Meet Samantha Caprio-Negret

We recently connected with Samantha Caprio-Negret and have shared our conversation below.

Samantha, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.

I have been a very creative person since I was a child. Creativity is something that is just a part of me — a true passion. It’s almost like my therapy. I have always journaled, written, used art (drawing, painting, poetry, storytelling) as a part of my life, my journey. I wouldn’t know who I am without it. I would be lost without creativity. Creativity feeds my brain and my soul! It’s not hard to keep it alive, because for me, it comes natural. It’s a part of my day-to-day life. I always have something going on around me to remain creative. I’m always writing or storytelling. I will draw or paint when I feel stressed or need to tune out reality. Writing has also helped me get through some of the deepest grief and despair. It is therapeutical to use your creativity to get you through challenging times in your life. It’s always gotten me through — that, and music. I usually am listening to music when I create. It uplifts me!

I also love to party plan for my friends and family, and becoming a certified MUA with my own make-up line was always a dream of mine. So, I love to do make-up and create looks and make people feel beautiful! I love colors, and using imagination, anything having to do with fantasy — anything whimsical or glittery just lights up my spirit! Creativity for me comes from inspiration, passion and purpose. It’s the making money, branding, marketing, and trying to be successful part that can become stressful or mundane. Sometimes, that is when I lose my love of creativity, when it becomes a job or work. When I use it just for the love of it — to feed my soul — and to take me to a place of pure presentness, then it is effortless and joyful!!!

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Hello, Everyone! My name is Samantha, aka, Sam or Sami. I am a three-time published children’s book author with another children’s book on the way. It is actually the third and final of the trilogy called RAINBOW CRYSTAL, which is middle-grade fantasy genre. I also have a humorous animal-talking chapter book out, MURPHY: THE PHAT CAT, and I plan on a sequel to that as well called MARLO BRANDO: THE BRAT CAT.

I have written two screenplays with a third on the way. MANO NERA is a feature length screenplay based on the true story of my Italian great-grandparents. Ultimately, it’s a time-period and a love story with the Black Hand Society (Mano Nera) as a backdrop; it has some unique twists, including how it begins in modern day Florida, flashbacking to 1917 in New Jersey. It intertwines two stories of two separate couples in different time periods, and how they correlate. It’s been selected over twenty-five times in FILM FREEWAY with over ten wins. I’ve also adapted RAINBOW CRYSTAL as a feature-length screenplay. Both are still being shopped in Hollywood and awaiting to be picked up by a producer/financier who shares in my vision with these passion projects of mine. I’m currently working on a third called TAKE ME BACK. It’s a an 80’s-era, time travel YA piece. Think “Click” meets “Back to the Future” meets “17 Again”.

Lastly, I have created RAINBOW CRYSTAL COSMETICS, LLC. — a whimsical make-up line that will be aimed for young adults, age range 12-25. The cosmetic line will correlate with my RAINBOW CRYSTAL fantasy series, and all will be inspired from settings or characters in her books.

These are all my passion project babies that I love and are a huge part of my life and heart. I am so excited about the all the new ones I’m getting ready to birth into the world soon. So please, stay tuned.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I’d say three qualities would be: I’m very creative, I have a fantastic imagination, and a deep passion for words. Words of affirmation is my love language! I have an ability to remember lyrics, quotes, and phrases well. I have a great ear for music, and this ability to be inspired by a movie or book stays with me for life! I remember movie lines and can apply one to any real life situation at any given moment. I have a picturesque memory, especially when combining it with words or lyrics. I have a natural ability to come up with a story at any given day. I never run out of ideas. If anything, I have too many! So, I just pick what most inspires me. That inspiration and real life experiences also apply to my quotes and blogs I write on my Instagram page @samcap924.

Three skills and areas of knowledge would be: Lots and lots of writing experience. I’ve been writing since a child. I also went to Journalism/Broadcast school and graduated with a BS from FIU (Florida International University in 2003). Learning the actual skill of writing — from revisions and edits to critique groups and writers’ conferences/retreats. I’ve taken the time to learn the craft. Writing is an art like any and requires years of time and experience. If you wanted to dance ballet in the “Nutcracker’, you wouldn’t just jump o stage next week and wing a performance. No way! You’d learn the art and craft of dancing for years before you put your art out there into the world to see for others’ enjoyment and entertainment. In my opinion, writing a book requires that amount of respect and patience. Everyone has a great story within them, but not everyone is a writer or should/could write a book. I also offer writing consulting services to help you, “write it right.” Years of advice to aspiring writers, has helped me only gain more knowledge as a an author and screenwriter myself. You can view more about these services on my website at: www.samanthacaprio-negret.com.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

My number one obstacle or challenge I currently face as an author/screenwriter is standing out from the rest of the writers. Due to social media, and self-published authors on Amazon, there are millions of aspiring writers and books out there to get noticed. There is so much talent, and even awful “writing” talent, so how do you get people’s attention and sift out from the rest of them? I have taken years of my life to produce a quality product. Some others haven’t. Some actually have produced “crap” in my opinion, yet stand out and go onto to become best-selling authors! What is the magical ingredient to your book’s success? When you know that answer, please tell me because I still am waiting. That’s why they say art is subjective. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Maybe it’s a matter of luck, divine timing, passion, or just the heart of the story itself? We also have seen where sex sells like with “Fifty Shades of Grey”. In my opinion, my books/movies are well-written and are wonderful stories, but I still have yet to make an income as an author or screenwriter. It’s extremely competitive, a flooded market, and hard to make book sales (even with all of my marketing and branding I am doing for myself), to give myself and my books/movies the exposure that they deserve. Also, none of these smaller, independent publishers give advances to their signed authors for all of their hard work. It’s not like the golden days where your publisher was basically your manager. They don’t even do much of their marketing for them, so now it’s all in the hands of the authors themselves, unless it’s the top “big” five publishers like, PENGUIN/RANDOM HOUSE, but even they only take on a very small percentage of new or unknown authors. They usually take chances on already best-selling authors and celebrity books/memoirs. Money makes money! It’s not fair! But you know what they say, “Life isn’t fair.” I try and not be the victim, but the victor! And that’s just the publishing world, I haven’t even touched on Hollywood. Let’s just say this industry is not for the faint-of-heart. There is a lot of rejection, so you must have a strong backbone.

I hope to inspire others with my perseverance and tenacity. My goal is to never let the fear of not becoming successful as an interference to the passion and love of storytelling that God instilled in my heart. If I lose that, I lose my purpose, and defeat what purpose is supposed to be about in first place…love and reason for which something is done or created or why it even exists. I just hope that the reward back from the universe will ever be as fulfilling as the giving of it. I don’t think any amount of money or success can ever replace purpose or passion. That is why you must do in life what you love — what makes your soul soar — never ever give up, and believe in yourself and your dreams! My only way to overcome this challenge is if I get knocked down, I get back up, and I just keep going. One day at time…one step at a time. But everyday is another chance to start over. You may get a thousand “no’s” but it only takes that one “yes” to change your life or the life of another. And if I’ve done that, I’ve succeeded!

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Portraits/headshots by: https://portraitsbylisaann.com

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