Katharine Johnson's Blog, page 15
May 8, 2018
One summer in Umbria led to this wonderful novel by Sue Moorcroft
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Umbria
My final guest at this festival is Sue Moorcroft who’s here to talk about her beautiful book One a Summer in Italy which will be published next week.
And you can also find out about writing retreats in lovely Umbria, the green heart of Italy:
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One Summer in Italy is set in Umbria, roughly in the middle of Italy, in the fictitious town of Montelibertà. For several years I’ve worked for an organisation called Arte Umbria running writing courses or writing retreats. Last year I wrote about a quarter of the book while I was there. I made the venue into a hotel and created a town around it, but the view out over the valley and the neighbouring peaks is exactly the view from Arte Umbria’s terrace. It was fantastic to be able to describe my hero painting what I could see as I wrote.
If you’re interested in joining a writing retreat in 2018, click here.
I wanted to set a book in Umbria as I’ve had such wonderful times there, and have characters working abroad for the summer. I made Sofia half-Italian, so I could be pretty sure she’d be OK to get a job in the town of her father’s birth, even if we got a ‘hard Brexit’. I gave her a young companion, Amy, part of an ex-pat family living in Germany, because Germany’s the country of my birth.
As so often happens, something anecdotal that I either remember or I’m told plays a pivotal role in the book — this time it’s a man who shoots out and tells teenagers off when they take a shortcut over his garage forecourt. I’m lucky just to have the kind of plotty mind that can use these scraps of information . . . and I made that man the dad of my hero, Levi Gunn.
How does a small family garage in a Cambridgeshire town turn out to be a crucial link to what happens One Summer in Italy? You’ll have to read the book to find out!
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When Sofia Bianchi’s father Aldo dies, it makes her stop and look at things afresh. Having been his carer for so many years, she knows it’s time for her to live her own life – and to fulfil some promises she made to Aldo in his final days.
So there’s nothing for it but to escape to Italy’s Umbrian mountains where, tucked away in a sleepy Italian village, lie plenty of family secrets waiting to be discovered. There, Sofia also finds Amy who is desperately trying to find her way in life after discovering her dad isn’t her biological father.
Sofia sets about helping Amy through this difficult time, but it’s the handsome Levi who proves to be the biggest distraction for Sofia, as her new life starts to take off…
One Summer in Italy will be published on the 17th May. You can preorder/buy it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Summer-Italy-Sue-Moorcroft-ebook/dp/B077MFT3QL
[image error]Sue Moorcroft is a Sunday Times and international bestselling author and has reached the coveted #1 spot on Amazon Kindle. She’s won the Readers’ Best Romantic Novel award and the Katie Fforde Bursary, and has been nominated on several other occasions, including for the Romantic Novel of the Year Awards.
Her short stories, serials, columns, writing ‘how to’ and courses have appeared all over the world.
May 7, 2018
Marvels of Le Marche – Kate Murdoch on the coastal town of Pesaro
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Pesaro
Our next author is Kate Murdoch whose book Stone Circle is a historical fantasy novel set in Renaissance Italy in Pesaro, a fishing village in the Marche region on the Adriatic coast. It was released by Fireship Press December 1st 2017.
Hello Kate, thanks so much for coming along today. What drew you to Pesaro as the location for your novel?
I chose this location because I wanted the story to be in a small town by the sea where fishing was very much a part of their lives. This is because my protagonist, Antonius, is the son of a fisherman. His father dies, and having little aptitude for fishing, Antonius must find another way to support his family. A competition to win an apprenticeship with the town seer seems like the ideal opportunity.
Do you have a top travel tip for anyone visiting Pesaro?
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Visit the Ducal Palace, former home of the Malatesta and Della Rovere families.
It was built between 1285 and 1429. Its six archways make an elegant exterior and the interior rooms are decorated with paintings by Raffaello, Bronzino, Titian, Bassano, and Barocci.
Thanks – I’m certainly adding it to my list of places to visit and look forward to reading your book!
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Is the ability to read minds a blessing or a curse?
When Antonius’s father dies, he must work to support his family. He finds employment as a servant in the Palazzo Ducal, home of Conte Valperga. Sixteenth-century Pesaro is a society governed by status, and Antonius has limited opportunities.When a competition is announced, Antonius seizes his chance. The winner will be apprenticed to the town seer. Antonius shares first place with his employer’s son.The two men compete for their mentor’s approval. As their knowledge of magic and alchemy grows, so does the rivalry and animosity between them. When the love of a beautiful woman is at stake, Antonius must find a way to follow his heart and navigate his future.
