Emily Gallo Delivers Captivating Stories That Blend Social Justice With Vivid Character Narratives

PHOTO: Author Emily Gallo shares her passion for storytelling, drawing inspiration from her travels, teaching career, and life experiences.

Explore The Unique Worlds Crafted By Emily Gallo That Highlight Diversity, Empathy, And Real-Life Experiences

Emily Gallo transforms her extensive teaching experience and personal adventures into novels filled with diverse characters, social themes, and thought-provoking narratives that engage and enlighten readers profoundly.

Emily Gallo has captivated readers with her compelling storytelling, blending social justice, vivid characters, and real-world experiences into novels that resonate deeply. Mosaic Digest magazine proudly features her remarkable journey from dedicated educator to celebrated author. Gallo’s work showcases her unique ability to transform everyday encounters and historical insights into narratives that are as entertaining as they are enlightening. Her books, written with passion and authenticity, explore diverse human experiences, encouraging empathy and reflection while keeping readers thoroughly engaged.

Gallo’s storytelling is authentic, insightful, and compelling, offering readers both entertainment and meaningful perspectives on contemporary social issues.

What inspired you to transition from teaching to writing novels and screenplays? 

I always wanted to write. My fantasy as a young teenager was to have a house at the beach and write. I couldn’t afford a house on the beach and earning a living got in the way, not to mention raising two kids. My kids grew up to live on their own, and after my first husband died, I met my present husband, David. When we decided to get married, he told me that I didn’t need to work anymore, and I could realize my dream. Not only did I start writing then, but we were also able to buy a condo in Carpinteria one block from the beach, so both parts of my dream came true. 

How do your personal experiences and travels influence the themes and characters in your books? 

I write in a café, not at home. I am not a loner or homebody, and it is from stories and anecdotes other people tell me, that I get inspiration. For example, before I wrote a book about a columbarium, I had never heard of one (99% of the people I talk to have not either). My friend, Tommy, told me about needing to find certain things to put in his friend’s niche at the San Francisco Columbarium and it fascinated me. I visited the SF Columbarium and then became inspired to write my novel, The Columbarium. I created characters based on the niches I saw there and what people had put in them. I drove across the country several times in my twenties and thirties and lived in several different places including San Francisco and Los Angeles before settling in Davis California and then Chico, so I’ve ended up living and traveling throughout California for the last thirty-five years. I was born and raised in New York City, so although my books take place in California, I also incorporate New York into some of them. 

What was the research process like for writing Out of Ukraine during the complex backdrop of war and the pandemic? 

My son and daughter-in-law used a Ukrainian surrogate for my granddaughter. Jojo was actually born in February 2021 at the height of the pandemic. My daughter-in-law couldn’t go to pick her up, so I went with my son. Most of the experiences I write about in the book concerning COVID are all true. When I decided to write the book as if we had picked her up a year later when the war started, I had to do a lot of research. There were several news stories about people who had done just that, so those stories were great research for that part of the novel. We also stayed in touch with the surrogate who was still in Ukraine, living through the war and I was able to get information from her as well.  

How do you approach creating such diverse and eccentric characters as seen in The Columbarium and Venice Beach? 

As I said earlier, I am not an introvert. I talk to people and enjoy being out and about as much as possible. The characters in my books are not people I know, necessarily, but they are created from parts of people I know. Tony, in The Columbarium is based on the friend, Tommy, who originally told me about it. I spent five years teaching writing to the homeless every Wednesday morning, so I knew and understood the situations the homeless find themselves in. There really is a caretaker of the columbarium, but he is nothing like Jed, my character who is the caretaker in the book. Finn in Venice Beach is based on one of my favorite authors, Frank McCourt. I based Bella in Venice Beach on a friend of my mother’s I knew growing up in New York and her hoarding was based on the stories a friend told me about her mother who is a hoarder. The character, Rose, in The Columbarium is based on a niche I saw there, filled with an I Love Lucy lunchbox and a cookie jar in the shape of a baseball, holding the ashes. I made Rose a lover of the San Francisco Giants and old reruns of I Love Lucy. These are a few examples. 

“The characters in my books are not people I know, necessarily, but they are created from parts of people I know.” – Emily Gallo

How do you balance the creative process with maintaining a life between Chico and Carpinteria? 

It’s easy to balance life when you’ve worked all your life and then retire, especially when you are not a homebody and don’t enjoy gardening, decorating, or shopping. The only problem is the long drive between Chico and Carpinteria, making it hard to do it as often as I’d like. When people ask me how I’ve managed to write nine books, I say “it’s how I fill my time – I need to be busy doing something and writing is something I love.” 

What message or emotions do you hope readers take away from your novels? 

I always have some kind of social and political message in my books, without preaching or making them too focused or too central to the story. For example, I try to show homeless people as regular folks that are going through hard times, not just as addicts or mentally ill. I also try to make my characters likeable and familiar, even though they may be unlike anyone the reader knows. I also try to show that loving families do not have to be related; they can be created and very diverse. Another thing I try to do is be educational. My husband once said to me that he only enjoys books that teach him something. An example of that is my character Savali. She is transgender, but I made her Fa’afafine, a Samoan third gender. 

What challenges have you faced as a writer, and how have you overcome them? 

The writing process doesn’t present much of a challenge, likely because my stories and characters are all easy to create and I have editors that totally understand what I’m trying to convey. My biggest challenge is marketing my books because while I am an extrovert, selling myself or my work doesn’t come naturally to me. I hired an assistant to help me with PR and marketing.  

What advice would you give to aspiring authors looking to share their stories with the world? 

I would tell aspiring writers to just get started. Write, even when you’re unsure where you’re going and what you’re trying to say. Share your work, even if you’re not sure it’s ready. Others’ opinions are very helpful. It’s in the process of writing and sharing your work that many ideas come, and the books will take shape as you discuss and write. 

“Others’ opinions are very helpful. It’s in the process of writing and sharing your work that many ideas come.” – Emily Gallo