Tag: Italy

A Tuscan Wedding Feast

‘…picked by Teresa and her girlfriends from the meadows around the village.’

You are all invited to an Italian wedding feast.  Dust off your gladrags and let Angela Petch tingle your taste buds with an extract from the final chapter of ‘Tuscan Roots’. 

 

 

 

 

Extract

‘Teresa and her friends from the village have been busy for days in the kitchen, banning Anna from the food preparations..’

The railings on the steps to Il Casalone have been festooned with laurel branches, garlands of white roses and long strands of variegated ivy and Teresa and her friends from the village have been busy for days in the kitchen, banning Anna from the food preparations. The wedding meal and sharing of food is every bit as important a ritual as the nuptial mass. Tables are piled with a feast of colourful, appetising food, spread on freshly laundered Busatti linen. A warm, balmy October has followed a wet summer and so a separate round table is arranged outside on the terrace to hold a whole Parmesan cheese, cut into squares and served with sparkling Prosecco to each guest as they arrive. Teresa and her team have been busy with starters of roast peppers, courgettes and aubergines, pastries with asparagus and artichokes and melting soft cheeses, home-made cappelletti, small hat-shaped ravioli stuffed with chicken breast, lean beef, lemon zest and nutmeg – and tagliatelle, with Anna’s favourite fresh tomato and basil sauce.

‘And all this is to be washed down with glasses of full-bodied local Sangiovese and Chianti Classico.’

And for the main course, Teresa carries in a platter of whole roast suckling pig served with tiny potatoes kept from the ‘orto’, roasted in olive oil and pungent rosemary, a salad of flowers: nasturtiums, borage and marigold petals with young dandelion leaves, wild sorrel and rocket picked by Teresa and her girlfriends from the meadows around the village. And all this is to be washed down with glasses of full-bodied local Sangiovese and Chianti Classico.

End***

The food prepared by the locals, in the Italian Apennines, transcends time and bridges the gap between the generations.

The food prepared by the locals, in the Italian Apennines, transcends time and bridges the gap between the generations.  I enjoyed ‘the stuffed zucchini flowers, little squares of crostini topped with spicy tomatoes, liver pate and a creamy relish made from dandelion flowers, roasted bay leaves topped with ovals of melted cheese.’  Food is prepared: to celebrate feasts, to welcome people into the home, to celebrate family occasions and to woo.

Let Angela Petch tingle your taste buds with her final chapter of ‘Tuscan Roots’.

Read Tuscan Roots, and you will not want to leave the romantic beauty of ‘indigo blue mountains’, or the ruins of Il Mulino (The Mill).  You will be impressed with the bravery of the Italian community during the war, and you will not want to leave the blossoming romance.  I highly recommend this book! Please read my whole review.

Angela has also published ‘Now and Then in Tuscany’: the sequel to Tuscan Roots.

She has published several stories in People’s Friend and is currently writing her third novel.

About Tuscan Roots

If you like Italy, you will enjoy this novel. A story of two women living in two different times. In 1943,in occupied Italy, Ines Santini’s sheltered existence is turned upside down when she meets Norman, an escaped British POW. Years later, Anna Swillland, their daughter, starts to unravel romantic and historical accounts from assorted documents left to her after her mother’s death. She travels to the beautiful Tuscan Apennines, where the story unfolds. In researching her parents’ past, she will discover secrets about the war, her parents and herself, which will change her life forever.

Angela’s Love Affair with Italy

Angela Petch in Italy

I live in the beautiful Italian Apennines for several months each year. Such an inspiring location.
My love affair with Italy was born at the age of seven when I moved with my family to Rome where we lived for six years. My father worked for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and he made sure we learned Italian and visited many places during that time.
Later on I studied Italian at the University of Kent at Canterbury and afterwards worked in Sicily, where I met my husband. His Italian mother and British father met in Urbino in 1944 and married after a war-time romance.

 

Contact Angela
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AngelaJaneClarePetch/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Angela_Petch
Website:  https://angelapetchsblogsite.wordpress.com/

 

Please see all my extracts at Book Extracts and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

Cramming my bag full of Angela Petch’s books and her lovers of Italian

Angela Petch 

 

 

 

 

Books in my Handbag is delighted to welcome the inspirational Angela Petch to the Chat Room

‘I’m inquisitive about different cultures and people. Writers are usually nosy, I think.’