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Kate Murdoch exhibited widely as a painter both in Australia and internationally before turning her hand to writing. In between writing historical fiction, she enjoys writing short stories and flash fiction.
Her short-form fiction is regularly published in Australia, UK, US and Canada.
Her novel, The Orange Grove, about the passions and intrigues of court mistresses in 18th century France, will be published by Regal House Publishing in 2019.
Where to buy Stone Circle
Perfect Pesaro – Charlotte Betts on the setting for The Dressmaker’s Secret
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Today we’re discussing two fabulous books set on the lovely Adriatic coast.
I’m so excited to be joined by Charlotte Betts author of The Dressmaker’s Secret which sounds a fabulous read. She’s here to tell us a bit about the book and Pesaro, in which the story’s set. Over to you Charlotte!
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Italy, 1819. Emilia Barton and her mother Sarah live a nomadic existence, travelling from town to town as itinerant dressmakers to escape their past. When they settle in the idyllic coastal town of Pesaro, Emilia desperately hopes that, this time, they have found a permanent home. But when Sarah is brutally attacked by an unknown assailant, a deathbed confession turns Emilia’s world upside down.
Seeking refuge as a dressmaker in the eccentric household of Princess Caroline of Brunswick, Emilia experiences her first taste of love with the charming Alessandro. But her troubling history gnaws away at her. Might she, a humble dressmaker’s daughter, have a more aristocratic past than she could have imagined? When the Princess sends her on an assignment to London, she grasps the opportunity to unravel the truth.
Caught up in a web of treachery and deceit, Emilia is determined to discover who she really is – even if she risks losing everything . . .
The factual events of Princess Caroline’s extraordinary life framed the plot for my fictional heroine, Emilia. The story opens in Pesaro, a small seaside town, where Princess Caroline, lived then, first at the Villa Caprile and then at a substantial farmhouse, grandly renamed the Villa Vittoria.
Pesaro is lapped by the Adriatic Sea on one side – making it a popular beach destination – and hugged by steep hills to the city’s north and south, allowing for a mild climate year-round.
I’d researched the history of Pesaro before my visit and it felt immediately familiar when I arrived on a hot June day. I walked in the unspoiled nature reserve of Monte San Bartolo overlooking the sea and searched for the Villa Vittoria, where part of the story is set, ambled around what was left of the ancient town walls, dipped my fingers in the red granite fountain in the Piazza del Poppolo and swam in the Baia Flaminia where Caroline liked to bathe.
All the while I had the feeling that Princess Caroline was looking over my shoulder and smiling at the places where she had been happy.
Website: www.charlottebetts.com
Facebook: @CharlotteBettsAuthor
Twitter: @CharlotteBetts1
May 6, 2018
Things Kristin Anderson says about Venice
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Venice
I’m so thrilled that Kristin Anderson, author of The Things We Said in Venice has just joined us with some top travel tips and a bit about her book which has had amazing reviews and I’m really excited about reading:
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Travelling in foreign countries is like a shot of espresso to the soul: it wakes you up, throws you into situations that make you humble while expanding your mind, and opens you to the other.
I craved such a wake-up shake-up at a time when it just wasn’t possible to get away. I also love romance. The Things We Said in Venice, a travel romance set largely in Italy, was my creative solution to both of these wishes.
A city’s top-ten attractions are well-worth the visit, but quite often, it’s those encounters and places off the beaten path that you remember the most.
Take photos, but then put away your phone or camera and experience that foreign destination with your own two eyes. You’ll be surprised how those non-photographed moments lock into your memory and connect with your senses far more than what you only experienced behind the camera lens.
If anyone wants to know more about Venice I’d really recommend The Venice Insider’s blog. It’s phenomenal as she really taps into the culture and has lots of book recommendations. I was honoured to have made her 2017 top 10 list.
http://www.theveniceinsider.com/2017-top-10-venice-books
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High school counselor Sarah Turner knows all about helping others get their lives on track. But when her own life spirals drastically off course due to a fast-track divorce, she surprises everyone. She leaves her job and home in Bend, Oregon and heads to Europe for a six-week solo adventure. Amsterdam is her final destination where she plans to enter a controversial program that could change her life.
