tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26960187620987455662024-03-13T20:34:18.086-07:00Essentially Italian...Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-20838488875466974022019-06-17T20:13:00.002-07:002019-06-17T20:13:36.529-07:00Interview with Melissa Muldoon, author of Eternally Artemisia (Giveaway too!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today, I am welcoming Melissa Muldoon to Essentially Italian in an interview that has this author talking about her books, her writing life and her passion for Italy, its language, art, and culture.<br />
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<b>LCR: Welcome to Essentially Italian! Your books all feature the journeys of regular women on their paths to self-discovery, whose stories parallel with the stories of some of the great Italian artists. As they are connected, by theme anyway, how would you describe your work? As a series? A trilogy? What is your goal with this collection?</b><br />
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MM: They say to write what you know best, and what I know best is art and Italy! I didn’t start out to write a trilogy, but as I was working on my third novel, I realized I had. Each book, <i>Dreaming Sophia, Waking Isabella</i> and <i>Eternally Artemisia</i> stands on its own, but still, there is a common theme that connects them all and that is—what draws a woman to Italy and why. In each book, I explore the forces at play that cause my protagonists, sometimes against their will, to follow the gentle tug and pull of Italy to make a life there, despite great odds. <br />
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Maybe this is because I’m always trying to explain my own “peculiar” fascination with Italy, the Italian people and the language. I have always felt an inexplicable hand pulling me to Italy, despite having no Italian heritage. Like all my female protagonists—Sophia, Nora and Maddie—sometimes I too feel like I have been persuaded by Italian artists and Medici princess’—even seduced by Tuscan ghosts from the past—who whisper into my ear, to learn the language and return home to Italy time and time again. So, perhaps like my characters, I too have lived another life in Italy—or perhaps several! <br />
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Apart from that, my goal with my books has also been to bring art history to life for my readers. I believe “art” can talk to you and there are stories to be revealed if you take the time to “listen.” I find it fascinating to contemplate the idea art endures, but people pass away and are forgotten. We have paintings and cathedrals created by artists who worked hundreds and thousands of years ago—all tangible proof that lives were lived in the past, people loved well had hopes and dreams and aspirations. Rather than let these forgotten historical figures and painters remain vague dusty statics in a history book, I want to reanimate their stories and make them real and poignant again for future generations.</div>
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</span><b>LCR: What is something you wish you knew when you started out?</b><br />
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MM: Writing a book is like aging a fine wine. It takes time and sometimes the process just can’t be rushed, despite my impatience and desire to hurry the story along. After completing the first draft, as excited as I might be about what I’ve set down in the first flush of writing, it is far from perfect. But rather than becoming discouraged, I must always remember my best work actually comes later during the re-writing and editing. That is when I can weave in the details and more masterfully embellish the scenes. <br />
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The second time around, I’m no longer feeling my way in the dark, and the story becomes richer and fuller because I am totally in command of the plot and know exactly where I am going with the story-line. Even in the final hours before publishing, I’m kind of in awe that I’m still writing amazing lines, that I never could or would never have written six months before. So yes, I must always remember, the story gets better with age.<br />
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<b>LCR: What does your writing practice look like?</b><br />
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MM: My writing practice is a long and circuitous one, and I devote hundreds and hundreds of hours to the process. <br />
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After finishing several weeks of initial research, I begin brainstorming a plotline and then write a detailed 100-page outline. When it is complete, I share it with my primary story editor. Given the green light the overall story makes sense, I begin the first draft following my detailed 100-page road map. I work non-stop, writing every day, creating a 100,000+ word manuscript. During this time, I allow myself to write fluidly in an expansive manner, trying to ride the creative wave that first inspired the story. After completing the initial draft, which takes about two months, I review it again with my original story editor (a female), as well as with another (a male). Based on the feedback I receive, I then begin the extensive editing and re-writing process, cutting out unnecessary information, adding useful details, fixing plot problems and refining dialogues until I finish the novel, which can take another six to eight months.<br />
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I write best late at night and early in the morning. Afternoons, I spend doing further research or going to the gym to exercise, relax and refocus my brain. Early evenings, after preparing dinner, I go for long calming walks with my two beagles. As I walk, I listen to Italian music and watch the sunset and the moon rise. I often leave the house tired and without energy, but as I walk and gaze at the stars, my mind subconsciously replays scenes and chapters, and it is during these walks that often I have my best ideas. I resolve plot problems or think of lines to write, and I rush home to open and capture them in the document that is always open on my computer. I am so energized at this point, the ideas just seem to flow out of nowhere, and I continue writing until the wee hours of the night.<br />
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I always write my stories on a computer. I begin my manuscripts in Word, and then when the story is really solid, I lay it out in InDesign. Since I am a graphic designer and a visual person, early on I need to see my story fully formatted, to envision what it will look like printed. I also design and illustrate my own book covers and as I work on the graphics and set the type, I continue thinking about the storyline. Inevitably, reviewing the layout of my novel in InDesign, I see it and read it with new eyes, and this also helps my editing process.<br />
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I read and reread my manuscript countless times over and can continue working on it for months. But at a certain point, I have to tell myself I’ve told my story to the best of my ability and say goodbye to my protagonists and let them enter the world so that I can move on to my next idea!<br />
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<b>LCR: You are an artist, writer, designer, Italian language instructor – how do you express your passion for Italy through all your creative talents?</b><br />
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MM: In all my pursuits (from writing books, blogs, filming Youtube videos, to leading groups to learn Italian in Italy) my goal and my passion is to share with others the Italy I have come to know through my travels and personal experiences living in Italy. I want others to know the legends I have learned, the cultural curiosities I find so intriguing, as well as the history, the religion and the art. I want to paint a picture of Italy in words, to share the tastes, the smells and the sights that can be found in no other part of the world. </div>
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I also want my followers to understand the joy one feels being in Italy, but more importantly, the pleasure and the generous response one receives from an Italian when he hears you speaking his language.<br />
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Italy is truly a magical place, one that I never tire of writing about!</div>
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<b>LCR: Artemisia Gentileschi is fierce! And such a relevant figure in today’s world! What are some of the things that stand out about her – what does she represent for all women?</b><br />
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MM: Artemisia’s story is an intriguing one, but the thing that truly sets her apart and why she was so successful in the end, was her passion for painting! She lived and breathed her art and practiced it from a very early age, perfecting her skills, learning from her father, other masters, even the painting instructor who raped her. Artemisia was an observer of nature—she studied her own body, painted from life and worked with esteemed scientists like Galileo to understand how blood flows through the body and from gaping wounds. She never stopped learning, and she never stopped painting—even during her darkest days.<br />
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And during her lifetime Artemisia suffered through many dark days. She lived in a male-dominated society and hence, because of her gender, as a young woman she lived a very restricted life, and her liberties were extremely limited by her father. She was kept a virtual prisoner in her own home, not allowed to venture out on her own. In her lifetime Artemisia endured sexual harassment and rape. She was lied to, abused, and subjected to a court trial when the man who raped her reneged on his proposal of marriage. It turned out he was already married to someone else and had fathered children by yet another woman. It was only during the trial Artemisia found all this out. After raping her the man coerced and blackmailed her into accepting his promise of marriage so he could continue having access to her bed. <br />
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In a very public trial Artemisia, attended by a jury of men, she was subjected to inspection in front of a judge and tortured with thumb screws to prove she was the one telling the truth as her rapist looked on untouched. She won her court case but left the courtroom in disgrace and almost lost her promising painting career. To save her reputation her father had plans of sending her to a convent, thinking no man would ever touch her since she was soiled goods. In the end, he bartered her off to a philandering Florentine man, and Artemisia was forced to leave her home town and begin life all over again in a new city. There she lived with a man she didn’t love or respect, and who stole her money. During her years in Florence, she also suffered several miscarriages<br />
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And yet, none of this prevented Artemisia from maturing into a strong, independent woman, a successful artist, and the first female to ever be admitted into Florence’s exclusive Art Academy. She painted for Kings and Dukes all over Europe and even in England. She surpassed her male peers because she developed her own unique style did not merely imitate the work of other men. It could be said she was one of the first to champion the woman’s movement, refashioning traditional biblical themes, repurposing them so that in her canvases, women become the center of the viewer’s focus. In her paintings, she demonstrates that when women unite and take control of their lives and their destinies, they become the heroes of the story.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.libraryofcleanreads.com/2019/06/eternally-artemisia-by-melissa-muldoon.html" target="_blank">Read my review of Eternally Artemisia </a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.libraryofcleanreads.com/2019/06/eternally-artemisia-by-melissa-muldoon.html" target="_blank">on Library of Clean Reads</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Enter the Giveaway!</b></span></div>
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-35077890877773629272019-04-15T19:39:00.003-07:002019-04-15T19:39:58.566-07:00Drone Strike: An Anthony Provati Thriller by Joe Giordano (Book Spotlight, Author Guest Post and Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today, I'm spotlighting Joe Giordano's latest release, the second book in the Anthony Provati Thriller series. My review will be posted later this month on <a href="https://www.libraryofcleanreads.com/" target="_blank">Library of Clean Reads</a>. I asked Giordano how he created realistic settings for his novels. Scroll down for his guest post on this topic and then enter to win a copy of the book!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: Drone Strike: An Anthony Provati Thriller by Joe Giordano<br />
Category: Adult Fiction, 290 pages<br />
Genre: Thriller<br />
Publisher: Rogue Phoenix Press<br />
Release date: April 15, 2019<br />
Format available for review: ebook (mobi, ePub, PDF)<br />
Tour dates: April 15 to 26, 2019<br />
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (for graphic violent terrorist scenes, no sex, no f-words.)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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Karim’s family is killed by a U.S. drone strike in Iraq, collateral damage. The Islamic State in the Levant exploits his rage, recruiting him for a terrorist attack on the U.S., and only Anthony Provati can stop him. <i>Drone Strike</i> takes you on a fast-paced adventure across the Mediterranean, into Mexico, finally arriving in the States. <i>Drone Strike</i> explores the psychological realities that seduce Karim to commit an act of terror, includes a love story between Moslem Karim and Miriam, a Christian woman he defends in Turkey and highlights the plight of Middle Eastern and Central American refugees.<br />
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<b>To read reviews, please follow <a href="https://www.italybooktours.com/blog---current-tours/book-review-tour-drone-strike-an-anthony-provati-thriller-by-joe-giordano" target="_blank">Joe Giordano's page on Italy Book Tours</a>.</b><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Buy the Book:</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drone-Strike-Anthony-Thriller-Appointment-ebook/dp/B07PCRRSZC/">Amazon</a> ~ <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130920120?ean=2940161203842">Barnes & Noble</a> ~ <a href="https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/drone-strike-1">Kobo</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Guest Post:</b></span></div>
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<b>How I Create Realistic Settings for My Novels</b></div>
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<b>by Joe Giordano</b></div>
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Realistic settings spring from both personal experience and research. <br />
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As a retired International Executive Vice President of 3M, I lived in Greece, Brazil, Belgium, and the Netherlands and traveled extensively, experiencing the cultures and locations around the world that appear in my writing. For example, my first foreign assignment had been as Managing Director, running a business in Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, and North Africa out of Athens. giving me first-hand experience with Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern people and most of the locations in Drone Strike.<br />
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With both Appointment with ISIL, An Anthony Provati Thriller, and Drone Strike, the just-published, second book in the series, a University of Texas class on Islamic history provided me with additional background.<br />
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Regarding Birds of Passage, An Italian Immigrant Coming of Age Story, my first novel, an historical fiction set around the turn of the twentieth-century, all my grandparents and my father were immigrants from Naples. They entered the United States during the Progressive Era. To learn about the environment they encountered, I took a graduate course on the period at the University of Texas and my research interest and term paper topic was Italian immigration. While Birds of Passage was not about my family, my experience growing up with immigrants allowed me to capture how they thought and acted. <br />
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Library research and the Internet are excellent sources for accurate details on settings without needing to visit or revisit a location. For example, I’ve toured both the San Gennaro Cathedral in Naples and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, two sites in Drone Strike, and through Internet images, I refreshed my memory on features inside both churches. Street level Internet map applications allowed me to virtually walk around Bodrum, a Turkish city I hadn’t visited in years, another locale featured in Drone Strike.<span style="font-size: large;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-05f38a30-7fff-0c80-cb15-2f7742f2372a"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Meet the Author:</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TjQ7H0AKPUc/XKkDmjo4jOI/AAAAAAAAGKE/KVEKDLtKNRMr_ZuCvP9P860zcbDpy8jBACLcBGAs/s1600/Joe%2BGiordano.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="839" height="305" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TjQ7H0AKPUc/XKkDmjo4jOI/AAAAAAAAGKE/KVEKDLtKNRMr_ZuCvP9P860zcbDpy8jBACLcBGAs/s320/Joe%2BGiordano.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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</span></span>As a former International Executive Vice President of 3M, Joe Giordano’s experience included running a business in the Middle East out of Athens, Greece. Born in New York, he’s had first-hand experience with the cultures and most of the locations in Drone Strike.<br />
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Joe's stories have appeared in more than one hundred magazines including The Saturday Evening Post and Shenandoah. His novels, Birds of Passage: An Italian Immigrant Coming of Age Story (2015) and Appointment with ISIL: An Anthony Provati Thriller (2017) were published by Harvard Square Editions. Read the first chapters and sign up for his blog at http://joe-giordano.com/<br />
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Joe was among one hundred Italian-American authors honored by Barnes & Noble Chairman Len Riggio to march in the 2017 Manhattan, Columbus Day Parade.<br />
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<b>Connect with the author: <a href="http://joe-giordano.com/">Website</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/joe_jagintx">Twitter</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Joe.Giordano.author.921/">Facebook</a> ~ <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/jagintx/"> Pinterest</a></b><br />
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-44576919183802172612019-04-07T18:29:00.000-07:002019-04-07T18:29:28.406-07:00Writer Get Noticed! A Strengths-Based Approach to Creating a Standout Author Platform by Colleen M. Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm kicking off the tour for Colleen M. Story's latest resource book for writers. My review will be up on my Library of Clean Reads later this week. Check it out!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: Writer Get Noticed! A Strengths-Based Approach to Creating a Standout Author Platform by Colleen M. Story<br />
Category: Adult Non-Fiction, 310 pages<br />
Genre: Non-fiction Writing/Publishing<br />
Publisher: Midchannel Press<br />
Release date: March 2019<br />
Tour dates: April 8 to 19, 2019<br />
Content Rating: G<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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Stop feeling invisible and start attracting the attention you deserve!<br />
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Have you been writing for years, but feel like no one notices? Have you published your stories, only to gain a handful of readers? Do your marketing efforts feel like shouting into a void?<br />
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Veteran writer and motivational coach Colleen M. Story helps you break the spell of invisibility to reveal the author platform that will finally draw readers your way.<br />
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There are more books out there than ever before, and readers have many other things vying for their attention. A writer can feel like a needle in a haystack, and throwing money at the problem rarely helps. What does work is creating a platform that stands out, but in a sea of a million platforms, how is one to do that?<br />
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Writer Get Noticed! takes a new approach, dispelling the notion that fixing your writing flaws and expanding your social media reach will get you the readers you deserve. Instead, discover a myriad of strengths you didn’t know you had, then use them to find your author theme, power up your platform, and create a new author business blueprint, all while gaining insight into what sets you apart as a writer and creative artist.<br />
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Writers need readers to achieve their highest potential. Find your way to stand out, and let it lead you to the writing career that fulfills all your expectations and more.<br />
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In this motivational and inspiring book, you’ll learn:<br />
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<li>Why simply improving your writing skills won’t take you where you want to go.</li>
<li>How discovering your strengths makes you a more effective writer and entrepreneur.</li>
<li>What you really want from writing and why that matters.</li>
<li>How to use the three-brain decision-making system to build a more successful author platform.</li>
<li>What truly motivates you and how to use that to propel yourself forward.</li>
<li>How to use the “find your author theme formula” to write a theme that fits your creative style.</li>
<li>How imposter syndrome can stall your progress, and how to overcome it.</li>
<li>Why risk-taking is critical to writing success, and how to make better decisions about the risks you take.</li>
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When you find the treasure that’s been inside you all along, don’t be surprised if it opens new doors you never thought possible.<br />
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<b>To read reviews, please visit <a href="https://www.ireadbooktours.com/blog---current-tours/book-review-tour-writer-get-noticed-a-strengths-based-approach-to-creating-a-standout-author-platform-by-colleen-m-story" target="_blank">Colleen M. Story's page on iRead Book Tours</a>.</b><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Buy the Book:</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0999099124" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44557717-writer-get-noticed-a-strengths-based-approach-to-creating-a-standout-au" target="_blank">Add to Goodreads</a></b></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meet the Author:</b></span></div>
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Colleen M. Story is on a mission to inspire people from all walks of life to overcome modern-day challenges and find creative fulfillment. Her latest release, "Writer Get Noticed!," is a strengths-based guide to help writers break the spell of invisibility and discover unique author platforms that will draw readers their way. Her prior nonfiction release, "Overwhelmed Writer Rescue," was named Solo Medalist in the New Apple Book Awards, Book by Book Publicity’s Best Writing/Publishing Book, and first place in the 2018 Reader Views Literary Awards.<br />
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With over 20 years as a professional in the creative industry, Colleen has authored thousands of articles for publications like “Healthline” and “Women's Health;” worked with high-profile clients like Gerber Baby Products and Kellogg's; and ghostwritten books on back pain, nutrition, and cancer recovery. Her literary novel, Loreena’s Gift, was a Foreword Reviews' INDIES Book of the Year Awards winner, an Idaho Author Awards first place winner, and New Apple Solo Medalist winner, among others.<br />
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Colleen frequently serves as a workshop leader and motivational speaker, where she helps attendees remove mental and emotional blocks and tap into their unique creative powers.<br />
