Guest Post: C.D. Gorri - On Writing

If I started out saying writing saved my life it may not be too much of an exaggeration. It certainly has saved my sanity. At any rate writing has really helped me clear out and organize some of the “stuff” my mind is crowded with.

I consider myself an eternal student so I am always reading, looking things up, watching educational programs, listening to music, googling stuff on the web. I would have stayed in school forever if possible. I mean I was probably the only one student out of everyone at Montclair State during my time there who earned a BA in English with no intention of teaching or becoming a journalist. I just wanted to read and write.

I had a lot of really great professors who taught me a lot and of course my husband and children have always been full of encouragement. I love storytelling. It serves so many purposes. People tell stories to preserve history, to carry on tradition, to express emotion, to explore imagination, to delve into places no one ever has, to teach, to explain, to entertain, the list is endless. Writing provides infinite possibility and fulfillment for me in ways I never imagined. It’s my therapy, my calling, my passion.

I hope when someone reads my stories that they are engaged and entertained. I hope that they can have a few moments of escape from reality, and maybe they’ll pick up on something that sparks their interest. I’m a big fan of anything that gets people to react, to feel, to think. It would be amazing if I did that for someone else. Even if it’s just one person.

For my ebook, Wolf Moon: A Grazi Kelly Novel, I became sort of obsessed with the idea of drawing from my own background. Italian, Catholic, private schools… That’s what all the greats advise, isn’t it? Write what you know. Ooh, and write something that my kids could read and identify with. 

So yes, we are Catholic. I just wanted to note that I am not trying to convert anyone through my work and sure I have problems with Church politics and policies. Nobody’s perfect. And religion rarely is. I strongly feel religion is a personal choice and all faiths should be treated with respect.

I also wanted my writing to be interesting and entertaining. So I thought, okay, teenagers, Werewolves, Witches and Demons. Cool. Grazi, my main character, is Catholic and is bound by contract to serve the Hounds of God, a secret Werewolf organization that essentially works for the Roman Catholic Church. I also have her attending a Catholic high school, which is where I drew on some of my own experiences. 

Wolf Moon is the first installment in what I intend to be a series of books. It is also the shortest. Under 60,000 words. It is a fast paced read, told from her point of view, that I designed to introduce Grazi and her world.

The fact that it is a world I created sort of makes me geek out at times. I mean, wow, it is something alright. A whole universe came out of the jumble that is my mind. That very same mind that sometimes forgets where the keys are, or to pick up shampoo at the grocery store. Yeah, that one. Very cool.

Being a writer is scary, exhausting, sometimes confusing hard work, but absolutely the most awesome work experience I have ever had. 

I just want to say thank you Scarlett for hosting me here and thank you all of you for taking the time to read this!

Be sure and look for me, C.D. Gorri, author of the Grazi Kelly Novel Series on my website www.cdgorri.com, Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/Cdgorribooks Twitter @cgor22, Google+ https://www.google.com/+CDGorribooks, and Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/CDGorri. You can find my ebooks on Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, Google Play, Itunes, Kobo and more.

Thanks and happy reading!

del mare alla stella,

C.D. Gorri

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About C.D. Gorri

C.D. Gorri is a writer of YA paranormal fiction. She is the author of the Grazi Kelly novel series. C.D. has earned her Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from Montclair State University. She attended Catholic school from grades K-12 and is the youngest of six daughters born to Italian immigrant parents. She lives in her home state of New Jersey with her husband, their children, and their dog.