August, 2015 – End of a Heartache
A Conversation with Author Amanda Risucci
By Rachel Baumel
Growing up in Wellington, I was raised in a home where arts and literature were more important than video games and electronic entertainment. I’ve always had shelves filled with books, ranging from mystery to history, but my favorite is fiction.
Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing author Amanda Risucci, a West Palm Beach resident who has written a new novel titled End of a Heartache. This compelling literature features a story about a girl named Anna May and her dedication to her friends. She is a strong, confident woman who cares more about others than herself, but gets caught between the love affairs of close friends.
Rachel Baumel (RB): What inspired you to write End of a Heartache?
Amanda Risucci (AR): One my best friends had gotten in the middle of some crazy stuff after she left her fiancé for another man, and I was the one stuck in the middle. They both had their own suffering to go through and I was there to be in the middle. Her fiancé happened to be a very good friend of mine as well. The story is about the dangers of not being honest with yourself and others.
(RB): Tell us a little about yourself and your background.
(AR): I grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida and I come from a not-so-normal family. My dad is a real character in life, my mother is my best friend and my brother is my bodyguard. When I say bodyguard I mean he is always there to defend and protect me. I went to G-Star School of the Arts and I graduated in 2011. Being at that school taught me how to write everything; screenplays, stage plays, monologues and I discovered more talents I didn’t even know I had, like film directing and how to operate a professional camera. But on the inside I had a love for writing novels and it stuck with me forever.
(RB): Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
(AR): I have been writing since I was a child and I have always kept up with it. Reading the books by my favorite writer James Patterson has always helped me become a better writer. This has been my dream since I was a child and to finally have it come true just makes life better.
(RB): Give us some insight into your main character, Anna May. What does she do that is special?
(AR): What I love about Anna May’s character is that she is willing to do whatever it takes to save her friends even when her friends aren’t acting like real friends. She is the person who knows right from the wrong, but in her case the right and wrong are all mixed up and she is caught in the middle of the lies and the betrayal to the point where she can’t find her way out. She has to keep her head high no matter how strange the situation, and she does her best to make everything right. She is the definition of a best friend… always there for others.
(RB): What was the hardest thing about writing End of a Heartache?
(AR): Around the time I was writing the book my best friend and I weren’t speaking so every time I tried to write I could feel old wounds opening up with every word I wrote. I did my best to push through it and I like to think finishing this book was my closure between her and me, and what we went through. I finally got the closure I needed and I can’t wait to finish book two.
(RB): Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
(AR): Always be true to yourself and to others. Otherwise everything you thought you knew will go straight down the tubes faster than you can try to fix it.
(RB): Do you have any advice for other writers?
(AR): Always follow your dreams. No matter how crazy they are, and how down you may be feeling at the time, but life is too short to not make the best of it. Do what you were born to do and it will pay off in the end. Just keep swimming.
Amanda truly impressed me as a writer who has a great future ahead of her. It was a pleasure learning about her work. You too can enjoy End of a Heartache. Simply order it online at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com.
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Rachel Baumel, 25, grew up in Wellington and moved to Boston to receive her bachelor’s degree in Arts Administration from Simmons College. She has returned to Around Wellington as a special guest contributor. Rachel was formerly our Teen Talk columnist and later became the marketing assistant and festival coordinator for the Colleges of the Fenway Office of Performing Arts.