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Find more at her motivational sites, <a href="http://www.writingandwellness.com/">Writing and Wellness</a> and <a href="https://writerceo.com/">Writer CEO</a>, on her <a href="http://colleenmstory.com/">author website</a>, or follow her on <a href="https://twitter.com/colleen_m_story">Twitter</a>.<br />
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-4401924829196435482019-02-22T08:19:00.001-08:002019-02-22T08:28:37.497-08:00Made in Italy by Laura Morelli (Book Review and Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AAtDS_T68-8/XFnbcpVnC2I/AAAAAAAAGCU/bvIiIf64dOotDb6oUI5laBlb0dv57M6FgCLcBGAs/s1600/Made%2Bin%2BItaly.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="730" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AAtDS_T68-8/XFnbcpVnC2I/AAAAAAAAGCU/bvIiIf64dOotDb6oUI5laBlb0dv57M6FgCLcBGAs/s640/Made%2Bin%2BItaly.png" width="416" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: Made in Italy by Laura Morelli<br />
Category: Adult Non-fiction, 161 pages<br />
Genre: Travel, History, Art<br />
Publisher: Authentic Arts Publishing<br />
Release date: Jan, 2019<br />
Tour dates: Feb 11 to March 8, 2019<br />
Content Rating: G<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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Richly painted maiolica ceramics from Tuscany. Supple Florentine leather. The cameos of Naples and the Amalfi Coast. Parmigiano-Reggiano, the king of cheeses. Jaw-dropping glass from the island of Murano.<br />
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MADE IN ITALY takes you on a complete tour of the dazzling artisanal legacy of Italy, uncovering off-the-beaten-path destinations and one-of-a-kind, hidden workshops where everything from leather bags to gilded frames are turned out completely by hand, piece by piece.<br />
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This book includes instructions for getting a free copy of the companion guide, ARTISANS OF ITALY, with complete, continually updated listings of Laura's personally recommended shops and artisans across Italy.<br />
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Laura Morelli, art historian and trusted guide in the world of cultural travel and authentic shopping, leads you behind the tourist traps to discover some of Italy's most traditional arts.<br />
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Laura holds a Ph.D. in art history from Yale University and shares how, what, and where to buy; hints on recognizing quality and authenticity; and tips for bringing home the artisanal treasures of Italy in your suitcase.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>My Review:</b></span></div>
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Reviewed by Laura Fabiani</div>
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Art historian Laura Morelli's passion about what she does is clear in the books that she writes. Although she's written two historical fiction novels, she's also written a series of non-fiction books: the Authentic Arts guidebook series, one of which is <i>Made in Italy</i>. She states in her book that "the goal of <i>Made in Italy</i> is to enhance your appreciation of, and, in some cases, introduce you to, the most typical, handcrafted products from each of Italy's 18 regions."<br />
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I loved reading through this book! Not only did I learn about the different artisanal products produced in Italy, but it stimulated in me a desire to visit these regions and see them for myself. I am planning a month-long trip to Italy in three years time to celebrate my 30th wedding anniversary and I will use this book to plan my itinerary. If you want to know how to shop well and find authentic items, this book is it. Morelli writes in the first person and her narrative is interspersed with her own personal experiences shopping. She liberally gives you tips on how to get stuff tax-free, how to pack, how to handle Customs for the items you are bringing home and how to ship stuff home.</div>
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For each of the Italian geographical zones she covers in her book, Morelli gives us a brief history of the area, what makes it different and unique from the other areas and what crafts they are known for, making this book interesting to read, especially if you love Italy, art and travel. Packed with current information and shopping tips, this guidebook is a must for lovers of quality artisanal products and Italian traditions.<br />
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Note: This book also comes with the updated downloadable shoppers companion book Artisans of Italy. It lists where to buy authentic Italian goods.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Buy the Book:</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MZ9CR2X/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a> ~ <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/made-in-italy-laura-morelli/1005647338?ean=2940156258987" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="https://lauramorelli.com/store/made-in-italy/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Author's Website</span></a></b></div>
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<b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/766767.Laura_Morelli" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Add to Goodreads</span></a></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Meet the Author:</span></div>
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</span>LAURA MORELLI holds a Ph.D. in art history from Yale University, has taught college students in the U.S. and in Italy, and currently produces art history lessons for TED-Ed. She authored a column for National Geographic Traveler called “The Genuine Article” and has contributed pieces about art and authentic travel to CNN Radio, The Frommers Travel Show, and in USA TODAY, Departures, and other media.<br />
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Laura is the author of the Authentic Arts guidebook series that includes the popular book Made in Italy. Her fiction brings the stories of art history to life. Her debut novel, The Gondola Maker, won an IPPY for Best Historical Fiction and a Benjamin Franklin Award.<br />
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<b>Connect with the Author: <a href="https://lauramorelli.com/">Website</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/lauramorelliphd?lang=en">Twitter</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lauramorelliphd/">Facebook</a> ~ <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lauramorelliphd/">Instagram</a></b><br />
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Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-2081590950332462972019-02-11T06:18:00.002-08:002019-02-11T06:18:38.197-08:00The Chef's Secret by Crystal King (Book Spotlight and Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: The Chef's Secret by Crystal King<br />
Category: Adult fiction, 352 pages<br />
Genre: Historical Fiction<br />
Publisher: Atria/Simon & Schuster<br />
Release date: Feb 12, 2019<br />
Tour dates: Feb 11 to 28, 2019<br />
Content Rating: R (for a couple of explicit, but loving, sex scenes (no abuse or rape) and minor curse words)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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A captivating novel of Renaissance Italy detailing the mysterious life of Bartolomeo Scappi, the legendary chef to several popes and author of one of the bestselling cookbooks of all time, and the nephew who sets out to discover his late uncle’s secrets—including the identity of the noblewoman Bartolomeo loved until he died.<br />
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When Bartolomeo Scappi dies in 1577, he leaves his vast estate—properties, money, and his position—to his nephew and apprentice Giovanni. He also gives Giovanni the keys to two strongboxes and strict instructions to burn their contents. Despite Scappi’s dire warning that the information concealed in those boxes could put Giovanni’s life and others at risk, Giovanni is compelled to learn his uncle’s secrets. He undertakes the arduous task of decoding Scappi’s journals and uncovers a history of deception, betrayal, and murder—all to protect an illicit love affair.<br />
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As Giovanni pieces together the details of Scappi’s past, he must contend with two rivals who have joined forces—his brother Cesare and Scappi’s former protégé, Domenico Romoli, who will do anything to get his hands on the late chef’s recipes.<br />
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With luscious prose that captures the full scale of the sumptuous feasts for which Scappi was known, The Chef’s Secret serves up power, intrigue, and passion, bringing Renaissance Italy to life in a delectable fashion.<br />
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<b>To follow the tour, please visit <a href="https://www.italybooktours.com/blog---current-tours/book-spotlight-tour-the-chefs-secret-by-crystal-king" target="_blank">Crystal King's page on Italy Book Tours</a>.</b><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Excerpt from The Chef's Secret:</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Crystal King</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Forty-three days after he first laid eyes upon the most beautiful girl in the world, Bartolomeo had the good fortune to overhear the maids talking about a girl at the palazzo. Two of the serving maids huddled in the pantry near his post where he was prepping nightingales for the cena. When they mentioned the dress she had worn the night before, Bartolomeo realized the principessa was the object of their admiration. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the maids was a thin slip of a girl who served the cardinale’s sister. The other was a young woman who had caught his fancy for a time the summer before, but soon bored Bartolomeo with her empty gossip. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“She’s here from Roma,” the first said, awe in her voice. They talked of the girl’s extraordinarily wealthy family, of her famed dressmaker, and of how long it took to wrangle her curls each morning. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When they said her name, Bartolomeo had to put his knife down for fear of cutting himself. Oh, to know her true name! Happiness filled him like a carafe of fine wine. Her name, he thought, was like the taste of strawberries sprinkled with sugar. It was like the summer sun touching the petal of a freshly bloomed flower. That evening, when he gazed out his little garret window, he wished he could shout her name across the rooftops, but he could never say it aloud. To do so was too dangerous, for her and for him. He would take a thousand lashings for his Stella </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">[Author’s note, this is a pet name that Bartolomeo has for her]</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, but he could not bear to have her come to harm. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next morning, Stella stopped Bartolomeo in the loggia. The sky was bright and the October air was still gentle and warm. He was readying to leave the palazzo to go to market when she approached. He was so startled to see her there he stopped in his tracks, mouth agape. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The princess was radiant in a red velvet gown, her hair piled high upon her head. Her beauty was staggering, her skin so clear, her cheeks ruddy and fresh. What a sight he must seem in comparison, with his own hair a tussle of wild waves, a grease stain adorning one sleeve. He hadn’t bathed, and he was certain he smelled too much like onions and ham. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She recognized his discomfort and giggled, in a way that immediately eased his fear. She gently touched his arm with one hand, and with the other she pressed a piece of paper into his palm. “What is your name?” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He looked around to see who might be witnessing the exchange, but there were only a couple of gardeners in the vicinity, none of whom paid them any mind. “Bartolomeo,” he said, gathering courage. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She released his hand and shared her own name. Bartolomeo’s heart sang as she repeated the word he had been turning over and over in his mind since the day before. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Please tell the cook how much I love his tourtes.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bartolomeo nodded his head vigorously. “I will, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">madonna</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, I will.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She dazzled him with another smile. “I liked the radish flower the best, though.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She winked and turned away. He stood there, staring at the curve of her departing body, wondering what had just happened. He stared until she rounded the corner of the loggia. He was light-headed and it felt like he was spinning, like a little bird on a spit, fire rising all around it. The piece of paper in his hand was small and warm. He hurried out of the palazzo and down the cobbled street lining the adjoining Rio di San Luca canal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When he was sure no one could see, he stopped and unfolded the little piece of paper.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meet the Author:</b></span></div>
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</span>Crystal King is an author, culinary enthusiast, and marketing expert. Her writing is fueled by a love of history and a passion for the food, language, and culture of Italy. She has taught classes in writing, creativity, and social media at several universities including Harvard Extension School and Boston University, as well as at GrubStreet, one of the leading creative writing centers in the US.<br />
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A Pushcart Prize–nominated poet and former co-editor of the online literary arts journal Plum Ruby Review, Crystal received her MA in critical and creative thinking from UMass Boston, where she developed a series of exercises and writing prompts to help fiction writers in medias res. She resides in Boston but considers Italy her next great love after her husband, Joe, and their two cats, Nero and Merlin. She is the author of Feast of Sorrow.<br />
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<b>Connect with the author: <a href="http://www.crystalking.com/">Website</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/crystallyn?lang=en">Twitter</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/crystallynking">Facebook</a> ~ <a href="https://www.pinterest.ca/crystallyn14/">Pinterest</a> ~ <a href="https://www.instagram.com/crystallyn14/">Instagram</a></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Enter the Giveaway!</b></span></div>
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-1460772229391228722018-10-12T19:14:00.001-07:002018-10-12T19:14:39.899-07:00A Life By Design (The Italian Family Series) by Lucy Appadoo (Book Spotlight, Author Interview and Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>A Life by Design</i> is the latest book in The Italian Family series. Check it out, as well as my interview with the author and enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: A Life By Design (The Italian Family Series) by Lucy Appadoo<br />
Category: Adult Fiction, 211 pages<br />
Genre: 20th Century Historical Romance, coming of age story set in Milan, Italy<br />
Publisher: Self-published<br />
Release date: Aug 24, 2018<br />
Tour dates: Sept 24 to Oct 12, 2018<br />
Content Rating: PG-13 + M<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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When 20-year-old Elena Allegro leaves the Italian village of Laurino to study Fashion Design in Milan, she’s certain her dreams are about to come true. Despite her father’s warnings that risk comes with her newfound freedom, she loves her studies and develops a love interest with Francesco, the handsome young entrepreneur who offers her a part-time job in a Milan clothing store.<br />
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It seems like an idyllic situation—until a stalker targets Elena, tormenting her with mind games and threatening her safety. In the face of escalating danger to herself and to Francesco, Elena must fight for her freedom, her love, and her survival.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Life-Design-Italian-Family-ebook/dp/B07GSL3LNH/">Amazon</a> ~ <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-life-by-design-lucy-appadoo/1129290884">Barnes & Noble</a> </b></span></div>
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">My Interview with Lucy Appadoo:</b></div>
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<b>EI: Welcome to Essentially Italian, Lucy! Can you describe your book in 20 words or less?</b><br /><br />LA: <i>A Life By Design</i> is about a 20-year old village girl who dreams of becoming a fashion designer. She studies in Milan, Italy and develops a love interest while making new friends. In the meantime, she is terrorised by an unknown person, and suspects a fellow student. Towards the end of the story, you’ll find a twist, so hopefully the readers will be surprised.<br /><br /><b>EI: <i>A Life by Design</i> (clever title, by the way) is part of The Italian Family series. Can you tell us a little more about this series? Why did you decide to write an Italian family drama?</b><br /><br />LA: <i>A Life By Design</i> is part of The Italian Family Series so follows on from <i>Dancing in the Rain</i>. I decided to write the series as I had discovered how fascinating my parents’ childhood stories were. I wanted to tell the story of Valeria’s sister, Elena who was from <i>Dancing in the Rain</i>, as I felt she had a story to tell about her creativity and drive. She was the type of person who wanted more for herself than working on a farm her whole life. </div>
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There’s a part of me that appreciates the Italian culture, having grown up in it, and there’s also a part of me who is creative with my writing and likes to develop new ideas. I also enjoyed my last trip to Italy but never got the chance to travel to Milan. There is something about Italy that makes you feel alive and a part of a relaxed and carefree lifestyle. When I had last visited, I found the country to be filled with wonder, a beautiful history, and romanticism. You cannot compare the history between Italy and my hometown of Melbourne.<br /><br /><b>EI: What was the hardest thing about writing this novel? The easiest?</b><br /><br />LA: The hardest thing about writing <i>A Life By Design</i> was coming up with ideas about the immoral acts of the villain, as I consider myself to have values and morals. I struggle to put myself into a bad character’s shoes, but I do try to understand why the villain behaves as he/she does. For a villain, there is always a rationale for the twisted behaviour, and this villain had a reason for behaving that way in my novel. <br /><br />The easiest thing about writing my novel was coming up with ideas about the good characters and creating the chapter outlines. I believe I have a great imagination, but I also draw on previous experiences. Having the combination of imagination and drawing on experience can make for a rich story. I can also relate more to the moral characters as I am that way inclined.<br /><br /><b>EI: Are any of your stories drawn from real life experiences? And how does your work as a Rehabilitation Counsellor influence your writing?</b><br /><br />LA: Three of my books from The Italian Family Series are drawn from my parents personal stories, and they include <i>A New Life</i>, <i>The Beauty of Tears</i>, and <i>Dancing in the Rain</i>. <i>A Life By Design</i> was inspired by one aspect of my own personality; the part of me that is creative, has had adventures through travel, and always has ambition, and strives for greater goals. However, the story itself is fictitious. My work as a Rehabilitation Counsellor influences my work by having an understanding of characters’ motivations. In other words, how would a particular person behave, given their traits and temperament, as well as their past experiences?<br /><br /><b>EI: If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?</b><br /><br />LA: If I could travel back in time, I would go to an Italian village, as the life was so very simple in those days. There is an appeal about doing things by hand, and that includes making wine or tomato sauce, planting vegetables on a farm, and making pickled foods. You get to experience the freshness of organic, natural foods and you’d feel a great reward creating all of these things yourself. In today’s times, we’re far too busy to create things, particularly with the advent of new technology and the fast and hectic pace of life. The city life is very different from farm life.<br /><br /><b>EI: Are you working on another book project? </b><br /><br />LA: I am currently working on a romantic suspense novel from my Hearts Series. I’ve written the first draft which is currently with my editor. Once she returns the story to me, I’ll work on those edits and start the second draft. This story is a continuation of my previous romantic suspense novel, <i>Forbidden Hearts</i>, and draws on two previous characters from that novel.<br /><br /><b>EI: Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now, both in your professional and personal life?</b><br /><br />LA: In five years time, I am hoping to have a whole list of fiction and non-fiction books that are selling extremely well. I also hope to build a business as a grief coach and reduce my hours in my current position. On a personal level, I hope to be an evolved person who is wiser and more creative, with new personal connections and the continual support of my family and friends.<br /><br /><b>EI: Any advice for writers who want to write a series?</b><br /><br />LA: My advice to writers about writing a series would be to always develop your writing craft by working with writing coaches, editors, and doing writing workshops. It’s important to intimately know your characters so that you can write about them in the next instalment of the series. Furthermore, it’s a great idea to advertise the first book in the series quite extensively as this will allow for read-through (if readers like the first book in the series, they’re more likely to read the next book in the series). You also need to read in the genre you write so that you’re aware of how that kind of genre works on a structural level. Furthermore, writing is very competitive and it is difficult to make money from it, but don’t give up and keep doing what you enjoy doing. Follow your passion and dreams, and believe in yourself.<br /><br /><b>EI: Thank you so much for chatting with me!</b><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-size: x-large;">Meet the Author:</b></div>
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Lucy is an author of romantic suspense, historical fiction/coming of age, short story thrillers, and non-fiction books. She is also a Registered Counsellor/Wellness Coach, and works as a Rehabilitation Counsellor for the Australian Government.<br />
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Lucy enjoys reading romantic suspense, romance, thrillers, crime novels, family/historical drama, and sagas. She has enjoyed travelling to exotic places such as Madrid, Mauritius, and Italy, and draws on these experiences in her creative writing.<br />
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Lucy’s favourite authors include Kendra Elliot, Christiane Heggan, Theresa Ragan, Tara Moss, Nicholas Sparks, Adriana Trigiani, Erica Spindler, and James Patterson (to name a few).<br />
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Lucy’s interests include meditation, exercising, journal writing, reading fiction and nonfiction texts about writing, coaching, and counselling, ongoing professional development, spending time with her husband and two daughters, and socialising with friends and family.<br />
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<b>Connect with the Author: <a href="http://www.lucyappadooauthor.com.au/">Website</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/LucyAppadoo">Twitter</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lucy.appadoo">Facebook</a></b><strong style="background-color: white; color: #515151; font-family: Roboto; font-size: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></strong></div>