Angela Petch was born in Germany, brought up in Italy and England, worked in Amsterdam, Sicily and Tanzania, East Africa. It is no wonder that she is ‘inquisitive about people and culture’. We can also thank Angela’s late father for introducing her to Italy, and I feel certain that he would have been proud of her writing.  Her colourful life is reflected in her colourful writing pallet.  Angela is sensitive, funny and creative: the perfect qualities for a writer

Angela has published ‘Tuscan Roots’ and ‘Now and Then in Tuscany’.  Currently, she is working on the frolics and escapes of ‘Mavis and Dot’- need I say more?

Always full of joie de vivre, Angela insisted that we open a bottle of Prosecco before we commenced the chat.  The sun was shining and butterflies dancing in the Italian garden as we commenced the conversation.

Jessie: I adore ‘Now and Then in Tuscany’, but please capture your novel in forty words…

Angela: ‘Now and Then in Tuscany’ is a historical narrative which oozes love for Italy and its culture.

The saga of three generations of a Tuscan family which recalls recent hardships and traditions of country life, too easily forgotten in today’s affluent and comfortable Europe.

Jessie: Absolutely, these elements were beautifully presented in the novel. Now here’s another challenge, read me an extract that captures the essence of your book.

Angela: “The ancient wheel beside the convent door stood waiting … like the mouth of a hungry beast, ready for me to place the baby in its wooden drum and push it to the inside of the orphanage.”

Jessie: You paint the experiences and emotions with words and tell a heart-breaking yet beautiful story. What do the reviewers say about your 5* novel? 

Angela searched through the Amazon reviews while I ate crostini. 

Angela:

This is no disappointment! What-happened-next books are so often disappointing. After the enchanting ‘Tuscan Roots’ (Angela Petch’s first novel set in Tuscany) I was almost afraid to read on. I needn’t have worried. This new book, which continues the story of Anna and Francesco Starnucci, like its predecessor blends a modern-day story with family history in an intricate weaving of now and then. Once again, the author’s love of the landscape and people of this beautiful region shine through, but this is far from being a mere travelogue. Angela Petch is an inspired storyteller who knows how to blend in a touch of mystery to keep the reader guessing.

Reviewer: Perdisma on 13 May 2017

Fascinating people and places. It reminds me in many ways (though it’s much less relentlessly tragic!) of “The Tree of Wooden Clogs”, the prize-winning film by Ermanno Olmi – it has the same intensely imagined and exquisitely detailed recreation of a lost way of life. The photographs are part of this too – at first sight they’re just grainy little black and white images, but each one explains and is explained by the text, so that the more you read the more alive they seem, like Facebook pages from a hundred years ago.
Reviewer:  Rose on Amazon 11 May 2017

Beautifully written and researched. This is a beautifully written and researched family saga that spans three generations of an Italian family. Giuseppe comes from a poor village in Tuscany where the rhythm of life is set by the Catholic Church and the menfolk’s annual winter pilgrimage to warmer winter grazing land for the sheep… The book is full of a subtle yearning. The prose is evocative. The historical narrative is impressively authentic and riven with the author’s love of her subject.

By CA reviews on 7 May 2017

Jessie: I am not surprised that you have received such accolades that all are all genuinely inspired by your storytelling.  The book has been a labour of love so how did you feel when you had finished the book?

Angela: I felt a mixture of relief and sadness when I had finished writing the book. This book took me five years to research and write. At times, it was an agonising process. I struggled with the balance between history and narrative, fearing that my desire to include details about the era was pushing the plot out of shape. At first, I listened to the reactions of too many Beta readers and grew despondent and confused. But I wanted desperately to give birth to “Now and Then in Tuscany”, as I felt it was a period of history that needed to be recorded. I had help from a professional editor in the end.

Jessie: It is so reassuring to hear that such a great book is the result of a challenging journey.  Do you miss the characters?

Angela: I still miss my main character, Giuseppe. He is so firmly placed in the location where we live in Tuscany that I’m sure I catch glimpses of him every now and again as he strides along the mule track.

