With the launch of Good in Theory this month, I didn't have much time to write newsletters and do other behind the scenes things, but rest assured, I didn't forget you!
I've also been working on the next book and finally getting more clarity on it. It took a while, but I think my outline is coming together, and I'm at the point where I can add in the nice little nuance types of things that add depth to the story. One of them has to do with why the story starts out in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.
At first, I started the reader there for a couple reasons. 1) I wanted to pick up on a thread from The Treasures We Seek where Kenzi was working on the design and oversight of an event center's construction. 2) I like to write about beautiful places, especially when I've been there and can really sink the reader into how it feels. My husband and I honeymooned in Rome in 2011, and I loved the opportunity to take the reader to a town a little south of there again.
BUT, the next chapter brings us back to the Pittsburgh area, where Kenzi (The Treasures We Seek) works and where Morgan, Lacey's sister (Good in Theory), also works. And we stay there for the rest of the book. So why would I take the reader to Italy to check on the building only to bring them back to Pittsburgh? I knew that there was an important item that Morgan would purchase in Italy, but I wanted a stronger connection. That connection came to me this week!
A missing painting.
And the painting works with the rest of the story, which I won't spoil for you because I'm just that nice.
So here's what I would like to do. Below , I'm sharing the snippet that I added to the beginning of the next book, which has no title, and I'd love to know what you would name that painting. Really. Just comment on the post and let me know what you think! My favorite answer will get the name they picked in the book, as well as a shoutout online!
In other news, there are loads of upcoming author events, both solo and group, coming up in the Pittsburgh region, and I'd love for you to join us and add a little something special to your TBR. There are some fantastic authors in this area! The event list is on my event page. And if you stop by an event, be sure to say hi!
“You remind me of a painting.” Interrupting my musings, Signore Zangari joins me on the porch and leans against the railing of his lovely home.
“Oh, I do?” I smile thoughtfully at my host, raising my eyebrows. “I didn’t realize I was so picturesque.”
He laughs. “No, you remind me of an actual painting. [PAINTING NAME]. There is a woman standing on a porch and looking at Lago Albano. It was painted somewhere in this area well over a hundred years ago. It’s quite famous in the region.” Pulling out his phone, he calls up the image and shows me. A woman in the foreground gazes dreamily at the lake in the distance, a porcelain cup in her hand. Her hair hangs in curls around her shoulders, and her robin’s egg blue dress sweeps to the right, as if she just entered the frame.
I glance from the painting to my coffee cup to the lake and back. “I don’t see a resemblance.”
Again, he chuckles. “You have the same far-away look. Like you are thinking of something magical that we can’t see.”
Now it’s my turn to laugh. “You’re reading my mind, Signore Z.” We smile at each other, sip our drinks, and gaze back at the lake. “Is this one at the papal palace? I’d love to see it while I’m here.”
“Sadly, it has been missing for over a hundred years. There are rumors that it was smuggled to America.” He points at his phone again. “This image was created from the artist’s original sketches by someone who saw the painting and redid it by memory. That’s all we have now.” He pointed at the description on the Lazio Museum, Rome’s website. “This painting is in Roma,” he confirms.
“That’s a shame.” How sad that a piece of history went missing.