Ask the Author: Jo Piazza
Answered Questions (8)
Jo Piazza
Oh my god. I can't believe I am only just seeing this question because my latest novel is based on a mystery in my own life. The Sicilian Inheritance is loosely based on the unsolved murder of my great great grandmother Lorenza in Sicily more than a century ago. I have been thinking about fictionalizing this story for years. I think that all families have stories that we tell ourselves, that we pass down, that get warped and changed over time. The story of my great great grandmother Lorenza’s murder was ours. I knew very little about it except that her husband and children came to the United States from Sicily to build a better life for the family. She stayed behind to save money, to sell the land. It’s a little unclear why. And before she could join her husband Antonino she was killed.
That’s all I knew but I was fascinated by the idea of a woman left alone to fend for herself in a wild place like Sicily. And that’s where Serafina’s story began. It honestly just flowed out of me.
That’s all I knew but I was fascinated by the idea of a woman left alone to fend for herself in a wild place like Sicily. And that’s where Serafina’s story began. It honestly just flowed out of me.
Jo Piazza
I set out to write this book before I even got married. I was in the middle of planning my wedding and after months of receiving unsolicited advice about “the big day,” I realized I had no idea what happened when the wedding was over. I had no idea how to be married.
Sure, there are plenty of books about fixing a bad marriage, but mine wasn’t broken yet—it hadn’t even started. Besides, none of them spoke to me. With their pastel covers emblazoned with flowers, sunrises, and couples who had perfect hair, those books were talking to someone more mature, someone more refined, someone who already owned napkin rings and didn’t kill houseplants.
Nearly every romantic comedy ever made ends with the wedding and leaves out the most interesting part—the marriage.
I wanted to change that.
Sure, there are plenty of books about fixing a bad marriage, but mine wasn’t broken yet—it hadn’t even started. Besides, none of them spoke to me. With their pastel covers emblazoned with flowers, sunrises, and couples who had perfect hair, those books were talking to someone more mature, someone more refined, someone who already owned napkin rings and didn’t kill houseplants.
Nearly every romantic comedy ever made ends with the wedding and leaves out the most interesting part—the marriage.
I wanted to change that.
Jo Piazza
Gatsby and Daisy. I think I love them because they're not really a couple. They've each been idealized by the other one for so long that they've become complete caricatures of themselves and I think they serve as a reminder of how easy it is to both idealize and demonize someone we love.
Jo Piazza
My most recent one...How to Be Married. It was so hard because it was part memoir, part travel journal, part serious reporting. And the memoir part was the hardest. I love writing about other people...myself not so much.
Jo Piazza
Lucy Sykes and I are working on a new novel and I am working on a new non-fiction project...both of which I am very excited to talk about soon!
Jo Piazza
Just write. I make myself write 1,000 words a day of whatever book project I am working on. Writing is a habit!
Jo Piazza
Getting to take a deep dive into a completely different world from the one that I live in.
Jo Piazza
I typically run or do yoga. I definitely get the heck away from my computer and my phone.
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