An Interview with AnneMarie Mazotti Gouveia

AnneMarie was born and raised in California. She has a vivid imagination and loves writing magical adventure stories that take place in strange lands. She is passionate about reading, art, and family; she is the youngest of seven children, the mother of four children, and a grandmother. She’s traveled through Europe and has lived in Germany, Washington, and Kansas. A former high-tech executive with a Bachelor of Science Information Technology degree, she is a geek at heart who enjoys mentoring others and trips to Disneyland. AnneMarie lives in Northern California with her husband and two mischievous cats. HalLows Realm is the fourth book in her award-winning Drifters Realm book series. She is a member of SBCWI and the Mt. Diablo CWC.

---

---

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

The title of my book, HalLows Realm, is also the name and setting of where the book takes place. It was easy to choose the title because I wanted the book to speak to the adventurer and ghost enthusiast within each of us.

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

It’s almost impossible to fully explain the feeling of holding my first copy of HalLows Realm in my hands. I felt equally excited and terrified, right alongside immeasurable gratitude and accomplishment.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I am inspired to write because I want to tell stories that take you by surprise so you keep turning the pages; stories with characters you can relate to, heroes and villains alike. I love stories with magical elements set in strange, faraway places in different time periods where the unexpected is possible and adventure lurks around every corner. Suzanne Collins, Diana Gabaldon, Victoria Aveyard, C. S. Lewis, and Luanne G. Smith are some of my favorite authors, but the list of works that influence my writing is constantly changing as I read new authors and new books.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I am a retired IT business executive with over twenty years of experience in the management of business processes, systems, applications architectures, and technologies. As managing director of enterprise applications at Lam Research Corporation, I led various highly cross-functional global project implementation and multi-billion-dollar M&A integration teams to successful completion.

Something readers may not know about me is that I lived and worked in Germany for four years and loved every minute of it!

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

The most meaningful and rewarding part of publishing my book has been hearing how much people love the story, see themselves in the characters, and are genuinely excited about the next book and where the story will take us.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

Geronimo by Sheppard; When The Stars Go Blue by Tim McGraw; Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon; More Than a Feeling by Boston; and Show Me the Way by Peter Frampton.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

I hope young and old readers alike will fall in love with reading again, and be drawn to stories filled with adventure, family, and friendship. And will recognize how every journey in life is always better when it’s shared.

What creative projects are you currently working on?

I’m currently writing the fifth book in the Drifters Realm series. The story picks up right where HalLows Realm book four ends, and parts of the story cross-over into TimeLess Realm. In this book, the siblings, Roe, Tora, Ori, and Theo, along with their friends, find themselves battling against a catastrophic spell called the UnMaking that threatens to destroy their world.

How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?

My experiences working with Atmosphere Press were all very positive. I greatly appreciate their help, coaching, and support from start to finish and couldn’t imagine having published my book without them by my side.

---

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.