From the temples of Angkor Wat to the ruins of Machu Picchu, renowned Dutch travel writer Fokke van der Veld has seen it all. After a major betrayal, there’s one thing he’s not interested in seeing again: women. That’s why the guys-only trip to the Italian Dolomites with his old university friends is just what he needs. Sort of. If they weren’t teasing him and getting him drunk.
When a series of unexpected events in Italy throw Fokke and Sarah together, the sparks are undeniable, but so is the fear that keeps them apart. Will these two independent travelers open themselves up to a chance of love or catch a fast train to safety?
This romantic comedy is a story of self-discovery and love that travels through regions of Italy, Spain, France, Argentina and The Netherlands.
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Kristin Anderson’s degree in English Literature led to a career of writing for others. It wasn’t until she moved to The Netherlands with her husband and their son, that she was able to pursue a lifelong dream of writing fiction. Green, published in 2013, is her debut novel. Her second novel, The Things We Said in Venice, was published in 2017. Both are available in Kindle and paperback on Amazon.
Amazon in the UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XKDNFTM
Amazon U.S: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XKDNFTM
For the most customer reviews, please see the U.S. link.
My Tuscan Secret
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I hope it doesn’t seem too cheeky to include a post about my own book as part of this event.
The Secret is the second book I’ve written about Villa Leonida in the Tuscan mountain village of Santa Zita.
I like the idea of one villa holding secrets from each generation that passes through it.
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Whereas the secret in The Silence goes back to 1992 the one in The Secret goes back to wartime.
The villa and village are fictional but include elements of lots of different places.
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The Lucca province has high mountains, deep gorges and tiny, tucked-away villages that can be hidden for long periods behind cloud or trees.
Some of these have become ghost villages as their residents have died or moved away for a more comfortable lifestyle in more hospitible terrain, and are slowly being reclaimed by nature.
In The Secret, Carlo returns to Santa Zita after many years away, determined to save his village from a similar fate.
But in recording his mother Irena’s memories before her dementia gets any worse he makes a shocking discovery.
Excerpt
In a recording for her son Irena is looking back on a part of her life on which, until now, she has closed a mental door:
That wedding photograph I said I didn’t remember – I may as well tell you the truth, I suppose. The bride was Martina. And yes, I was the bridesmaid. And the one of the two girls sitting on the wall of the fountain eating ice cream? Martina and me. We must have been how old – twelve? Thirteen? We were so close back then, I couldn’t imagine my life without her.
That will surprise you, I know, because Martina and I were never close when you were growing up. We never spoke to each other again after the war. At least not properly. I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.
You can laugh but you can’t know what it was like to be with Martina in those days. It’s funny – I remember her saying to me once,
“In fifty years time we’ll be sitting on this wall and nothing will have changed.”
How could either of us have guessed how much our lives would change?
Sometimes I allow myself a little fantasy – an alternative history in which Martina didn’t do what she did. That she and I could really be sitting there now on the wall of the fountain discussing our grandchildren. But how could we have had any idea back then how precious and precarious our friendship really was?
You can see how beautiful Martina was. Oh, I know what you’re thinking – how she was a dried-up old prune when you knew her. And that scar was hideous. But life does that to you – war does that to you. In those days I felt very plain in comparison.
Looking at the picture again, I always had that rather square face and thick eyebrows and I was a heavy build as you can see but I didn’t look so bad, did I? And yet next to Martina I always felt pale and plump and I suppose because of that it made me want to be good at something, so I studied harder than anyone. She and Gianni used to call me the Encyclopaedia. They tested me out with facts and dates – they hardly ever managed to catch me out. They both used to copy my school work, which made me feel proud.
We all thought Martina would be famous one day. She dreamed of moving on, being someone. This place was too small for her. She should have been a Hollywood star. She had that innate sense of glamour – and the temperament to match. If the War hadn’t happened, if she’d had different opportunities, she might have been a star.
So many things would have been different.
I don’t know to this day why she married Gianni. I suppose it was because she could. She said she loved him, but I think what attracted her most was that all the other girls loved him.
Gianni and I were wary of each other for a long time. We both knew we were competing for Martina’s attention. But we came to realise that if we both wanted to be with her we’d have to learn to rub along with each other. I grew fond of him.
God knows, he didn’t deserve to die the way he did.
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Love, lies and betrayal in wartime Italy
Two girls growing up in Mussolini’s Italy share a secret that has devastating consequences.
Against a backdrop of fear, poverty and confusion during the Second World War friendship is tested and loyalties divided – until a chance encounter changes everything.