Two weeks ago, we ate in the old stone house that I had imagined was his. I’m sure he was sitting in a corner by the stove, listening to our conversation and smiling wryly at the way we enjoyed the meal so much: our friend had recreated a peasant’s meal of nettle soup and frittata prepared with the tips of Vitalba (Old Man’s Beard). We enjoyed it as if it were a delicacy. But he would have eaten these ingredients out of necessity.

Jessie: Would you like any of your characters to read the book, or maybe there is someone else that you have in mind?

Angela: My father, Kenneth Sutor, who died twenty six years ago. He introduced his three young children to Italian culture in the 1960’s, when he relocated to Rome to work for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. I still have his 1956 edition of Hachette’s World Guide to Italy that he carried in his pocket for our excursions. Every Sunday he would take us to Mass and afterwards treat the family to a slap-up meal in a simple trattoria. Then, out would come his little blue book and we would be guided round the Villa d’Este or the Via Appia Antica, Colosseum, Subiaco, Assisi…He refused to have us penned up in an apartment in the centre of Rome and found us a ramshackle villa on the outskirts of Rome. The garden was stuffed with Roman statues, orange trees and bordered by vineyards and peach groves. How could I, as an impressionable seven year old, fail to fall in love with Italy?  He was self-educated. Today he would have enjoyed a university education but his family were not wealthy enough to support him. I remember him often engrossed in a history book, reading glasses perched on the end of his nose.

Jessie: I know you can’t say, but I wonder if I can sense your father in Giuseppe…  I am sure that your father would have been so proud of your book.

Angela: I would have loved to see him read my books. Undoubtedly, he would have pointed out the warts but I think he might have been proud of me too. He loved Italy and, on my mother’s request, I scattered his ashes on Italian soil.

Jessie: I don’t need to be convinced but why should I keep your book in my handbag?

Angela: If you are the type of person who recognises that understanding the past helps towards an understanding of the future…

If you want to explore a beautiful and little-known corner of Eastern Tuscany…

If you want to read the story of a young boy with a big heart who overcomes adversity…

If you want to weep and smile at Tuscan love stories…

Then, find a space in your handbag for “Now and Then in Tuscany”.

Jessie: What is the last sentence written in your writer’s notebook?

Angela poured herself another glass of Prosecco and wiped the condensation from the glass. There was a distinct look of mischief in Angela’s eyes as she read the following line:

“…a fluttering of fans from menopausal worshippers, in a church smelling of candle wax and cold, cold stone…”

(For an idea for my WIP, “The Adventures of Mavis and Dot”).

Jessie: What is the biggest challenge for an independent author?

Angela: Getting noticed. To be read in a competitive world where thousands of self-published authors are jostling for space. Engaging with social media has been my biggest challenge but it is the springboard. For a child of the ‘50’s, it doesn’t come easy. I was advised to set up a Twitter account. “Look for like-minded people,” was the advice from a writer friend. So, I typed “Lovers of Italian” in the search bar. I shall leave it to your imagination about the photos of gigolos and semi-naked escorts that popped up. Learning curve is the phrase that is constantly on the tip of my independent author’s tongue.

Jessie: What is the best advice that you have received as a writer?

Angela: Just write. Get it down, capture your words before they fly away.

Afterwards you will have to check and chop, but just write first. In order to have something to work on, just write. I don’t believe in writer’s block.

Jessie: I agree with you!  Just let the writing flow and banish writer’s block.  Does the countryside inspire you to write more than the city environment?

Angela: I like cities in small doses – for the theatre, concerts, art galleries, museums and monuments – but my heart sings in the countryside. I have played tennis all my life but at the moment I need a shoulder operation, so I can’t. Instead, I go for wonderful walks in the mountains. Better than a sweaty gym, any day.

Following the interview, I meandered down an ancient track. I reflected that we are all influenced by the past and the present. And I pondered whether anyone would make a wonderful art house film of Now and Then in Tuscany – the setting is there waiting to be captured on film. 

 

Please see My Guests for all the authors that I have interviewed.

 

Coraggio (courage) in my handbag

Tuscan Roots

Angela Petch

 

 

 

 

 

On opening this beautiful book, I arrived in the ‘early morning sunshine at Perugia’, with Anna.  I sat back as she drove the Italian car and observed the way that the road ‘…cut its way through tobacco fields sprouting green shoots and [took] a mountain road joining Sansepolcro to Rimini.’  I admired the olive trees and waited as the ‘road climbed’.  It was impossible not to see the ‘lake glistening’ and to imagine the people sheltering in this setting during World War Two.

