Sabina Gabrielli Carrara
Well my friends, as we enter October, I don’t know about you, but I love to cuddle up with a good book, so I chose The Last Witch, a mystery set in a seaside Irish village. It was just the thing for a crisp autumn night, which made me think, doing an interview with the lovely writer of that book would be even better!
I’m so excited to bring you the wonderful Sabina Gabrielli Carrara: “Writer of Mysteries and Crime Tales with a Psychological Twist.”
After a degree in History and Philosophy and some experience in Human Resources, Sabina moved to Ireland in 2003. She worked a few years in financial services before returning to her old passion: giving life in ink to the colourful characters playing in her mind.
She is published in Denmark and Italy and currently lives in the little village of Balrothery in North Co. Dublin with her husband, two daughters and three dogs.
Sabina and I are Instagram friends and I have to admit, I wish we could meet in person at her house, because she posts lovely morning coffee photos; the kind that are inviting and make you want to sit for a while and have a chat.
If you’re new to Interviews with Indies, I like to soothe my own curiosities and get the burning questions out of the way first.
Nicole: Coffee or tea?
Sabina: Definitely coffee.
The good old-fashioned way from the moka first thing in the morning and Nespresso (long big mugs, I don’t like espresso) throughout the rest of the day.
Cookies or Cake?
Cakes with cream by the side of course, but I won’t say no to cookies either.
Morning or Night?
Morning, except for romantic dates.
Fairies or Gnomes?
Oh, that is a tough one, can I have them both? After all, I live in Ireland😉
Swimming or Kayaking?
Kayaking gives you a better chance to enjoy the surroundings.
When out kayaking I always take the time to stop and enjoy the peace of the open sea.
Okay now that the important stuff is out of the way, let’s really jump in. Sabina, thank you so much for agreeing to be part of my Interviews with Indies, I am excited to (virtually) chat with you!
You are originally from Italy, but I read in another interview that you feel more at home in Ireland. How long have you lived in Ireland and what do you love about it?
I’ve been in Ireland for over 20 years now, and falling in love with this country every day a bit more.
Of course, it has its faults like any other country but the beauty of the landscape and the warmth of the people makes you forget them.
That said, the thing I probably love the most about this country is the simplicity of everyday life and how socially progressed it became without losing any values and traditions.
Your books are published in English, Italian and Danish. Do you speak Danish? How does the Danish part fit in your life?
I’m a scandì freak and started to get into their culture as a teenager through some Danish authors and film directors but my Danish publisher came completely by chance. He read one of the books in English and proposed to me to publish them in Denmark. After that, I tried to learn Danish, unsuccessfully, and so I am afraid I have to trust him for the translation and hope for the best.
What drew you to the mystery and crime genre?
I love crime, true and fictional. I grew up with Agatha Christie’s books and Mrs. Fletcher along with Lieutenant Columbo and still watch the odd replicas on TV at the odd times.
As a fan of crime and mystery, I’m sure you have favorite authors. Who are they? Do you have a favorite book(s)?
Agatha Christie and Hitchcock introduced me to murder mysteries at first, while Camilla Lackberg and Peter Hoeg accompanied me through my youth. In recent days I quite enjoy Lisa Jewel, Shari La Pena and Liane Moriarty, (who also inspired the name of my blog) but there are so many good authors out there and nice books that I wouldn’t say I have a favorite of all. But I have a favorite classic: Madame Bovary.
As a former horror movie-obsessed teenager then, of course, I am also a big fan of Stephen King, but who isn’t?!
In your book The Last Witch, you juggled a cast of characters seamlessly through their interactions and dialogue. I am assuming that when writing, you have an outline plotted (or maybe I’m wrong?), but do your characters always cooperate?
I’m a creature of habits and I like planning even though I learned to cope well with last-minute disruption so when my characters don’t follow the plot I happily follow their lead instead.
What is the strangest thing you’ve had to research for your books?
Magic I suppose, black and white and I also got in contact with a local white witch. Let’s say it was an experience.
(I messaged Sabina after reading this answer and told her this answer got me even more intrigued. So she explained her visit.)
As for the white witch, she has a shed where she reads cards and prescribes decoctions along with performing spells , according to her. She calls it the witch house. It’s in her back garden so nobody will bring unwanted energies in her house. She has a website and wrote a book of spells that of course I bought for research. I am fascinated by magic but also very skeptical and quite frankly I still don’t know what to make of her.
Okay, mystery writer question of the day. Do you ever give characters you kill off traits of people who have done you wrong? (I’m basing this question on the old adage: “Don’t annoy the writer. She’ll put you in a book and kill you.”)
Not necessarily, but I love to play with the villains and make them a collage of people I dislike.
You have a blog called: Truly Madly Ordinary, Diary Of A “Not So Desperate Housewife”. And your tagline is: Where the ordinary can always become “extraordinary”, just look at it with the right attitude and there will be no space for uneventful boring days. I have to tell you, I had so much fun reading your posts! I just kept reading and reading. Why do you blog and what do you like about it?
I always loved writing and when both my girls started school and I had a bit more time on my hands I came across WordPress. A totally new world to me so I gave it a try.
It started as a little daily reflection but then I suppose my humorous side took over and I finally realized that every day there is something to be noted, something to smile for and some mystery to solve.
It’s quite funny because the blog that was under a pseudonym gave me the confidence to dare myself to accomplish my forever dream of writing a book. By the end of COVID-19, one became four but then I had to take a step back because it became such a pressure, nearly a duty/job and it was not giving me pleasure anymore. It was instead stressing me out. So I went back to what was fulfilling my passion for writing without stress: the blog! It gives me so much joy, and I love interacting with the readers and other bloggers. Some of them became friends too.
What are you currently working on?
I am slowly editing the third and last book on a project for the blog that I really want to grow.
Find Sabina and her books:
Books HERE
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/sabina_gabriellicarrara/
Threads:
https://www.threads.net/@sabina_gabriellicarrara?invite=3
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063588124447
Author website:
https://www.sabinagabriellicarraraauthor.com/
Truly Madly Ordinary Diary: