Marianne Perry's Blog, page 7
October 11, 2014
A Magazine for writers and readers interested in Italian topics.
My historical fiction genealogy-inspired book, The Inheritance, was among those featured in the Books et al section of the Fall 2014 issue of Accenti: The Magazine with an Italian Accent. Published twice a year, this issue had a delicious section on food. Accenti Magazine considers unsolicited manuscripts, fiction and non-fiction. For further info, check out their website: www.accenti.ca
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
http://www.marianneperry.ca
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
http://www.marianneperry.ca
October 6, 2014
Writing & Reading on Vacation
I've been vacationing with my husband for a few weeks and while enjoying the sites, I've been taking photos and making notes for possible storylines in future novels. I always set my stories in places I have been and make sure I record details that I might want to refer to someday while travelling. We were in Avignon, France and visited the first century AD Roman aqueduct, the Pont Du Gard. I was enthralled with this engineering feat and have imagined a tale of those involved with either the construction or restoration. While wandering through London, England, I snapped pictures of neighborhoods, gardens and details such as doors or flower boxes. I always take photos of food intrinsic to the area as well. As a result, there are several photos of cheese and cream-filled pastries from Paris.
In addition to working on my writing craft while on vacation, I always read! On this trip, I read Mercy by Jodi Piccoult and am halfway through Touch & Go by Lisa Gardner. When I return home, I have an article for a genealogical journal to write, blogs on my website to update plus continuing work on my second novel. On this vacation, however, I put these aside and focused on these activities.
Marianne Perry
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
Author of The Inheritance
Http://www.marianneperry.ca
In addition to working on my writing craft while on vacation, I always read! On this trip, I read Mercy by Jodi Piccoult and am halfway through Touch & Go by Lisa Gardner. When I return home, I have an article for a genealogical journal to write, blogs on my website to update plus continuing work on my second novel. On this vacation, however, I put these aside and focused on these activities.
Marianne Perry
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
Author of The Inheritance
Http://www.marianneperry.ca
September 18, 2014
Book Review of The Inheritance
Genealogical research to solve family mysteries has interested me for almost two decades. In addition to developing a family tree, I have published non-fiction articles in genealogical magazines, penned blogs to help others with their projects plus travelled to Calabria, southern Italy twice for research purposes. I am also a member of The Ontario Genealogy Society and the following is their review of my historical fiction, The Inheritance. The story was inspired by genealogical research to learn more about my grandmother's early life in 1900 Italy. For a sample free first chapter, visit my website:
http://www.marianneperry.ca
Thank you.
The following review was printed in The Ontario Genealogy Society publication Families vol 54 no 3 August 2014.
The premise for The Inheritance was inspired by the author’s genealogical research in Calabria, Italy. Marianne Perry’s research trip to Cosenza province is obvious in her vivid descriptions of the settings of “The Inheritance”. The landscape, colours, culture, native food, plants and flowers, and even the weather are all vibrantly described.
However, this is a work of fiction, and is not a reference book. “The Inheritance” is a lovely story set amidst the colourful backdrop of turn of the 20th century Italy. The story is based loosely on her grandmother, Maria Caterina Spagnuolo Andreoli, who was born in Cosenza province, Italy, in 1889, and emigrated by herself to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario via Ellis Island in January 1913.
Caterina is an orphaned servant girl who is raised almost as a daughter by Anna Marino, the Signora of the San Michelle Estate in Cetraro, Italy, who has three sons of her own. With Anna’s help and the local priest’s teaching, Caterina learns to read and write and use her wits. The love story sets into motion the tale of how Caterina came to be aboard the Carpathia by herself.
What family history would be complete without a skeleton or two in the closet? Perry deftly weaves secrets and betrays throughout the entire book, not only among the two families but the supporting characters, as well. One has to think that it is Caterina’s survival instinct that will allow her to survive, not only on a solo transatlantic journey, but also in a strange country with a strange language. How many times did this play out on our shores over the centuries? This reviewer’s own great-grandmother arrived on Ellis Island in 1906 from Poland without knowing any English.
As someone who has researched many ancestors who left the homeland to begin a new life in Canada, this reviewer has often wondered why that person of family decided to leave their home. Were they going toward a better future? Were they fleeing an unhappy situation? What was their motivation to give up everything and everyone to start all over in a different country so far away? We may never know. Marianne Perry weaves a very vivid tale that might well have happened hundreds of times over the centuries. “The Inheritance” will definitely make you think about how our ancestors came to be aboard a transatlantic vessel for a perilous three week voyage to begin a new life.