On arrival at Rofelle, I found my way through the tangle of ivy, listened to the river rushing past the stones and opened the large wooden door to the mill.   The paint was peeling, but the knocker of the lion’s head stood proud; as if to announce the courage of Davide, Ines and their parents.  I opened the door to enter the past, with Anna, through the letters and diaries.  It was wonderful to meet Anna’s mother, in the diaries, but painful to discover that her ‘heart began to shrivel a little each day…’ during her traumatic life.

I stopped at the mill ‘hidden in the folds of the Alps of the Moon, where the sun sets from the jewel red skies behind misted blue peaks.’ Anna’s mother once lived in a mill, and she explains ‘…the old building in ruins, crumbling into nothing seems to mirror what I am leaning of Mamma’s past.’ The Mill is ‘fragile’ and is a symbol of lost history and lost dreams that could be rekindled by the new generation.  Sitting on the steps to read the letters and diaries, I sensed the ‘breeze that dances on the river’.  Listening to the ‘sound of the river and distant sheep bells’, I could feel the loneliness of Ines. I am sure I heard the voices of the German soldiers who would have bathed there, and the whispers of the POWs and partisans hidden in the mountains.

I was completely spellbound by the characters and the clever structure of this novel.  ‘Tuscan Roots’ is a beautifully written novel examining cultural differences, the impact of war and the risks that ordinary people will take.  I was intrigued by the details of post war Britain, but wanted to stay in Italy. The contrast between the two settings and cultures reinforces Ines’ emotional landscape.  The patchwork of history and the present are sewn together effortlessly with Angela’s distinctive prose.  How much do we really understand about our grandparents and parents’ experiences?  Such a poignant message is presented:

‘We should not bury our memories, even if they are painful, even if mistakes were made in those times, which causes us anguish…we must learn from them.’

I discovered Anna’s history, trusted her observations and understood her pain.  I was very fond of the vulnerable, innocent Ines who demonstrated incredible bravery. The descriptions of the setting rooted me to the novel, and made me understand how it bound Ines to her homeland.  I pondered the way that a landscape can remain untouched throughout the generations but people leave clues about the place’s history.  The author examines how war changes circumstances and the simple things that we take for granted.  I was in awe of the people who made sacrifices for others during the war, in Italy. The romance of the setting presents the reader with the hope of love.  The romance in the novel is wonderful, natural and tender. Angela’s writing style is captivating.

The food prepared by the locals, in the Italian Apennines, transcends time and bridges the gap between the generations.  I enjoyed ‘the stuffed zucchini flowers, little squares of crostini topped with spicy tomatoes, liver pate and a creamy relish made from dandelion flowers, roasted bay leaves topped with ovals of melted cheese.’  Food is prepared to celebrate feasts, to welcome people into the home, to celebrate family occasions and to woo.

This novel evokes the senses and leaves the reader firmly fixed in Tuscany.  Not the tourist’s Italy, but rural, down to earth Italy – ‘this landscape feels lived in’, and the author breathes life into ‘the ghosts from the past’.  The story of the POW and partisans provide another dimension to this story, and I was impressed with how this was skilfully woven into the story.

Read Tuscan Roots, and you will not want to leave the romantic beauty of ‘indigo blue mountains’, or the ruins of Il Mulino (The Mill).  You will be impressed with the bravery of the Italian community during the war, and you will not want to leave the blossoming romance. I highly recommend this book!

 

Please see all my reviews at Books in Handbag and my blog at jessiecahalin.com.

Another Chapter in the Writing Life of Angela Petch

Angela is following the steps of the shepherds when they left the mountains each winter.

When I was taking my very first steps to create my Books in my Handbag Blog over three years ago, I had the good fortune to meet Angela Petch online. I have always followed Angela’s wonderful writing journey as she moved from indie author to a Bookouture author. It is my pleasure to present the next chapter in her writing life. I am handing over this blog to Angela who is sending words to you from her beautiful home in Tuscany.

Three years ago, I appeared on a blog for the first time in my life. New to Twitter, my eye was caught by a handbag icon next to an unusual name: Books in my Handbag. I have a weakness for handbags. Living in Italy, that’s only natural.