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-77474393408350927722018-08-09T05:06:00.000-07:002018-08-09T05:06:02.818-07:00The Love Fool: A Rome-antic Comedy by Lorenzo Petruzziello (Book Spotlight, Author Interview and Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today, I have an interview with Lorenzo Petruzziello, whose debut novel set in Rome had me cracking up. You can <a href="http://www.libraryofcleanreads.com/2018/08/the-love-fool-rome-antic-comedy-by.html" target="_blank">read my review posted on Library of Clean Reads</a>. Check out my interview below and enter the giveaway to win a copy of the book!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: The Love Fool: A Rome-antic Comedy by Lorenzo Petruzziello<br />
Category: Adult Fiction, 314 pages<br />
Genre: Romantic Comedy<br />
Publisher: Quill (Inkshares)<br />
Release date: March 13, 2018<br />
Tour dates: Aug 6 to 24, 2018<br />
Content Rating: PG<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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Set in Rome. Follow the whirlwind antics of a publicist as he struggles to manage his first TV chef client, his new life, and an unexpected visit from his ex-girlfriend.<br />
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Alex recently moved to Italy for an opportunity at a PR firm in Rome. His first client is the beautiful Danish chef Pernille Bjørn, a popular model, TV personality, and cookbook author just entering the booming televised cooking show market in Italy.<br />
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Alex's single-minded career focus is soon thwarted by Emily, an ex-girlfriend he hasn't heard from in almost a decade.<br />
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Italy's modern culture and enchanting sights set the backdrop to this Rome-antic comedy.<br />
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<b>To follow the tour, please visit <a href="https://www.italybooktours.com/blog---current-tours/book-spotlight-tour-the-love-fool-a-rome-antic-comedy-by-lorenzo-petruzziello" target="_blank">Lorenzo Petruzziello's page on Italy Book Tours</a>.</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Buy the Book:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1947848194/">Amazon</a> ~ <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-love-fool-lorenzo-petruzziello/1127406948">Barnes & Noble</a> ~ <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781947848191">Indiebound</a></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-love-fool/9781947848191-item.html">Chapters Indigo</a> ~ <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Love-Fool-Lorenzo-Petruzziello/dp/1947848194">Amazon.ca</a></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37918791-the-love-fool"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Add to Goodreads</b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"></span>My Interview with Lorenzo Petruzziello:</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image by AKA Imagery</td></tr>
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<b>EI: Ciao Lorenzo! Welcome to Essentially Italian. Can you please describe your book in 20 words or less?</b><br />
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LP: The Love Fool is a non-romantic romantic comedy; about the foolish things we do or say in matters of love.<br />
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<b>EI: Why did you decide to write a romantic comedy versus, let’s say, a drama, thriller or mystery?</b><br />
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LP: I’m glad you asked me this. I surprised myself that romantic comedy fiction would be my first genre in writing. But being in Rome, when I began writing The Love Fool, I was inspired by the Eternal city and its romantic side. But I knew I didn’t want to write a basic romantic story – it’s not me really. Instead, I wanted to focus on the foolish mishaps within relationships. I knew my story was going to be a romp, almost slap-stick comedy with the tone of an 80s romantic comedy; but I also knew that it wasn’t going to be a basic romantic story.<br />
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<b>EI: The main character Alex works for a PR firm in Italy. Are any experiences based on your own experiences working in publicity and marketing?</b><br />
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LP: Yes, actually. I mean, yes Alex’s work was inspired by my experience in pr and marketing, but it is not an accurate retelling of true events. I would say my experience would be a skeleton to what Alex experiences.<br />
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<b>EI: Your first book cover was very different from the final one you chose. Why, and how did you come up with your current book cover?</b><br />
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LP: I hired a book cover designer and asked him to design something that pops and would make people walking by a reader and wonder “What the heck is that person reading?” I wanted a cover that stuck out on a bookcase, or on a table. The designer liked the element of the cat in the story, so he went with that idea and, after some back and forth, we came up with what you see today.<br />
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<b>EI: Your book is set in Rome. What are your favorite things about Rome? Least favorite?</b><br />
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LP: I love the mix of the old and the new. I love sitting at a modern restaurant or bar, sipping a cocktail, and looking to my left (or right) and see part of a ruin. I love that among the cobblestone streets, the classic buildings, and the ruins, a modern thriving city exists. And this was why I was adamant on making Rome and its modern culture part of the story. I wanted the reader feel as if they fell into the spaces I describe and be there with the characters. My least favorite part about Rome? Hmm... Summertime – it’s too hot and too many people. But that can easily be resolved with a quick expedition to the countryside.<br />
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<b>EI: What was the most challenging aspect of writing this book? The easiest?</b><br />
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LP: Well, the fact of the matter is that I had never really written something like this. I mean, sure I’ve written papers in college/university, and I write an occasional article here or there, but never anything as extensive as a novel-sized piece of work. So the most challenging would be getting started. The easiest part of writing this book? Once I did get started, the story flew out of me like a fountain of rich gold.<br />
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<b>EI: Can you share with us some of your favorite authors and what you are currently reading?</b><br />
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LP: Oh yes! I’m glad you asked me that – I love reading. My favorite author – and probably an easy one to name – is F. Scott Fitzgerald. I love <i>The Great </i><i class="">Gatsby</i> and will have to say that T<i>ender Is The Night</i> is probably my most favorite of his work. I just love how he captures body language and communicating through silent glances from across the room. Another favorite is Ian McEwan – Atonement was one of my favorite stories because of the way McEwan gently unfolds his story without sacrificing richness or depth of characters. Most recently I read <i>The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair</i> by Joël Dicker. At the moment, I’m reading Raymond Chandler’s <i>The Big Sleep</i>. I love noir fiction and films, so every now and then I’ll read some mystery or detective novel. I also mix my reading up with an Italian novel now and then – the last Italian novel I’ve read was Fabio Volo’s <i>Un Giorno in Piu</i>… .<br />
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<b>EI: Favorite Italian Meal?</b><br />
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LP: Well, at home I cook/eat Italian a lot. It’s how I was raised. But I will tell you my favorite Roman dish is a toss-up between a deliciously rich Carbonara or an exquisite Amatriciana. I have to both every time I go to Rome.<br />
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<b>EI: If you could travel back in time, where would you go?</b><br />
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LP: Hm… Maybe the 90s – to relive my 20s and enjoy it even more.<br />
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<b>EI: Any future projects you’re working on?</b><br />
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LP: Yes, I’ve started on a new book. This time, I’m going to challenge myself with a different genre and take a crack at a noir-style story – set in Italy, but in a different city. In the meantime, I constantly keep up with my travel blog <a href="http://magnusmade.com/">Magnusmade.com</a>.<br />
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<b>EI: Thanks so much for chatting with me!</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meet the Author:</b></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Lorenzo Petruzziello holds an MBA in global marketing from Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts. His background includes publicity and marketing for many of public television’s popular cooking and travel shows. He lives in Massachusetts focusing on his writing. THE LOVE FOOL is his first novel.</span></div>
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<b>Connect with Lorenzo: <a href="http://thelovefool.com/">Website</a> ~ <a href="http://www.magnusmade.com/">Blog</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/lorenzomagnus?lang=en">Twitter</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheLoveFool2016/">Facebook</a> ~ <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lorenzomagnus/">Instagram</a></b><br />
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Ends Sept 1, 2018</div>
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Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-37398380158745256032018-06-20T05:31:00.001-07:002018-06-20T05:31:40.938-07:00Bitten by Alan Moore (Book Spotlight and Giveaway)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hL4CmVok7Gg/WwRvyHYBhEI/AAAAAAAAFbE/ju4zHHm-K0gh26JIr3RTu7hFvX6AIndLgCLcBGAs/s1600/Bitten.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="399" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hL4CmVok7Gg/WwRvyHYBhEI/AAAAAAAAFbE/ju4zHHm-K0gh26JIr3RTu7hFvX6AIndLgCLcBGAs/s640/Bitten.jpg" width="398" /></a></div>
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Set in Florence, Italy, this thriller explores what happens when nature has had enough of man's tampering. There's also a giveaway where you can enter to win a paperback copy or one of three $35 Amazon gift cards.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: Bitten by Alan Moore<br />
Category: Adult Fiction, 430 pages<br />
Genre: Thriller<br />
Publisher: Self-published<br />
Release date: February 7, 2018<br />
Tour dates: June 4 to 22, 2018<br />
Content Rating: R (Book contains profanities, intermittent sex and violence, incl. one violent sex episode, together with scenes of explicit disaster, distress and death)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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In the not-too-distant future, Italy is in disarray. It has voted to leave the EU in an attempt to regain control of its laws, finances and commerce. Even so, the country's economy is shrinking and its national debt rising. There is a marked escalation, too, in unemployment, bank loans and immigration. Production and service companies are in difficulty. The only thriving business areas are the black market and organised crime. There is discontent and protest on all sides.<br />
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In Florence, the local Mafia boss, more accustomed to gunrunning and trading in plutonium, is involved in organising a silent auction for the sale of one of the world's most valuable lost paintings - a sixteenth-century masterpiece, which was appropriated in World War II by Stalin's Trophy Brigade. A British art expert is set to buy the picture on behalf of his client, a South American billionaire - yet surprisingly two Italian undercover intelligence agents, acting as antique dealers, submit the winning bid.<br />
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All the while, human beings continue to harm the Earth by destroying land, sea, air, animals and trees. Global climate change, polluting the atmosphere, depleting the ozone layer: these are some of man's crimes against Nature. But time is running out. Nature has lost patience with humans. Unless something is done immediately to reverse the destruction of the ecosystem, Nature will retaliate by deploying the terrifying forces at her command. And as a first step in wreaking her revenge, she instigates a reign of terror by the deadliest creature on Earth.<br />
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<b>To read reviews, please visit <a href="https://www.italybooktours.com/blog---current-tours/book-tour-bitten-by-alan-moore" target="_blank">Alan Moore's page on Italy Book Tours</a>.</b><br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Buy the Book:</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/BITTEN-Alan-Moore-ebook/dp/B079NJSWJR" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a> ~ <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/BITTEN-Alan-Moore-ebook/dp/B079NJSWJR" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Meet the Author:</span></span></div>
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Born in Surbiton, Surrey in 1944, Alan Moore lives in Barnes, SW London, with his wife, Amber. They have two daughters and a son, who between them have two boys and two girls with another boy expected in May. Alan was educated at Oundle School in Northamptonshire and at London University, where, as an external student, he obtained a BA degree in English. Thereafter, for 25 years, he single-handedly ran his own book publishing company, which at one stage was producing up to 20 titles a year. Now, at the age of 74, he has self-published his first novel.<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Enter the Giveaway!</b></div>
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Ends June 30, 2018</div>
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-9224971750888792182018-05-25T04:42:00.000-07:002018-05-25T04:42:06.519-07:00The Deadliest Sport by June Trop (Book Spotlight, Author Interview & Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Because my mother is Roman, I have visited Rome several times and, of course, have been fascinated with the Colosseum. In June Trop's third book in the Miriam bat Isaac Mysteries, which I read and <a href="http://www.libraryofcleanreads.com/2018/05/the-deadliest-sport-miriam-bat-isaac.html" target="_blank">reviewed on Library of Clean Reads</a>, her brother is a gladiator who fought in Rome. I enjoyed this book and interviewed the author (see below) and also included a giveaway!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: The Deadliest Sport: A Miriam bat Isaac Mystery in Ancient Alexandria<br />
Author: June Trop<br />
Category: Adult fiction, 242 pages<br />
Genre: Mystery, Historical Fiction<br />
Publisher: Black Opal Books<br />
Release date: October 7, 2017<br />
Tour dates: May 14 to 25, 2018<br />
Content Rating: PG (mild religious oriented expletives, such as "Lord," some violent descriptions, such as the corpse, the gladiatorial arena)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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Miriam bat Isaac, a budding alchemist in first-century CE Alexandria, welcomes her twin brother Binyamin home to fight his last gladiatorial bout in Alexandria. But when he demands his share of the family money so he can build a school for gladiators in Alexandria, Miriam explains that he forsook his share when he took the gladiatorial oath.<br />
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When she refuses to loan him the money for what she feels is a shady and dangerous enterprise, Binyamin becomes furious. Soon after, the will of Amram, Miriam's elderly charge, turns up missing; Amram becomes seriously ill; and the clerk of the public records house is murdered. Could Binyamin really be behind this monstrous scheme? If not he, who could be responsible? And is Miriam slated to be the next victim?<br />
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<b>To read reviews, please visit <a href="https://www.ireadbooktours.com/blog---current-tours/review-tour-the-deadliest-sport-a-miriam-bat-isaac-mystery-in-ancient-alexandria-by-june-trop" target="_blank">June Trop's page on iRead Book Tours</a>.</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Buy the Book:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/June-Trop/e/B00HMUGL54/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a> ~ <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22June%20Trop%22;jsessionid=32D4A8AF3DB0E3B4FE4B66D89C493935.prodny_store02-atgap05?Ntk=P_key_Contributor_List&Ns=P_Sales_Rank&Ntx=mode+matchall" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36572106-the-deadliest-sport" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Add to Goodreads</b></span></a></div>
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Interview with June Trop</b></div>
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<br /><b>EI: Welcome to Essentially Italian! Can you describe your book in 20 words or less? </b><br /><br />JT: I’ll give it a try: Miriam penetrates a monstrous multilayered scheme and risks her life to expose the mastermind behind it. <br /><br /><b>EI: Your book is atmospheric, with details that bring the setting to life. How did you go about doing the research for this period in history? </b><br /><br />JT: Aside from its being a first-century CE intellectual and cultural melting pot, Alexandria was second only to Rome in its commercial and educational institutions. Accordingly, I found many books about its geography, history, architecture, customs, sports, politics, gardens, and ethnic groups. Having loved learning about the Roman Empire since childhood, I was like a kid in a candy store.<br /><br /><b>EI: <i>The Deadliest Sport </i>is the third book in your Miriam bat Isaac Mystery Series. What are the challenges to writing a series? What’s the advantage?</b><br /><br />JT: One challenge is keeping the stories straight, especially when the titles are similar, all beginning with THE DEADLIEST. And then there’s the question all series writers must wrestle with: Shall I freeze my characters in time or let them mature over the years? The advantage is that when I sit down to write a story, I already know my setting and core characters. They have become friends whom I enjoy visiting again.<div>
<br /><b>EI: Which character was the most difficult to write? The easiest?</b><br /><br />JT: All the characters are difficult to write in the beginning because I haven’t yet gotten to know them as more than an outline of traits. But eventually, they become real enough to tell me who they are, what they have to say, and what they want to do. <br /><br />One special difficulty though is in crafting the antagonist. I try to make this character’s motives, as evil as they might be, understandable so that on some level my readers can sympathize with him. <br /><br />And good or bad, when I look back, I see that all the characters have a piece of me in them.<br /><br /><b>EI: What inspired you to base Miriam on the true personage of Maria Hebrea, the legendary founder of Western alchemy?</b><br /><br />JT: Alchemy was a capital offense in Roman Alexandria. The little I could learn about Maria Hebrea convinced me that she was a courageous and intrepid pursuer of knowledge. She risked her life to uncover the secrets of the material world that could not only elevate base metals but heal, rejuvenate, and extend human life. What a model of passion and persistence! At the same time, nothing being known of her personal life left me free to invent one for her.<br /><br /><b>EI: If you could travel back in time, where would you go? Who would you see? </b><br /><br />JT: Easy question! I’d go right back to first-century CE, Roman-occupied Alexandria. I know the streets will be smelly, the political realities threatening, and the life expectancy short, but the city will be splendid, the climate perfect, and the intellectual life keen. And yes, there’s that one person I’d love to see, namely Maria Hebrea herself.<br /><br /><b>EI: What do you want your readers to take away from your series?</b><br /></div>
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JT: Miriam approaches her problems with courage, fair-mindedness, and persistence. At the same time, she tries to overcome her weaknesses, especially her tendency to tell lies. I would like my modern readers to see how these qualities can make them successful.<br /><br /><b>EI: Any future projects you want to share with us? </b><br /><br />JT: The fourth book in the Miriam bat Isaac Series, THE DEADLIEST FEVER, just came out. I am looking forward to hearing how my readers react to this story of a jewel heist in Ephesus. And I am working on the “penultimate draft” of my fifth book, THE DEADLIEST THIEF, a novella about one of the three thieves who escape to Alexandria.</div>
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<b>EI: Thank you so much for joining us and telling us more about you and your writing!</b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meet the Author:</b></span></div>
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June Trop and her twin sister Gail wrote their first story, "The Steam Shavel [sic]," when they were six years old growing up in rural New Jersey. They sold it to their brother Everett for two cents.<br />
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"I don't remember how I spent my share," June says. "You could buy a fistful of candy for a penny in those days, but ever since then, I wanted to be a writer."<br />
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As an award-winning middle school science teacher, June used storytelling to capture her students' imagination and interest in scientific concepts. Years later as a professor of teacher education, she focused her research on the practical knowledge teachers construct and communicate through storytelling. Her first book, <i>From Lesson Plans to Power Struggles </i>(Corwin Press, 2009), is based on the stories new teachers told about their first classroom experiences.<br />
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Now associate professor emerita at the State University of New York at New Paltz, she devotes her time to writing <i>The Miriam bat Isaac Mystery Series</i>. Her heroine is based on the personage of Maria Hebrea, the legendary founder of Western alchemy, who developed the concepts and apparatus alchemists and chemists would use for 1500 years.<br />
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June lives with her husband Paul Zuckerman in New Paltz, where she is breathlessly recording her plucky heroine's next life-or-death exploit.<br />
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<b>Connect with the Author: <a href="http://www.junetrop.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/June-Trop-Author-1447548442142942/?ref=br_rs" target="_blank">Facebook</a> ~ <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/junetrop/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Enter the Giveaway!</b></span></div>
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Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-43424321871567942802018-05-08T07:52:00.003-07:002018-05-08T07:58:32.398-07:00All the Way to Italy by Flavia Brunetti (Review, Author Interview, and Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: All the Way to Italy: A modern tale of homecoming through generations past<br />
Author: Flavia Brunetti<br />
Category: Adult Fiction, 222 pages<br />
Genre: Women's Fiction (can fit into YA Fiction as well)<br />
Publisher: Ali Ribelli Edizioni<br />
Release date: April 21, 2018<br />
Tour dates: April 23 to May 18, 2018<br />
Content Rating: PG for the occasional use of "for God's sake" and a few religious references (though very mild). No violence, no swear words, and no sex scenes.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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Until her dad died, Little considered herself a Californian. Now, thanks to half a letter, a symbol she can’t quite remember, and writer’s block, she finds herself back in Italy, the country of her birth. In a headlong rush to return to her beloved San Francisco, Little will journey throughout Italy, hoping to find the answers she needs to move on with her life so she need never look back. She’ll enlist the help of the woman who raised her, Sira, her father’s sister; but Sira has secrets she’s kept for decades, and Little underestimates the power of the country she fled years before.<br />
