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Art of Loving Italy

Art of Loving Italy

Art & Beauty are all around us.

As an author – what do you enjoy most about the writing process?

March 22, 2018 by Melissa Muldoon Leave a Comment

reviews-Waking-Isabella-Italy-Arezzo-Melissa-Muldoon

Sharing readers thoughts about “Waking Isabella” and answering reader questions

Review of Waking Isabella – OLIO By MARILYN: Kudos to the author on a well-crafted story. I love the way the author’s writing takes the reader between past and present so seamlessly it feels like they are happening side by side. I also enjoyed the chance to learn about Italian history during several eras – the Renaissance, the German occupation, and the current day. Waking Isabella is a story of passion, love, grief, and redemption that is built upon the stories of the characters we meet – their pasts, their secrets, their insecurities, and their passions.’

Review of Waking Isabella Spanish/English – TORRE DE BABEL: Through wildly imaginative eyes, scenes from the past come alive with emotion and turmoil. I loved those. The novel is fluid and easy to read, yet it still manages to convey beauty and heart.

I love reader questions!
Here are a couple I answered sent to me by readers.

As an author – what do you enjoy most about the writing process? What feels like a chore?

I enjoy the moments when my fingers just fly over the keyboard, and it seems like the characters have come to life and are guiding my words. Those moments when ideas come to me effortlessly, scene descriptions seem to write themselves, and I have these little ah-ha moments when I make exciting connections between characters, and things just seem to fit together beautifully. Those are great days.

And then there are those days where it feels like you are pulling teeth, none of your characters want to cooperate with you. You write for an hour and think you have perfected a scene. And then you look back, and it isn’t the way you saw it in your head, and you swear the words began to jump around on the page and re-write themselves (not to your liking) when your back was turned, and you were making more coffee.

As this is your 2nd book, do you find the process of finding new storyline ideas and characters gets harder or easier with each new title?

I think book two (Waking Isabella) was much easier to write. Book one (Dreaming Sophia) was super personal. I was riding a wave of ideas and let the writing take me where it wanted me to go, which it turned out was a bit of a circuitous route and I re-wrote and re-edited the story for many months. But, it was a good thing and wasn’t time wasted. The story evolved and matured as it was supposed to and in the process, I learned a lot — not only about the process of writing, editing, and developing a story but also the design and production of a novel and how to self-publish. After blazing my own trail I had a lot of knowledge in my head, and I couldn’t let it go to waste so decided to begin right away with a second book.

So, “Waking Isabella,” even though it involved a mystery — that required more research and finesse to explain it clearly to an audience who perhaps isn’t knowledgeable about the time periods, settings, the town of Arezzo and its traditions as well as the challenges faced by the diverse group of characters — from the beginning followed a more straightforward progression from start to finish, and I had a clearer idea of how the story was going to play out.

If you have a question for Melissa, send her a message: melissa@MelissaMuldoon.com

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Filed Under: Melissa Book News Tagged With: Arezzo, Dreaming Sophia, Giostra, Italian, Italy, Joust, Melissa Muldoon, novels set in Italy, Waking Isabella

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Pizza night! Facciamo una pizza… o due… o tre! Pizza night! Facciamo una pizza… o due… o tre! Che bella festa!
Matta Parole della settimana Sfogarsi = let of st Matta Parole della settimana

Sfogarsi = let of steam

Tesoro, sfogarsi è una parte importante del matrimonio.
Honey, venting is a very important part of marriage.

Sarete in grado di sfogarsi, e non nascondere la rabbia.
You will be able to let off steam and not hide anger.

Credo che avesse solo bisogno di... sfogarsi un po'.
I suppose he just needed to spout off for a while.

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Today I'm featured on Women Writer's Women's Books Today I'm featured on Women Writer's Women's Books online journal in a guest post I wrote: Thoughts on Writing and the Creative Process: How I am inspired by Italy and its Inspiring Women.

In this post — I explain my passion for Italy and why I write about Italy and famous Italian women like Sofonisba Anguissola, Artemisia Gentileschi, Isabella de’ Medici, and Sophia Loren. I also explain what I’ve been up to lately — teaching Italian, my Italian immersion programs, why I started an Italian book club, and the opportunity to interview Silvia Zucca (her book has been adapted into the hit Italian Netflix show). I talk little bit about why I write and my creative writing philosophy. I also talk about where the ideas for my past books came from and that I’m in search of my next Italian heroine for my next book.

You can find links to my author page and my author facebook page and links to the post in my Bio

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New Blog Post on the Studentessa Matta Site: Revie New Blog Post on the Studentessa Matta Site: Review of 4 Metà (Four to Dinner): Netflix Italian Film, 2022

In a new romantic Netflix comedy, “4 Metà,” (Four to Dinner) director Alessio Maria Federici tackles the complex and burning question “do soul mates exist?” Follow four singles as they are paired up in two parallel existences, see their lives play out and decide for yourself if there really is just one person out there for each of us. Watch in original Italian, or in English

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Matta Parole della settimana Camerini = dressing Matta Parole della settimana

Camerini = dressing rooms

Dove sono i camerini per provare gli abiti da ballo. / Where are the dressing rooms to try on the ball gowns.

Il primo attore è nel suo camerino. / The lead actor is in his dressing room.

Ho sempre voluto sapere come sono i camerini di Broadway. / I’ve always wanted to know what it's like in a Broadway dressing room.

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Cin cin! Cin cin!
Andiamo ad Ascoli questo settembre. Learn Italian Andiamo ad Ascoli questo settembre.

Learn Italian small group programs in Italy. Arezzo in June, Lucca in sept, Ascoli in Sept. StudentessaMatta.com 

Links in bio

#studentessamatta #learnitalian

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