As I had very recently published my second indie novel, Now and Then in Tuscany, I contacted the blogger and sent a copy, thinking that I would never hear back. I was fairly new to social media but my indie author friends were slowly introducing me to the writing community and I had to make a start.

The kind and sparkly angel who is Jessie Cahalin sent me a review some days later and it made me cry. Good tears. She liked it. She got what I was trying to put over. I was overwhelmed. I printed her words out and pinned them to my noticeboard by my desk.  I can’t describe what confidence it gave me to continue

I am now published by Bookouture, a digital publishing company that I also discovered on Twitter. And the book that Jessie helped me promote has the new title of ‘Tuscan Memory’.

A Tuscan Memory is set in Italy between the two world wars, it traces the journey of a young country boy, Giuseppe, who flees from a traumatic episode and joins the annual trek from the Tuscan Apennines down to the coast, with shepherds and cattle drovers. During this five-month period, he finds himself. The story runs concurrently with modern day, when Giuseppe’s great grandson (also experiencing difficulties at school) is looking into his family history for a school project. I have threaded in love stories, a family mystery and the history of the transhumance in our area of Tuscany where we live. It stopped in the 1950s but my elderly friends still talk about it. I walked part of the route as one part of my research (photo). The shepherds’ journey lasted ten days.

Bookouture has taken over the aspects of writing that I find so hard: the technical side of formatting the book, designing the cover, preparing the novel so that it is shipshape and ready for publication and – what I find hardest: the essential marketing. Bookouture have several editing processes and this part is vital for pulling the book together. When you are indie, it is hard to be objective and Beta reader friends are sometimes too kind, so it is wise to pay for a good editor. My second commissioned book, The Tuscan Girl, reached number 6 in the USA Kindle charts last week and has sold over 100,000 copies to date. There is no way I could have managed those sales when I was an indie author, but there are highly successful indie authors out there who manage their own marketing very well. Readers and bloggers unite all authors with their love of great stories.

This is the kitchen featured in Tuscan Memory

So, I would like to offer huge thank you to Books in my Handbag for helping me along the way and extend my gratitude to all sparkly bloggers and readers. We couldn’t do it without you.

Here is what I thought of the original version of ‘Tuscan Memory’:

‘The novel unlocked secrets of the enchanting holiday destination of Tuscany.  I have often wondered who had once walked along the ancient tracks, and who once lived in the ancient dwellings that nestle in the mountains.   As the title suggests, the reader delves into rural Tuscany as it is now and as it was back then at the beginning of last century. The reader has the privilege of meeting characters from the different generations and it is satisfying to fit the jigsaw together.  It is a cleverly crafted narrative, in which there are emotional parallels in the lives of the characters from the past and the present. This is a story of love wrapped up in an insight into rural history and customs of Tuscany.’

Angela is a wonderful writer. She has inspired me pursue my own writing journey via the Romantic Novelists’ New Writers’ Scheme. In the last two years, I have written two books and I am waiting to publish them. Alas, I no longer accept review requests, but I do enjoy interacting with authors. I can’t wait to find out how the Bookouture editor has shaped the novel that connected me to Angela Petch.

More about Angela

Angela Petch shares her year between the Tuscan Apennines and West Sussex.

Her love affair with Italy was born at the age of seven when she moved with her family to Rome. Her father worked for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and he made sure his children learned Italian and soaked up the culture. She studied Italian at the University of Kent at Canterbury and afterwards worked in Sicily where she met her husband. His Italian mother and British father met in Urbino in 1944 and married after a wartime romance.

Her first book, Tuscan Roots was written in 2012, for her Italian mother-in-law, Giuseppina, and also to make readers aware of the courage shown by families of her Italian neighbours during WW2. Signed by Bookouture in 2018, this book was republished as The Tuscan Secret in June 2019. The Tuscan Girl followed in February 2020.

Now and Then in Tuscany, was self-published in April 2017 and features the same family. The background is the transhumance, a practice that started in Etruscan times and continued until the 1950s. Bookouture has since acquired the rights, and under a new title, A Tuscan Memory was be released on September 7th 2020. Research for her Tuscan novels is greatly helped by her knowledge of Italian and conversations with locals.

