Monday, June 2, 2014

Transporting us to Venice and the Art of Gondola Making

Today, I'd like to spotlight Laura Morelli, art historian and award-winning author of The Gondola Maker. Morelli is currently touring her book with iRead Book Tours, and I had the opportunity to meet her at BookExpo America in New York City this past Thursday, where she accepted the Silver IPPY Award for Best Adult Fiction.

The Gondola Maker is also finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award Category, shortlisted for the da Vinci Eye Prize and finalist for the Indie Excellence Award.


Laura Morelli accepting the IPPY Award

Laura Morelli is a lovely woman and I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with her. In the fall, The Gondola Maker will be on tour again with Italy Book Tours, another tour company that I am launching this month. I will be spotlighting more books set in Italy and their authors. So if you love everything Italian like a lot of bloggers I know, stick around for some great upcoming titles!

Morelli is also launching a series of travel guides, especially for travelers who love to discover and learn more about Italy's beautiful artwork. I'll be spotlighting those as soon as they are published.

Me with Laura Morelli at BEA 14
You can learn more about The Gondola Maker by reading Sandra's review and interview with Morelli on my review blog Library of Clean Read. If you love historical fiction and atmospheric books, this one is sure to please! It will transport you to medieval Venice and the art of gondola making.

Here's a brief synopsis of the book:
From the author of Made in Italy comes a tale of artisanal tradition and family bonds set in one of the world's most magnificent settings: Renaissance Venice.

When Luca Vianello, the heir to a renowned gondola-making enterprise, experiences an unexpected tragedy in the boatyard, he believes that his destiny lies elsewhere. Soon he finds himself drawn to restore an antique gondola with the dream of taking a girl for a ride. Lovers of historical fiction will appreciate the authentic details of gondola craftsmanship, along with an intimate first-person narrative set against the richly textured backdrop of 16th-century Venice.



Where to buy the book:
Amazon
Barnes & Nobles
Book Depository
Indigo Chapters

About Laura Morelli:

Laura Morelli earned a Ph.D. in art history from Yale University, where she was a Bass Writing Fellow and an Andrew W. Mellon Doctoral Fellow. She has taught college art history in the U.S. and at Trinity College in Rome. She is the creator of the authentic guidebook series that includes Made in Italy, Made in France, and Made in the Southwest, published by Rizzoli. Laura is a frequent contributor to National Geographic Traveler and other national magazines and newspapers. A native of coastal Georgia, she is married and is busy raising four children. The Gondola Maker is her first work of fiction.

Connect with Laura here: www.lauramorelli.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauramorelliphd
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lauramorelliphd
about.me/lauramorelliphd

Do you like books set in Italy, in particular Venice?

1 comment:

  1. I lived in Venice three years and I love Venice as a novel's background. I especially imagine Venice as perfectly fitting an Edgar Allan Poe novel of mystery and arabesque, with its calm and waxy canals at night, at the light of a few lampposts.
    Thank you for passing on the information! And welcome back to blogging!!

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