The girls’ loves diverge when beautiful, daring Martina marries and moves into Villa Leonida, the most prestigious house in their Tuscan mountain village, while plain, studious Irena trains to be a teacher.
But neither marriage nor life in Villa Leonida are as Martina imagined.
And as other people’s lives take on a new purpose, Irena finds herself left behind.
Decades later, a tragedy at the villa coincides with the discovery of an abandoned baby,whose identity threatens to re-open old wounds
The Secret is published on 1st June 2018. It’s available for preorder now at mybook.to/thesecretjohnson.
Helen Pryke shares her Tuscan secrets
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Gallicano
Helen Pryke is sharing an extract from her novel The Healer’s Secret today, which is set in the Lucca province of Tuscany. She also has some top tips on things to do in the gorgeous Gallicano area.
And there’s a chance to win a copy of the book.
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The Healer’s Secret is available to buy here getBook.at/thehealersecret
Jennifer’s life isn’t going as she planned. Fired from her job and on the brink of divorce at thirty-one, her only salvation lies at the bottom of a wine bottle. When her mother insists she get away from everything, she reluctantly agrees to explore her Italian roots in Tuscany.
Staying in her family’s centuries-old cottage, she becomes embroiled in a mysterious tragedy involving her great-grandmother. As she delves further into her ancestors’ history, she discovers there is more to her heritage than meets the eye.
Ghosts from the past could give Jennifer something she thought she’d never have: a future. But that depends on whether she can resist temptation and avoid slipping back into her old ways.
Will she be able to conquer her inner demons and discover the healer’s secret?
An extract from The Healer’s Secret
Aunt Liliana dragged me across the square and led me along a narrow road that quickly became a steep slope, chattering the whole time. She marched sprightly up the street and I tried to keep up with her, but soon had to rest. I put my bags down and leant against the wall of a house, gasping, trying to get my breath back and stop the trembling in my legs. She turned and looked at me, a huge smile on her face.
“Oh, you tourists, it’s always the same! You’ll get used to the climb, although your legs will ache for a few days.” She burst out laughing. “Come on, it’s not far now.”
I grunted and forced myself into motion once more, my calves complaining the whole time. Her house was in one of the back streets, right at the top of the slope. I puffed my way up the road as she opened the front door and waited impatiently.
“Come in, come in, prego, they are all here, I’ll introduce you…”
I was greeted by a chorus of Italian salutations and enveloped in hugs and kisses, my ears filled with loud exclamations and a chaotic jumble of people all talking at once. Bewildered, I tried to join in enthusiastically but ended up just standing there, grinning insanely at everyone, completely lost for words.
Aunt Liliana soon took control of the situation. “That’s enough, everyone. Look at poor Jennifer, she can hardly think for all the confusion you are making. Come, let’s go and sit down.” Everyone stood back as I trailed after her into the kitchen, blushing furiously.
“Now I introduce you properly, one at a time,” she declared, glaring at the others. I put a hand over my mouth to cover a smile, amused by their contrite faces. I’d heard of the Italian matriarch, but it was quite something to see one in action.
The rest of the family turned out to be Uncle Dante, Aunt Liliana’s long-suffering husband who didn’t seem to speak much but just nodded in agreement with his wife, and their grown-up children Lorenzo, Davide and his wife Giulia, whose 8-year-old daughter Beatrice was at school, and Agnese. I noticed that Davide’s wife, Giulia was pregnant, her bump showing under her cotton dress, and I felt a small wave of jealousy wash over me. I pushed it away and tried to concentrate on the introductions.
“This isn’t our whole family, we have more relatives down in the valley but we rarely see them since my mother died.” Aunt Liliana sniffed in disdain, as though it were a disgrace to have such a small group gathered together in one place. I was secretly grateful there were only six of them, I could hardly imagine what it would have been like if everyone had turned up.
“And there’s Mario,” Lorenzo added. “He lives over the other side of the village, but we don’t see much of him either.”
“Mario prefers his own company,” Aunt Liliana explained in a dismissive tone. “I’m sure you’ll meet him eventually.”
“You will stay for lunch.” Uncle Dante’s booming voice startled me, it was the first time he’d spoken.
“Oh no, I couldn’t, it’s too much…” I started, but I was soon drowned out by the rest of them.