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In this powerful story of mixed cultures in a world trying to globalize, one girl’s struggle to leave her home behind will lead her back to the women in her family and the memories each of them has safeguarded through the generations. From war-torn Italy to the belpaese of today, <i>All the Way to Italy</i> is a tale for those in search of a balance between wanderlust and the necessity to come home, a reminder that although we may be fragments, we are never a lost cause.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>My Review:</b></span></div>
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Reviewed by Laura Fabiani</div>
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<i>All the Way to Italy</i> is a beautiful story about one young woman's journey to find her place in this world. To discover her roots and what they mean in her life. I enjoyed Little's story and experienced a strong nostalgia for Rome (my own mother's home city) as I was reading it.<br />
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Little was born in Italy but as a child was sent to live with her aunt Sira in San Francisco.<br />
She doesn't know much about her mother or why her father sent her to live with her aunt, but she loves her aunt who becomes like a mother to her. When her aunt moves back to Italy and her father dies, Little who is now a young woman, is called back to Italy to sort through her father's property and belongings. She hopes to take care of things quickly so that she can go back to California and move on with her life.<br />
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However, once in Italy, the country where she spent the first five years of her life, she discovers family secrets that begin to unveil the circumstances surrounding her mysterious mother and the reason her father sent her away. It is here that she begins her journey of self-discovery and healing, and learns more about the man that was her father.<br />
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Flavia Brunetti's novel is character-driven, slowly peeling back the layers of Little's family. With lyrical language and a character who needs to sort through her feelings of anger and abandonment, <i>All the Way to Italy</i> is a moving story. It is filled with scenes of Italy, its food (I was constantly hungry as I read this book!) and its culture. In this debut novel, Brunetti's writing promises readers a story that explores family connections, betrayal, secrets and finding one's way home. A heartwarming and highly pleasurable read!<br />
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<b>To follow the tour and read reviews, please visit <a href="https://www.italybooktours.com/blog---current-tours/book-tour-all-the-way-to-italy-by-flavia-brunetti" target="_blank">Flavia Brunetti's page on Italy Book Tours</a>.</b></div>
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Be sure to also check out my interview with the author posted here below!<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Buy the Book:</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/All-Way-Italy-homecoming-generations-ebook/dp/B07CH3B7B5/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1524166016&sr=1-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a> ~ <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-the-way-to-italy-flavia-brunetti/1128489429;jsessionid=1ED14F595EE656C31427CA1118500315.prodny_store01-atgap07?ean=9788833460826" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><b><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/all-the-way-to-italy/id1371803740?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a> ~ <a href="https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/all-the-way-to-italy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kobo</a></b></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39913235-all-the-way-to-italy" target="_blank">Add to Goodreads</a></b></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Interview with Flavia Brunetti</b></span></div>
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<b>EI: Welcome to Essentially Italian, Flavia! Can you describe your book in 20 words or less. </b><br />
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FB: Thank you, Laura! I think my favorite description of the book is actually on the back cover: “This is the powerful story of those in search of a balance between wanderlust and the necessity to come home, a reminder that although we may be fragments, we are never a lost cause.” Okay I cheated, that was 34 words!<br />
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<b>EI: Like the protagonist in your novel, you have experienced living in the US and in Italy in much the same way she had. Is any of the story autobiographical? </b><br />
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FB: Little is, or at least when I started writing was, partly based on how I felt growing up back and forth between two countries, but more importantly is the reflection of others in my life: Sira is my real-life aunty Letizia, and the book was written in her honor. A lot of the nostalgia was based on conversations that I’ve had with friends that have also traveled much of their lives and feel they belong to different places. The characters in the book ultimately grew until they were their own people, so to speak, and in that sense, the story grew exponentially until much of it was its own. So I like to think of it as a mixture of real-life emotions told through a fictional story!<br />
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<b>EI: I have family in Rome that I have visited throughout the years (my mother is Roman) and I got such a strong feeling of nostalgia reading your book. I could relate to the main character. Did you feel any nostalgia as you wrote it? </b><br />
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FB: What a great question – and I love hearing that the book resonated with you! I felt so much nostalgia writing All the Way to Italy. Much of it is a love story to Rome, pieces written when I was in different countries missing my city. Like Little, I grew up feeling a bit displaced from my country of birth, but when I moved back, the country, the city, rushed back in until I realized how strong roots can be, and how they can be the sturdiest base for us to grow into our own Stories – in this sense, the book is an ode to Rome, and I’ve also given away how much of that feeling is also autobiographical! <br />
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<b>EI: Who was the character that was the most difficult to write? The easiest? </b><br />
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FB: The easiest character for me, the one that truly flowed the most, was Sira, and that’s because she’s based on my aunty in real life; during the editing process, Sira was the only character that my editor never wanted to change, because she was written so clearly, with so much love. That is undoubtedly because of the love that was already there! <br />
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The hardest I’d have to say was Delila, because I had some difficulty putting myself in her shoes; but it was a good exercise in empathy, and in writing an unfamiliar character.<br />
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<b>EI: What do you want your readers to take away from your novel?</b><br />
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FB: This is an airplane read in the best sense of the word (I hope), the kind of book that goes down easily but says something. I wanted to write a book that a fifteen-year-old girl could hold in her hands when she was faced with a big change, that would help her to know that everything would work out for the best, even if she wasn’t her own best friend yet, even if she felt like the world, because of where she’s from or what she’s suffered, wasn’t on her side. I wanted to write about the strength of memories but also the strength of carving your own way, with an open heart and mind to absorb all the lessons there are out there, gently. Maybe most importantly, I wanted to put out a book that explored kindness in a world climate that struggles with embracing different cultures. <br />
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<b>EI: What is your favorite hang out in Rome?</b><br />
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FB: This is such a hard question because the choices are endless! Okay, if I absolutely have to pick one… in Piazza della Rotonda in front of the Pantheon, watching people come and go in front of this amazing ancient behemoth. Oh, and with a stuffed focaccia from Antica Salumeria (right on the piazza) in my hand! <br />
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<b>EI: If you could travel back in time, where would you go? Who would you see?</b><br />
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FB: I’m a big fan of the St.Mary’s time traveling series, so this answer changes regularly. Right now, I’d want to travel back to Ancient Egypt and meet Hatshepsut. She was only the second confirmed female pharaoh and widely considered hugely successful, and she has an incredible story—and what a strong woman she must have been! When I went to the Luxor in Egypt I was able to visit Hatshepsut’s Temple, a structure that feels directly out of another time, and that made me begin to wonder about the woman behind it and the tales she must have been able to tell.<br />
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<b>EI: Any future projects you want to share with us?</b><br />
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FB: At the moment I’m focusing on my city blog on Rome, Which Way to Rome. I love writing the Instagram captions, which very often end up being mini-stories, paired with my favorite pictures from an afternoon stroll through the city. I want to start working on a sequel to All the Way to Italy soon: either exploring Little’s story a few years down the line when she’s graduated and moved to a different country, or a flashback to Sira’s youth. Which would you guys like to read next?</div>
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<b>EI: Thank you for taking the time to chat with me Flavia!</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>About the Author:</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credit: Roberta Perrone</td></tr>
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Born just outside of Rome, Flavia Brunetti grew up bouncing back and forth between Italy and California, eventually moving back to the Eternal City and confirming her lifelong commitment to real gelato. Flavia holds a Master of Arts degree in Government and Politics from St. John’s University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from John Cabot University. Today she travels the world working for an international humanitarian organization and spends her free time writing and wandering around her beloved Roma in constant search of bookstores and the perfect espresso. You can find her city blog on Rome at <a href="https://whichwaytorome.com/" target="_blank">whichwaytorome.com</a> and her portfolio of published writing at <a href="https://www.flaviinrome.com/" target="_blank">flaviinrome.com</a>.<br />
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<b>Connect with Flavia: <a href="https://www.flaviinrome.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> ~ <a href="https://whichwaytorome.com/" target="_blank">Blog on Rome</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/whichwaytorome" target="_blank">Twitter</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/whichwaytorome" target="_blank">Facebook</a> ~ <a href="https://www.instagram.com/whichwaytorome/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></b></div>
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-68201455438433216112018-04-24T04:39:00.003-07:002018-04-24T04:39:44.167-07:00Sass, Smarts, and Stilettos: How Italian Women Make the Ordinary Extraordinary by Gabriella Contestabile (Book Spotlight, Guest Post and Giveaway!)<div>
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I loved this book! And it made me proud of my Italian roots. Check out my review on Library of Clean Reads on April 26. Scroll down to read a guest post by Gabriella that rings so true about my childhood as well.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: Sass, Smarts, and Stilettos: How Italian Women Make the Ordinary Extraordinary by Gabriella Contestabile<br />
Category: Adult Non-Fiction, 201 pages<br />
Genre: Travel / Arts / Fashion / Self-help<br />
Publisher: Sumisura Publications<br />
Release date: November 2017<br />
Tour dates: April 23 to May 11, 2018<br />
Content Rating: G (No violence. No swear words. No sex scenes.)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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Ah, that inimitable Italian style. It’s embedded in an Italian woman’s DNA. Fashion doesn’t define her. She defines herself. She knows an extraordinary life is not about status, money, or achievement. The only mastery it requires is one her heritage has given her, the irrepressible passion to make art of life itself.<br />
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Ask an Italian woman where she gets her sense of style and she will tell you it’s not about labels. It’s tethered to humble roots; humanity, community, conscious consumerism, and a profound appreciation for art in all its forms.<br />
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Sass, Smarts and Stilettos takes the reader on a journey from the humble hill towns of Abruzzo to the revered fashion capitals of Milan and Rome, into the artisan workshops of Florence, and the humanistic business practices of Luisa Spagnoli, Brunello Cuccinelli, and Alberta Ferretti, from the emergence of Italy’s fashion industry after WWII, to slow food and sustainable fashion initiatives taking root around the world.<br />
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Life lessons echo in the words of the author’s mother and grandmother, in the voices of Italian film divas, designers, tastemakers, writers, and artisans across generations, from the first Sala Bianca in Florence to the game-changing design ethic of Franca Sozzani, Miuccia Prada, and Donatella Versace.<br />
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Learn how to live fully within your own philosophy of living. Say goodbye to mindless consumerism, emotional clutter, and others’ expectations. Create a personal style that fits like a custom blazer by Ferrè and enchants like the colors of a Sicilian sunset. Then go on to craft an extraordinary and empowering life made-to-measure for you alone.<br />
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<b>To read reviews, please visit <a href="https://goo.gl/qLBHKB" target="_blank">Gabriella Contestabile's page on Italy Book Tours</a>.</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sass-Smarts-Stilettos-ordinary-extraordinary-ebook/dp/B077GFY4ZJ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a> ~ <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sass-smarts-and-stilettos-gabriella-contestabile/1127244966?ean=9780996058520" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> ~ <a href="https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/sass-smarts-and-stilettos-how/9780996058537-item.html?ikwid=gabriella+contestabile&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chapters Indigo</a> ~ <a href="https://www.kobo.com/at/en/ebook/sass-smarts-and-stilettos" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kobo</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Guest Post: Style by Gabriella Contestabile</b></span><br />
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<b>“Style is a simple way of saying complicated things” — Jean Cocteau</b><br />
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It was my first year in the U.S. and I wanted those cheap pointy-toed shoes my classmates bought at Westchester Square in the Bronx. My mother said no. Shoes had to be of superior quality and made in Italy. <br />
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I tried hard to assimilate, but my parents fought back. So when my friends came over after school expecting to snack on Cheetos, my mother poured olive oil onto a plate and gave us chunks of bread from our local bakery to dip. <br />
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The school nurse wanted to know how any responsible parent could serve espresso, or wine mixed with water, to a nine-year-old; why we used olive oil instead of butter and partook of a Mediterranean diet, which at the time seemed suspiciously foreign. <br />
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Today, one dips bread into olive oil at five-star restaurants where the simple dishes I was raised on, cost $40.00 a plate. “Made In Italy” is a label coveted by fashion congnoscenti, and the bespoke clothing made by a sarto (tailor) or sarta (dressmaker) are a luxury few can afford.<br />
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Luxury to an Italian is not about status. It’s a reverential take on life, a philosophy of ‘compra meno, compra meglio’ (buy less, buy better). <br />
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It is not uncommon for an Italian woman to opt for a single beautiful Missoni over multiple purchases of disposable fashion items. Her closet fare is lean and curated. She wears the items she loves, those that tell a story, recall a memory, or reflect the work of an artisan she knows. <br />
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There was a time when saving up for that one pair of Ferragamo ballerinas was not about the name, but about provenance and craftsmanship. <br />
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After many years of travel between Italy and the U.S. while immersed in the cosmetics, fragrance, and fashion world, I finally figured out that my parents were right - art, humanity, and conscious consumerism are bred in an Italian’s DNA. It’s no coincidence that the Renaissance and study of Humanism started in Italy, as did Carlo Petrini’s Slow Food Movement and an emerging slow fashion initiative, now taking root around the globe.<br />
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I will forever thank them for insisting we speak Italian inside the home, and proper English outside. That we read Dante and Austen, listen to Puccini and Elvis, not drop the vowels at the end of our names, and embrace our good fortune to live inside two cultures.<br />
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We’re humans, not baking soda, they said. We don’t assimilate and become indistinguishable. Rather, we throw pinches and tosses of our unique flavors into that exuberant recipe that is humankind.<br />
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I learned early on that no country is a monolith. We are all a mix of influences and of moments in time we hold forever in our hearts. Whoever you are, own it. Whatever your ethnic identity, be it. <br />
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It calls to mind the words of Emile Zola, “If you ask me what I came into this world to do, I will tell you. I came to live out loud.”<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Praise for Sass, Smarts and Stilettos:</b></span><br />
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“An Italian lifestyle is understated, not loud, it doesn’t need to brag, because it’s an inherited patrimony, made of the simple things, yet luxurious and sophisticated, a tribute to quality. Gabriella does an exquisite and ambitious job at describing it in passionate detail, and in a book you won’t want to put down.”</div>
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— Francesca Belluomini, author of <i>The Cheat Sheet of Italian Style</i><br />
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“I was captivated by this inspirational, heartwarming and fascinating account of what it means to be not only an Italian American woman, but a WOMAN. Framed against the backdrop of Italian life and culture, each personally-reflective chapter is filled with lessons for a rich life through history, art, fashion, architecture, philosophy, and cuisine. Humor and wit are sprinkled throughout this compelling literary work. Gabriella takes the reader on a journey that touches the heart, the mind, the senses, and ultimately, the soul. A must read and reread for every ‘extraordinary’ woman!” </div>
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— Dr. Marie-Elena Liotta, Chairperson and Trustee of the Enrico Fermi Scholarship Foundation<br />
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“Gabriella's writing, as always, celebrates all the senses, and there you are, sitting on a mint-green Vespa wearing fashionable heels (suddenly, you won't trip in them) and the perfect perfume. Simply a must read, not just for the delicious style and lusciously painted scenes, but because this is pure inspiration of the go-get-'em variety, the kind that inspires us to reach out to the women in our lives and say, 'Do you need a helping hand? That is a fabulous scarf. Let's do this.' " </div>
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— Flavia Brunetti, author of ‘Young in Rome’ city blog<br />
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“Sass, Smarts and Stilettos captivates with its brilliant depiction of the Italian woman, her unapologetic way of being, her love of life and her inimitable sense of style that’s deeply rooted in her cultural heritage. At its core, it is a profoundly inspiring story of humanity, art, intuition and female empowerment.” </div>
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— Aleksandra Lacka, Personal Brand Strategist and Founder of <a href="http://insights-studio.com/">insights-studio.com</a> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>About the Author:</b></span></div>
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Gabriella Contestabile is the author of the novel, <i>The Artisan’s Star</i>, and owner of Su Misura (Made to Measure) Journeys; a boutique travel concept for the female traveler who relishes off-the-beaten-track adventures that celebrate the Italian way of life.<br />
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The book/travel initiative has its roots in her pre-writer life as a foreign language teacher, later as Executive Director and Vice President of International Training in a number of global companies (including Estee Lauder, Shiseido, and Prada Beauty) where she would create immersive and unconventional learning experiences in unique settings around the world.<br />
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One of her favorite pastimes, wherever she is in the world, is to scout out the best, and most ‘Italian’ espresso in the hood. It requires multiple tastings, but that’s the idea. Gabriella was born in Italy, and raised in Ottawa and New York City, where she currently lives with her husband, her mother, and a furry Shih Tzu named Oreo.<br />
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<b>Connect with the Author: <a href="http://www.gabriellacontestabile.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/gcontestabile64" target="_blank">Twitter</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thesumisuralife/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> ~ <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sumisurajourneys/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> ~ <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriella-contestabile-8062108/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></b></div>
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-1648933321518973712018-02-19T07:17:00.003-08:002018-02-19T07:17:27.978-08:00Waking Isabella by Melissa Muldoon (Book Spotlight and Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is the second book I read by Melissa Muldoon and once again was transported to Italy, to a place of old traditions and lost art. Look out for my review on <a href="https://www.libraryofcleanreads.com/" target="_blank">Library of Clean Reads</a> on Thursday. In the meantime, check out the book and enter to win a copy!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: Waking Isabella: Because beauty can't sleep forever by Melissa Muldoon<br />
Category: Adult Fiction, 250 pages<br />
Genre: General Fiction<br />
Publisher: Matta Press<br />
Release date: December 2017<br />
Tour dates: Feb 19 to March 23, 2018<br />
