{"id":3081,"date":"2015-06-25T11:05:47","date_gmt":"2015-06-25T15:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/?p=3081"},"modified":"2015-06-12T11:38:39","modified_gmt":"2015-06-12T15:38:39","slug":"english-teacher-by-day-writer-by-night-dr-acerbo-authors-two-books-with-two-more-in-the-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/?p=3081","title":{"rendered":"English Teacher by Day, Writer by Night: Dr. Acerbo Authors Two Books With Two More in the Works"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"acerbo\"<\/a>
Dr. Acerbo holds her first novel, Apocalipsick. Photo courtesy of Lia Horyczun.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alison Kuznitz ’15
\nEE\u00a0<\/em>Co-Editor-in-Chief<\/p>\n

Some of the most treasured novels, ranging from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer\u2019s Stone<\/em> to Little Women<\/em>, were rejected countless times prior to becoming published.<\/p>\n

Following in the footsteps of her predecessors, particularly Lord of the Flies<\/em> author William Golding, Trumbull High School English teacher Dr. Acerbo sent her first novel, Apocalipstick<\/em>, to twenty-one publishing companies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a lot of rejections, and I think it was number eighteen that said yes to it, and I was so happy,\u201d said Dr. Acerbo.<\/p>\n

Dr. Acerbo began her writing career as a medical editor for three years. Afterwards, she became a freelance journalist, submitting pieces for the Connecticut Post<\/em>, Hollywood Scriptwriter, <\/em>and the Patch<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Although Apocalipstick<\/em> is her first published book, she dabbled into teen romance and coming-of-age stories shortly after graduating from college. Dr. Acerbo laughs describing her first attempts at authoring books, claiming they were \u201cso bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teaching science fiction at THS served as the catalyst for Dr. Acerbo to further pursue her writing ambitions and finally send a manuscript to publishers. She especially found inspiration from Ray Bradbury and his short story, The Pedestrian<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved what he was talking about\u2026and I just thought it was neat that you could make up worlds – that you weren\u2019t constrained by what was happening in reality,\u201d says Dr. Acerbo.<\/p>\n

The plot of Apocalipstick<\/em>, as the name suggests, focuses on life after the apocalypse. The book incorporates two fictional races alongside the human survivors: \u201cstalkers\u201d and the \u201cothers\u201d. While the \u201cstalkers\u201d follow the traditional role of zombies, the \u201cothers\u201d are depicted through a unique blend of supernatural powers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about survival at the end of the world. My two main characters are Caleb, who is an \u2018other,\u2019 and Jenna, who is one of the few remaining humans,\u201d says Dr. Acerbo. \u201c\u2026They have to survive and give love a chance. And, maybe there\u2019s more to the world after the apocalypse than just surviving.\u201d<\/p>\n

After writing her first book and discovering her prowess for drafting action scenes, Dr. Acerbo was only getting started in the world of science fiction. Since Apocalipstick\u2019s<\/em> release in 2013, she has published an e-book entitled Remote<\/em>. Additionally, she has written the sequel to Apocalipstick <\/em>and expects editing to be underway in the near future.<\/p>\n

Remote<\/em> presents a futuristic world in which humans are all but controlled by technology. The female protagonist, Yara, is an \u201cunder grounder,\u201d meaning she has chosen to lead a life in the underground devoid of technology. When Yara meets Josh, a resident of technology-laden New State, they join forces to start a rebellion.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemote<\/em> was 100,000 times easier to write\u2026\u201d states Dr. Acerbo. \u201cMy favorite scene, I think, was the last scene because Yara and Josh finally realize they feel something for each other. And right when they\u2019re getting to that point, something happens that possibly, in the future, could tear them apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Needless to say, writing a book can be a daunting task. In order to conquer her average 70,000 words, Dr. Acerbo strategically views each chapter as a single short story. Interestingly, she rarely writes her books in sequential order.<\/p>\n

\u201cI might write my first chapter and then my last chapter, and move in between\u2026\u201d states Dr. Acerbo. \u201cIt\u2019s a long process, and it\u2019s not fluid and it\u2019s not straightforward.\u201d<\/p>\n

As authors know far too well, securing a deal with a publisher is the first of many hurdles. From developing symbols and imagery in the text to proofreading, Dr. Acerbo spends considerable time on the editing and revising phase.<\/p>\n

She personally reviews each chapter approximately three to four times. Also, she receives assistance and advice from her writing group and daughter. Once her books are released, Dr. Acerbo transitions to promoting her work through social media, attending arts festivals, maintaining a blog, and giving talks with readers.<\/p>\n

Currently, she is working on a murder mystery that highlights the Leatherman, who wandered around Connecticut during the 1800s.<\/p>\n

Dr. Acerbo encourages all aspiring writers to participate in the annual Novel Writing Month. During November, writers are challenged to produce a work totaling at least 50,000 words. Through this exercise, writers acquire practice honing in on their craft, thereby facilitating their future writing endeavors.<\/p>\n

For those worried about suffering from writer\u2019s block, Dr. Acerbo offers the following advice: \u201cYou have to try and make an hour a day for writing\u2026You just have to start – you have to sit down at the computer and write something. Even if it\u2019s something you\u2019re not supposed to be working on, just start writing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alison Kuznitz ’15 EE\u00a0Co-Editor-in-Chief Some of the most treasured novels, ranging from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer\u2019s Stone to Little Women, were rejected countless times prior to becoming published. Following in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3081"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3102,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3081\/revisions\/3102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thseagleseye.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}