Anne Bartolucci
According to my mother, I wrote (dictated) my first story when I was two. What it lacked in plot and character development, it more than made up for in enthusiasm.
Then, as I grew up, I was always one of those kids who had her nose in a book, and it didn’t take long before I began to create my own worlds and characters.
When it was time to choose a career path, I heard what most creatives do: “Get a real job.”
I eventually ended up in psychology, but I couldn’t stop making stuff up. Since it’s frowned upon to embellish one’s notes, I rediscovered an outlet in fiction.
After writing and publishing several short stories, including one that won a contest and, even better, an e-reader, I sold my first novel to a mid-sized publisher. The Mountain’s Shadow, now titled The Wolf’s Shadow, came out in October of 2013 and launched my professional writing career under my pen name Cecilia Dominic. I had seven novels with that publisher when they closed in 2017. Thankfully I got my rights back, republished them, and continued on my own as an independent publisher.
Although the publishing world has changed in the decade plus since I sold my first novel, my love of writing hasn’t. In 2017, I branched out into nonfiction with my book Business Basics for Private Practice: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals, published through Routledge/Taylor & Francis. Then, in 2020, I published Better Sleep for the Overachiever.
2020 brought another big change to my writing career–a friend of mine invited me to teach a workshop as a continuing education offering to other mental health professionals. Out of that class, which I taught for a few years, came requests for more help and guidance, and Psych Up Academy was born.
Anne Bartolucci, the Author
Honored
2011 Mystery Times Ten contest winner, Buddhapuss Ink – The Coral Temple
2014 Golden Claddagh finalist – A Perfect Man
2014 On the Far Side finalist – The Golden Fox
2017 Maggie Awards for Excellence finalist – Noble Secrets
2019 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery finalist – Web of Truth
2019 USA Today Bestselling Author status
Seasoned
Appeared on well-known writing podcasts such as the Self-Publishing Show, the Creative Penn, and Rebel Author as her nonfiction- and fiction-writing self.
Guest author with DragonCon, JordanCon, ConCarolinas, MultiverseCon, Steampunk World’s Fair, Atlanta Steampunk Expo, and Coastal Magic
Presented to several writing organizations such as the Georgia Romance Writers.
Taught workshop Write a Book to Establish Yourself as an Expert and Increase Practice Growth each year from 2020-2023 for The Knowledge Tree, a prestigious online continuing education platform for mental health professionals.
Sage
Dr. Anne Bartolucci, guiding fellow visionaries on the journey from idea to published work since 2020.
Dr. Anne Bartolucci
People often assume that my career as a psychologist helps me be a better writer, but I would argue that the benefit goes both ways. Being an author has definitely helped me to be a better psychotherapist.
When I started at Huntingdon College, a tiny liberal arts college in Montgomery, Alabama, I had no idea that psychology would be my eventual path. I began as a math and music (piano) major and quickly found that the required practice hours didn’t agree with my rather bony posterior. Seriously, there was only one piano practice room with a padded bench.
I fell in love with psychology in an interdisciplinary class on the history of love, of all things. While I enjoyed the puzzle-solving aspects of mathematics, I found that people are the most interesting puzzles of all. Much to my advisor’s chagrin, I dropped the music major and picked up psychology as a major at the start of my junior year. I did graduate on time with my Bachelor of Arts degree in math and psychology.
Then I went to the University of Georgia for my Masters of Science in psychology and Ph.D. in clinical psychology. While there, I managed to sneak in some creative writing classes through UGA’s adult education department, where I took Harriette Austin’s seminar.
My practice Atlanta Insomnia & Behavioral Health Services, which I started in 2008, is located in–you guessed it–Atlanta, Georgia. I and my colleagues help people across the country to overcome their insomnia so they can live happy and fulfilling lives.