“Of course you must, we were going to eat together anyway and one more person won’t hurt. You can tell us all about England, about your mother… we haven’t seen her for such a long time… we speak on the phone but it’s not the same… it’s a shame your great-grandmother Luisa is no longer with us, she would have loved to have seen you…” and on and on it went, like being buried under a ton of earth.
Aunt Liliana busied herself with the pots and pans on the stove, and Agnese took an extra set of cutlery and plates through to the dining table. I resigned myself to not getting any work done in the house that day, and started to relax and enjoy myself.
The food was exquisite, spaghetti Bolognese with a home-made sauce, followed by tender roast pork drizzled with the cooking juices, and sautéed courgettes that, I was informed, had been freshly picked that morning.
There was never a lull in the conversation, everyone chatted easily together while they ate. I watched as they broke every rule I’d ever been taught in England: talking with their mouths full, using their knives to scrape up sauce and then lick them, breaking a chunk of bread off the loaf and wiping it around their plates, leaning on their elbows, laughing and joking. Aunt Liliana prided herself as a wonderful cook, and told me every detail of the preparation process, while I copied my cousins and broke off a piece of home-made bread to mop up the delicious pasta sauce left on the plate.
Things to do in the area
I visited Gallicano, near Lucca, for the first time last year, after writing my book. I found the town on Google Maps while looking for the area I wanted to set my book. I knew it had to be in Tuscany, I just didn’t know where. I live near Milan and had never been to Tuscany before, even though it’s only a 3-hour drive from my house. Gallicano is a picturesque town nestled among the mountains, with a wonderful, fresh climate and beautiful views. There’s a lot of climbing to do if you want to explore the town, and your legs will ache at first!
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You should also visit the Grotta del Vento, the Wind Cave. It’s a 20-minute drive from Gallicano, up a winding mountain road, and well worth the visit. You can go on a guided tour around the caves and find out all about their history. I found them by chance when researching the area and was so enamoured by them that I wrote a great scene in them involving the protagonist and Mark, a nasty piece of work.
There are many towns in the area – we visited one called Barga with a beautiful church right at the top. It was a long walk up, but well worth the view.
Lucca is the main city in the area, with museums, cathedrals, piazzas, and ancient city walls. Plus lots of good places to eat, wineries and vineyards to visit.
There are also national parks and lots of places to go walking, horse-riding or canoeing. My husband, son, and I fell in love the area and will definitely be going back again!
TO WIN A DIGITAL COPY OF THE HEALER’S SECRET:
Comment below or in the Facebook event with a gif to tell me your favourite thing about Italy!
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Born in England, Helen Pryke now lives in the north of Italy with her husband and two sons. After becoming accustomed to the culture, the language and the Italian way of doing things, she immersed herself in her passion for writing and published her debut novel, Walls of Silence, last year. A lover of coffee, chocolate, and cakes, she now dedicates herself to her family and writing. The Healer’s Secret is her second novel inspired by this beautiful, complicated country.
May 5, 2018
Italy’s Forgotten Story – Clare Flynn on wartime Italy
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THE VIRTUAL ITALIAN BOOK FESTIVAL day five
Tuscany (+Liri Valley + Po valley)
I’m fascinated by wartime Italy so it’s a real pleasure to welcome Clare Flynn, author of The Alien Corn.
And there’s a chance to win a copy of her book!
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I was fortunate enough to live and work in Italy for three years – in Milan in the nineties. I still regard Italy as my spiritual home and love to return there. While I’ve published seven novels and am working on my eighth, so far I have only written one book partly set there, The Alien Corn – and then set long before my own time there – during the battles of the Second World War.
While I didn’t get a chance to location scout when writing The Alien Corn, I have travelled through and within all the regions I wrote about – and now seventy-five years after the events in the book, much has changed in these places (although much is still the same). I was able to combine my own knowledge of landscape and geography with research into what happened in these places, when they were ravaged and devastated by a long and punishing war.
[image error]A Canadian soldier fighting in Ortona 1943, courtesy of National Archives of Canada
The Italian campaign of WW2 is sometimes justifiably referred to as The Forgotten Front. Part of this is down to the Italians’ own reluctance in confronting aspects of their history and their desire to move on from the war as quickly as possible. This is understandable given that the country was thrust into the war as one of the Axis powers, by Benito Mussolini, something that a significant proportion of the population did not want to happen.
In 1943 when Italy surrendered, its former ally, Germany, became the occupying power, holding the northern half of the country while the Allies pressed north in a bloody war of attrition on two fronts against a German army that was determined to stop their advance. The Italians were caught between the two – resulting in families divided, friends becoming enemies and trust becoming a rare commodity.
