographer stationed in Hawaii to marketing bomb detection devices to running my own resume writing service.

What is your fondest childhood memory?

Soon after adopting me my parents moved us all over from England to owning a campground in New Hampshire. Cobham Surrey, England was my favorite place in the world to live as a child as it had such a medieval feel, and my favorite memories are from there. We lived in the old caretaker’s house of this old grand estate called White Tops. It even came with a gardener. It was a place of days gone by where I’d walk down the country lane to school and feed horses sugar cubes along the way. Each day the fish man would bring kippers for breakfast and the milk man would drop glass bottles at our door…and clotted cream some days. I even made my parents take me to Tintagel in Cornwall, the supposed castle ruins of King Arthur, because I love all things King Arthur.

When did you begin writing?

I’ve been a writer all my life since I was seven and fell in love with C.S. Lewis and Roald Dahl.  The tooth fairy would leave books by them under my pillow! Not surprising my first piece was a murder mystery screenplay that I had the neighborhood kids act out! I knew I was born to be a writer. It’s all I ever burned to do. When my mother died five years ago I began writing novels out of grief. Eventually that grief turned to peace and then at discovering what I love to do, be a true storyteller.

What is this book about?

In A Hidden Element evil lurks within...One family must risk everything to defeat an enemy that wants to rule the world with their son, but their enemy’s son may be their only hope to escape—if he survives.

A Hidden Element contains universal elements that people can relate to; abandonment, loss, redemption, acceptance, grief—and yearning for something you can never have. While there are paranormal and science fiction elements to A Hidden Element, there are some very real dimensions played out. These include the tensions within a family, specifically between fathers and sons, and the dilemma posed of how far a parent will go to save a child.

What inspired you to write it?

Writing in the paranormal allows me to tap into the “what if”. What if we possessed the power to do the unbelievable? Like telepathy, telekinesis. And what if we could use those powers to heal – or to kill? Some people like to imagine that aliens would have such power, as eluded to in A Hidden Element, but what if it was inside us all along and we just had to tap into it? And what if we could get people to follow us with our mind powers and do whatever we wished? Cults have fascinated me and how one person can inspire people to do terrible things. My cult fascination began with the horrifying story of Jim Jones played out in the news when I was a child.      

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?
You can purchase the Element Trilogy books here:

Book 2 in the Element Trilogy, A Hidden Element: http://amzn.to/1zjpIjM

Book 1 in the Element Trilogy, A Human Element: http://amzn.to/1mNcyCO

Do you have a website and/or blog where readers can find out more?

Readers can connect with me in many places!
Website: www.ElementTrilogy.com 
Blog: http://www.elementtrilogy.com/blog/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DonnaGalanti
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DonnaGalantiAuthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5767306.Donna_Galanti

What is one piece of advice you would like to share with aspiring authors everywhere?

To me, success in writing comes from continuing to learn the writing craft and applying all I learn along the way. Success in writing can also only truly come when you let go—let go of your ego that is. I believe that this is the biggest reason why I am published, have a wonderful agent as my champion, and have four books coming out in the next year. And this is the biggest reason I see writers fail because they do not accept criticism and are not willing to do the hard work to make their writing better. This writing business is hard, but worth it! 

What is up next for you?

I am now plotting the third and final book in the Element Trilogy, A Healing Element, and also a young adult medieval fantasy series. I also write children’s books and in 2015 have the first two books coming out in my middle grade adventure fantasy series, Joshua and the Lightning Road. In book 1, Joshua Cooper learns the hard way that lightning never strikes by chance, when a bolt strikes his house and whisks him on an adventure to a world where stolen kids are work slaves for the frustrated heirs of the Greek Olympians. You can learn more about it here: www.donnagalanti.com

Interview with Donna Galanti, Author of A Hidden Element

Donna Galanti writes murder and mystery with a dash of steam as well as middle grade adventure fiction. She is the author of books 1 and 2 in the paranormal suspense Element Trilogy, A Human Element and A Hidden Element, the short story collection The Dark Inside, and Joshua and The Lightning Road (Books 1 and 2, 2015). She’s lived from England as a child, to Hawaii as a U.S. Navy photographer. She now lives in Pennsylvania with her family in an old farmhouse. It has lots of writing nooks, fireplaces, and stink bugs, but she’s still wishing for a castle again—preferably with ghosts. 

Connect with Donna:
Site: http://www.elementtrilogy.com
Blog: http://www.elementtrilogy.com/blog/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DonnaGalantiAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DonnaGalanti

Where did you grow up?

