Welcome to the 2023 ARIA Author Showcase and Giveaway Event! 

  

  

How to enter – Comment on the daily showcases to enter the daily giveaway. Comments close one week after the initial Showcase post. GRAND PRIZE drawn on Dec 8th (1 -$250, 1 -$100, or a 1 -$50 Amazon gift card. One grand prize pp) – For every showcase you post on, you automatically gain one entry to the grand prize. 30 Authors = 30 entries.    

Belle A. Decosta will be at the Rhode Island Author Expo   

On to the Showcase! 

 

What name do you like to write under?  Belle A. DeCosta 

Where do you call home? East Providence, RI 

What genre(s) do you write? Memoirs, and fiction about strong women finding their authentic selves, their relationships, and continued growth. 

What genre(s) were you drawn to when you were younger Was there a reason that genre(s) appealed to you the most? Just about anything other than horror. 

What were some of your favorite books growing up? Why? Little Women was, and is, my all time favorite. The strong, resilient women theme, so beautifully written. Nancy Drew because a girl my age could solve mysteries. The biography of Clara Barton, a nurse in the Civil War and founder of the Red Cross. We had to read it for a 4th grade book report and her story stays with me to this day. 

What are some of your favorite books today? My favorite is still Little Women. I also enjoyed The Paper Palace, Miranda Crowley Heller, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Alma Cuervo, Necessary Lies, Diane Chamberlain, Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lionel Shriver, and so may more. I love books with strong, tenacious characters. 

What inspired you to become a writer?  I love being in nature, surrounded by its strength and tranquility. A walk in the woods always leaves me balanced, and usually with what I call, “A download.” After many downloads of “Write your story,” I finally did. Hence, my memoir, Echoes in the Mirror, and a new- found passion and creative outlet. 

 

 

Treading Water 

Meet Caroline McMerritt. Ambitious and driven, with a tongue as sharp as her mind, she is the top advertising executive for a prestigious Manhattan firm- until a particular circumstance takes a bite out of her edge, and she starts down a precipitous path. Forced to take a hiatus or lose her job, and at the strong suggestion of a trusted brother, Caroline finds herself exiled to the abandoned family cabin in the backwoods of Maine. Disgusted by her surroundings and enraged by the involuntary break, she vows to be unproductive and miserable, counting the days until she can return to the fast-paced life of her beloved NYC. But a telling moment brings Caroline face to face with her problem, and for the first time in her life, she feels out of control, lost. Panic ensues. The discovery of a hidden treasure, buried in her deceased mother’s hope chest, helps her reset and restores her strong will. The unexpected gift not only provides the comfort of her mother’s presence but tells of secrets kept, past experiences lived, and lessons learned. Join Caroline as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, hard truths, friendship, and love, guided by the advice and wisdom of her late mother. Will it be enough to save her? 

Heart of Addisen 

Meet Caroline has flourished in the years since her move to Addisen, strengthening her connections to those closest to her. Pragmatic events and personal growth have created a blissful existence for the previous win-at-all-costs Manhattanite. But will it remain enough? Is her driven ambition permanently slain or merely in hibernation? Is it possible to have it all, and at what cost? 

Return to idyllic Addisen, tucked into the majestic bosom of rural Maine. Once again, breathe the crisp air infused with pine and earth scents as you intertwine with nature. Feel the nostalgic pull of Americana while you visit old friends and make new acquaintances in this quintessential small town. Witness them navigate through crucial changes and life’s challenges and feel its effect on their relationships. Can their marriages, friendships, and kinships survive? Or will the necessary adjustments and compromises prove too difficult? 

Even the cardinal seems to fret…unsure of the outcome. 

 

Which scene, character or plotline changed the most from first draft to published book? In Treading Water, it was Donna, and in The Heart of Addisen, her son Danny. 

Which character was the most challenging to create. Why? Caroline, by far. I wanted to portray her as fierce, edgy and driven enough to make it to the top of the cutthroat advertising world in NYC, but also with a tamped down vulnerable side. I needed to develop her character to eventually be willing to look within, re-evaluate, and open herself to new emotions and experiences without complete abandonment of who she had been. A challenging but exciting journey she took me on in Treading Water, and Heart of Addisen! 

What do you like best about being a writer? I love to create characters that take me on their journey through life, emotionally and physically, to places I only discover as we travel down the writing trail. I never know where we’re going or how we’ll get there, making the trip such an adventure for me. 

If you could collaborate with any author past or present, who would it be? What would the title of the book be? (If possible) - Give us a one sentence blurb. Maya Angelou. “ How to Grow a Sunflower.” Women must follow their inner light, much as a sunflower always faces the sun, for therein lies their true strength. 

You can follow Belle here - 

http://www.belledecosta.com 

https://www.instagram.com/belledecosta/ 

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007779227872 

Belle is giving away a gift set of her “Treading Water” series.  To enter comment below -->  

(Comments are open for one week)