Young, motivated and creative; Stefanie Newell has started a new path in her life and the literary world with her book, The Buzz. The novel set in the city of Chicago shows that Stefanie is one of the newest and brightest writers and owner of Write One book publication. Stefanie talks to In Chi City (Chicago) about her new novel and publishing company, future goals, and advice for aspiring writers.
ICC: You graduated from DePaul University with a degree in finance. What made you decide to start your own publishing company?
Stefanie: If I would have had my way from the very beginning I would have went into something more creative because that is more of my nature. I went finance because I had been doing finance for a very long time and I think in the early part of 2008, I had just finished my novel and was going to start shipping it off to different agents to help me get it published. When I started doing that I realized it was harder than what I thought it would be. I started running the numbers and I said ‘hmmm this is something I could really do myself.‘ I always wanted to own my own business and wanted to do something creative. I was already doing freelance writing for Unrated magazine and I had my own blog so it kind of fit.
ICC: Your first novel, The Buzz is generating a lot of fans. What is it about?
Stefanie: The Buzz is about an internet addict named Ebony who is very involved with celebrity blogs. She crosses path with an up and coming artist from Chicago and when she crosses Arika’s path she makes it her business to ruin her career.
ICC: How did you come up with the concept for this novel?
Stefanie: I’ve always had an interest in the music and entertainment industry. In doing so you have to be up on what’s going on. If you’re interviewing different people and going to different concerts you have to be abreast of what’s going on in the industry. I started going to different message boards and blogs and reading what people were saying about celebrities. Sometimes I was taken aback by what people were saying so there came the idea for the book. I knew I wanted to write a novel about the entertainment industry and I also knew I didn’t want to write a typical novel about the industry and wanted to take it from a different perspective so I decided to write it from the perspective of a person who starts celebrity gossip and why would they do it. What would be there reasoning for doing it?
ICC: Do you have any authors from your publishing company that will release novels in the future?
Stefanie: The publishing company will do fiction and non-fiction books. In about three to four months we will be releasing a non-fiction called, ‘Pull Your Pants Up And Be A Man’ by Bernice Harris.
ICC: What are your future goals for the publishing company?
Stefanie: I want to be a publishing company that makes an impact on the literary world and tell very unique stories. I’m pretty sure that every story has been told but tell it from a unique perspective.
ICC: What would your advice be to someone who wants his or her work published?
Stefanie: I think the hardest part is writing it. I have a new respect for anybody that writes a novel. Once you have it written there are so many different avenues to have it published. You can publish it yourself; you can go to a small press publisher like myself, or a larger publishing company. The hardest part that I have seen is writing (it).
ICC: Is there another novel in the works?
Stefanie: I am working on another book called, ‘Rules of the Game’ due out this year. It’s about a female player, another page-turner. I’m still working out all the plot twists.
ICC: You’re from Chicago. What are some of the things you love about the city?
Stefanie: The people in Chicago take Chicago for granted. I really enjoy the Lakefront and some of the different Downtown sites like Sears Tower, John Hancock, Michigan Ave shopping. There is a lot to do in Chicago; I don’t take advantage of everything there is to do here. You go someplace else and you see there is a lot to do here (Chicago).
ICC: At the end of the day, who are you?
Stefanie: To sum it up at the end of the day; creative.
You can meet Stefanie Newell, buy her book and more at the Wine and Chocolate Chats.
April 18th @ 7:30-10pm at the Mars Gallery 1139 W. Fulton Market Chicago, IL 60607
RSVP: info@lavendergoldmarketing.com
Part II- The Buzz book review next week