Interview with Liverpool Advance Nov. 9, 2005

Romance author

Mark Roberts
The Advance

Brooklyn romance author Annette Newell laughs at the inevitable question: Are you a romantic person?

“I thought I was too old,” she responds, “but I must be.”

Newell has signed contracts for five novels with All Romance Books (allromancebooks.com) and Publish America has now accepted a sixth book entitled After The Pain.

Her five other novels are Sea of Love, Lost in Paradise, Christine's Café, Dangerous Love and Wrong Number.

She has written for almost as long as she can remember but didn't write her first book until this year.

“As soon I got a computer, I just started and tried it. And it worked,” she says with an incredulous look on her face.

“I didn't think I could do it. I was very shocked.”

She sent in Sea of Love last spring to the Edmond, Oklahoma company and was immediately accepted as one of its first authors.

Her books are also featured on Amazon.com. All Romance Books is moving from e-books to paperback publishing as well.

Her novels are sold at Wells Books and Antiques at 226 Main St. in Liverpool. She plans a reading in the near future.

The books are also sold at Swwweet Retreats in Bridgewater.

Newell shoots her own front cover photographs. Her daughter, Tracy, who is now writing a book of her own, is featured on three covers.

Newell's unofficial publicist and biggest fan adds, “I find once you start reading her books you can't put them down.”

The photographs were taken in Nova Scotia and include sites in Lockport, Bridgewater, Port Medway and Beach Meadows.

Newell says her ideas come from “anywhere. Most times I just start with a title and the story goes from there. Sometimes, my hands go so fast that when I read it back, I say where did that come from.”

The prolific author can write a 50,000-to-60,000-word book in a month.

Newell says she enjoys the romance genre, adding with a smile, “They're all PG-13. They're easy to write for me. I don't know why.

As a simple synopsis, she says most of her stories include characters from “different sides of the world,” whether metaphorically or physically, meeting and falling in love.

Inside that structure, however, is room enough for huge varieties of settings, plots and character personalities, as demonstrated by Newell's novels.

She adds with a laugh she even becomes emotionally involved with her characters.

“Like Recardo (Lost in Paradise) from Italy- whoo! You do start to like your characters when you're with them for a month.”

The author's website address is annettenewell.tripod.com/

mroberts@theadvance.ca