We are delighted to welcome author Andrew Anselmi to Omnimystery News today.
Andrew's new murder mystery, The Autumn Crush (Inkwater Press; January 2015 trade paperback and ebook formats), is also a family saga, a probe of the incipient cultural tensions and narcissism of the late twentieth century that are now part of the new American fabric.
We recently had the opportunity to catch up with him to talk more about the book.
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Omnimystery News: Tell us a little more about The Autumn Crush and its principal characters.
Photo provided courtesy of
Andrew Anselmi
Andrew Anselmi: The Autumn Crush is the story of a first generation Italian American family's pursuit of the American Dream in the twentieth century. The novel's protagonist is Guy Bennett, son of immigrants who has not only become a captain of industry, but also landed his son, Albert, in the United States Senate. Just when Guy has reached his pinnacle, however, he is accused of the double murder of his business partner and his partner's wife. Guy's son Edward, a Public Defender, reluctantly takes on the task of defending his father only to find a cold truth about his family's past. The characters appeal to me because of their inner conflict while remaining dedicated to family.
OMN: Will we see these characters again?
AA: The Autumn Crush is the first of a trilogy of novels I have written about the fictional Bennett family. I do not believe in the adage that "people never change." The characters do in fact evolve and devolve over time in response to different realities — known and unknown — at various junctures in their lives.
OMN: How did you go about finding the right voice for your characters?
AA: My protagonist is a male. When I am shaping female characters, it is certainly more challenging but also more rewarding, as it is when depicting someone of a different race or age. That is why I often seek input from others when I am working outside my identity box.
OMN: Into which fiction genre do you place the book?
AA: I would characterize my book as a murder mystery/family saga. I like the connotation and content of this label because I think it draws a lot of readers.
OMN: How would you tweet a summary of The Autumn Crush?
AA: The Autumn Crush is not just about Italian Americans, but instead about all New Americans who achieved sustenance in the twentieth century, yet struggled to earn respect in the place they called home.
OMN: How much of your own personal or professional experience have you included in the book?
AA: I do not think there is any such thing as pure fiction. Our characters and the events we choose to depict are a reflection of our experiences.
OMN: Describe your writing process for us.
AA: I usually write at my kitchen table or library first in the morning, when my head is clearest. I do not use an outline. I go where my thoughts take me, which inevitably leads to more characters than anticipated. I then proceed to rework what I have written several times.
OMN: How did you go about researching the plot points of your story?
AA: I do much of my fact checking through the internet, but have also received substantial assistance from my readers and editors. History and exotic settings are my favorite areas of research. Researching what New York City would have looked like to an immigrant in 1920 was my favorite topic to research.
OMN: Speaking of historical New York City, how true are you to the setting?
AA: My books center on fictional towns, but are based on what was historically typical. In those instances where I do use real places, such as New York City or a small town in Alabama, I try to be as accurate and detailed as possible.
OMN: If we could send you anywhere in the world to research the setting for a story, where would it be?
AA: Hawaii. It is the one place in the world that that is farthest away from the nearest other place.
OMN: What are some of your outside interests?
AA: I love opera and travel, both of which are prominent in all of my writing.
OMN: What is the best advice you've received as an author?
AA: The best advice I have received is to believe in your pen. I have been told that my detail is too much or my characters are unbelievable. Be true to your perceptions and feelings. There are times when you will feel that your thoughts are drifting. Those are the moments when your expression becomes richest and most organic. Do not pull yourself back before you allow the flow to reach its end. You can always go back and cut and reshape afterward.
OMN: Complete this sentence for us: "I am a mystery/crime novelist and thus a I am also …".
AA: I am a mystery/crime novelist and thus I am also acquainted with the night.
OMN: How did The Autum Crush come to be titled?
AA: The Autumn Crush is an allusion to the Italian American tradition of making wine. It is significant insofar as it represents the struggle of all New Americans in the twentieth century to maintain their traditions while pursuing the American Dream.
OMN: What kind of feedback have you received from readers?
AA: I enjoy when I hear different readers finding different parts of the book most enjoyable. I also get satisfaction when a reader finds as provocative something that another reader deems unsettling.
OMN: Suppose The Autumn Crush were to be adapted for television or film. Who do you see playing the key roles?
AA: I see Johnny Depp in any part because I find him to be the most diverse and charismatic of all actors. His dark side is more lovable than any other. I also see Demi Moore in the plot as her presence and voice always gain my undivided attention.
OMN: Have any authors influenced how and what you write today?
AA: Charles Dickens and Joseph Conrad influenced me most based on their depth of characters, and depth within each character. History and classic literature are my favorite types of books to read.
OMN: Create a Top 5 list for us on any topic.
AA: My favorite foods are usually inextricably linked to the company in which I am eating them:
1. Pizza with my wife and kids;
2. Pasta with my greater family of mother, father, siblings and cousins;
3. Steak with the guys;
4. Strange food with strangers in a strange land; and
5. Fasting in religious observance.
OMN: What's next for you?
AA: I would like to publish the next two books in the trilogy that I have already written, which are all based on the same fictional family.
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Andrew Anselmi is a novelist from Chester, New Jersey. His current project is a trilogy of novels tracking an Italian-American family through the hedonism and cultural conflicts of the 1980s and 90s. The Autumn Crush is the first of the trilogy.
As an attorney, Andrew has received praise for his work in complex commercial and criminal litigation, gaining Martindale Hubbell's highest rating of AV. He has been selected in New Jersey as a "Super Lawyer" in Business Litigation, and is listed as one of the "Top Attorneys in Business Litigation" in Super Lawyers Magazine. He is a past recipient of the National Head Start Association Humanitarian of the Year Award and in 2010, he was given the Vivere Christus Medal by Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of the Diocese of Paterson for his work with St. Paul's Inside the Walls, a newly created Catholic Center.
Andrew lives in Chester with his wife Sole, and children Gabrielle, Luke and Nicholas.
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The Autumn Crush by Andrew Eustice Anselmi
A Murder Mystery
Publisher: Inkwater Press
Guy Bennett was one of America's post-World War II success stories. Born of Italian immigrants during the Depression, he became a captain of industry, with a skyscraper in New York City and a son in the United States Senate. The applause mutes and friends grow scarce, however, when Guy stands before the court in 1989 accused of the double murder of his business partner, Vito Petrozzini, and Petrozzini's wife.
District Attorney Thomas Straid, still licking his wounds from his senatorial defeat to Guy's son, believes he has all the evidence that he needs to throw away the key on Guy. The defense spans the globe and reaches back generations in search of an acquittal, unearthing a family secret that reveals the cold and devastating truth.
In the end, a diminished yet renewed Bennett family gathers for their annual rite of making wine, which they call the Autumn Crush.
— The Autumn Crush by Andrew Eustice Anselmi
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