Although Italy is a passion, her stories are not always set in this country. Mavis and Dot, published at the end of 2018 and sold in aid of research into a cure for cancer, tells the story of two fun-loving ladies who retire to the Sussex seaside. They forge an unlikely friendship and fall into a variety of adventures. Ingenu/e Magazine describes it as: “Absolutely Fabulous meets Last of the Summer Wine… a gently hilarious feel-good book that will enchant and delight…”.

A prize-winning, Amazon bestselling author and member of the RNA, she also loves to travel and recently returned to Tanzania, where she lived at the start of her marriage. A keen tennis player and walker, she enjoys spending time with her five grandchildren and inventing stories for their entertainment.

Her short stories are published by PRIMA and the People’s Friend.

Links
Blog: https://angelapetchsblogsite.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngelaJaneClarePetch
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Angela_Petch

Please see all my guests’ posts at Mail from the Creative Community and also my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

A copy of my novel is available here.

Stolen Moments on the Spanish Steps

The gentle sun glowed on the Spanish Steps and caressed the nude tones of the buildings huddled together.

The gentle sun glowed on the Spanish Steps and caressed the nude tones of the buildings huddled together.  I paused.  The silhouettes shuffled in the streets below. Ancient bells chimed and clattered in a duel with electronic beeps.

I rested on the steps and shared the moment with the strangers.

I rested on the steps and shared the moment with the strangers.  Removing my sunhat, I retrieved my notebook from my rucksack.  The shining steps bathed in orange light tempted me to rest my legs.

‘Madam stand up please,’ demanded a woman dressed in a yellow jacket.

Words had dissolved into the shadows so I stood up to snap some photographs and hoped the light wouldn’t hide from the frames.  Part of the crowd, I waited for a space to capture impressions of the moment.

‘So sorry,’ I apologised when I nudged a couple of British women with my rucksack.

The women turned their back on me, closed the gap for my camera and removed phones from their pockets.  ‘For goodness sake, why does everyone try to steal our view?’

Ancient bells chimed and clattered in a duel with electronic beeps.

I grabbed their words before re-joining the scene.  And then a siren clawed at noise of lives tuning up for play.

Whispers fluttered playfully amongst the languages flowing down the steps towards the fountain.  A moped grumbled. Previously, I complained about the incessant noise of Rome but here it softened into a symphony.  Words now loitered on the shining cobblestones, so I picked them up with my pen.  I synchronised with the heartbeat of Rome and connected with the romance of the city.

A tunnel of perfume and the clomp of footsteps announced a woman with brownish orange hair coiffured tightly to her head like a helmet. The shadow of her late husband followed her.  Lovers sighed.  There were touches, glances and giggles. No one bought thorny red roses from the men trying to sell romance.

Ancient bells chimed and clattered in a duel with electronic beeps.

An arm moved around me.  ‘When we came here twenty years ago, you raced me to the top of the steps,’ said my husband, now tired of waiting for me to make notes.

We joined the silhouettes in the streets and searched for a restaurant.

 

Please see all my adventures at Handbag Adventures and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.

A copy of my novel is available here.

Celebrating a slice of Italian history in my handbag

Angela Petch is an author of historical fiction, and she has written two wonderful novels set in Tuscany.  I completely lost myself in both novels. ‘Tuscan Roots’ and ‘Now and Then in Tuscany’ are based on her research into her husband’s family and his family’s region.  Angela and her husband live in Tuscany for six months of the year, thus her novels are written in the heart of the setting and culture. Angela’s intelligent and vivid style of writing is perfectly balanced with cultural and historical information. 

The ebooks of ‘Tuscan Roots’ and ‘Now and Then in Tuscany’ have been snapped up by Endeavour Press.  Angela has published short stories in People’s Friend and PRIMA magazine, and she won the Ip-Art short story award in 2008.

I simply adore Angela’s books and feel as if I have discovered a writer whose work will become classics.  I asked her to introduce the extract of ‘Tuscan Roots’ to prevent me from waxing lyrical for pages and pages. 

Cari lettori (Dear Readers),

It is 1944 and in a remote corner of German-occupied, war torn Italy. Ines, an eighteen year old Italian country girl is helping the partisans hide an escaped British POW. Meeting this young man will change her life forever.

There are two time threads weaving through “Tuscan Roots” and this extract from the story set in the past introduces Ines and Norman – two main protagonists. The diary extract is being read by her daughter, years later.

