ALL THAT GLITTERS back story
Ah, this is my baby, this book. My first published novel. I worked on it for approximately four years, enjoyed great reviews for it, and the book was nominated for Best Glitz of the Year through Romantic Times. It's a book close to my heart.
The story is about a woman who is a true rags-to-riches character. Diana Colucci grows up on the mean streets of Boston, but she makes it to the salons of Europe, and ultimately, becomes synonymous with the best of the best in the international antiques business.
The setting is as much a character in this book as Diana herself. I lived in the house Diana grew up in on Orleans Street in East Boston with my first husband (an ill-fated marriage, but that's another story for another blog). I smelled the sickeningly sweet bubblegum factory stench in the middle of the summer, and I walked down the street to that corner store where tubes of mortadella, capicola, salami, and pastrami hung in the window.
Diana's lifestyle is far more glamorous than mine ever was, but I did lend my expertise about antiques to this story. I loved doing the research because it took me to multi-million dollar auctions, led me to research art and furniture that I would never be able to afford, and taught me more about Europe than the trips I've taken there since the day I finished the novel.
But the most precious and personal element of this book is that Diana's nephews are based on mine. It wasn't difficult to build her relationship with those boys and to make it believable that they are the most important component of Diana's life, the thing that would make her break every law to protect them. I would do the same for mine.
Diana's lovers are completely fictional. I'd love to say that I know those guys (even the nasty Luis), but they're composites of a number of people. However, I think we're all afraid of getting involved with someone who simply is the wrongest type of wrong. That fear has been part of my body armour since the trauma of my first marriage, so creating Luis to define the metaphoric violent man most women fear wasn't difficult.
One thing I promised my family when I was writing this book (which, by the way, was originally titled AMARYLLIS, but the editor requested I change the title) was that I would take them on the trip Diana made throughout Europe. I've never followed her footsteps, though I've promised myself many times that I would. Someday.
I guess when it's all said and done, this book has been the one that most closely defines my home. Boston will always be the place that defines who I am, though I won't ever live there again (too cold, too noisy, too crowded . . . I like places that are warm and on the ocean these days).
Yup, Boston is a major character in ALL THAT GLITTERS, but Diana and her crew certainly can hold their own, as well.
If you read this one, please let me know what you think of it!
Peace,
D
ENTER to win a SIGNED copy of ALL THAT GLITTERS by Dawn Reno Langley. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Affaire de Coeur called the story "powerful and suspenseful." The Daytona Beach News Journal said the story is "filled with action and interesting characters." Diana Colucci had what it took to get to the very top: the dream of making a name for herself in the world of international antiques--and the beauty and brains to turn her fantasies into breathtaking reality. Leaving the crowded tenements of her girlhood far behind, she became the protégé of a fabulously wealthy Boston Brahmin-moving from the high society of Beacon Hill to the jet setting royalty of Europe. Transformed into a woman of power and extraordinary passion, Diana was swept off her feet by a dashing South American prince charming... Until her fairy tale romance exploded in devastating heartbreak --and she was plunged into a deadly web of hate and revenge. From Malibu and Rodeo Drive to Paris, London and Rome, she carved out a magnificent empire--only to risk losing it all before she found the love she'd been searching for a love beyond the dream...beyond the fantasy...and beyond her heart's desire. Originally published by Kensington Publishers. Nominated for Romantic Times’ Best Glitz Novel of 1994.
The story is about a woman who is a true rags-to-riches character. Diana Colucci grows up on the mean streets of Boston, but she makes it to the salons of Europe, and ultimately, becomes synonymous with the best of the best in the international antiques business.
The setting is as much a character in this book as Diana herself. I lived in the house Diana grew up in on Orleans Street in East Boston with my first husband (an ill-fated marriage, but that's another story for another blog). I smelled the sickeningly sweet bubblegum factory stench in the middle of the summer, and I walked down the street to that corner store where tubes of mortadella, capicola, salami, and pastrami hung in the window.
Diana's lifestyle is far more glamorous than mine ever was, but I did lend my expertise about antiques to this story. I loved doing the research because it took me to multi-million dollar auctions, led me to research art and furniture that I would never be able to afford, and taught me more about Europe than the trips I've taken there since the day I finished the novel.
But the most precious and personal element of this book is that Diana's nephews are based on mine. It wasn't difficult to build her relationship with those boys and to make it believable that they are the most important component of Diana's life, the thing that would make her break every law to protect them. I would do the same for mine.
Diana's lovers are completely fictional. I'd love to say that I know those guys (even the nasty Luis), but they're composites of a number of people. However, I think we're all afraid of getting involved with someone who simply is the wrongest type of wrong. That fear has been part of my body armour since the trauma of my first marriage, so creating Luis to define the metaphoric violent man most women fear wasn't difficult.
One thing I promised my family when I was writing this book (which, by the way, was originally titled AMARYLLIS, but the editor requested I change the title) was that I would take them on the trip Diana made throughout Europe. I've never followed her footsteps, though I've promised myself many times that I would. Someday.
I guess when it's all said and done, this book has been the one that most closely defines my home. Boston will always be the place that defines who I am, though I won't ever live there again (too cold, too noisy, too crowded . . . I like places that are warm and on the ocean these days).
Yup, Boston is a major character in ALL THAT GLITTERS, but Diana and her crew certainly can hold their own, as well.
If you read this one, please let me know what you think of it!
Peace,
D
ENTER to win a SIGNED copy of ALL THAT GLITTERS by Dawn Reno Langley. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Affaire de Coeur called the story "powerful and suspenseful." The Daytona Beach News Journal said the story is "filled with action and interesting characters." Diana Colucci had what it took to get to the very top: the dream of making a name for herself in the world of international antiques--and the beauty and brains to turn her fantasies into breathtaking reality. Leaving the crowded tenements of her girlhood far behind, she became the protégé of a fabulously wealthy Boston Brahmin-moving from the high society of Beacon Hill to the jet setting royalty of Europe. Transformed into a woman of power and extraordinary passion, Diana was swept off her feet by a dashing South American prince charming... Until her fairy tale romance exploded in devastating heartbreak --and she was plunged into a deadly web of hate and revenge. From Malibu and Rodeo Drive to Paris, London and Rome, she carved out a magnificent empire--only to risk losing it all before she found the love she'd been searching for a love beyond the dream...beyond the fantasy...and beyond her heart's desire. Originally published by Kensington Publishers. Nominated for Romantic Times’ Best Glitz Novel of 1994.
No comments have been added yet.
