The Serendipity of Catastrophe by Lisa Fellinger

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Welcome to It's Raining Books. Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

What I love about women’s fiction is the emphasis on the main character’s emotional journey. What always drew me to writing was the opportunity to explore emotions and growth through fictional characters, so women’s fiction came naturally to me. I actually didn’t know what genre my writing was considered for a long time—it didn’t quite seem to fit into any genre I’d known of. Then another author I followed who wrote similar stories to mine posted on Facebook about being a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, so I began looking into the genre further and realized this was exactly where my stories fit.

What research is required?

I write contemporary stories, so there’s not much research required in terms of historical factors or world-building. For this particular story, the bulk of my research revolved around understanding anxiety and how it affects people. I don’t struggle with anxiety to the degree that Anita does—while I get anxious sometimes, I don’t have an anxiety disorder. So, it was sometimes a challenge to ensure that I was portraying her struggles accurately without giving in to stereotypes. Since the story revolves around Anita’s struggle to overcome her anxiety, it was important to me to create a character with anxiety who felt authentic and other readers who might be going through something similar could relate to.

Additionally, since the bulk of my story takes place in Europe, I relied heavily on Google and Google Maps to ensure I was accurate in describing certain places in the cities they visit or to make sure the distances between places were correct. Google’s Street View ended up being one of my best friends as I worked on this story!

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

So many of Anita’s issues stem from her inability to communicate honestly. It can be hard to have those open, raw, honest conversations with your loved ones, but I learned from Anita that what’s much harder is living with the consequences of avoiding those conversations decades from now.

Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

I don’t know how odd this is, but I have to write in chronological order, and I can only work on one manuscript at a time. Even if there’s a scene later on in the story that I’m excited to get to, my mind doesn’t allow me to skip ahead and then come back. Working through the story in order allows me to get into the rhythm of the story rather than getting lost wondering if I’d mentioned something before or not. And even in revisions, until I’m down to the final pass or two where I’m just tweaking things, I need to go back and start at the beginning and work my way through in order.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

I used to be a solid pantser until I got about 25% from the end, then I’d write an outline from that point to the end so I could visualize the ending since at that point, I pretty much knew where I was headed and what needed to happen to get there. But as I learned with this book and the manuscripts I’d written before is that pantsing often leads to me having to do a lot more work in revisions simply because I wasn’t clear on the message I was going for with the book. So, with the next book I’m working on, I’m trying a new approach. It’s still not fully plotting, but I took a good amount of time at the beginning before I started actually writing words to get to know my characters—who they are and what they want—and the main message/theme I want to convey to readers with my story. So far, knowing these things so well ahead of time has helped keep me on track and I’m hopeful will make the revision process a bit less of a headache.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

I’m currently sitting on the couch, and my cat is next to me laying on top of the couch cushions. The other one is in my lap.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

I’m currently working on revising my next book, tentatively titled The Girl from the Song. This story is about 27-year-old Tenley Harwell who left for Paris right after college graduation, and now five years later is forced back home for her best friend’s funeral. In coming back to Buffalo, she fears her biggest struggle will be confronting her rockstar ex-boyfriend who, against her wishes, wrote his band’s first album about her and then shared her name with the press. But she discovers the biggest hurdle is actually making amends with her sister who she left behind.

Do you have a question for our readers?

Anita and her husband talked about going to Europe for years before finally making a concrete plan, only for Victor to pass away in an accident the night before they were supposed to leave. What’s something on your bucket list you’ve been putting off?

A mother defeated by anxiety. A daughter determined not to become her mother. Can one month in Europe reunite them?

Anita Lorello is paralyzed by grief. When her husband dies in an accident the night before a long-awaited retirement trip, she’s devastated by the loss of her partner and once again shelves her dream to finally visit Europe. But when her estranged daughter agrees to accompany her nearly a year later, Anita is eager for the opportunity to repair their relationship.

Carrie Lorello’s life is crumbling. After a night of clouded judgment ends in her being fired, her mother’s offer of a one-month paid vacation seems like her best option. But she refuses to get caught up in her mother’s irrational worries and critical comments, and under no circumstances is she to learn what a failure Carrie’s proven to be.

Desperate not to lose her daughter again, Anita fights to conquer her anxiety and become the mother Carrie always wanted. But as Carrie’s life grows more and more complicated, her mother is the last person she wants to confide in.

Without anyone else to hold them together, can Anita and Carrie overcome their differences, or will the secrets between them derail their trip and destroy their relationship for good?

The Serendipity of Catastrophe is an emotionally compelling work of women’s fiction. If you enjoy travel stories, complex mother-daughter relationships, and lovably flawed characters, you’ll love this hopeful story of resilience and second chances.

Read an Excerpt

Anita turned and set her eyes on the ride, its rainbow-colored seats impossible to miss. Victor never would have expected her to go on the Ferris wheel, but somehow it seemed like exactly what she needed to do to move forward, to prove to herself she would no longer allow anxiety to rule her life. To most, it may have been a simple carnival ride, but to her it was so much more.

The line was shorter than Anita expected, and soon she was next up. The young girl ahead of her climbed into a bright green bucket with her father, and her mind drifted to Victor and Carrie all those years ago.

“Next,” the operator called out.

Anita walked to the next open bucket, this one sunshine yellow, and climbed in. With a small lurch, the wheel took off, propelling her slowly into the air. Instinctively, she closed her eyes, then forced herself to open them. She didn’t come this far to ride with her eyes closed. Besides, it made her more nauseous not to see where she was going.

At the top of the wheel, she looked out across the amazing city she’d spent the past few days exploring and falling in love with. Although this Ferris wheel was smaller than the one in London, being up on a mountain made it seem as though she was higher off the ground than she was.

“I did it, Victor,” she whispered.

She smiled as the wheel lifted her up and around once more. She had done it. She made it to Europe, made her way to Tibidabo on her own, and conquered her fear of Ferris wheels.

But there was still work to be done.

About the Author:

Lisa Fellinger writes contemporary women's fiction with lovably flawed, relatable characters. When she's not writing her own stories, she's helping others achieve their writing dreams as a book coach and developmental editor. She lives in Buffalo, New York with her husband, son, and fur babies.

Website: http://www.lisafellingerauthor.com
Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/ml6kpq
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisafellingerauthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisafellinger_author/

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