For the bulk of the population, who had never wanted the war in the first place, there was an overwhelming desire for it all to be over and relief when the Allies gained ground and freed towns and cities as they slowly pushed north. For those loyal to the fascist cause and Mussolini, the war continued and for those eager to rid Italy of the curse of fascism many became partisans, risking their lives to undermine the Germans and aid the allied advance. All of this resulted in terrible atrocities.
Villagers and townspeople witnessed shocking acts of reprisal as suspected partisans were shot and hung publicly from lampposts or their bodies heaped up and left to rot by the roadsides as a warning to others. My book also depicts an act of reprisal the other way around – partisans punishing a suspected fascist spy.
It is little wonder that once the war was over, all the country wanted to do was turn its collective back and move ahead. The campaign is also “Forgotten” as most of the attention and focus is given to northern Europe and the D-Day invasions and the subsequent push through France and the Netherlands to Germany.
The places that featured in The Alien Corn were those that my main character, Jim Armstrong, a Canadian soldier, fought in. The small Adriatic town of Ortona was the scene of bloody hand-to-hand combat and street-fighting that resulted in the death of 1375 Canadians in the town and surrounding areas. The Canucks came up with the term “mouseholing” to describe how they advanced through the ancient Medieval town by burrowing through the internal walls of houses to reach the occupying Germans.
Jim moves west after Ortona to the Liri Valley, south of Rome. This was the scene of a long protracted campaign to capture the hill town of Monte Casino, involving allied forces from many nations, including India. Eventually it was the Poles who finally ascended the hill to the monastery and took it from the Germans, thus opening the door to allow the advance on Rome, which was taken (in controversial circumstances) by General Clark and the American Fifth Army.
Jim’s next port of call is the Apennine mountains, as the Allies push further north against a recalcitrant German army, intent on holding on to the last man. It is here in the hills of Tuscany that he becomes involved with the partisans and witnesses some terrible consequences of a war that pitted one Italian against another.
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The final area featured in the book is the Po Valley. I know this area best as it is close to Milan. I often explored the countryside and small towns in my car or sometimes by bicycle following the navigli (the small canals and rivers that criss-cross the region). This is the rice bowl of Italy, and known as the Padana – meaning frying pan (for risotto) due to its flat terrain and pan shape.
In The Alien Corn Jim and the Canadian army continue the battle to push the Nazis back. The Germans had the advantage of occupation and had bedded down in farm buildings and bunkers, leaving the Allies literally out in the cold. They also had the advantage of the weather – it was winter and a punishing one at that, with the Po Valley, unusually, buried under snow and suffering freezing cold conditions. The Allies also had to contend with the network of rivers, canals and ditches and the absence of crossings thanks to German sabotage.
Driving through the Po Valley on a glorious summer’s day, it’s hard to imagine what those soldiers (on both sides) must have endured. It is also hard to picture a war taking place amid the green rice fields and between the ancient farm buildings, river ways and Lombardy poplar trees.
If you are planning a trip to Italy, it is well worth including the Po Valley in your itinerary. You can visit ancient Mediaeval towns such as Pavia, Piacenza, Cremona (home to Stradivarius), Parma and Mantova. Enjoy the local cuisine – particularly risotto Milanese, drink delicious wines, explore old churches and wonderful artworks and wander through lush green countryside with distant views towards the Alps in the north. But spare a thought for what happened in these very fields and ditches within living memory and to the brave men and women caught up in it.
For a chance to win an ebook (prize available internationally) or a signed paperback copy of The Alien Corn (UK only) please leave a comment below or in the Facebook event on what you love most about about Italy.
You can also get a FREE short story collection (ebook) by Clare Flynn from her website home page or via this link
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They faced up to the challenges of war – but can they deal with the troubles of peace?
Canadian, Jim Armstrong, married in haste during the second world war, after a one-night stand. When his wife and their small son join him in Canada it’s four years since they’ve seen each other.
War bride, Joan discovers Jim has no intention of the family returning to England. She struggles to adapt to life on a remote farm in Ontario, far from her family and cold-shouldered by Jim’s mother.
Jim, haunted by his wartime experiences in Italy, Iingering feelings for a former lover, and the demands of the farm, begins to doubt his love for Joan.
