The Next Big Thing ...

Coming in December 2012: The Time Contessa

How did you come by the idea?
This is the third book in my time-travel series. In the first book, The Time Baroness, my heroine Cassandra travels to Jane Austen’s England; in the second, The Time Heiress, to pre-Civil War New York City. In this third, upcoming, book, The Time Contessa, she travels to Renaissance Italy. The idea for The Time Contessa comes from the mention of another character in the earlier books, Jake,who time-traveled to Renaissance Florence some years before, but screwed something up in the time-line. So he and Cassandra now have to go back and fix it. This was a great opportunity to create a new male character that Cassandra falls for: Lauro Sampieri, a charismatic, artist and inventor.


What genre does your book fall under?

I like to call my books “romantic, time-travel,” as opposed to “time-travel romance,” because they are not traditional romances. They could also fall into the categories of sci/fi, and historical fiction.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters if it were a movie?

I always have in mind Nicole Kidman for Cassandra. I think Javier Bardem or Robert Downey Jr.  would do nicely as Lauro, and I'm pretty sure Jake Gyllenhaal would be a great Jake (nice coincidence about the name too!).

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

"Forced to travel back in time to Renaissance Siena with her colleague Jake to solve a mystery about a famous painting that's suddenly ceased to exist, Dr. Cassandra Reilly finds herself struggling to resist the romantic spell that threatens to derail her mission to restore the future, while keeping Jake from permanently falling victim to the past."

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

About six months. But before that there were a couple of months of research, which remained ongoing while I wrote. I thought I knew a lot about the Italian Renaissance, but I definitely learned things that surprised me; I think they'll surprise the reader too.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

It's hard to compare it to books in my genre, because very few deal with time-travel the way I do. But I'd have to say The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon isn't too far off, though her books are quite a bit more violent than mine. Then, as far as historical fiction: Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

My life-long love of Italy, the Italian language, the country’s art, it’s culture, food, and let’s not forget its men, inspired me to want to set one of the books in my series there. I studied in Florence for a summer, long ago, and more recently had a vacation in a farmhouse in Tuscany for a week, and I thought: there’s no more beautiful or romantic place in the world than this. But also, I am passionate about the art of the Italian Renaissance: Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Donatello, Rafael…so I wanted to write a book that really focused on the art as well.

The hilarious Barbara Silkstone tapped me for

The Next Big Thing.

I’m passing the tap onto the amazing 

Cara Bertoia, travel-novelist and adventurer!
http://carabertoia.blogspot.com/

New Year's Resolutions and a Third Novel

I can't believe that my last post on this blog on Dec. 11th, 2011 was the sharing of the first three chapters of my most recently released novel, The Time Heiress. Now, I'm proclaiming the exciting news (for me at least) that I'm three chapters into my third book in the series, The Time Contessa!

The process of beginning a new novel is indeed an exciting one. Though my research isn't quite completed (since I'm hoping it will include an actual trip to Italy) it's at a point where I can begin to intelligently write about the time period in which The Time Contessa will take place, Renaissance Italy - Siena, to be exact. I'm not going to give the plot away just yet because it may change as I go along. I'm always surprised at how I think my plot is set when I start writing a book, and how it often it changes significantly before the final product is revealed. Sometimes that's a result of suggestions by early readers, usually my husband, sisters or other close friends, or sometimes it's just an inspiration I get for a better idea.

I love getting to know my returning characters better, and meeting new characters as I introduce them. Writing a novel is as fun to me as reading one that I enjoy. I don't always know what's going to happen next...I tell myself the story as I go along, based on a central outline. Often things surprise and delight me as I go. I love when I laugh or cry at something I'm writing, or get titillated at the sexy bits. This is when I know I'm writing for me. I've come to realize, being the author of two successful e-books, that not everyone will like what I write. So I have to remind myself as I start this third creation that, as much as I want my audience to enjoy, even love, what I write, the most important thing is that I love it.

So what's my new year's resolution? Well, I don't need a resolution to keep writing. It pours out of me like water from a fountain. Perhaps I will resolve to be more involved with causes that I support, or to make a deeper commitment to the environment - both things I do already, but could always do more of. What's your resolution? Comment, and let me know!