White Swans and the Avarice of Man

February 23, 2015

Today I'm delighted to welcome Annamaria Bazzi back to my blog with her wonderful White Swans. I still had some questions left over after we last shared a virtual coffee on this blog, so she kindly agreed to return and answer them. I guess what I'm brewing can't be too bad!

To read the first interview, just click on the virtual coffee link above.

And to get you in the mood, here's a blurb for the book, before I introduce the author:

Kendíka’s second chance at life begins as a nightmare.

Will the eerie eyes always looking down from the sky reveal themselves?

Kendíka challenges the aliens no one has ever seen to bring about a better life for the humans trapped in the surreal Regency world she wakes up in.

While getting to know her alien owner, she discovers the aliens aren’t so perfect and have much to learn about humans.

Will Kendíka survive or perish, attempting to make life better for the people living on Regency?

Annamaria, please help yourself to a virtual drink. I may even have some virtual cookies somewhere - gluten free 'cause they have to be for me.

You told me last time that White Swan tackles issues concerning the avarice of man. Could you expound on that today?

The kind-hearted hero of the series is rewarded and his wealth grows exponentially as he helps his people. The anti-hero lusts after the hero’s good fortune and turns to murderous thoughts, which he puts into action, soliciting the help of innocent people through threats. In fiction, we make the hero prevail.

But in fact, things can be so different can't they? How do you think our modern world shaped by man's avarice?

We can see man’s greed in the quality of our goods today. Everything is made in a cheap way so they don’t last. Quality takes a back seat to making a fast buck. People want to get rich fast so they cut corners wherever and whenever they can, resulting in products that don’t last.

How about in the ancient world?

At least in the ancient world people took pride in the goods they made, producing high standard quality, things that lasted. Greed was definitely a part of society in the past, but somehow the good ethical people tipped the scale. I don’t think I can say that in today’s world.

That's sad. But what about in worlds we imagine and dream of?

Unfortunately as shown in White Swans, even in literature, which in many ways mimics real life, we have the villain who is motivated by greed, the need to have more at the cost of everyone else. These characters end up being important to make a story more suspenseful. We all need someone to blame and hate when reading certain novels.

It seems like people might always be the same. What do you see as the biggest barrier to becoming better people?

Today it is a difficult question to answer considering the violence we are plagued with, starting with such groups as ISOL. The hatred they display for those who don’t believe as they do is just mind-boggling. They won’t stop at anything until they succeed in their goals. As long as they are around, and they are getting more powerful, the world is not safe.

So how do you think fiction helps?

Especially with young impressionable adults, a good moral character becomes like a hero whose example they like to follow to be more like the character they so loved while reading a book. That’s why I believe young adult books should present a strong and moral hero.

Thank you very much for coming back Annamaria, and please stay to finish your drink. Perhaps you could tell our readers a little more about yourself and where to find you before you leave:

Although born in the United States, Annamaria Bazzi spent a great deal of her childhood in Sicily, Italy, in a town called Sciacca. Italian was the language spoken at home. Therefore, she had no problems when she found herself growing up in a strange country. Upon returning to the States, she promised herself she would speak without an accent. She attended Wayne State University in Detroit Michigan, where she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Computers with a minor in Spanish.

Annamaria spent twenty years programming systems for large corporations, creating innovative solution, and addressing customer problems. During those years, she raised four daughters and one husband. Annamaria lives in Richmond Virginia with her small family where she now dedicates a good part of her day writing.

You can visit Annamaria at:

blog http://annamariabazzi.com

website http://www.annamariasbooks.com

facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Author.annamariabazzi

email annamariascorner@yahoo.com

twitter https://twitter.com/AMBazzi

goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6890526.Annamaria_Bazzi

pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/annamariabazzi/

Check in on Kendíka’s facebook page https://www.facebook.com/kendika.burkeshire

Find out more... Follow the tour:

23rd February

Beppe - Interview
Cindy - Interview