From the rolling farmland of Ontario to the ravaged landscapes of war-torn Italy, this sweeping love story is the sequel to The Chalky Sea.
The Alien Corn is available here
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Clare Flynn’s novels have a strong sense of time and place and compelling characters, and draw on her extensive travels and experience of living in different places. She comes from Liverpool and is the author of five historical novels. When no thanks reading and writing she loves to paint with watercolours and grabs any opportunity to travel – sometimes under the guise of research.
Living the dream – Lisa Condie on living in Florence
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Florence
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Ever thought about chucking everything in, heading off to Florence and starting a new life? Lisa Condie didn’t just dream it, she did it. Describing herself as “a seeker of joy and a believer in serendipity”, she’s written about her experiences, good and bad, in her book I Found Myself in Tuscany which has been getting amazing reviews.
In early June 2012, Lisa stood outside of a coffee shop in Rome and made a decision of a lifetime. She returned to her Utah home, sold almost everything she owned to head to Italy in search of joy and purpose.
A result of that choice is I Found Myself In Tuscany. Part memoir, part deeply personal adventure, it’s a journey of the mind and leap of faith—something many of us have considered at one point in our lives—to drop everything, sell all your possessions, and move to Italy.
Having published shorter articles about her Italian venture for Huffington Post, Lisa’s story evolved online. When the publisher launched their Huffington Post’s 50 Over 50, to spotlight fifty people over fifty who had reinvented their lives in a positive way to air on NBC’s The Today Show with Kathy Lee and Hoda, Lisa was featured.
That appearance on television kick-started her tour company, Find Yourself in Tuscany which specialises in small, private group tours for people looking for an authentic Tuscan experience, and responses and inquiries flooded her inbox. She was finally on her way.
Beautifully and eloquently written, I Found Myself in Tuscany will bring tears of sorrow and laughter. Condie’s sojourn from divorcee to successful businesswoman is one you won’t put down till the end, and she’ll keep you wanting more.
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She says:
I arrived in Florence in 2012–not knowing a single person or a single word of Italian! As I traveled throughout Tuscany, I felt a peacefulness that had escaped me the previous decade. This gorgeous region helped to heal me and provided the muse I needed to start over.
I love the landscape, the culture, the architecture and art in Tuscany…but most of all, I love the people. They took this middle aged Utah woman into their hearts and taught me how to find joy again!
My memoir is of my first three years in Tuscany…I have now been there six years. It describes my day to day life of living out of two suitcases in a foreign country by myself.
See Lisa’s travel tips for visiting Italy here
Why Florence? TA Williams on why he can’t resist this magical city
THE VIRTUAL ITALY BOOK FESTIVAL day five: Tuscany[image error]
Florence
And now to Florence with TA Williams:
[image error] When Debbie Waterson’s bicycle crashes into handsome Pierluigi she wonders if her luck has changed. Determinedly single after ending a long relationship, at last a man worth bumping into! Inspired to visit Florence, she soon runs headlong into that old foe: reality. But is Pierluigi the man of her dreams? Then there’s the booze-obsessed boss and his forbidding secretary and her noisy, inconsiderate neighbours. But could her luck be about to change? Will she find love after all?
Why Florence?
Thanks to Katy for organising this celebration of the country and the people I love so much, I married one of them (and we’re still married after 43 years).
I spent eight years of my life living and working in Italy and, although we’ve been back in the UK for quite a while now, I still love the place. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that my Italian wife now prefers England, I’d be writing this to you from Tuscany.
I’ve set a number of my books in Italy and the two most recent ones are Dreaming of Venice and Dreaming of Florence. Why these two cities, I hear you ask?
First things first – they say you should write about what you know. I lived for four years in Florence and worked fifty metres from the Duomo. We lived out in the sticks (in an amazing eleventh century convent – long ago deserted by the nuns) and I travelled in and out by train, walking past the Baptistery and the Duomo every day of the week. I got to know the city and its surroundings like the back of my hand so it was an obvious choice for a book.
Apart from the streets, the buildings and the sights, I also got to know the people very well. In fact, some of our best friends even now are Florentines. We were welcomed into the homes of so many wonderful, hospitable people, offered mouth-watering food and drink and treated like members of the family. I will always cherish the memories of those times and incorporating them into my books has great therapeutic value to me and is, hopefully, a little homage to them all.
