Today we’d like to introduce you to Janet Constantino

Hi Janet, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?

When a writer friend asked me, “If you could write about anything you wanted, what would that be?” I immediately thought of Sicily, where half my family was born, where my father partially grew up, and where traditions rooted deeply in family and culture have shaped lives, especially the lives of women. From this question sprang the idea of Becoming Mariella, a story about a young Sicilian woman striving to break free from her mother’s control and the societal expectations that cast women primarily as homemakers, mothers, and silent figures.
Having choice, and being able to carve one’s path is paramount, a deeply held value, for me, both as an individual woman, and as a psychotherapist. The courage of some of my clients, women and men, who have dared to follow their own paths along with my challenge to steer my own path were also inspirations. But also when I was 22, (the same age as Mariella in the novel) I stayed with my Sicilian relatives, one of whom was a slightly younger cousin named Mariella. And, also like Mariella, she was smail in stature, had short, curly dark hair, and delicate features.
My own mother, who was Irish/American, never lived out her potential, and she was somewhat the model for Mamma in the book. Envious, loving as best she could be, overbearing, and definitely dramatic.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

My path has been mixed. As a younger writer I was under the illusion that I’d send out a short story, or a novel, and of course it would be published. Ha! Part of the challenge of writing and submitting is learning to deal with rejection, over and over. It wasn’t until I enrolled in an MFA program that I discovered how much I didn’t realize I didn’t know..
With Mariella, I received a handful of agent inquiries, along with rejections, and won 2nd place in an MFK Last House writing contest about food–there’s lots of Italian cooking in the novel–but it’s been a long path to publication.
Within the novel itself one of my biggest challenges was to slow down and let a scene play out, rather than rushing through it to get to the outcome. To let the characters react, and to stay close to their reactions so the reader feels “there.” One of the best suggestions I received, during my MFA program, was to write each scene as if it was a play, to keep it immediate and alive, not necessarily action oriented, but immediate so the reader can “see” the story.
Also, for Mariella, making the transitions believable from Sicily to San Francisco, to track her emotions and reactions as she makes those transitions.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

As I mentioned, the intersection between independence, discovering and following one’s path, and holding connection at the same time is paramount to my work as a writer, and as a psychotherapist. And, as a Buddhist, which, as a practice, invites both insight into one’s mind, and can deepen the experience of connection to others.

Becoming Mariella is a tribute to the women of my family, and to anyone who has sought a life defined by choice and autonomy. I hope Mariella inspires the possibility of growing and discovering more about oneself and learning to balance dreams with our roots and the people we love. To achieve a balance between our attachments, and who we are, intrinsically, within ourselves.

What may be unique about my writing is the lived experience of being part of a Sicilian family, the customs and attitudes, and especially the food! Much of which is incorporated into the novel. My Sicilian grandmother was the best cook I ever knew.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?

I can think of several, but one that stands out was a journey to Knott’s Berry Farm when I was probably 5 or 6. I had recently seen the movie “The Red Shoes,” with Norma Shearer, and I longed with all my heart to be a ballet dancer, and wear red ballet shoes, and dance on my toes, as she did in the movie.
I would practice and practice all over the house and on the sidewalk in front of the house, trying to get onto my toes without ballet shoes. I was discouraged but relentless.

So one day my parents and grandparents and my cousins and I went to Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park in Southern California (we lived in Southern California then), and unbeknownst to me my grandfather had spotted a stand where a ceramicist made sculpted porcelain red ballet slippers, overlapping, and with a heavy twine loop meant for them to hang on a wall.

As we were leaving, my grandfather presented me with a package wrapped in brown paper. “Be careful,” he said as he handed me the package. Inside were the ceramic red shoes, and I was so moved by his gift that I cried and cried and had those on my wall until I left home for college, and I still have them (not on the wall) to this day.

Pricing:

• $18.99 for Paperback pre-order on Amazon

Contact Info:

• Website: https://janetconstantino.com
• Instagram: janetconstantino2
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561036835050

Image Credits

All images were taken by Larry Leonard