After devoting eleven years of marriage to Ben, her high school sweetheart, and stepping off the corporate ladder to raise their three children, Denise is ready to seize the reins of the career she always dreamed of. But as soon as she commits to step back into the professional world, Ben drops a bombshell that disrupts everything. Suddenly, this once rock-solid couple finds themselves in a battle over ambition, identity, and whose turn it is to shine. As personal choices draw them further and further apart, they must confront their widening rift—a threat to the love they thought was unshakeable.
Can they rediscover the
passion they once shared, or will their divergent paths pull them apart for
good?
Good
morning, Denise. Thank you for joining us. Let’s start with you telling us a
bit about Sworn to Collide. This is the fourth and final book in the Sworn Sisters
Series. It’s my story. I am one of four best friends from high school and we
remain in each other’s lives even though we are now in our mid-thirties. I am
married to my high school sweetheart, Ben, and we have three children. For the
past eight years, I have been a stay-at-home mom (not necessarily by choice but
because of circumstances). But I’m now ready to step back into the professional
world by working at my father’s venture capital firm—an ambition I’ve had since
high school. Because of a health issue, my father needs me to commit, and it’s
my turn to follow my dream. Unfortunately, Ben just dropped a bombshell that
has disrupted everything.
What
made you drop out of the work force for eight years? I was working as a commercial/corporate lender at a
large bank in New York City after I graduated from Wellsley College. While I
hadn’t wanted to live in a big city, Ben and I had been separated by 300 miles
for four years because of the location of our chosen colleges, and we never
wanted to live apart again. So I agreed to look for a job in Manhattan, which
is where Ben wanted to be. We both had great jobs, lived in a tiny apartment on
the Upper West Side, and made good money. We both obtained our MBAs while
working, and were moving up our respective ladders. Then Ben was offered a job
in our hometown of Princeton—which is where I had always wanted to return.
Just before we moved to Princeton, I got
pregnant. So, I quit my job, spent time finding the perfect house in the
suburbs and nested. With his new job, Ben had a nice short commute, and
everything was good. When I got pregnant with our second child, my goal was to
stay home for another two years, and then join my father at his firm. As we all
know, plans have a way of changing, and unfortunately other circumstances
prevented me from jumping back into the professional world.
Knowing
what you know now, if you had it to do over again, would you have stayed at
home for eight years or would you have done something different? In retrospect, I should never have put my career on
hold. That changed the dynamic between me and Ben. I was now in charge of the
kids and our home and he was climbing the ladder of success in the
pharmaceutical world. My opinion on weighty issues like whether he should take
a job or not didn’t matter, even though it affected me. The fact that I wanted
to go back to work was pushed aside because it was more convenient for Ben if I
ran the household.
What
is your biggest fear? Because I was
out of the workforce for so long, I’m afraid I won’t have enough experience to
step into my father’s shoes and take over the business by the time he wants to
retire.
Who
is your favorite fictional character and why? Samantha Jones from “Sex and the City.” She was
open-minded, unfiltered, and called the shots. Although I could never be like
her, jumping from guy to guy without a care, she was fun, funny and formidable.
What
is the best piece of advice you ever received? Actually, this is advice I gave to my best friend,
Alyssa, before she was getting married—advice I wish I had been given. Always communicate
with your spouse. Don’t keep your wishes and goals a secret hoping to not rock
the boat. That’s what I had done, and it did not fare well for me.
Which writer or
character[s], from either books or movies, [or both] have had a major impact on
your writing? For an interesting
reason, Danielle Steel had a huge impact on my becoming an author. I was
reading one of her books one night, and said to myself “I bet I could do this.”
That was back in 1998. I don’t know why I thought I could write a book, but
that started me on my path to becoming an author. I learned how to word
process, joined NJ Romance Writers, went to writing seminars and conferences,
read how-to books, drafted an in-depth outline and started to write. I wrote
several manuscripts, submitted them to agents, received a ton of rejections,
and kept on writing. Fifteen years after my “aha” moment, my fifth manuscript
was published.
With regard to research,
where did you start for this novel? Did that lead you down different paths,
thereby changing the original concept? The
only things I researched were Denise’s career options and where Ben should live
and work in Boston. Originally, I wanted Denise to go to college for accounting
because I thought her father would own an accounting firm. But once I had her
working at a bank after college in the commercial loan department, I thought
her experience would be better suited for the venture capital business. Not
knowing enough about that business, I did some research.
But the most fun I had researching was going
to Boston. I had been there twice many years ago, but didn’t know much about
the city. I have a friend from high school who lives there, so I would email
her asking where Ben’s office should be since he was in the pharmaceutical
industry. I also wanted to know where he should live since I wanted him to live
close to work. We emailed back and forth over a few months every time I had a
question about Boston. She finally said, “Come visit and I’ll show your around.”
That was the best invitation. My husband and I took the train to Boston and
stayed in a hotel near my friend and her husband. The two of them took us all
over the city for the next few days and now I know exactly where Ben lives and
works. I also know where he jogs with his friends.
Tell us a bit about your
publisher. How did you hear about them; what influenced you to submit to them. My publisher is the Wild Rose Press, a small ebook
publisher with print on demand. I’ve been with them since my first book was
published in 2013. At the time, ebooks were becoming more and more popular and
it was very difficult to break into the big New York publishing houses
(although I tried). I had an agent for a while, but that wasn’t working out.
Several small ebook publishers accepted unagented queries, so I looked for the
publishers that worked with romance authors. I learned about these publishers
through NJ Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America.
How is the submission
process When I sent the fifth
manuscript that I had written to the Wild Rose Press, they sent me a contract
and I have been working with them ever since. “Sworn to Collide” is my eleventh
book with them. Because I’ve been with them so long, I now just send any new
manuscript to my editor and I usually get a contract within two months. If my
editor thinks I should work on a part of the book before she submits it for
contract, then I do. From initial submission to release date is about nine
months.
What are you reading right
now? I’m in two book clubs a month. I’m
currently reading “Theo of Golden” by Allen Levi, which I’m loving.
What's next for you? Now that “Sworn to Collide” has been released, I’m
working on the second book in my Sunrise Island Series. The first book is “Island
Detour”. I haven’t named this second book yet, but it’s almost finished.
https://books2read.com/u/bMj5AG
To learn more about Maria Imbalzano and the stories she creates go to:
Website: http://www.mariaimbalzano.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/mariaimbalzanoauthor
X: @ImbalzanoM84600
Instagram Mariaimbalzano_author