Saluti,

Angela

Presenting the extract:

“Rofelle, September 8th 1944

The inglese was still asleep on the planks above the cows. The nights were chilly and the animal warmth and dry hay made a comfortable bedroom – much better than mine. I have to share with nonna and she kicks and tosses at night. She snores like the pig we used to fatten for Christmas. There have been no pigs this year. The Germans have ‘requisitioned’ ours and everybody else’s in the area. ‘Pigs eating pigs,’ we muttered amongst ourselves.

‘Signore,’ I whispered.

There was no response. His face was long and pale, blond curls fell over his forehead which was bound with a dirty cloth. Blood had oozed and crusted onto the material. He was like a big baby.

‘Signore!’ I said it louder this time. There was still no response. I put the bowl of pasta down and gently shook him.

He opened his eyes, shouted and grabbed me round the neck. I pummelled him with my fists, I could hardly breathe. ‘Let me go, leave me alone!’ I shouted.

And then he recognised where he was and dropped his hands from round my neck. ‘Scusi, scusi. Sorry, signorina.’

‘You nearly knocked over the food.’

I was shaking and rubbed my neck. His grip had hurt me. The cows below seemed to sense something was wrong and they mooed and stamped their hooves.

(Extracted from Ines’ diary. Chapter 10 “Tuscan Roots”)

More words about the book from Angela:

‘Tuscan Roots’ is a story of two women living in two different times. In 1943, in occupied Italy, Ines Santini’s sheltered existence is turned upside down when she meets Norman, an escaped British POW. In 1999, Anna Swill and, their daughter, starts to unravel accounts from assorted documents left to her after her mother’s death. She travels to the beautiful Tuscan Apennines, where the story unfolds. In researching her parents’ past, she will discover secrets about war, her parents and herself, which will change her life forever…

What do the reviewers say about ‘Tuscan Roots’?

It is indeed noteworthy that the ‘Tuscan Roots’ has received over fifty reviews!

“A wonderful read – it is a great combination of a true account and fiction that I truly couldn’t put down” (Elizabeth Pepper – Amazon) ;

“Tuscan Roots is so much more than a literary take on ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ with its credibly fleshed-out characters, glimpses of life in war-weary occupied territory and dreary post-war London and a plot that keeps you on your toes but is never too convoluted – it’s a love letter to Tuscany.” – Ingenue Magazine. ;

“The way Angela has managed to capture in great detail the amazing natural beauty of this area and the culture of the Tuscan people is incredible.” Amazon Reviewer.

“If you love Italy, you will love this book. If you love history, this novel will show you an aspect of WW2 you may well not have encountered before. Angela Petch brings Tuscany to life; the customs, the people – you can taste the food, smell the wild flowers, see the scenery.” Amazon reviewer

Angela is a natural writer and describes herself as a ‘little bit nosey and always looking for stories’.  This piqued my interest and made me wonder how she had managed to weave such a beautiful story.

The inspiration behind ‘Tuscan Roots: A tangle of love and war in the Italian Apennines’

‘Tuscan Roots’ is my first novel and I wrote it for my lovely Italian mother-in-law who was ill at the time. She helped me with so many stories from her own life and allowed me to use them. I hasten to add that, although much of the book is factual and based on research, some of the story is fiction.  I missed the characters and so I wrote a sequel so I could mix with them again. Some of the main characters make a reappearance in “Now and Then in Tuscany” and …I am currently working on the third part of my Tuscan trilogy and the younger characters will tell their stories in this.

I cannot wait for the third novel in this series!

See my review of Tuscan Roots.

Angela’s contact detail:
Website: https://angelapetchsblogsite.wordpress.com
Twitter:@Angela_Petch
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngelaJaneClarePetch/
Email:angela_maurice@hotmail.com

 

Please see all my extracts at Book Extracts and my blog at jessiecahalin.com.

 

 ‘Golden afternoon light’ and shadows lurking in my handbag

The Little Theatre by the Sea 

 

Rosanna Ley

 

 

 

 

For me, reading should enable me to escape, to travel and to inhabit another world.  And I was on that plane, travelling to Sardinia, with Faye taking in the sight of the ‘islands, rocky bays, boats moored in the almost circular harbour and turquoise water that looked more like the Caribbean.’  Instantly, seduced by Ley’s scene setting: I settled back to enjoy the journey.  I expected paradise but it wasn’t that simple.

