Secrets of Venice with Vicky Adin
Venice
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Vicky Adin set some of her latest novel in Venice and Florence and is here today to tell us why:
There’s also a chance to win a copy of her book!
Hello Vicky and welcome to the festival! How did you choose these two Italian towns?
I set parts of the story in Venice and in Florence because they are two of my favourite places to visit in Italy. I love the art and history, and the buildings and the uniqueness they offer, even though I barely scratched the surface of what was available to see. But I remembered my feeling of awe and being wrapped in history everywhere I went. Art, and the artists, is a major theme of the story and these two cities fitted the overall plot perfectly.
I imbued my character, Megan, a 50-something-year-old widow, with the experiences I had. Like me, she visited the outer islands, watched the lace makers and the glass blowers, sampled the food – oh, the delicious food! – and drank the wine (give me more) and walked down alley-ways and over bridges getting lost and finding herself again. She too wandered the halls of the art galleries and museums and stood looking at the sculptures on every street corner. The antiquity of these places filled her head as much as it filled mine. I hope that feeling comes across to the reader.
What was the inspiration behind your book?
I am a genealogist and love digging into the past and finding links to family. I’ve discovered some great stories while researching and use them as kernels to write my novels. The catalyst for The Cornish Knot was an article I read about the discovery of a previously unknown painting which was attributed to a famous artist. I took that seed and chose a Cornish artist – Wilfred de Glehn. De Glehn was known to have spent time in Florence and knew another famous painter – Girolami Nerli – who became famous in New Zealand. His paintings hang in the Auckland Gallery. I grew up in Cornwall near where de Glehn lived and I came up with the idea of linking a painting with Cornwall, Florence and New Zealand through a journal. Megan’s journey turned out to be far more complicated and soul-searching that I expected it would.
But that’s characters for you – they tell you their stories, we writers just put it on the page.
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The Cornish Knot
Can one woman’s secrets change the life of another a century later?
On the anniversary of her husband’s unexpected death, Megan sits at home heartbroken and disconsolate. A mysterious package arrives containing a journal written a century earlier, which shakes her out of her self-imposed seclusion and gives her strength.
She embarks on a journey following in the footsteps of the journal’s author, from New Zealand to Cornwall, France and Italy, uncovering a past she knows nothing about. In Venice, she is pursued by a much younger man, and she meets an intriguing fellow countryman in Florence. She finds herself caught up in the mysterious world of art and captivated by a series of unknown paintings. As she unravels her history and reveals its secrets, can she also find love again?
Ebook ISBN 978-0-9922628-6-0
Print book ISBN 978-0-9922628-8-4
GIVEAWAY
I live in New Zealand and my books have a strong New Zealand influence. I’m offering a free .mobi file of The Cornish Knot to the first person who can tell me another New Zealand painter who features in my story. You can find out from my Pinterest page https://www.pinterest.nz/nzvicky/the-cornish-knot-art-mystery-and-romance/
[image error]Award-winning historical fiction author, Vicky Adin is a genealogist in love with history and words.
After decades of research Vicky has combined her skills to weave family and history stories together in a way that brings the past to life. Her writing style has been compared with that of Catherine Cookson.
Fascinated by the 19th Century pioneers who undertook hazardous journeys to find a better life, especially the women, Vicky draws her characters from real life stories: characters such as Brigid, the Irish lacemaker and Gwenna, the Welsh confectioner, or Megan who discovers much about herself when she traces her family tree in The Cornish Knot.
Vicky Adin holds a MA(Hons) in English and Education. She is an avid reader of historical novels, family sagas and contemporary women’s stories and enjoys travelling.
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