I am very happy to announce I’ve published my third novel set in Italy!
Eternally Artemisia
Some loves, like some women, are timeless.
After an intense year—yet at the same time a very rewarding year—of research, writing, editing, illustrating, rewriting, and countless hours of editing, I’d like to introduce you to my protagonists Artemisia, Maddalena, and Matteo Crociani.
This new novel joins my other two books “Waking Isabella” and “Dreaming Sophia.” All three are set in Italy and tell the stories of American women and their journeys of self-discovery—to find love, uncover hidden truths, and follow their destinies to shape a better future for themselves in Italy.
In the pages of this book, you will learn the story of Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the first famous female artists to paint in the tradition of Caravaggio. I’ve always been fascinated and inspired by Artemisia and have wanted to tell her story. But Artemisia is just a part of the equation—the novel takes readers back to biblical days and forward in time again exploring the idea that some lives are intertwined and are destined to meet over and over again.
Here is a synopsis of Eternally Artemisia
Eternally Artemisia — Some loves, like some women, are timeless
They say some loves travel through time and are fated to meet over and over again. For Maddie, an art therapist, who wrestles with the “peculiar feeling” she has lived previous lives and is being called to Italy by voices that have left imprints on her soul, this idea is intriguing. Despite her best efforts, however, proof of this has always eluded her. That is, until one illuminating summer in Italy when Maddie’s previous existences start to bleed through into her current reality. When she is introduced to the Crociani family—a noble clan with ties to the seventeenth-century Medici court that boasts of ancestors with colorful pasts—she finally meets the loves of her life. One is a romantic love, and another is a special kind of passion that only women share, strong amongst those who have suffered greatly yet have triumphed despite it. As Maddie’s relationship develops with Artemisia Gentileschi—an artist who in a time when it was unheard of to denounce a man for the crime of rape, did just that—Maddie discovers a kindred spirit and a role model, and just what women are capable of when united together. In a journey that arcs back to biblical days and moves forward in time, Maddie encounters artists, dukes, designers, and movie stars as well as baser and ignoble men. With Artemisia never far from her side, she proves that when we dare to take control of our lives and find the “thing” we are most passionate about, we are limitless and can touch the stars.
My new novel is now available on Amazon in print and Epub—formatted for Kindle and iPad readers. It is also available on Ingram Spark.
Eternally Artemisia has received her first review
from Dianne Hales, author of “La Bella Lingua.”
A true Renaissance woman, Melissa Muldoon weaves her passions for art and Italy into a stirring saga that sweeps across centuries. As her time-traveling heroine Maddie reconnects with kindred souls, we meet Artemisia Gentileschi, the 17th–century artist who overcame rape and ignominy to gain respect and acclaim. Historic figures such as Galileo and Mussolini also come to life in this intricately plotted novel, but the women who defy all constraints to take control of their destinies are the ones who prove to be eternally fascinating.