#Author Olga Soaje on What Inspired #Contemporary #Fiction Novel TWELVE HOUSES

- How important are friends in your life?

Extremely important. I’ve been blessed to have friends who can laugh and cry with me, sometimes in the same day.

- How many friends does a person need?

I think every person is different in their requirements, for me it’s not about the number but the quality of the friendship. I prefer to have a few really close friends that I know I can count through anything.

- Do you have time to read?

Yes, it’s one of my favorite things to do before sleeping.

- Last book you purchased? Tell us about it.

“The Signature of all Things” by Elizabeth Gilbert. I think she did a wonderful and detailed job in Historical Fiction.

- What is your favorite quote, by whom, and why?

If you see my books each chapter is started with a quote, on my Pinterest account one of my boards is called “Vitamin of the day” which are quotes that I like and in my Facebook page you can always see quotes being posted. So it’s safe to say I like quotes, to just focus on one I couldn’t possibly but I’ll share one I recently read and loved: “Two things define you. Your patience when you have nothing, and your attitude when you have everything”.

- What is your favorite color?

Pink and off-white

- What inspired you to write Twelve Houses?

Twelve Houses was started as an observation you could say, the father of a dear friend of mine came to visit her and upon meeting him I could feel his loneliness and his grief shadow his actions, when I learned he became a widow six years prior and how his life changed dramatically after. It  got me thinking on the subject: What do you do when the love of your life goes? How do you handle it? How can one survive when it looks or feels unbearable?

I started asking myself those questions and the answers came as I started to write the first chapter and gave Amelia her own voice to express her feelings upon becoming a widow while facing fear, doubt and anger and having no solace from her always tranquil and uplifting sculpture studio. I never felt lost in this I could always imagine the feelings of grief and loneliness while at the same time allowing yourself to move and go on.

- What’s the best piece of writing advice you were ever given?

It was actually when I had the manuscript in my hard drive for a long time; when a friend (Becky) pushed me to self-publish saying “You not only have to continue writing because of the joy it brings you. You have to publish so other people can read it and you can touch their lives, it’s the dream of every artist. Don’t let fear stop you.”

- What advice would you give to a fledgling writer to assist them on
their journey?

I think my own journey is just starting but I would say “Try to remember each day the joy writing brings you and from that place expect great things”

- What genre are you most comfortable writing?

Women’s fiction and Literary Fiction laced with touches of inspirational.

Can anything good follow the best thing that ever happened to you?

Amelia Weiss loved her husband of thirty-five years very much, but now he’s left her a widow. Without him, she is unable to work in her sculpture studio without crying. She no longer has a bridge to her estranged daughter. And she can’t seem to keep her mind in the present.

But when her daughter reaches out asking for her help and her agent threatens a lawsuit if Amelia doesn’t deliver for an upcoming exhibit, she’s forced to make a choice. Will she reengage with her life and the people in it—allowing room for things to be different than they were before? Or, will she remain stuck in the past, choosing her memories over real-life relationships?

Thrust fully into the present, Amelia stumbles into a surprising journey of self-discovery.

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Genre – Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction

Rating – PG-13

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