Willow L asked Nicole Maggi:

Hi there! I was wondering what made you decide on the name 'Alessia'? It's my best friend's name and I stumbled upon your book a little while after we were discussing how unusual it was to find both of our names in books. (We also found it interesting that the town she lives in is called 'Twin Willows' and my name is Willow.)

Nicole Maggi Hi Willow! That is so cool that you & your BFF have names relating to WINTER FALLS! I spend a lot of time searching for the perfect name for my characters. (It's actually one of my favorite ways to procrastinate, LOL!) Because of Alessia's Italian heritage, I knew I wanted her name to be Italian. So I started by researching Italian names. I also pay close attention to the meanings of names. When I saw that Alessia means "defender" I just knew it was the perfect name because of her duty as a Benandante to protect the magic in Twin Willows. I came up with the town name because I wanted the name to reflect the two landmarks that mark the borders, and I wanted those landmarks to be something in nature. I love willow trees...which incidentally symbolize inner visions and dreams. ;-) Thank you so much for your excellent question and for your interest in WINTER FALLS!

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