Pump Up Your Book Chats with Relationship Expert & Author Maria Andrade

Maria J. Andrade, M.F.T., is a licensed therapist author and poet. Her eco-social book for children, Youngen Finds Her Song, was published last year. She is founder of the “Heart Magic” workshops based on her book, Heart Magic, Keeping Love Alive & Well. This book focuses on important “Select Principles” and “Do’s and Don’t” of communication for sustaining a loving and lasting partnership. She lives in California and has a private counseling practice with her husband Sy Cohn. Visit her @ www.magicunion.com, Twitter- birdchat, Facebook – Maria J. Andrade

Thank you for this interview, Maria.  Can you tell us a little about yourself and how long you’ve been writing?

I actually wrote plays and poetry as a kid. Then I studied literature and got a degree in it until I became fascinated with psychology and got a degree and license in that field and decided to make that my life’s work.

Do you remember writing stories as a child or did the writing bug come later?  Do you remember your first published piece?

The writing bug was with me a long time. My first published pieces were poems which appeared in newspapers and then my poetry book was published, Singing My Self Home with poetry about dreams, transformation, love and the shadows of our time.

What do you consider as the most frustrating side of becoming a published author and what has been the most rewarding?

I am essentially a private person. I think it is a challenge not just to write but also to promote books you have written. Like a good mother who must help their child find a place in the world, an author must help its creation find a place in public life. This in the end, makes the effort rewarding.

Are you married or single and how do you combine the writing life with home life?  Do you have support?

I am married to a wonderfully, supportive and loving man. Since I write at home I make it a point to balance work and play with my partner.

What do you like to do for fun when you’re not writing?  Where do you like to vacation?  Can you tell us briefly about this?

We have a property in Hawaii and this is our favorite place in the world to go to. We also love to be by the sea or the woods here in California. We live in a city, which is half way between sea and forests.

If you could be anywhere in the world for one hour right now, where would that place be and why?

I would be in Hawaii in a heart beat, which is where we want to retire. The land is so healing and sacred. I always feel rejuvenated there.

Heart Magic by Maria Andrade (click on cover to purchase)

Who is your biggest fan?

My husband.

Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

I have a room with a window, which looks out to an apple tree. It is my favorite place to write.

What’s your favorite library and why?

The Honnold Library in Claremont is beautiful and filled with any information you could ever want to research. I used to do sculpture and one year I made a bar relief of an Assyrian warrior and found 5000 year old writing to put on the sculpture there!

What’s your favorite bookstore and why?

The Alexandria Book store in Pasadena, CA because that is where I first met my husband.

Do you have any pets?

I have two cats, Mustache and Destiny. Sadly our dogs passed away.

What are you reading right now?

I am reading several books. A book about the Indian mystic Patanjali, Your Choice, by Al Gore,  the 2010 – 9^th edition of Poetry from the Poetry Foundation and Eduardo Galleano’s, The Open Veins of South America.

Tell us a secret no one else knows.

My husband and I will spontaneously skip together when we go for walks in town, which makes people laugh when they see us.

What’s the first thing you notice when you meet someone?

Their eyes, hands and shoes.

Have you ever won anything?

I won a writing contest when I was 12 writing about hope.

What’s on your to do list today?

Fix a small leak on my roof, write articles for the Pump Up Your Book Tour, talk to you and meet a friend for coffee.

I understand that you are touring with Pump Up Your Book Promotion in February via a Valentine’s Day virtual book tour.  Can you tell us all why you chose a virtual book tour to promote your book online?

I have done a physical book tour, did signings at Borders and other book stores, the whole thing and it was physically exhausting. As I said, this is more my style as a homebody. I can even do it in my pajamas!

Thank you for this interview, Maria. Good luck on your virtual book tour!

Thank you. It was a pleasure to spend time with you!

If you would like to visit Maria’s official tour page, click here.