Author Interview "Wendy Anne"

Growing up in an old Victorian mansion in Worcester, Massachusetts, with a wide range of eclectic and cultural backgrounds, Wendy Anne’s path was set to be a writer at an early age, as was her unconventional writing style which exquisitely blends eclectic spiritualism, romance, fantasy, metaphysical and new age philosophies. Adopted by a philanthropist, her home was filled with incredible women with great minds, but she was no stranger to the reality of growing up in what was considered one of the worst neighborhoods in the city, and she witnessed her fair share of dark situations during her adolescence. At an early age, she sought refuge in writing and poetry, but the confines of a traditional education led her to conceal her more provocative writing, the layers of her discoveries, questions, and feelings lived inside her obscure poetry. A spirited rebel and poet, after her favorite collection of horror fiction and personal writing journals were confiscated at school, she wore a defiant chip on her shoulder like a badge of honor to ward off any authority figures that stood between her and her passions.

The badge of honor grew to become one of her greatest assets as a tireless activist advocating hundreds of causes, along with writing an ambitious 4-part books series, Ascension. Sage, the first in the series, seduces readers through mysterious and sensual plots, spiritual and metaphysical transitions, and, at its core, a love story. Wendy Anne is currently working on the next book in the Ascension series with an ongoing mission to connect with readers through the mythology, poetry, innuendoes, metaphors, and historical undertones sprinkled throughout her books.

Exclusive Interview

What started you on your path to writing?

Words and symbols play a conspicuous role in shaping reality, whether we consciously realize it or not. Though I don’t recall when I started writing for an academic stamp of approval, I'm keenly aware that music inspired my love of words long before learning to read or write. I lived in paradoxical circumstances as a child. I was lucky to have been adopted by a philanthropist whose biological children were my parent’s age and blessed with an open adoption that allowed for close relationships with my parents and the kinder members of my biological family. I lived in a beautiful Victorian piece of art, full of incredible women with great minds and blessed with awesome lifelong friends with an eclectic range of cultural backgrounds. Suffice it to say; there’s never been a shortage of inspiration. Weekends with my father were magical because he was a master at martial arts and encouraged me to conquer my fears. My mother always brought crafts and kindness when she’d visit, and she was one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen. My great grandpa, who received a key to the city of Worcester for thirty consecutive years of helping the sick and poor, visited regularly and brought his words of inspirational wisdom with him. My grandmother, who resided with us, was wonderfully quirky and full of awesome stories, and my older sisters were amazing in every sense of the word.

However, I lived in what was considered one of the worst neighborhoods in the city, and my heart broke each time I knew my parents were returning to their new lives without me. I heard unspeakable things that foster children endured as they were ruthlessly dragged through the system, and witnessed situations during my adolescence that would frighten most adults. Through it all, music played an incredible role in every wonderful and terrible moment throughout my life. Within each song archived in my mind are lyrics that keep memories and their lessons alive, and certain songs were imbedded in my core years before I attended school.

I learned to read and write in school, and that’s where I fell in love poetry and short stories. In a classroom where the motto was to sit still and behave, short stories and poetry were the closest I could get to music. My history of mandated reporters scrutinizing my writing began as early as first grade, and by third grade, my love of reading and writing not only interfered with my classwork, but some of the explicit content that I wrote landed me in therapy. To coincide with therapy, were strict rules about when, where, and what I read and wrote. Meanwhile, my favorite collection of horror fiction that sedated my hyper mind and the notebooks that I used to unleash creativity were confiscated. I wore a defiant chip on my shoulder like a badge of honor to ward off any authority figures that stood between me and my passions. And the more I studied and wrote in secret, the more I attracted deep thinkers, as my relationship with religious and academic systems regressed.

During my academic career I was praised as often as reprimanded, especially with regard to writing, but I pushed forward with the notion that I was doing everything for the greater good. Instead of having an exclusive relationship with Catholicism, I branched out and became an eclectic spiritualist, and Instead of conforming to standard academics, I learned most of my favorite subjects at libraries, bookstores, online, and through brilliant people, especially elders. Within that knowledge, I found amazing continuities and patronizing contradictions that fueled my creative writing even more. Sometimes I hid layers of discoveries, questions, and feelings in obscure poetry. Surer times, I tried my best to enlighten people by advocating on behalf of what I believed to be an objective version of the truth. As an adult, I’ve advocated hundreds of causes, written an autobiography, two fictions, and more poetry than all of the above. I awake every day with a burning desire to learn, create, and connect with others. I see a world with great potential, and too many people stuck in a vicious cycle attached to the hedonic treadmill, poisoned with fear and haste.

Tell us about the genesis of ‘Sage’; I understand it’s the first book in a four-part series, Ascension

Sage is imbued with erotic and fiery overtones to stimulate dopamine, arouse the chakras, awaken the Kundalini, and to seduce readers to traverse topics that bring about the transformations that pilot the reader to transition from finite to immortal, organic to the spiritual, third dimension to fifth, and lust to love. The books to follow are similar regarding growth and progress, but while Sage is predominantly about sex to love, Lilly is more about chaos to peace. Meanwhile, Terry will be about darkness to light, and Trina, sickness to health.

The Ascension series is an incredibly important project because it represents many things dear to my heart. The past decade has been just as bittersweet as my childhood, only more extreme and certainly more trying. I learned early on to love conquering my fears. The adrenaline of overcoming defeat was exciting and motivated me to brave situations where cowering would make more sense to most. Growing up in an old mansion invoked fear and superstition in most of the children residing there. However, rather than allowing the haunted superstitions to conquer me and detract from the fondness of my childhood home, I’d sneak out in the dead of night to connect with the energy, listen to the pipes circulating, while enjoying the risk of potentially getting caught wandering around past my bedtime. Instead of remaining scared of heights, I’d climb the third story rooftop while everyone was asleep to look down on city lights. Eventually I grew to love rock climbing, helicopters, planes, even bungee jumping. Rather than fearing my urban neighborhood, I learned to make peaceful allies and great friends that I still love and respect. Those are ways to ascend, but I enjoyed all aspects of that kind of ascension.

You explore many genres in the book, a major one being spirituality…how does spirituality impact you and the book?

All sides of my family are some form of Catholic; Irish Roman Catholic, Middle-Eastern Maronite Catholic, and I even have ancestors from Vatican City Rome. As far as Christianity is concerned, I’ve always enjoyed the prospect of Christ-like consciousness through messages of love and peace, and some of the borrowed Pagan traditions are awesome! Yet, there are certain aspects of Church that I’ve never been capable of reasoning with, including, but not exclusively, the fact that aspects of nature aren’t mentioned enough. I’ve always loved the main philosophies Jesus was said to preach. I trusted the idea of a sacred heart that is fully accepting, loving, and forgiving. But the obvious male-biased overtones, judgmental collective regarding implementation, and incredibly evil periods like the crusades, inquisition, and profitable witch trials, among plenty of unholy persecutions that “Christian” hierarchies have employed during the last couple millennia have been baffling. Being judged negatively by people who take claim in a faith that professes to have a forgiving and accepting leader is an oxymoron that nobody should have to endure in any ethically contrived belief system, and so I decided to love the personification of Jesus on my terms. On my terms, I think that he’d forgive my venturing into other belief systems because he, too, was a seeker of truth. With that conviction in the front of my mind, I explored many religions and found something beautifully compelling in each. I share some of the spiritual knowledge I acquired with the intention of webbing the lines of continuity regarding the positive aspects that each offers by using a sensuous, romantic fiction to enlighten people of how love adheres them all.

And what about romance and fantasy?

I’m a hopeless romantic and have always felt a connection with immortal love more than the finite examples that traditional twenty-first century typically publicizes. Bram Stoker’s 1897 depiction of immortal love and its beautifully dark romanticism shaped a great part of my agonizing desire to experience the kind of love that Persephone and Hades or Isis and Osiris share. I create that sentiment using completely different dynamics, infused with ancient content and a modern twist. My characters experience love in both lower frequencies and higher dimensions, both unique and equally compelling for different reasons.

Sage experiences a profound awakening, how is she relatable to women, and what can they learn from her?

Sage is a 21st century mother, a businesswoman, and wife who struggles to balance mundane life with the constant tug of esoteric and supernatural curiosities. She’s approachable because she is imperfect yet admirable because she strives to do the right thing in spite of her eccentricities and occasional setbacks. Her inner monologue is witty and works to curate life through the eyes of an empath, artist, and sensualist who relishes in her senses. During the duration of Sage’s life, she brings you through her spiritual awakening, unlocking each chakra along the way until a cacophony of events cracks open the realm between organic and ether. Once she awakens, and her curiosity is quenched with all that the Akashic records offer, her divine purpose brings about an epic era of change that affects the collective consciousness of all beings on Earth.

Meanwhile, Nanu (Sage’s past life incarnation) represents all of my favorite goddess attributes, bridging the continuity of some of the most historically adorned love, magic, grace, and destructive Earth goddesses in the past eight thousand years. Goddess, who before male bias scriptures took away their wings, sensuality, and lioness qualities, were considered as invincible as male deities.

Who else do you think would grow from (and enjoy) the book?

I’m hoping to seduce readers who enjoy sensual and mysterious plots, as well as those who appreciate new age and a good love story. Meanwhile, my greatest wish is to connect with readers who can find the mythology, poetry, innuendoes, metaphors, and historical undertones sprinkled throughout. I think there’s something to be gained from virtually any book, so long as it satisfies the reader's pallet, and everyone has a different preference.

Are you working on the next book in the series? (If so, how is it going....what's your writing process. as you continue the series..)

I am currently in the process of writing the second book of my series. Though my mind and life have been thoroughly occupied and my time applied to endless endeavors that have prevented my ability to write as often as I’d prefer, my time is about to free up, leaving me with the ability to write as often as I choose. I’m excited about expediting each; especially because I’m paying homage to the amazing people I love. For instance, I’m using my beautiful, humble, strong, and incredible younger sister, “Lilly” as the muse for the first sequel. She’s been through a hard time after the passing of our father and is ambitious about helping animals, particularly horses and greyhounds. I fully intend to encourage her sometimes minimal confidence by highlighting her finer qualities, and if my book is a success, I plan to give her half of the profits to enhance her life and use for her charitable causes. “Terry” is based on my adopted sister, who was lost but not forgotten and half of those profits are intended to give back to the family who gave so much to me. Lastly, “Trina” is based on my best friend’s mother, who, like him was god sent and passed away on Christmas a few years ago, and ALL of those profits will go to him, who’s done more for me than any man in my life. Inspiration and my lifelong dream of becoming an author and helping my tribe thrive to coincide with the people I aim to help are the driving vigor behind my intentions to expedite the series with incredible force.

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