When my publishers (those lovely folk at Canelo) wrote the blurb for Dreaming of Florence, they described Florence as a magical city and they aren’t wrong. There really is something magical about finding yourself walking along the same streets as Michelangelo, climbing the same staircase as Machiavelli or standing on the Ponte Vecchio, looking up at the secret passage that the Medici used to use to go to and from their palaces. I’ve always had an interest in history and Florence to a historian is amazing. Walking home from work at ten o’clock on a cold winter night, you can almost hear boots on the cobbles behind you, or spurs jingling on the heels of messengers bringing news from the Pope.
Travel Tips for Florence
Most people have heard of the main sights of the city, like the Uffizi or Piazzale Michelangelo, but there is so much more to be discovered. Try looking up as you walk around. You’ll spot little balconies, statues on facades and towers poking up through the mass of terracotta roofs. I’ve tried to convey this in Dreaming of Florence and I hope I’ve succeeded. I would recommend the place to anybody, but just one little tip:
Visit Florence out of season. It’s getting busier and busier, so try to avoid the summer months if you can – not least as it gets suffocatingly hot there. I used to get through three shirts a day some days. My suggestion would be December, before the Christmas rush. Take a good pair of shoes and a warm coat and I guarantee, you’ll absorb so much more of the character of what is, without doubt, one of the most wonderful cities in the world.
[image error]About Trevor Williams
I went to Italy (quite by chance) when I was in my twenties and ended up in Florence, running an English language school. I spent the rest of my working life in Exeter and still live in the Westcountry today. I have written 13 books – mostly romantic comedies – and my next book comes out in May, this time entitled Dreaming of St-Tropez . Nobody can accuse me of writing about nasty places. I am married to an artist, and my daughter is a poet. I love my work – and the tax-deductible “research trips” it demands.
Dreaming of Florence universal link: http://myBook.to/DreamFlorence
Dreaming of Venice universal link: http://mybook.to/Venice
My website: www.tawilliamsbooks.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/tawilliamsbooks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrevorWilliamsBooks/
Tuscan treasure – why Fay Henson chose Siena
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Siena
Siena has to be one of the loveliest towns in Tuscany. Here’s Fay Henson to talk about it and why she chose to set her story there:
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It really wasn’t difficult for me to choose Siena as the location for my debut novel. I’ve loved it since my first visit a few years ago and now that I live around an hour’s drive away, occasionally I’m able to spend a bit of time there. It’s a wonderful place, filled with pizzerias, ice-cream parlours, university students, tourists, history and of course, sunshine. It has the ideal setting for my story and where I imagined protagonist Caylin would run off to.
The main inspiration behind the book was seeing the many tourists who come to this area and in particular families with teenagers. Sometimes it’s easy to sense that the teenagers don’t really want to be looking up at historic buildings or seeing how pasta is made. I can imagine that teens on holiday would prefer to spend their time socialising instead of following their families around especially when they see Siena’s high population of university students having fun. And so, I created Caylin as the protagonist which wasn’t that difficult as I’d already brought up two teenage girls and I too was once a girl with determination. Therefore blending this with some imagination, Caylin came into being.
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The story: Seventeen-year-old Caylin reluctantly agrees to go on a package holiday to Tuscany with her parents and pocketing the 500 euros spending money they’d used to entice her, finds it comes in extremely useful when she makes a daring decision; to leave her parents behind. She decides to leave the hotel and hitchhike to the city of Siena in a desperate bid to find something more exciting and people her own age. Over the following few days Caylin is faced with various ordeals including hate, lies, sadness and illness, but she also finds her first real love. During this turbulent period, her two best friends in Bristol wait for her message updates, albeit sometimes shocking. And Caylin knows that as each day passes, is a day closer to the reunion with her parents at the hotel and the dread of what punishment her dad, an ex-army Major will hand out.
You can buy it here here
I’ve always harboured a passion for writing but I had never found myself the time to put it into real practice. I really admired those who’d managed to achieve publication and to reach their goals. Although my home life is fairly busy with husband and three young adults, I came to the conclusion that if I didn’t get on and focus on writing, I may never reach my goal; something I knew would sadden me in years to come. I set to work and with my husband’s support, my debut new adult romance book, Tuscany – a novel was published last year and has given me the drive to start my next two books! We have a lively Wire Fox Terrier I enjoy taking for walks around our small Italian town and that’s when I can get some exercise at the same time as thinking about how a story can continue. My other likes are drinking coffee in busy Italian bars with Bobby sitting by my side, red wine and pizza and naturally sunshine!
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