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (The story begins with violent rape and murder scene, touches on themes of miscarriage, murder, Nazi violence during war, adultery)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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Waking Isabella is a story about uncovering hidden beauty that, over time, has been lost, erased, or suppressed. It also weaves together several love stories as well as a few mysteries. Nora, an assistant researcher, is a catalyst for resolving the puzzle of a painting that has been missing for decades. Set in Arezzo, a small Tuscan town, the plot unfolds against the backdrop of the city’s antique trade and the fanfare and pageantry of its medieval jousting festival. While filming a documentary about Isabella de’ Medici—the Renaissance princess who was murdered by her husband—Nora begins to connect with the lives of two remarkable women from the past. Unraveling the stories of Isabella, the daughter of a fifteenth-century Tuscan duke, and Margherita, a young girl trying to survive the war in Nazi-occupied Italy, Nora begins to question the choices that have shaped her own life up to this point. As she does, hidden beauty is awakened deep inside of her, and she discovers the keys to her creativity and happiness. It is a story of love and deceit, forgeries and masterpieces—all held together by the allure and intrigue of a beautiful Tuscan ghost.</div>
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<b>To read reviews, please visit <a href="https://www.italybooktours.com/blog---current-tours/book-tour-waking-isabella-because-beauty-cant-sleep-forever-by-melissa-muldoon" target="_blank">Melissa Muldoon's page on Italy Bok Tours</a>.</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meet the Author:</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Se0MNqnvnD0/WoTuIvogp7I/AAAAAAAAEZY/EQ8WBdkIrlkhGdtbp71OBcYn_sHXHpbDgCEwYBhgL/s1600/Melissa%2BMuldoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="419" data-original-width="409" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Se0MNqnvnD0/WoTuIvogp7I/AAAAAAAAEZY/EQ8WBdkIrlkhGdtbp71OBcYn_sHXHpbDgCEwYBhgL/s320/Melissa%2BMuldoon.jpg" width="312" /></a></div>
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Melissa Muldoon is the Studentessa Matta—the crazy linguist! In Italian, “matta” means “crazy” or “impassioned.” Melissa has a B.A. in fine arts, art history and European history from Knox College, a liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, as well as a master’s degree in art history from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She has also studied painting and art history in Florence.<br />
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Melissa promotes the study of Italian language and culture through her dual-language blog, Studentessa Matta (studentessamatta.com). Melissa began the Matta blog to improve her command of the language and to connect with other language learners. It has since grown to include a podcast, “Tutti Matti per l’Italiano,” and the Studentessa Matta YouTube channel. Melissa also created Matta Italian Language Immersion Tours, which she co-leads with Italian partners in Italy.<br />
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Waking Isabella is Melissa’s second novel and follows Dreaming Sophia, published in 2016. In this new novel about Italy, the reader is taken on another art history adventure, inspired by Melissa’s experiences living and traveling in Italy, specifically Arezzo, as well as her familiarity with the language and art. For more information about Waking Isabella and links to Melissa’s blogs and social media sites, visit www.MelissaMuldoon.com.<br />
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As a student, Melissa lived in Florence with an Italian family. She studied art history and painting and took beginner Italian classes. When she returned home, she threw away her Italian dictionary, assuming she’d never need it again, but after launching a successful design career and starting a family, she realized something was missing in her life. That “thing” was the connection she had made with Italy and the friends who live there. Living in Florence was indeed a life-changing event. Wanting to reconnect with Italy, she decided to start learning the language again from scratch. As if indeed possessed by an Italian muse, she bought a new Italian dictionary and began her journey to fluency—a path that has led her back to Italy many times and enriched her life in countless ways. Now, many dictionaries and grammar books later, she dedicates her time to promoting Italian language studies, further travels in Italy, and sharing her stories and insights about Italy with others. When Melissa is not traveling in Italy, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.<br />
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Melissa designed and illustrated the cover art for Waking Isabella and Dreaming Sophia. She also curates the Dreaming Sophia blog and Pinterest site: The Art of Loving Italy. Please visit the Pinterest page for pictures of Arezzo, the Giostra del Saracino, and all the places we go in Italy in both books. Visit MelissaMuldoon.com for more information about immersion trips to learn the language with Melissa in Italy, as well as the Studentessa Matta blog for practice and tips to learn the Italian language.<br />
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<b>Connect with Melissa: <a href="http://melissamuldoon.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/italiamelissa?lang=en" target="_blank">Twitter</a> ~ <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7629447.Melissa_Muldoon" target="_blank">Facebook</a> ~ <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/dreamingsophia/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> ~ <a href="https://www.instagram.com/studentessamatta/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> ~ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCepTyLosRahpE0OpyLywYqw" target="_blank">Youtube</a></b><br />
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-49589625244625029402018-01-14T20:24:00.001-08:002018-01-22T05:58:45.635-08:00Kiss Carlo by Adriana Trigiani (Book Spotlight & Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm thrilled Italy Book Tours is hosting a blog tour for Adriana Trigiani's <i>Kiss Carlo</i> which has just been released in paperback. I got a signed copy at BookExpo and read it last fall. You can read my review <a href="http://www.libraryofcleanreads.com/2017/06/kiss-carlo-by-adriana-trigiani-review.html" target="_blank">here</a>. It's a fun book with a big Italian family, the trademark of Trigiani's books. Scroll down to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a copy!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: Kiss Carlo by Adriana Trigiani<br />
Category: Adult Fiction, 560 pages<br />
Genre: Historical Fiction<br />
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks<br />
Release date: January 2018<br />
Content Rating: G (For general audience. Depictions of violence are minimal. No bad language, religious expletives, sex scenes, drug use or underage drinking.)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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<b>From Adriana Trigiani, the beloved New York Times-bestselling author of The Shoemaker’s Wife, comes an exhilarating epic novel of love, loyalty, and creativity—the story of an Italian-American family on the cusp of change.</b><br />
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It’s 1949 and South Philadelphia bursts with opportunity during the post-war boom. The Palazzini Cab Company & Western Union Telegraph Office, owned and operated by Dominic Palazzini and his three sons, is flourishing: business is good, they’re surrounded by sympathetic wives and daughters-in-law, with grandchildren on the way. But a decades-long feud that split Dominic and his brother Mike and their once-close families sets the stage for a re-match.<br />
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Amidst the hoopla, the arrival of an urgent telegram from Italy upends the life of Nicky Castone (Dominic and his wife’s orphaned nephew) who lives and works with his Uncle Dom and his family. Nicky decides, at 30, that he wants more—more than just a job driving Car #4 and more than his longtime fiancée Peachy DePino, a bookkeeper, can offer. When he admits to his fiancée that he’s been secretly moonlighting at the local Shakespeare theater company, Nicky finds himself drawn to the stage, its colorful players and to the determined Calla Borelli, who inherited the enterprise from her father, Nicky must choose between the conventional life his family expects of him or chart a new course and risk losing everything he cherishes.<br />
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From the dreamy mountaintop village of Roseto Valfortore in Italy, to the vibrant streets of South Philly, to the close-knit enclave of Roseto, Pennsylvania, to New York City during the birth of the golden age of television, Kiss Carlo is a powerful, inter-generational story that celebrates the ties that bind, while staying true to oneself when all hope seems lost.<br />
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Told against the backdrop of some of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies, this novel brims with romance as long buried secrets are revealed, mistaken identities are unmasked, scores are settled, broken hearts are mended and true love reigns. Trigiani’s consummate storytelling skill and her trademark wit, along with a dazzling cast of characters will enthrall readers. Once again, the author has returned to her own family garden to create an unforgettable feast. Kiss Carlo is a jubilee, resplendent with hope, love, and the abiding power of la famiglia.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kiss-Carlo-Novel-Adriana-Trigiani/dp/0062319221/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512575153&sr=8-1&keywords=kiss+carlo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a> ~ <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kiss-carlo-adriana-trigiani/1123910388?ean=9780062644282" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a>, <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062319234/kiss-carlo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HarperCollins</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Kiss-Carlo/Adriana-Trigiani/9780062319234?id=7079249865063" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Books-a-Million</a>, <a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062319227" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Indiebound</a>, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/kiss-carlo/id1123544182?mt=11" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iBooks</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Watch the book trailer:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meet the Author: </b></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lqHbRL_3tTA/WllfH89kJOI/AAAAAAAAD7A/dMw6tuEd2ToQTcZdNitQyX2Z0MQiTukYwCLcBGAs/s1600/Adriana%2BTrigiani%2Bauthor%2Bphoto%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lqHbRL_3tTA/WllfH89kJOI/AAAAAAAAD7A/dMw6tuEd2ToQTcZdNitQyX2Z0MQiTukYwCLcBGAs/s400/Adriana%2BTrigiani%2Bauthor%2Bphoto%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Photo Credit: Tim Stephenson</td></tr>
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Adriana Trigiani is the bestselling author of 17 books, which have been published in 36 countries around the world. She is a playwright, television writer/producer and filmmaker. She wrote and directed the film version of her novel Big Stone Gap, which was shot entirely on location in her Virginia hometown. She is co-founder of the Origin Project, an in-school writing program that serves more than a thousand students in Appalachia. She lives in Greenwich Village with her family.<br />
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<b>Connect with the author: <a href="http://adrianatrigiani.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/adrianatrigiani?lang=en" target="_blank">Twitter</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AdrianaTrigiani/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> ~ <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/adrianatrigiani/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> ~ <a href="https://www.instagram.com/adrianatrigiani/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></b><br />
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-74020624595297052402017-12-12T06:11:00.003-08:002017-12-12T06:11:40.289-08:00Seeking a Familiar Face by May Patterson (Book Spotlight and Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />I couldn't help but be attracted to this book cover because it depicts Venice. Author May Patterson got lost there once (I did too!) and just as she was panicking she saw a familiar face. This experience drew her to God. I'm spotlighting this book today and you could win your own copy by entering the giveaway below.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: Seeking a Familiar Face: The Transformational Journey of Connecting with God by May Patterson<br />
Category: Adult nonfiction, 175 pages<br />
Genre: Christian Living<br />
Publisher: Exploration Press<br />
Release date: September 2017<br />
Tour dates: Dec 11 to 29, 2017<br />
Content Rating: G<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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The greatest adventure of your life awaits. And it will change everything.<br />
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Ever feel disappointed? Like your life isn't as fulfilling as you had always dreamed it would be? Are you laden down with responsibilities, feeling overwhelmed and empty, or maybe even a bit caged?<br />
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You're not alone.<br />
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Many people in the Bible felt the same way. Most had difficulties. Some felt stuck. Others were depressed, afraid and uncertain. And some just wanted to get closer to God. So they set out on life's adventure —seeking God—and encountered the One who fulfilled their longings and changed their lives forever.<br />
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The same can happen for you.<br />
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<i>Seeking a Familiar Face</i> guides you on the transforming journey of connecting with God, through simple, yet extraordinary ways. It doesn't matter if you are already seeking Him or just getting started, this book will encourage you to go a little farther toward locking hearts with God.<br />
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In this book you will discover engaging narratives from ten biblical characters, along with stories, humor, and practical ideas for seeking God. There are thought-provoking questions at the end of each chapter to discuss with a friend or a group. Most of all, <i>Seeking a Familiar Face</i> will offer you fresh hope for deepening your intimacy with God.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Buy the Book:</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Seeking-Familiar-Face-Transforming-Connecting/dp/0996238026/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511300609&sr=8-1&keywords=may+patterson" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Amazon</b></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36382142-seeking-a-familiar-face?from_search=true" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Add to Goodreads</b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Video of May Patterson explaining</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>how she came to write her book:</b></span></div>
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<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QbJNPtJpm6U?rel=0" width="560"></iframe>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meet the Author:</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E9AwUHWHFsg/WilNsCLNo7I/AAAAAAAAD0k/RJ_tuZsCVSoxIQ01TCSaNC2ac2fFLvIlgCLcBGAs/s1600/May%2BPatterson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1069" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E9AwUHWHFsg/WilNsCLNo7I/AAAAAAAAD0k/RJ_tuZsCVSoxIQ01TCSaNC2ac2fFLvIlgCLcBGAs/s320/May%2BPatterson.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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May Patterson has been writing and teaching bible study classes for several years. Her new book, “Seeking a Familiar Face,” was birthed from a Bible study she wrote in 2014 called “A Time to Seek.” She was trained in small group dynamics for over ten years at Bible Study Fellowship, serving as a leader for four years. She has written for several magazines including Focus on the Family, Upper Room Magazine and Shattered Magazine, among others. She is married to her dear friend, Mike, and they have three grown children. She loves to tell stories, laugh, and talk about the adventure of seeking God.<br />
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<b>Connect with the Author: <a href="http://www.maypatterson.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> ~ <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/may-patterson-022529bb/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/maypattersoncom" target="_blank">Facebook</a></b><br />
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-86377488468219371312017-11-08T05:32:00.001-08:002017-11-08T05:32:05.930-08:00The Painter's Apprentice: A Novel of 16th-Century Venice by Laura Morelli (Book Spotlight & Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm very excited to be featuring Laura Morelli's newest release! I am currently reading it and loving the story. I was itching for a good historical fiction set in Italy, and this one is set in Renaissance Venice. Look for my review later this week.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: The Painter's Apprentice: A Novel of 16th-Century Venice<br />
Author: Laura Morelli<br />
Category: Adult Fiction, 482 pages<br />
Genre: Historical Fiction<br />
Publisher: The Scriptorium<br />
Release date: November 15, 2017<br />
Tour dates: Oct 16 to Nov 17, 2017<br />
Content Rating: PG-13 (some adult situations but no sex or explicit violence)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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<b>Would you rather sacrifice your livelihood, your lover, or your life? When the Black Death comes knocking on your door, you’d better decide quickly.</b><br />
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Venice, 1510. Maria Bartolini wants nothing more than to carry on her father’s legacy as a master gilder. Instead, her father has sent her away from the only home she’s ever known to train as an apprentice to Master Trevisan, a renowned painter.<br />
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When the painter’s servants uncover the real reason why Maria has been sent away, they threaten to reveal a secret that could tear down her family and the future of their trade. She is forced to buy the servants’ silence, but as their greed steadily grows, Maria resorts to more desperate measures. She questions whether her heart’s desire is worth risking her family, her trade, and her future, but Maria’s sacrifices may amount to nothing if the plague arrives on her father’s doorstep before she is able to get back home.<br />
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From the author of the award-winning <i>The Gondola Maker</i> comes a rich tale of Renaissance Venice, a heroine with a lust for life, and love against all odds.</div>
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Buy the Book:</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Painters-Apprentice-16th-Century-Venetian-Artisans-ebook/dp/B075DW98Z7/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a> ~ <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-painters-apprentice-laura-morelli/1127061162?ean=2940154904046" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><b><a href="https://books2read.com/paintersapprentice/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Other digital stores</a> ~ <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1290470010" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes</a></b></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/766767.Laura_Morelli" target="_blank">Add to Goodreads</a></b></b></span></div>
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LAURA MORELLI holds a Ph.D. in art history from Yale University, has taught college students in the U.S. and in Italy, and currently produces art history lessons for TED-Ed. She authored a column for National Geographic Traveler called “The Genuine Article” and has contributed pieces about art and authentic travel to CNN Radio, The Frommers Travel Show, and in USA TODAY, Departures, and other media. Laura is the author of the Authentic Arts guidebook series that includes the popular book Made in Italy. Her fiction brings the stories of art history to life. Her debut novel, <i>The Gondola Maker</i>, won an IPPY for Best Historical Fiction and a Benjamin Franklin Award.<br />
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<b>Connect with the author: <a href="http://www.lauramorelli.com/" target="_blank"> Website</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/lauramorelliphd" target="_blank">Twitter</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lauramorelliphd/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> ~ <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/lauramorelli/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> ~ <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lauramorelliphd/" target="_blank">Instagram</a></b></div>
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-77155894566670458372017-11-02T05:58:00.006-07:002017-11-02T06:02:35.661-07:00Wanderers No More by Michelle Saftich (Review & Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: Wanderers No More by Michelle Saftich<br />
Category: Adult Fiction, 290 pages<br />
Genre: Historical Fiction<br />
Publisher: Odyssey Books<br />
Release date: August 2017<br />
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Tour dates: Oct 23 to Nov 3, 2017<br />
Content Rating: PG (Very little bad language (if any), kissing, references to sex but nothing actual or explicit, some violence in the way of school bullying - no major adult themes like abortion or suicide etc.)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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The war may be over, but the fight to belong is just the beginning.<br />
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Left homeless, starving, and almost killed by the Second World War, the Saforo family are refugees fleeing Italy for a better life. The shores of Australia are calling to them and they head off, packing dreams of jobs, a home and… soccer.<br />
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But from the moment they get off the boat, adapting to the Australian way of life is harder than it seems. Their family doesn’t speak right, eat right or even look right. As they struggle to build a simple life against the backdrop of 1950s’ racism, they start to wonder if they will be outsiders forever.<br />
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A true family affair, Wanderers No More will make you laugh, remind you of your family, and warm your heart.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>My Review:</b></span></div>
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<i>Reviewed by Laura Fabiani</i></div>
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I have long awaited the sequel to <i>Port of No Return</i>, which I loved. (You can read my review <a href="http://essentiallyitalian.blogspot.ca/2015/10/port-of-no-return-by-michelle-saftich.html" target="_blank">here</a>.) And once again, author Michelle Saftich has written a story that I devoured as it brought back my own experiences growing up as an Italian Canadian with immigrant parents.<br />
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<i>Wanderers No More</i> begins where <i>Port of No Return</i> ended, with the Saforo family and their friends leaving the displacement camp in Italy after WWII and on a ship headed to Australia. Although, it's a sequel, this book can be read as a stand-alone and still be immensely enjoyed.<br />
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The story is told through the eyes of a young Martino, only six when they land in Australia in 1950, until he is a grown man with his own family in the late 1970s. I loved this kid. I thought it a brilliant idea from the author to make him the main character and use his point of view to bring alive both the wonder of starting one's life over in a strange country to the hardships of being different, discriminated against, not knowing the language and the customs of this new land.<br />