Amanda Morehouse. (London, Ontario)
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
http://www.marianneperry.ca
http://www.marianneperry.ca
Thank you.
The following review was printed in The Ontario Genealogy Society publication Families vol 54 no 3 August 2014.
The premise for The Inheritance was inspired by the author’s genealogical research in Calabria, Italy. Marianne Perry’s research trip to Cosenza province is obvious in her vivid descriptions of the settings of “The Inheritance”. The landscape, colours, culture, native food, plants and flowers, and even the weather are all vibrantly described.
However, this is a work of fiction, and is not a reference book. “The Inheritance” is a lovely story set amidst the colourful backdrop of turn of the 20th century Italy. The story is based loosely on her grandmother, Maria Caterina Spagnuolo Andreoli, who was born in Cosenza province, Italy, in 1889, and emigrated by herself to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario via Ellis Island in January 1913.
Caterina is an orphaned servant girl who is raised almost as a daughter by Anna Marino, the Signora of the San Michelle Estate in Cetraro, Italy, who has three sons of her own. With Anna’s help and the local priest’s teaching, Caterina learns to read and write and use her wits. The love story sets into motion the tale of how Caterina came to be aboard the Carpathia by herself.
What family history would be complete without a skeleton or two in the closet? Perry deftly weaves secrets and betrays throughout the entire book, not only among the two families but the supporting characters, as well. One has to think that it is Caterina’s survival instinct that will allow her to survive, not only on a solo transatlantic journey, but also in a strange country with a strange language. How many times did this play out on our shores over the centuries? This reviewer’s own great-grandmother arrived on Ellis Island in 1906 from Poland without knowing any English.
As someone who has researched many ancestors who left the homeland to begin a new life in Canada, this reviewer has often wondered why that person of family decided to leave their home. Were they going toward a better future? Were they fleeing an unhappy situation? What was their motivation to give up everything and everyone to start all over in a different country so far away? We may never know. Marianne Perry weaves a very vivid tale that might well have happened hundreds of times over the centuries. “The Inheritance” will definitely make you think about how our ancestors came to be aboard a transatlantic vessel for a perilous three week voyage to begin a new life.
Amanda Morehouse. (London, Ontario)
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
http://www.marianneperry.ca
August 5, 2014
What would a young woman leave her homeland?
Why would a young woman leave her homeland, cross the Atlantic Ocean as a steerage passenger on a steamship and settle in a place where she knew no one and could not speak the language?
Imagining the answer to this question combined with genealogical research and travels throughout Calabria, southern Italy led to the story that unfolds in The Inheritance. An historical fiction set in the early 1900s in Calabria, southern Italy, it is about an atypical woman who challenges norms, a priest seeking redemption and a family crumbling from conflicting loyalties.
As an August 2014 review (vol. 54 no. 3) in Families, the quarterly publication of The Ontario Genealogical Society states, "Marianne Perry weaves a very vivid tale that might well have happened hundreds of times over the centuries. The Inheritance will definitely make you think about how our ancestors came to be aboard a transatlantic vessel for a perilous three week voyage to begin a new life."
For a sample reading of The Inheritance, visit http://www.marianneperry.ca and download Chapter One.
What are your family mysteries? I'd welcome your comments and be interested in hearing your stories.
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
http://www.marianneperry.ca
Imagining the answer to this question combined with genealogical research and travels throughout Calabria, southern Italy led to the story that unfolds in The Inheritance. An historical fiction set in the early 1900s in Calabria, southern Italy, it is about an atypical woman who challenges norms, a priest seeking redemption and a family crumbling from conflicting loyalties.
As an August 2014 review (vol. 54 no. 3) in Families, the quarterly publication of The Ontario Genealogical Society states, "Marianne Perry weaves a very vivid tale that might well have happened hundreds of times over the centuries. The Inheritance will definitely make you think about how our ancestors came to be aboard a transatlantic vessel for a perilous three week voyage to begin a new life."
For a sample reading of The Inheritance, visit http://www.marianneperry.ca and download Chapter One.
What are your family mysteries? I'd welcome your comments and be interested in hearing your stories.
Marianne Perry
Author of The Inheritance
Writing inspired by genealogical research to solve family mysteries.
http://www.marianneperry.ca