As an armchair traveller, the only baggage I carried was high hopes for a romance with a perfect setting, and I was not disappointed.  I walked along ‘…cobbled streets lined by tall skinny houses painted every shade of vibrant turquoise to deep ochre’ and I was lost in the vibrant colours of the Mediterranean.   My senses were piqued by the ‘sweet, pungent smell of roasted peppers, tomato and garlic exiting every doorway.’  Lost in paradise, I meandered through the Ley’s setting and basked in the ‘golden afternoon light’, with Faye.

Beneath the beguiling canvas of Deriu there are shadows lurking.  Faye feels ‘a dark underbelly to this place’.  Ley’s story explores the shadows and searches beneath the surface of the paradise.  The Little Theatre is a symbol of: the town’s history, culture, the secrets and the way that the heart can wither if unloved.

‘The ravages of time and damp had left the theatre looking tired and unloved.’  And the ‘ravages of time’ have left scars on the community.  The Volitis morn for, Giorgia, their missing daughter. Pasquale still pines for the dream of a loved one that he could never obtain.  Time has taken Alessandro and Marisa’s parents, thus inspiring them to transform the theatre into a memorial.  Over time, the theatre has hidden secrets and even sheltered people from danger.  Faye’s parents, back in the UK, have also hidden a marriage that has been ravaged by time and secrets.  The theatre seems to be a symbol of the lives that also need to be restored.

If Faye is to restore the theatre, then she must understand what the theatre means to the people of Deriu.  However, it is uncertain if she will be able to succeed in the task that she has been given by the Rinaldis.  Alessandro Rinaldi is like a brooding Italian Healthcliff who seems wild and tormented by a mystery.  Surely, this is the beautiful hero with ‘navy eyes’ will fall in love with Faye.  Alessandro can be compassionate and mysterious, and Faye’s confusion is imprinted on the scenery that is ‘a jumble of roots and flower-ladden terraces; vines twisting around pergolas. Purple jasmine blossoming in a haze.’  Indeed, Faye’s feelings for Alessandro seem to be in a haze and the tension is overwhelming.  The interaction between Alessandro and Faye successfully drives the narrative.

The insight into Faye’s parents helps the reader to understand Faye.  There is a clever juxtaposition of what seems to be the end of a relationship compared with a potential new relationship.  Faye’s parents, Ade and Molly, both embark on an emotional journey.  These characters provide some poignant reflections on love and marriage.  Ade, who has been looking for adventure, realises ‘…it was the minutiae of life that kept couples together’.  Ley’s exploration of the way a marriage can veer out of control is thought-provoking. Molly’s epiphany is beautifully washed away in a memorable scene. Rosanna Ley examines how honesty is key in any relationship be it an established relationship or a new one.

Rosanna Ley

Faye’s parents live in a cold climate, by the sea, and are reserved and hide their feelings.  The villagers of……. live in a warm climate and they seem permanently angry.  The Sicilians are a ‘proud race’, they ‘shake their fists’ and ‘talk at the same time’.  It is difficult for Faye to understand the villagers but she must find a way if she is to be accepted.

An intriguing story about new beginnings, love, dreams and secrets.

 

Click here to buy on Amazon

 

Please see all my reviews at Books in Handbag or My Reading and my blog at jessiecahalin.com.

 

Will I need space for a broken heart in my handbag?

Now and Then in Tuscany

Angela Petch
‘In my heart there was a storm that needed to break and my heart hurt like thorns on the wild rosa canina growing in the hedgerows…’

As the title suggests, the reader delves into rural Tuscany as it is now and as it was back then at the beginning of last century. The reader has the privilege of meeting characters from the different generations and it is satisfying to fit the jigsaw together.  Indeed, there is a cleverly crafted narrative, in which there are emotional parallels in the lives of the characters from the past and the present.

Giuseppe is a farrier and a cobbler.  Born at the beginning of last century,  his naivety leads him down some challenging paths, but this shapes the man, and ‘suffering begins the journey to wisdom.’

Giuseppe’s grandson, Francesco, and his English wife transform the ancient houses into holiday lets. Their son, Davide, encounters some of the emotional challenges of childhood that Giuseppe, his great-grandfather, had to face.

The tenderness between the couples from both generations explores love beautifully.