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The Saforo family and their friends went from one immigrant camp to another, with few belongings, doing menial hard labor so that they could finally afford a modest house after being displaced for years. We get to see the hardships they endure, especially the children, who are bullied at school. And the triumphs as they excel in soccer and the pride of doing so. It is a story of loss, survival, hope and joy.<br />
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I became so invested in this novel and its characters. The pages flew by effortlessly as I lived with them their immigrant experience, making me appreciate all the more what my parents and grandparents did for me. Never boring, filled with emotions and vibrant scenes that pulled at my heartstrings, <i>Wanderers No More</i> is a touching portrayal of a family's will to leave their war experiences behind along with their beloved country and start anew and make their dreams come true.<br />
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Based on true events from the author's own family, this is one of the best books I've read this year. I hope Michelle Saftich continues to write novels with heart that celebrate family life and the bond of friendship. If you like immigrant stories, this one is not to be missed.</div>
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To follow the blog tour and read reviews, please visit <a href="http://www.italybooktours.com/blog---current-tours/book-tour-wanderers-no-more-by-michelle-saftich" target="_blank">Michelle Saftich's page on Italy Book Tours</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wanderers-More-Port-Return-Book-ebook/dp/B074Z4Q84J" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a> ~ <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Wanderers-No-More-Michelle-Saftich/9781925652062" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Book Depository</a> ~ <a href="http://odysseybooks.com.au/titles/9781925652062/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Odyssey Books</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36070899-wanderers-no-more"><b></b></a><b><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36070899-wanderers-no-more" target="_blank">Add to Goodreads</a></b></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meet the Author:</b></span></div>
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Michelle Saftich resides in Brisbane, Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Business/Communications Degree, majoring in journalism, from the Queensland University of Technology.<br />
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For the past 20 years, she has worked in communications, including print journalism, sub-editing, communications management and media relations.<br />
Born and raised in Brisbane, she spent 10 years living in Sydney; and two years in Osaka, Japan, where she taught English.<br />
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Her historical fiction novel, Port of No Return, was inspired by a true family story. It was published by Australian independent publishing house, Odyssey Books in 2015. Its sequel, Wanderers No More was released in August 2017. Michelle is married with two children.<br />
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<b>Connect with the author: <a href="http://www.michellesaftich.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/MichelleSaftich" target="_blank">Twitter</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/msaftich/" target="_blank">Facebook</a></b></div>
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-50759715372881076902017-09-26T06:26:00.000-07:002017-09-26T06:36:29.084-07:00Venetian Blood: Murder in a Sensuous City by Christine Evelyn Volker (Review, Author Interview, & Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: Venetian Blood: Murder in a Sensuous City<br />
Author: Christine Evelyn Volker<br />
Category: Adult Fiction, 328 pages<br />
Genre: Mystery<br />
Publisher: She Writes Press<br />
Release date: August 2017<br />
Tour dates: Sept 25 to Oct 6, 2017<br />
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (There are a few instances of bad language and a scene with partial nakedness but little concrete description.)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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Struggling to forget a crumbling marriage, forty-year-old Anna Lucia Lottol comes to Venice to visit an old friend—but instead of finding solace, she is dragged into a police station and accused of murdering a money laundering count with whom she had a brief affair. In the days that follow, Anna, a US Treasury officer with brains and athleticism, fights to clear her name in a seductive city of watery illusions. But as she tries to pry clues from a cast of uncooperative characters who implausibly deny what she sees and hears, she begins to question whether they are hiding something…or she is losing touch with reality. Racing to unlock secrets, she succeeds instead in unleashing a powerful foe bent on destroying her. Will she save herself and vanquish her enemies, including her darkest fears?<br />
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A captivating tapestry of murder, betrayal, and family, <i>Venetian Blood</i> is the story of one woman’s brave quest for the truth—before it’s too late.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>My Review:</b></span></div>
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Well written with rich descriptions, historical details and lyrical language, Christine Volker's debut mystery novel set in Venice is a worthy read.<br />
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Anna Lucia Lottol travels to Venice to visit a friend. Having recently decided to divorce her alcoholic husband and put an end to a childless marriage, she is in need of a break. Instead, she gets accused of murdering Count Sergio Corrin, with whom she had a brief affair a few months ago and later regretted when he began to blackmail her.<br />
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Anna, a smart US Treasury officer, wants to clear her name and find out who the real murderer is, so she embarks on an investigation with her journalist friend, Margo. Within a week and a half, after being in the company of Venice's high society, many of whom knew, worked with and despised the Count, Anna gets a picture of the money-laundering dirty business that's been going on in Venice and abroad. Her life is at stake, in more ways than one, and many past secrets come to light that affect Anna in surprising ways.<br />
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Volker has succeeded in creating shady characters with complex relationships in an atmospheric setting where Venice's lapping waters, hidden canals, narrow streets, bridges and foggy bays cast both a sensual, mysterious and creepy light to this Italian city of masks. As a reader, it was hard to guess who the murderer was since Volker painted every character with suspicion. The ending was surprising although I began to have an inkling of what was coming toward the end.<br />
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Anna's own fears, anxieties, broken marriage, longings and sad childhood are interspersed throughout the narrative. Her grandparents were Italian and her memories of them come to the fore now that Anna is on Italian soil. Anna is truly a complex character and her past mistakes and emotional traumas weave in with her more logical world of banking and numbers to create the serious portrait of a woman in midlife crisis. It was painful to read at times. However, the story ends on a hopeful note for Anna, even as the reader is left to wonder how she will cope with what is revealed to her.<br />
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If you like literary novels and books set in Italy, especially Venice, then you will enjoy this one. The complex portrait of a woman in search of herself, along with a murder mystery makes this a compelling and worthy read.<br />
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To read more reviews, please visit <a href="http://www.italybooktours.com/blog---current-tours/book-review-tour-venetian-blood-murder-in-a-sensuous-city-by-christine-evelyn-volker" target="_blank">Christine Evelyn Volker's page on Italy Book Tours</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Venetian-Blood-Murder-Sensuous-City/dp/1631523104/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501207659&sr=8-1&keywords=venetian+blood" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a> ~ <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/venetian-blood-christine-evelyn-volker/1125527276?ean=9781631523106" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></b></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><b><b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><b>My Interview with Christine Evelyn Volker</b></b></span></b></b></b></span></b></span></div>
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<b>LF: Welcome to Essentially Italian! We are so pleased to be featuring your debut novel. </b><br />
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CEV: Thank you.<br />
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<b>LF: Can you describe your book in 20 words or less?</b><br />
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CEV: A woman’s brave quest to save herself in a city of illusions.<br />
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<b>LF: What made you want to write a book set in Venice?</b><br />
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CEV: Back in the 1990s, I lived in Milan and visited Venice many times, falling in love with the city. Its intriguing history, the miracle of its existence as it perches precariously on the shores of the Adriatic, the character of its people, and its pure beauty all appealed to me. A masked city with dark, twisting alleyways and illusory reflections is ideal for a murder mystery.<br />
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<b>LF: What was the most challenging aspect of writing this book? The easiest?</b><br />
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CEV: Portraying the protagonist’s complex nature, while enabling her to figure out the identity of the murderer. She’s brilliant, scientific, very rational, yet she has demons. I also wanted to make her likable. The easiest part was rendering Venice; I indulged in memories, managing to relive my time there, and enjoyed researching via many books. The city is so strong in the novel, it’s almost a character.<br />
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<b>LF: What do you love about Italy? What do you dislike?</b><br />
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CEV: The warm, vivacious people, the pride Italian artisans take in their work, the exquisite vistas, the delicious food, and the beautiful language. I dislike the inefficiencies, and the feeling that fundamental issues in Italian society are not being resolved. <br />
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<b>LF: I was impressed with the correctness of the Italian phrases in your novel. Are you fluent in Italian? </b><br />
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CEV: Thank you. I used to be! I’m pretty rusty now. For the book, I drafted what I wanted to say in Italian, but I had a native speaker offer corrections. I’d love to stay in Italy for a few months and brush up my language skills.<br />
<b><br />LF: If you could travel back in time, where would you go? Who would you see?</b><br />
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CEV: go back to the sixties. I’d try to figure out how society has frayed. We’ve degenerated from “all you need is love,” to “greed is good” and “screw you.” This is impacting not just people, but the entire earth. I’d love to spend time with Rachel Carson and other early environmental leaders.<br />
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<b>LF: What is the funniest (or strangest, or scariest) incident that has ever happened to you?</b><br />
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CEV: Traveling through Italy when I was a junior in college, I had dinner with a young Italian man I had met on the train. Afterward, he took me on a motorcycle ride and we marveled at the Roman Coliseum, lit up like a galaxy of stars that night. Then we had an accident which broke my ankle, landing me in a hospital where no one could speak in English, Spanish or German to me (my languages). My bed was in the hallway of a hospital; after a day, I was transferred by ambulance to another, unknown one. Time passed, and I felt like I had been abducted: an example of how frightening it can be when you can’t communicate. I remember consulting my small, inadequate dictionary and ultimately demanding in Italian: “I want to speak with the American Embassy.” I laugh about this now; the care was quite good for those six days.<br />
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<b>LF: Can you share with us some of your favorite authors and what you are currently reading?</b><br />
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CEV: Barbara Kingsolver, T.C. Boyle, Joseph Kanon. I’m currently re-reading Crime and Punishment. The poetry of Federico García Lorca will be next, in preparation for our trip to Spain.<br />
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<b>LF: Any future projects you would like to share with us?</b><br />
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CEV: My second international mystery, taking place in the rainforest of Peru and the city of Cuzco, is half-written. Settings are critical for me—I need to feel them. So we’ll return to Peru, and also go to Extremadura, the land of the conquistadors. The protagonist of my novel searches for the truth about her “disappeared” parents, confronts her own and her country’s past, and fights for its future. This novel will be quite broad in scope.</div>
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<b>LF: Thank you for taking the time to chat with me!</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><b>Meet the Author:</b></b></span></b></span></div>
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</b></span>Christine Evelyn Volker became intrigued by foreign cultures at an early age, which propelled her to study Spanish, German, and Italian. After pursuing an MLS and an MBA, she was drawn to international banking and became a senior vice president at a global financial institution. Her career brought her to Italy, where she immersed herself in the language and made frequent visits to Venice. A native New Yorker, she resides with her husband in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, where she heads a local library non-profit organization and writes about environmental sustainability. She is currently at work on her second international mystery, this one set in the rainforest of Peru.<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></div>
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<b><br /></b> <b>Connect with the Author: <a href="http://www.christinevolkerauthor.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/wingedadventure" target="_blank">Twitter</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CEVAuthor/" target="_blank">Facebook</a></b><br />
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Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-5618655723981535762017-09-13T07:34:00.000-07:002017-09-13T07:34:35.816-07:00A Year in the Company of Freaks by Teresa Neumann (Review, Author Interview & Giveaway)<div>
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Another winner by Teresa Neumann! Atmospheric and highly readable, this one is a page-turner that will transport you back to the 70s. Whether you remember that time period or not, it's a good trip. I also had the pleasure of interviewing the author, so check it out below. Be sure to enter to win a copy too. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: A Year in the Company of Freaks by Teresa Neumann<br />
Category: Adult Fiction, 515 pages<br />
Genre: Historical Fiction<br />
Publisher: All's Well House<br />
Release date: Dec 21, 2015<br />
Tour dates: Sept 11 to 29, 2017<br />
Content Rating: PG + M (Little violence and profanity, no f-words, no sex, but some drug use)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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It's 1972 and a seismic clash-of-cultures is rattling northern California. In the redneck town of Trinity Springs, rumors of hippies migrating up from San Francisco have residents bracing for an invasion. When Italian-American hometown boy and Berkeley graduate Sid Jackson is busted for growing pot on his deceased parents' farm, locals suspect the assault has begun. Will a crazy deferral program devised by the sheriff keep Sid out of prison? Or will a house full of eccentric strangers, a passionate love interest, and demons from his past be his undoing?<br />
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A "disarmingly appealing" tale of discrimination, transformation and restoration, Freaks is bursting with intrigue, drama, comic relief and romance. Reviewers agree this five-star, coming-of-age classic "very much reflects the attitude and mood of the times."<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Praise for <i>A Year in the Company of Freaks</i>:</b></span><br />
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“This coming of age story will draw the reader right in. Teresa Neumann demonstrates how much she values relationships in her writing … a precious skill. I held my breath all the way through to the final few pages. Five stars!” — The San Francisco Book Review<br />
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“As it relates to the complicated clash of culture and counterculture, Freaks acts as an authentic, strongly Seventies book. Northern California works as a strong presence in the novel that is vivid and omnipresent, but never overwhelming. Sure to intrigue and entertain, <i>Freaks</i> will have its digs in you before you realize how involved you’ve become.” — The Manhattan Book Review<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>My Review:</b></span></div>
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<i>Reviewed by Laura Fabiani</i></div>
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Two years ago, I read Teresa Neumann's first novel <a href="http://essentiallyitalian.blogspot.ca/2015/05/biancas-vineyard-by-teresa-neumann.html" target="_blank">Bianca's Vineyard</a> and loved it. It was historical fiction set during WWII in Italy. This time, Neumann's latest novel is set during the 1970s hippies era in Northern California. Once again, Neumann deftly transported me to a different time with a colorful cast of characters and a poignant story of loss, transformation, love and redemption. I easily flew through the 500 pages of this novel as I quickly became invested in the lives of Sid Jackson and his eccentric boarders.<br />
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Italian-American Siderno Jackson returns after 4 years at Berkeley to the beautiful farm house and land he's inherited from his deceased parents in the small town of Trinity Springs. But he has unresolved issues from the death of his beloved parents and is reluctant to be back home to an empty house. He wants to escape rather than deal with his pain, so he plants pot on his property, but gets busted and faces the possibility of eight years in jail. Long-time friends of his parents intervene and Sid is now on probation and has to take care of the farm and lease out rooms to 4 boarders for a year.<br />
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Once again, Neumann weaves a story with unforgettable characters that jump off the page. The mood, issues and way of life in the 70s truly come alive in this book. I was a child who grew up in the 70s and 80s and I clearly remember wearing bell bottoms and watching Rambo, a movie about a Vietnam veteran. I really liked being immersed into that time period through Sid's story. However, you don't have to be baby boomer to appreciate this book. It's well-written with a strong storyline and issues all young and old alike can relate to. Relationships is the backbone of this book. I especially loved how Sid comes to realize the value of friends who love you unconditionally.<br />
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Sid's Italian background plays a role in who he is, and as the daughter of Italian immigrants, I could see this clearly. Being close to his grandparents (Nonno and Nonna), growing vegetables and planting a vineyard was common for Italian immigrants that it made sense Sid would be drawn to doing the same thing. The role of the Skinners as godparents is also a very prominent Italian tradition, and small town life in America is not much different from small village life in Italy.<br />
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<i>A Year in the Company of Freaks</i> is another winner by Teresa Neumann. Atmospheric and highly readable, this one is a page-turner that will transport you back to an historic time of cultural revolution and small town values. Whether you remember that time period or not, it's a good trip. (Pun intended). This one will be on my list of Best Reads for 2017!<br />
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To read more reviews, please visit <a href="http://www.ireadbooktours.com/blog---current-tours/book-tour-a-year-in-the-company-of-freaks-by-teresa-neumann" target="_blank">Teresa Neumann's page in iRead Book Tours</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Buy the Book:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>My Interview with Teresa Neumann:</b></span></div>