All over. I was adopted as a toddler in Ohio and remained the only child of my parents. It was lonely at times for me growing up, just the three of us. My parents were travelers and we moved every few years. We lived in England for a while and I retain my first memories there of writing and knowing that was all I wanted to do. By the time I was seven I had devoured most of the library in the stately old stone private school I attended. I recall the Narnia Chronicles as my first series read curled in a nook there in my gray and pink woolen uniform. During our time in England we traveled all over Europe. I always was drawing and writing stories in the back seat of the car as we traversed through the Pyrenees or dashed through Paris. We then moved to a campground in rural N.H. to fulfill my father’s dream of running a vacation spot. I had kids to play with all the time and we had barns and horses and hogs. I loved gathering the rotten apples from the orchards to feed the hogs each day. Eventually, my parents settled down to country living in the hills above Albany, New York known as the Helderberg Mountains. We lived in a 200-year old farmhouse on acres of apple trees and falling-down barns. It was a child’s world to explore. I would roam the woods around our home with notebook and pen writing in fields and beside hidden ponds, and always with my two, frumpy dogs.

When did you begin writing?

The day I became a writer I was seven years old and wrote a murder mystery screen play that I had the neighbor kids act out. Short stories followed and poems. I wanted to become a reporter but found out you can’t survive on a reporter’s salary and so dived into a writing career in writing for marketing and communications. I later launched my own resume writing service, but it wasn’t until my mother died five years ago that I began writing novels out of my grief. Eventually that grief turned to peace and then at discovering what I love to do, be a true storyteller.

What is this book about?

A Hidden Element has several themes in it. Some are…Seeking power through good leads to salvation OR Seeking power through doing evil leads to self-destruction. Relinquishing the struggle to belong can lead to self-acceptance.  Choosing love over hate leads to peace.

In A Hidden Element evil lurks within…

When Caleb Madroc is used against his will as part of his father’s plan to breed a secret community and infiltrate society with their unique powers, he vows to save his oppressed people and the two children kept from him. Seven years later, Laura and Ben Fieldstone’s son is abducted, and they are forced to trust a madman’s son who puts his life on the line to save them all. The enemy’s desire to own them—or destroy them—leads to a survival showdown. Laura and Ben must risk everything to defeat a new nemesis that wants to rule the world with their son, and Caleb may be their only hope—if he survives. But must he sacrifice what he most desires to do so?

What inspired you to write it?

A Hidden Element is book two in the Element Trilogy. A few readers of book one, A Human Element, asked for a sequel. I always thought it was a standalone until I woke up one morning with a vision from a dream and dropped the book I was writing to start it.

I write from the dark side with a glimpse of hope and am drawn to writing the tormented hero’s journey–and tormented villain’s. I enjoy creating empathy for both by blurring the lines between good and evil. And I especially enjoy using the paranormal elements of mind control to shake the foundation of my character’s world. This is where the inspiration came from for A Hidden Element. I’ve also been fascinated with cult communities since I was a child and did a school paper on Jim Jones. I still have all the newspaper clippings from this tragic event. My fascination with this fed into the cult community within my novel.

Who is your favorite character from the book?

Definitely Caleb! I fell in love with him while writing him. He is my favorite kind of character, the tormented hero. I loved taking him to the darkest depths and even while there, he still sacrifices his own desires to help others. He has a full heart brimming with love just waiting to be given away, yet has no one to give it to.

If you knew then, what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently?

I wish I had joined writer communities and organizations sooner. I wrote my book and then “came out” of my writing cave. I didn’t feel like I belonged or was part of the club. I now know that anyone who wants to write and improve their writing is part of the club. Also, I wish I’d learned about how to write a book before writing my first book. I took writing workshops after I finished my first book. This required going back and fixing a ton of things! I don’t regret the learning that took place afterwards as I can now write a better book from the beginning.

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

Purchase Book 2 in the Element Trilogy, A Hidden Element: http://amzn.to/1p1YD1o

Purchase Book 1 in the Element Trilogy, A Human Element: http://amzn.to/1mNcyCO
ON SALE NOW FOR JUST $.99cents!

What is up next for you?

I am now plotting the third and final book in the Element Trilogy, A Healing Element, and also a young adult medieval fantasy series. I also write children’s books and in 2015 have the first two books coming out in my middle grade adventure fantasy series, Joshua and the Lightning Road. In book 1, Joshua Cooper learns the hard way that lightning never strikes by chance, when a bolt strikes his house and whisks him on an adventure to a world where stolen kids are work slaves for the frustrated heirs of the Greek Olympians. You can learn more about it here: www.donnagalanti.com