Review Fix Exclusive: Maria Dellaventura Talks Nobody Likes a Pest

Review Fix chats with “Nobody Likes a Pest” author Maria Dellaventura, who discusses the origin of the book and so much more!

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Review Fix: What inspired this book?

Maria Dellaventura: I was inspired to write this book during covid.  I was sitting in my back yard in the screen house with a cup of coffee early in the morning and I noticed a squirrel running along the fence and hiding behind the bushes.  Then he made his way to the top of my shed where a bird feeder hung and proceeded to hang upside down from the edge, securing himself with his back feet and flattening his tail across the top, as he carefully used his two front paws to remove and eat the seeds.  It’s funny. I had always imagined one day writing a children’s book about a squirrel when I would watch them run across the street dodging cars.  I knew I had to start writing immediately and that’s what I did.

Review Fix: What was the creation process like?

Dellaventura: The creation process was very challenging, yet quite interesting.  I had met a writer of children’s books at a book festival in Baltimore where I had brought the first book I had written.  That one was about my life and losses I have endured and how my unwavering faith in God had gotten me through everything.  I wrote it in an attempt to bring comfort to others who had experienced grief and loss and to give them hope.  When I decided to write the children’s book, I contacted the man I had met and he was more than willing to assist me in my new venture.  He guided me every step of the way.  It started with writing my ideas on slides.  I went on upwork.com and hired people to assist me along the way, an illustrator, a graphic designer, a copy editor.  Finally the book was sent to China to be printed and sent back to me by boat.  I self-published the book.

Review Fix: What makes it different or special?

Dellaventura: I believe that what makes my book different or special is the fact that it rhymes.  I have always liked writing poems ever since I was a young child.  The book sends out a message about being kind to those around you and working as a team player.  I don’t think there are enough books like that around in this day and age and I think children can learn a lot from it.  

Review Fix: Did you produce the art? How do you think it enhances the story?

Dellaventura: I didn’t produce the art. I hired an illustration on upward from the Ukraine. I think the artwork greatly enhances the story because he and I worked together on making all the illustrations line up with the wording in the best possible way.  He is very talented and captured facial expressions and added other details that really brought my words to life in a beautiful way.

Review Fix: What are your goals for it?

Dellaventura: My goal right now is to be able to sell the books that I have in my house.  I ordered a thousand copies and on my own I have sold a little over 300.  I want the story to get out there because anyone who has read it has really liked it, as well as the message it brings across.  The book won the purple dragon fly award.

Review Fix: How would you like it to be remembered?

Dellaventura: I would like it to be remembered as a sweet, endearing story about love, kindness, and second chances.  I want readers to realize that it’s never too late to turn things around and change for the better.  I also want them to realize that when you aren’t nice to those around you, you can never be truly happy on the inside.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Dellaventura: What’s next?  Well, if this book sells the way I want it to, I may very well write a sequel or two or three.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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