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<b>LF: Can you describe your book in 20 words or less? </b><br /><br />TN: It’s a fun, engrossing, coming-of-age tale of regret, rebellion, tragedy, comedy, unconditional love, romance, hope, redemption, and reconciliation. <br /><br /><b>LF: What made you want to write a novel set in the 70s? </b><br /><br />TN: Primarily because Freaks is loosely based on my observations living in northern California during that time period. 1972 was a pivotal year for the West Coast counter culture, as that is when the “back to earth” movement really took off and hippies began to spread out of urban areas to seek a more rural environment in order to be closer to nature. The whole polyester leisure suit and disco-music scene had yet to arrive, so the atmosphere was still deeply ingrained with the 60’s full-blown hippie vibe. <br /><br /><b>LF: How much of what is included in the book is based on true events? </b><br /><br />TN: No particular scene, experience or character is based on a single true event. Rather, it is a composite of many different experiences, people I knew, and places I lived in or visited. For example, Ketch – the albino biker from Texas – is a character closely patterned after a Texan my husband and I befriended in the late 70’s in Boulder, Colorado. And anyone who partied during the 60’s and 70’s will, no doubt, identify with the “getting high” scenes in the book. <br /><br />Most people have also heard about the “Jesus Movement” in the 60’s and 70’s, but don’t realize how truly radical and pervasive it was at the time. I can’t tell you how many times, hitchhiking, or just out and about in San Francisco, that I was approached by what we, at the time, called “Jesus Freaks.” Most of them were long-haired hippies, rather than “red-necks,” so there was at least a superficial connection with them. I’ll never forget one, who gave me a ride in his rainbow painted VW van, praying for me to be safe. He gave me a feeling as though he were my brother who truly cared for my safety. Encounters like that, and others, helped break the stereotype I had of “Jesus Freaks” being totally weird oddities. <br /><br /><b>LF: I grew up in the 70s as a young child and lived my teen years in the 80s, yet I could relate to some of the cultural references. Do you see any parallels to any other time period with the hippie movement of the 70s? </b><br /><br />TN: There was the lawless “Roaring Twenties” that followed WWI (The Wiemar Republic in Germany was notorious for its descent into debauchery). I don’t think it’s a coincidence that rebellion via hedonism is typically higher after a bruising war, such as it was with WWI or Viet Nam. There was a huge loss of faith following WWI with many embracing nihilism. That tendency only increased after WWII and Viet Nam. (For the record, I am NOT a nihilist; far from it!) The “Peace and Love” movement of the 60’s was more accurately called that at its beginning with a select sub-groups of hippies who truly wanted to opt-out of society and pursue utopia. <br /><br />Soon after, however, the movement became politicized, e.g. the Weathermen, SDS, etc. and some of the initial “hippie” values became radicalized and perverted with cults forming around them. There definitely remains a strong remnant today of the original “Flower Children” who still live communally and live by nearly communistic standards; they’re often parodied today in print and on screen by more conservative Americans – which shows you the cultural divide addressed in my book hasn’t changed that much ;-) Of course, there’s the far tamer hipster movement today. I must say, I love their beards! <br /><br /><b>LF: The main character is of half Italian descent. Do you think that our parents' culture helps to define who we are? </b><br /><br />TN: Though most of us rebel to some degree against our parents, I think their culture definitely contributes to who we are ultimately. As a matter-of-fact, I’d go so far as to say my grandparents (who were born in 1899) were a huge influence in my life – as much as my own parents. You couldn’t have told me that in my 20’s, but today I am thankful for it. And when it comes to Italian families – well, all bets are off. The influence of family members in Italy is nothing short of astonishing. I love it. That’s why it plays such an integral part in my book’s main character, Sid. <br /><br /><b>LF: What feedback have you received from your readers that has made you happy you wrote this book? </b><br /><br />TN: Unlike Bianca’s Vineyard, my first book, where the feedback was about immigration and WWII, people are responding to the issues of stereotypes, divisiveness and cultural discrimination addressed in Freaks The lesson to be learned in, I hope, is that we CAN live together and that we need each other – as different as we might be – to sharpen us; iron as to iron. <br /><br /><b>LF: What was the most challenging aspect of writing this book? The easiest? </b><br /><br />TN: The most challenging aspect of my book were the multiple edits. The original draft of Freaks was basically a novella; half the size and with twice the number of boarders -- TWELVE to be exact! My editor, the incomparable Sandra Byrd, suggested I drastically pare down the characters and considerably lengthen the word count. As always, she was right. I can take her recommendations to the bank. I love meeting my readers, but the actual marketing of my books is the least enjoyable aspect of being an author. The easiest (if you can call it that) part of writing Freaks was immersing myself into that time period. It seems like yesterday! <br /><br /><b>LF: If you could travel back in time, where would you go? Who would you see? </b><br /><br />TN: Ah, it wouldn’t be the 1970’s, I can tell you that ;-) I’m far too much of an old-school romantic for all the relationship incongruities of that era. There’s something about the first decade of the 1900’s where the world was on the cusp of so many exciting inventions and breakthroughs and unjaded by the yet-to-happen world wars. No wonder my favorite seasons of Downtown Abbey, for example, were the years before WWI! <br /><br /><b>LF: What is the funniest (or strangest, or scariest) incident that has ever happened to you? </b><br /><br />TN: Readers may think it’s strange/funny that when I lived in California I was the secretary for a mail-order “head” shop in Sausalito, located on a houseboat. It was called “Interplanetary Posters.” Because we shipped a lot of paraphernalia to prisoners around the country, my boss wanted to protect my identity and told me to create an alias to use in my correspondence. The name I came up with? Marsha Mellow. So 70’s, right? <br /><br />The scariest experience I had living in California involved hitchhiking. I didn’t have a car (it was cool to be poor and unattached to material possessions) so I hitchhiked every day to my job about 30 miles from Novato where I lived. I also hitchhiked, alone, at night. Just crazy. I’d die if my daughters did that! Anyway, I prided myself in using “safe” tactics – not getting in a car with more than one person, not getting in the back of a two-door car, etc. One day, a guy who picked me up after work asked if I’d mind if he pulled off the freeway to get something he’d forgotten. Stupidly, I said, “Okay.” He parked in front of an apartment complex and said he’d be just a second. When he got back into the car – just a minute or two later – I glanced over and saw a hunting knife in a sheath attached to the driver’s door. My heart stopped and I froze. He started the car and I noticed he was acting strangely; jittery. I guessed that he had “shot up” something. As he slowed on his approach to the freeway entrance I insisted he stop the car. When he didn’t, I opened the door. He slammed on the brakes and I jumped out, feeling as though in doing so I had just saved my life. You’d think that would have compelled me to buy a car, but no. That would have been too bourgeois. Like I’ve often said, it’s a miracle I’m alive thinking of all the stupid things I did in the 70’s! <br /><br /><b>LF: Can you share with us some of your favorite authors and what you are currently reading? </b><br /><br />TN: I cut my teeth on the classics at the parochial high school I attended in the Midwest, so they always score highest: Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Dumas, Hardy, Dickens, Hugo, Austen, the Bronte Sisters, Sigrid Undset, G.K. Chesterton, etc. Tennyson and Edna St. Vincent Millay are my favorite poets. I love Elizabeth Goudge’s book, <i>The Dean’s Watch</i>. There are so many good writers out there today, I don’t know where to begin! Leif Enger’s <i>Peace Like a River</i> is, I think, a modern American classic. I also like fun, light travel memoirs, like Peter Mayle’s “<i>Provence</i>” books. I’m currently reading <i>Map of the Heart</i> by Susan Wiggs. <br /><br /><b>LF: Thank you so much, Teresa, for taking the time to chat with me!</b>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>About the Author:</b></span></div>
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Author of highly-acclaimed "A Year in the Company of Freaks," Teresa was raised in a large Midwest family and now lives in Oregon. She is also the author of "Bianca's Vineyard," and its sequel, "Domenico's Table." Both books are based on the true stories of her husband's Italian family in Tuscany. In addition to enjoying family, writing, reading, meeting her readers, wine tasting, traveling, and all things Italian, Teresa loves playing the fiddle with other musicians.<br />
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<b>Connect with the Author: <a href="http://teresaneumann.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Always-Summer-Books-157893260909184/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/intrepidwriter" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b><br />
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-70615313131385217632017-08-29T09:10:00.000-07:002017-08-29T09:10:15.104-07:00The Nomad's Premonition (Book #2) by Georges Benay (Review & Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Two weeks ago I posted my review of the first book in the Nomad Series <a href="http://essentiallyitalian.blogspot.ca/2017/08/nomad-on-run-by-georges-benay-review.html" target="_blank">Nomad on the Run</a>, which I enjoyed. The Nomad's Premonition is the second book in the series and I enjoyed it even more than the first one. The writing and dialogue is better and it feels like the author has really found his groove. Make sure to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a set of the books or a $15 Amazon gift card!<div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: The Nomad's Premonition (Book #2) by Georges Benay<br />
Category: Adult Fiction, 240 pages<br />
Genre: Thriller, mystery/suspense<br />
Publisher: Story Merchant Books<br />
Release date: April 28, 2017<br />
Tour dates: August 14 to Sept 15, 2017<br />
Content Rating: PG-13 (some violence, a couple of swear words - minimal)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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Eric Martin is desperate to forget his past, one that almost cost him his future.<br />
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Working in Paris as deputy head of a bank's internal security department, Eric notices a high-speed trader's uncanny ability to predict extremely profitable trades. Even though there's nothing illegal about the activity, he knows the trader's success is more than just luck.<br />
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But, no one believes him. Armed only with a handful of data and a powerful instinct, Eric searches for the mysterious trader on his own. He suspects that a predictive algorithm has fallen into the wrong hands.<br />
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Eric sets off for Istanbul to find answers promised to him by an informant. He finds an unlikely ally in Interpol agent Stephanie Brule. With Interpol wanting him back in Paris and out of the way, Eric's quest is also hampered by the sudden appearance of his ex-lover, a boss he's not sure he can trust, and a terrorist who always seems one step ahead.<br />
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Will Eric put an end, once and for all, to the nightmare that began when he accepted a job that was too good to be true? Or will his need for revenge and justice lead him deeper into a treacherous world he has no way of escaping?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>My Review:</b></span></div>
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Two weeks ago I posted my review of the first book in the Nomad Series <a href="http://essentiallyitalian.blogspot.ca/2017/08/nomad-on-run-by-georges-benay-review.html" target="_blank">Nomad on the Run</a>, which I enjoyed. <i>The Nomad's Premonition</i> is the second book in the series and I enjoyed it even more than the first one. The writing and dialogue is better and it feels like the author has really found his groove.<br />
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The story takes place three years after the events in the first book. Eric Martin is now in Paris, having accepted a job as the head of a bank's internal security. He is not happy, trying to forget a horrific past and missing his days as an investment banker. It's evident he is not the same person, plagued by the guilt that some of his past actions caused the death of innocent lives and the loss of the woman he loved. So when he notices the work of a high speed trader and thinks it's possibly linked to terrorist work, he stubbornly and obsessively decides to investigate it.<br />
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What I liked the most about this story is that it's about a damaged soul who wants to make things right and bring closure to the past, even if it costs him his life. Most thrillers have too much action at the expense of character development. That's not the case with this story. The author builds his characters well and is not afraid to push their limits, reveal their strengths and expose their weaknesses. Eric is wonderfully flawed and compelling as a main character. We get to admire his inner strength even as we shake our heads at some of his foolish actions.<br />
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The suspense racks up as Eric gets closer to discovering who the trader is, and it's action-packed for most of the time in Istanbul, which brings me to the setting. What an exotic setting, rich in historical details and landscape descriptions! It prompted me to do research on the Internet of the places mentioned. I was happy that I also got to find out what happened to Eric's late colleague's family, as that was left unanswered in the first book. Once again, the ending is satisfying and left me intrigued. It seems like there is a third book in this series, which I look forward to reading.<br />
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Although <i>The Nomad's Premonition</i> is a stand-alone novel, I did like reading it after having read the first book. If you love thrillers set in exotic settings with a strong flawed main character, you will enjoy the Nomad series.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Buy The Nomad's Premonition: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meet the Author:</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9sSrFvfKwF0/WYNaIhP8NyI/AAAAAAAACrE/dL1MYu88Y1Q5bi9ocqBx7fbLOB6Piy8bgCLcBGAs/s1600/Georges%2BBenay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="544" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9sSrFvfKwF0/WYNaIhP8NyI/AAAAAAAACrE/dL1MYu88Y1Q5bi9ocqBx7fbLOB6Piy8bgCLcBGAs/s320/Georges%2BBenay.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>
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Georges Benay is a former international banker who is now working as a Toronto-based writer and award-winning photographer. He is the author of two novels, including The Nomad's Premonition and a collection of short stories. His award winning pictures have been featured in several magazines and book covers.<br />
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<b>Connect with the author: <a href="http://www.georgesbenay.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> ~ <a href="http://www.georgesbenayphotoart.fototime.com/" target="_blank">Photography Website</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/NomadG8" target="_blank">Twitter</a></b><br />
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Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-76874821141047383952017-08-16T10:02:00.000-07:002017-08-16T10:02:15.794-07:00Nomad on the Run by Georges Benay (Review & Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D5uUwg571AQ/WYNZKr5o1RI/AAAAAAAACq8/ZaOQhTz6UnIbnmH8XUYhMYoKxBnqwaMWACLcBGAs/s1600/Nomad%2Bon%2Bthe%2BRun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="318" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D5uUwg571AQ/WYNZKr5o1RI/AAAAAAAACq8/ZaOQhTz6UnIbnmH8XUYhMYoKxBnqwaMWACLcBGAs/s640/Nomad%2Bon%2Bthe%2BRun.jpg" width="406" /></a></div>
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I was intrigued by this thriller series because of its exotic setting. You know that I love European settings but really, anything exotic, gets my attention. In addition, this book also takes place in Canada, in particular Toronto and my own home city of Montreal. So how could I resist checking it out? Be sure to enter the giveaway to win both books 1 and 2 in the Nomad series!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span></div>
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Book Title: Nomad on the Run (Book #1) by Georges Benay<br />
Category: Adult Fiction, 290 pages<br />
Genre: Thriller, mystery/suspense<br />
Publisher: Bookstand Publishing<br />
Release date: April 15, 2011<br />
Tour dates: August 14 to Sept 15, 2017<br />
Content Rating: PG (No f-words, some profanity, violence and minimal/tame sex scene)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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Beneath the golden desert and azure seas of Morocco lurks a hidden world of greed, deceit and financial terrorism. But the players are not who you might think. Lured away from his seemingly idyllic life as a managing director for a major international bank in Toronto, Eric Martin returns to his ancestral roots in Morocco.<br />
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Tempted by a mysterious offer from a boutique financial firm, Eric soon discovers he has walked into the middle of a whirlwind where everyone has their own secret agenda, and he unwittingly has become the key to unlocking them all. From the broad avenues of Toronto to the mean streets of Casablanca, Eric rushes to discover the truth before time runs out. But who can he trust?<br />
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The power and attraction of money is strong. In the midst of a dangerous cast of characters, Jeff Offenbach, bank president, knows more than he lets on. But how much does he know? Is he a key player in a scheme to terrorize the global economy, or is he just trying to save his firm from becoming another victim of the global economic collapse? Valerie is the unknown factor. Is she involved in the partners' machinations, or is she as guileless as Eric? Can he trust her? And more importantly, will he survive long enough to find out?<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">My Review:</b></div>
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Reviewed by Laura Fabiani</div>
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I was intrigued by this thriller series because of its exotic setting. You know that I love European settings but really, anything exotic, gets my attention. In addition, this book also takes place in Canada, in particular Toronto and my own home city of Montreal. So how could I resist checking it out?</div>
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The story starts off strong but then immediately slows down with details and scenes that do not propel the plot forward, and I was worried it was going to continue at this pace. Once the main character Eric Martin, a managing director for a major international bank in Toronto, decides to accept an invitation to join a boutique financial firm in Casablanca, the action begins. I must admit I did not like Eric at first but his character evolves and he redeems himself several times as he struggles with dilemmas that involve his colleagues and those closest to him. He's a hot tempered cocky fellow, and his flawed character was perfect for the story as he learns valuable lessons.</div>
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I enjoyed the story and felt the author's writing and dialogue improved considerably as the plot progressed and became more complex. I thought the plot was intelligent and rang true considering today's financial situation, highlighting the author's keen knowledge of the financial world and how corrupt it can be. I became more and more invested in the story as I continued to read. I also liked the reference to banks, places and French phrases that I am familiar with. I also appreciated that although there was some violence and abduction scenes, they were not explicitly described with gore and blood as in some thrillers I've read.</div>
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The ending, especially the last sentence, left me wanting to read the second book immediately following this one. It left the reader intrigued and speculating about Eric's lover. It was the perfect ending to this first book in a series, really. So look out for my review of the second book <i>The Nomad's Premonition</i> on Aug 29!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meet the Author:</b></span></div>
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Georges Benay is a former international banker who is now working as a Toronto-based writer and award-winning photographer. He is the author of two novels, including The Nomad's Premonition and a collection of short stories. His award winning pictures have been featured in several magazines and book covers.<br />
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<b>Connect with the author: <a href="http://www.georgesbenay.com/">Website</a> ~ <a href="http://www.georgesbenayphotoart.fototime.com/">Photography Website</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/NomadG8">Twitter</a></b><br />
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-52099366512584644272017-07-03T04:51:00.001-07:002017-07-03T04:51:35.087-07:00Appointment with Yesterday by Christopher Stratakis (Review & Giveaway)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today, I'm kicking off the tour for Christopher Stratakis' first novel. It's a coming-of-age immigrant story that I devoured in two days. This one is an Indie gem. Read what I thought of it and then scroll down to enter the giveaway to win a copy!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: Appointment with Yesterday: A Novel in Four Parts with a Prologue and an Epilogue <br />
Author: Christopher Stratakis<br />
Category: Adult Fiction, 334 pages<br />
Genre: coming-of-age / WWII / immigrant experience<br />
Publisher: IndieReader<br />
Release date: January 2017<br />
Tour dates: July 3 to 14, 2017<br />
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (There is no bad language or violence, but there are references to sex and sexual situations (including between a pre-teen and teen)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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A poignant and compelling first novel, Appointment with Yesterday tells the story of Yanni, a cheeky and delightful Greek boy growing up in a small town on an island in the eastern Aegean.<br />
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Left in the care of his loving grandparents, Yanni endures the deprivation and terror of the German occupation during World War II and finally leaves his beloved homeland and family to rejoin the parents who had left him behind to make a better life for themselves in America.<br />
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Filled with heartbreaking and heartwarming stories of love, devotion, disenchantment, and dashed dreams, Appointment with Yesterday is, ultimately, the story of hardships overcome and a determined boy’s journey toward finding his destiny.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Buy the Book:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Appointment-Yesterday-Novel-Prologue-Epilogue/dp/0997721219" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a> ~ <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/appointment-with-yesterday-christopher-stratakis/1125422646?ean=9780990887171" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>My Review:</b></span></div>
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I love when I pick up a book without knowing anything about it and discover an Indie gem. Although I wasn't too taken in with the book cover or the title, I was thrilled to discover this book. It's one of the best books I've read this year!<br />
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Based, to a large extent on the author's own life story, <i>Appointment with Yesterday</i> is a coming-of-age novel that begins with an old man in Greece, sitting on the veranda of his country home facing the sea and reminiscing on his life. We then go back in time to the story of Yanni, a Greek boy who lives on Erytha, a remote Aegean island, with his extended family, in particular his grandparents who have been raising him since he was a baby. His parents went back to America with the hope that they would soon return, but the years went by and it was only when Yanni was sixteen that he is reunited with them when he emigrates to New York City, where they live.<br />
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Yanni is a curious and vivacious boy who grows up loving the sea and his life on the island. He longs for his parents, and feels their abandonment, but is loved by his extended family and develops a very close relationship with them. I loved reading about his early life and the island ways. When Germany invades during WWII, even this small island gets swarmed with soldiers who starve the people when they take control of the food source. Yanni and his family go through some hard times and it teaches Yanni tough life lessons. I had never read about WWII from the perspective of a Greek boy who lived through it, so this made the story even more interesting.<br />
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When Yanni finally joins his parents in America, he experiences unbridled joy and excitement but also disappointment and painful disillusionment. As an immigrant he must learn a new language, a new way of life and live with family members who are essentially strangers. Yanni is a survivor though, and he works hard to succeed. As a reader, one cannot help but cheer him as he navigates his way through all of these ups and downs.<i> </i><br />
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<i>Appointment with Yesterday </i>is a fictionalized memoir that was such a pleasure to read. As the daughter of immigrant parents, this book resonated with me. Greeks and Italians are similar in culture. This book is beautifully written and the characters as well as the island of Erytha came to life under this author's deft pen. I was invested in the story and Yanni's life from the first page. For lovers of historical fiction and coming-of-age stories, this one will not disappoint. It made it's way on my list of Best Reads for 2017.<br />
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To read more reviews, please visit <a href="http://www.ireadbooktours.com/blog---current-tours/book-review-tour-appointment-with-yesterday-by-christopher-stratakis" target="_blank">Christopher Stratakis' page on iRead Book Tours</a>.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meet the Author:</b></span></div>
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Christopher Stratakis was born and raised in Greece. After moving to America, he graduated from Drexel University in 1951 and New York University School of Law in 1955. Shortly after joining the law firm of Poles, Tublin & Patestides in 1960, he became a partner, specializing in admiralty and corporate law.<br />
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He has written and published several articles, lectured on professional and historical subjects, served as Legal Advisor to several non-profits (pro bono), and was an arbitrator in maritime disputes. He is the author of Mnimes “Memories” (2010), a book of essays, short stories, and poems that he wrote as a teenager. In 2015, he co-edited Chains on Parallel Roads, a book published by Panchiaki “Korais” Society of New York. In recognition of his extensive community involvement, he has been the recipient of several awards from religious, governmental, and educational institutions.<br />
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Mr. Stratakis lives with his wife in New York City. He is the proud father of three and grandfather of three. This is his first novel.</div>
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-56963226940717184342017-06-20T06:52:00.000-07:002017-06-20T06:55:45.137-07:00Appointment with ISIL: An Anthony Provati Thriller by Joe Giordano (Review & Giveaway)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: Appointment with ISIL: An Anthony Provati Thriller by Joe Giordano<br />
Category: Adult Fiction, 299 pages<br />
Genre: Literary Thriller<br />
Publisher: Harvard Square Editions<br />
Release date: June 2017<br />
Content Rating: PG-13 (No f-words but there's mild profanity and religious expletives, some depictions of gory violence and brief sexual content.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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This time, Anthony's libido threatens his life. He flirts with Russian mob boss, Gorgon Malakhov's mistress. The Russian deals in death. ISIL, the Islamic State in the Levant, wants the product. Russian Intelligence supplies the means, and an art theft funds the scheme. ISIL's targets are chilling. The chase across the Mediterranean is on. Can Anthony thwart ISIL? Will he survive? <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Praise for Appointment with ISIL:</b></span><br />
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"<i>A roller-coaster ride to the finish, this book confirms Giordano as a writer to eagerly watch</i>."<br />
- <a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/joe-giordano/appointment-with-isil/" target="_blank">Kirkus Reviews</a><br />
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"<i>A sexy, all-in-one-breath read, this is a story for those eager to strap on their boots and immerse themselves in a whirlwind adventure that will take them from espresso in New York with the Italian Mafia to walking the Old City of Jerusalem with the chief of Israel’s security service</i>."<br />
-<a href="http://theireadreview.weebly.com/our-reviews/appointment-with-isil-an-anthony-provati-thriller-by-joe-giordano" target="_blank"> The iRead Review</a><br />
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“<i>If you like gritty intriguing thrillers involving the FBI, Russian/Italian mobs or Islamic Terrorists you will absolutely love this book…. The characters, the plot and prose come together for an outstanding work of contemporary Americana. PRIMO highly recommends Appointment with ISIL</i>."<br />
– <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1900803971?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1" target="_blank">Primo Magazine</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>My Review:</b></span></div>
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<i>Reviewed by Laura Fabiani</i></div>
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After reading Joe Giordano's first book, <a href="http://essentiallyitalian.blogspot.ca/2015/11/birds-of-passage-italian-immigrant.html">Birds of Passage</a>, I was eager to read his latest release <i>Appointment with ISIL </i>and I was not disappointed<i>.</i> Although different in genre, Joe Giordano's crisp writing, complex plot and storytelling skills stand out in this book too. His main character Anthony Provati, an American-Italian with family in the Mafia, is a wonderfully flawed character who propels the story forward.<br />
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Anthony made his first mistake when he flirted with Russian mobster Malakhov's girlfriend. This leads to a series of events that gets Anthony involved with the Italian mob and finally leads him to ISIL territory and indirectly stopping terrorists attacks. Like a train, the story slowly builds momentum until it picks up full speed and the reader can't turn the pages fast enough to get to the end. <br />
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Giordano skillfully builds his characters, so each one distinctly stands out. Even the secondary characters get background information. Although the plot is multi-layered, it's easy to follow and there are no plot holes. Once again, I was impressed with Giordano's intelligent writing, the witty and dangerous dialogue among the mobsters and his knowledge of organized crime behaviour in different cultures. There was nothing predictable about the story (except perhaps that a pretty face would stir Anthony's libido) and I loved not knowing what was going to happen next.<br />
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Of course, the whole Italian connection appealed to me since I'm Canadian-Italian. I was very familiar with the Italian expressions used throughout the novel. I live in Montreal where the Italian Mafia is very active and was a topic of conversation at the dinner table among my father and my uncles. There are some rough scenes in the book, religious profanity and violence in the form of brutal killings, but none of it is too excessive considering the setting and circumstances of the story.<br />
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<i>Appointment with ISIL</i> is an impressive debut in the thriller genre, and a fantastic start to the Anthony Provati series. Joe Giordano is a talented author to watch out for, and I eagerly await his next novel.<br />
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To read more reviews, please follow the tour on <a href="http://www.italybooktours.com/blog---current-tours/book-tour-appointment-with-isil-an-anthony-provati-thriller-by-joe-giordano" target="_blank">Joe Giordano's page on Italy Book Tours.</a><br />
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<i><span style="color: #666666;">Disclosure : Thanks to the author for sending me this book. I was not told how to rate and review this novel.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meet the Author:</b></span></div>
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Joe Giordano was born in Brooklyn. He and his wife, Jane, have lived in Greece, Brazil, Belgium and the Netherlands. They now live in Texas.<br />
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Joe's stories have appeared in more than ninety magazines including The Monarch Review, The Saturday Evening Post, decomP, The Summerset Review, and Shenandoah. His novel, Birds of Passage, An Italian Immigrant Coming of Age Story, was published by Harvard Square Editions October 2015. His second novel, Appointment with ISIL, an Anthony Provati Thriller will be published by HSE in June 2017. <br />
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<b>Connect with the author: <a href="http://joe-giordano.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/joe_jagintx" target="_blank">Twitter</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Joe.Giordano.author.921/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> ~ <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/jagintx/" target="_blank"> Pinterest</a></b><br />
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Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-26338208510603418662017-06-07T06:24:00.000-07:002017-06-07T06:24:02.683-07:00Dancing in the Rain by Lucy Appadoo (Book Spotlight, Author Interview, and Giveaway!)<div class="paragraph" style="line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 1em; padding: 0px;">
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Can she end the turmoil and escape the firmly built trap to find the freedom she craves?</span></span></div>
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I'm featuring Australian-Italian author Lucy Appadoo with her latest book in The Italian Family series! I have yet to read this series and I'm excited to have discovered this new-to-me author, especially because her books are set in Italy. I had the opportunity to interview Lucy and discovered we have lots in common. Check out her new title (isn't that a great cover?) and then enter for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span></div>
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Book Title: Dancing in the Rain (The Italian Family Series)</div>
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Author: Lucy Appadoo</div>
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Category: Adult Fiction, 274 pages</div>
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Genre: Historical Coming of Age/Romance/Family Drama</div>
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Publisher: Lucy Appadoo</div>
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Release date: March 24, 2017</div>
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Tour dates: June 5 to 23, 2017</div>
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Content Rating: PG-13 + M (There is physical abuse and death involved.)</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span></div>
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Fifteen-year old Valeria Allegro works diligently on the family farm in Italy, where she is torn between her duty to her family and her desire to find freedom from her strict, domineering father. She finds solace in Dario, a young student who provides a blissful escape—until a neighbour’s son, Gregorio, decides he wants her for himself.</div>
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This raises an alarm for her father, which leads to family conflict and aggression. When Dario is threatened and her family is plagued by a series of suspicious accidents, Valeria is desperate to keep her loved ones safe. Can she end the turmoil and escape the firmly built trap to find the freedom she craves?</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Buy the Book:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Dancing-Rain-Italian-Family-Appadoo-ebook/dp/B06XVLR846/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon.com.au</a> ~ <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dancing-Rain-Italian-Family-Appadoo-ebook/dp/B06XVLR846" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a> ~ <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dancing-in-the-rain-lucy-appadoo/1126051440;jsessionid=03EF9BB80B51CEEB21E2DACA7763B1E3.prodny_store01-atgap06?ean=2940154288252" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Interview with Lucy Appadoo:</b></span></div>
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<b>EI: Welcome to Essentially Italian, Lucy. I'm excited to be shoecasing your latest release today. Describe your book in 20 words or less.</b><br />
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LA: Dancing in the Rain is an historical/coming of age story about romance and freedom for a fifteen-year girl from Italy.<br />
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<b>EI: What inspired you to write The Italian Family Series?</b><br />
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LA: My mother and father both inspired me to write this series as I found their childhood stories touching and emotional. They both grew up in Italy and arrived in Melbourne in the 1960s to forge a life for themselves and their children. As we were growing up, they recounted their challenges, joys, and nostalgia with a resilient soul, and I had always wanted to recreate their stories through fiction. I honour their strength and love for their family through The Italian Family Series.<br />
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It is a true inspiration to know about all they had suffered growing up in the Italian village, and to have created a life for their three children when they had no penny to their names after arriving in Melbourne.<br />
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<b>EI: Your parents are Italian immigrants, just like mine. Did you grow up speaking the Italian language?</b><br />
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LA: I grew up speaking an Italian dialect, originating from a small village, Piaggine in the south of Italy. I found that when I travelled to Italy at twenty-three, I was learning a whole other language; the purest of Italian rather than the dialect. I learned to use both the pure language and the dialect during my trip.<br />
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<b>EI: I noticed we have a lot in common when I read your bio. I too have worked as a counsellor, caseworker and taught English as a second language. How much of your life experience permeates your writing?</b><br />
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LA: Some of my life experience permeates my writing when I describe the challenges and traumatic issues in my novels. I have applied and merged some of my experience with clients with my own personal challenges and grief. I feel that writing is a holistic process and covers both the personal and professional experience.<br />
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I use many things in my writing, and that includes my life experience, imagination, professional experience, knowledge, and research.<br />
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<b>EI: What was the last great book you read?</b><br />
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LA: The last great book I read was <i>All That Remains</i> by Hannah Holborn, which is a suspenseful story about a missing boy and a deranged villain. It continues with the same characters in Book Two with <i>Strange Lineup</i> but the plot varies. The book is intriguing and captures you until the very end.<br />
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I enjoy books with psychological intrigue and suspense as I like to know what’s in people’s minds, given my psychology background.<br />
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I also enjoy reading stories about Italy (Adriana Trigiani’s <i>The Shoemaker’s Wife</i>) as I can relate to the culture because of my Italian upbringing.<br />
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<b>EI: I loved <i>The Shoemaker's Wife</i>. Any future projects you want to share with us?</b><br />
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LA: I am currently working on a romantic suspense novel that is a spin-off from my novel, <i>Rising Hearts</i>. I am also working on a short story thriller (my second one as part of a collection of three short story thrillers). I am not sure at this stage whether I will continue with other character’s stories from The Italian Family series.<br />
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<b>EI: If you could travel back in time, where would you go?</b><br />
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LA: If I could travel back in time, I would travel back to my younger adult days and change some of the bad decisions I had made, as in hindsight you know what went wrong.<br />
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<b>EI: Thank you, Lucy!</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meet the Author:</b></span></div>
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Lucy Appadoo is a registered counsellor and wellness coach with a part-time private practice. She also works as a rehabilitation counsellor for the Australian government. In her spare time, she self-publishes or writes nonfiction and fiction texts. She previously worked as a rehabilitation consultant, caseworker, English as a second language teacher, and proofreader.</div>
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Lucy has postgraduate diplomas in psychology, education, and English as a Second Language teaching, as well as specialised qualifications in grief counselling and hypnosis. She has also completed wellness coaching courses (levels 1-3) at Wellness Coaching Australia.</div>
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Lucy enjoys reading romantic suspense, romance, thrillers, crime novels, family/historical drama, and sagas. She writes in the genres of romantic suspense, historical fiction, and romance. She has enjoyed travelling to exotic places such as Madrid, Mauritius, and Italy, and draws on these experiences in her creative writing.</div>
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Lucy’s favourite authors include Kendra Elliot, Christiane Heggan, Theresa Ragan, Tara Moss, Nicholas Sparks, Adriana Trigiani, Erica Spindler, and James Patterson (to name a few).</div>
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Lucy’s interests include meditation, playing tennis, journal writing, reading fiction and nonfiction texts about writing, coaching, and counselling, ongoing professional development, spending time with her husband and two daughters, and socialising with friends and family.</div>
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<b>Connect with the Author: <a href="http://www.lucyappadooauthor.com.au/" target="_blank">Website</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/LucyAppadoo" target="_blank">Twitter</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lucy.appadoo" target="_blank">Facebook</a></b></div>
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-7148026999612023062017-05-18T18:48:00.003-07:002017-05-18T18:48:35.768-07:00More Than a Soldier: One Army Ranger's Daring Escape From the Nazis by D.M. Annechino (Book Spotlight & Giveaway!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />I am thrilled to be featuring the latest title by talented author D.M. Annechino. D.M. usually writes suspense thrillers but he has outdone himself with this one. <i>More Than a Soldier</i> is based on the powerful and true story of Angelo DiMarco’s survival, resilience and courage as he escaped the Nazis in Italy. My review will be posted on June 13 on <a href="http://www.libraryofcleanreads.com/" target="_blank">Library of Clean Reads</a>. Be sure to check it out. In the meantime, enter the giveaway and help us spread the word about this unforgettable story.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Details:</b></span><br />
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Book Title: More Than a Soldier: One Army Ranger's Daring Escape From the Nazis<br />
Author: D.M. Annechino<br />
Category: Adult Fiction, 316 pages<br />
Genre: Historical Biography, WWII<br />
Publisher: CreateSpace<br />
Release date: April 2017<br />
Tour dates: April 24 to May 19, 2017<br />
Content Rating: PG-13 (A few four-letter words and violence associated with war)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Book Description:</b></span><br />
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Feeling a patriotic duty to defend his country after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, seventeen year old, Angelo J. DiMarco, enlists in the U.S. Army. Severely short of frontline fighters, the Army rushes Angelo through Ranger training and sends him to Italy as part of the 1st Ranger Battalion. Their objective: stop the German invasion.<br />
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Fighting on the front lines in Italy, the German’s teach Angelo a sobering lesson on life when they capture him during the bloody battle of Cisterna. Against insurmountable odds, Angelo miraculously escapes in a way that stretches the imagination. He survives behind enemy lines for over five months, hiding from the Germans and trying to outmaneuver them. He begs for food, sleeps in barns and suffers from many ailments, including dehydration, malnutrition, malaria and exposure to the elements.<br />
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<i>More Than a Soldier</i> is Angelo DiMarco’s powerful story of survival, resilience and courage.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Buy the Book: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Soldier-Rangers-Daring-ebook/dp/B06Y6GXRYB/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492114331&sr=8-1&keywords=more+than+a+soldier" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a></b></span></div>
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<b><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34848159-more-than-a-soldier" target="_blank">Add to Goodreads</a></span></b></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Praise for More Than a Soldier:</b></span><br />
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Annechino colorfully draws the actions scenes, and richly brings the supporting cast of characters to life. A moving tale of survival in war-torn Europe.<br />
-<i> Kirkus Reviews</i><br />
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Nuanced and eloquently written, <i>More Than a Soldier</i> adds to the body of WWII literature an extraordinary story of survival and a deeply affecting portrait of a soldier’s coming-of-age.<br />
- <i>The iRead Review</i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Meet the Author:</b></span></div>
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Daniel M. Annechino, a former book editor, wrote his first book, How to Buy the Most Car for the Least Money, while working as a General Manager in the automobile business. But his passion had always been fiction, particularly thrillers. He spent two years researching serial killers before finally penning his gripping and memorable debut novel They Never Die Quietly. He has written and published five novels—all thrillers. But his latest work, More Than a Soldier, is a Historical Biography set in Italy during WWII.<br />
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A native of New York, Annechino now lives in San Diego with his wife, Jennifer. He loves to cook, enjoys a glass of vintage wine, and spends lots of leisure time on the warm beaches of Southern California.<br />
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<b>Connect with the Author: <a href="https://dmannechino.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/DMHemingway" target="_blank">Twitter</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/daniel.m.annechino" target="_blank">Facebook</a></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Enter the Giveaway!</b></span></div>
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Ends May 27</div>
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<br />Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2696018762098745566.post-46002467624749475062017-05-14T19:10:00.002-07:002017-05-14T19:10:22.526-07:00Mailbox Monday for May 15<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Mailbox Monday now has a permanent home on its <b><a href="http://mailboxmonday.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>.</b> Link up to share your MM.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Love these new Italian-themed books that are in my mailbox this week. Can you tell I'm itching to go to Italy?</span></div>
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I got this one free when I signed up to the author's newsletter. This one is a novella and I devoured it. She's written other books set in Italy and I plan to read them too. </div>
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This one is on tour with <a href="http://www.italybooktours.com/blog---current-tours/book-tour-appointment-with-isil-an-anthony-provati-thriller-by-joe-giordano" target="_blank">Italy Book Tours</a> from June 19 to 30. I really enjoyed the author's first book and I look forward to reading this one.</div>
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I couldn't help getting a copy when I saw this free on Kindle. A foodie mystery set in Tuscany? Yeah, I'm in.<br />
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I couldn't resist this one when I saw it on several blogs. It's a true account set in Italy during WWII.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Did you get any good books in your mailbox this week?</span></div>
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Laura at Library of Clean Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.com7