“Me Proveró”

In Italian this means- I’ll try - something I would not have known had I not been facebook chatting with a friend of mine in Italy when my Starbucks neighbor began speaking on his phone. I’m not sure what else he said… I was more interested in chatting with my friend than in trying to decipher the phonetics of his Italian. But I do know that, unbeknownst to him, and not really knowing what they were talking about, I found myself sending nice thoughts to him and his caller.

It seems weird to me that we live in an age where the technicalities of communication are so simple. I still remember a time when my mother would have me write letters to my grandparents, or a Sunday phone call was a big deal. In the hall of my home there even stood an antique phone, where you had to wind the lever to reach the operator. It no longer worked. But it was a wonderful plaything, a spot to perch toys, and a frequent obstacle when exiting our rooms. (I frequently bumped my head on it.) To my nana though, it must have been like a phone with a cord is to me: a link to friends in the past.

But while the act communicating has become easier, the communication itself feels more difficult. Even discounting a world where speaking with someone in a foreign country (who speaks another language) is like shouting up the stairs for my daughter, using multitudes of vehicles for expressing myself can become burdensome. Phone, cell phone, email, Twitter, text , blogs, comments, Facebook (fan and personal pages), chats within just about any of these channels – the list goes on. And, what works for one person doesn’t for another. Does someone like to text with me or Facebook, or email or speak in person. I have to try to remember this, or inundate them via multiple channels.

And although all of these avenues make me feel connected in a way I never have before, they also are misleading. I feel close to my Italian friends, but am really not part of their life in any meaningful way. I think I know what is important to my local friends by checking their Facebook posts, and then find they had a major surgery or took a life-changing trip, from their Holiday card.

My comfort zone still lies in personal interactions. So, although my trip this summer is primarily to go to England… I suddenly find myself considering a side trip to Italy. I don’t know if I will be able to swing it, but as I told my friend there, “Me proveró.”

I’m still waiting to hear about your favorite or planned trips. Leave a comments and let me know what journeys have inspired you and I will enter you into a drawing to win a copy of any one of Daniel Davidson's Travel Free Guides to one lucky commenter during the month of January. Leave your comment and then check back at the end of the month to see if you won. Good Luck and Happy Journey.

P.S. In case you haven't found him yet, Daniel Davidson is a travel writer with great advice on saving money while traveling. Check him out at his website: http://www.freetravelideas.com/

“The winner of Master Chef is… Luca. - Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole!”

I ran to my office and finally got onto twitter (something I had been avoiding so that I could watch the show and learn the outcome that way.) I typed that after meeting Luca Manfe only one time, I still somehow felt vested in his win.

It was true. As a general rule, I really, really dislike reality shows. I find the personal interactions, at best, distracting and contrived and at worst, harmful examples of conflict resolution. But in this case, after meeting the tall, good looking chef in person I was hooked.

Authors often talk nowadays about the changing world of publishing and what it means to our interactions with readers. With so many books being sold electronically, it takes away the ability to create events based on book signings. For some this may seem unimportant, even a blessing. But my interaction with Luca shows why this is so very harmful to building our readership.

It is not that I personally know Mr. Manfe in any meaningful way. During my brief interaction with him I found him to be humble (he did not come right out and tell us he was on Master Chef), kind (he took the time to sign an  autograph for and take a picture with my daughter) and generous (he gave me his twitter handle and told me he would follow me back.) But most importantly, he captured my attention and my curiosity, and had a specific call to action – watch Master Chef that night – which was easily managed.

In what ways, I now ask myself, can I take the lesson I learned from him and apply it to my own life? Granted, my books have a much smaller platform than a prime time t.v. show. But still… the lesson is just as valuable. Find ways to meet my readers. Be willing, although it is difficult, to let people know about my work. And offer an easy way to learn more about me and my writing.

And, while the first and last items may seem like the difficult ones, it is actually the middle one, being willing to share my news, that is most difficult for me. Everyone has important things they have done or are doing. No one has time to look up my website, or read my book.

But what if Luca had thought this way? (Or, perhaps he did, but he forced himself out of his comfort zone.) It is true that I too was proud of my work, was in fact going the very next day to pick up the print version of my book. As well, it was our first night in NY. We were hot, tired, and distracted by the sights and sounds. On the surface we should not have had time to chat about his life event, or to watch his show when it came on. But we did. And now
I feel as if, not only was I in some small way part of an amazing event, but also through it, made a new friend… And this, ultimately, is why personal interaction is so very important- Because life is fundamentally personal.

Here’s to you Luca! I can’t wait to someday eat in your new restaurant. Ole, Ole, Ole Ole!

Did you watch Master Chef? Who were you rooting for? Or, do you have a favorite chef in general? You know I am on a campaign to interact personally here… And to prove it I’m giving away a copy of my book BETTING JESSICA to one lucky commenter during the month of September.

Leave a comment for any of my blog posts and at the end of each month I will randomly select one visitor/commenter to receive a free download of my book. (Note: winner will be notified by a reply linked to their
original comment…. Check back at the end of the month for directions on how to claim your prize!)

“I was a totally different person there.”

Sometimes when we travel we end up in places that have such a strong identity they infuse us with it as well. Italy has always been one of these spots for me, and I was glad to find that Annie Seaton’s new book, ITALIAN AFFAIR, successfully captures its essence.

As you know, I don’t typically write book reviews in my blog. But in this case I was so intrigued by the setting (Italy) that I decided to join in her blog tour. I’m so glad I did! It turned out to be a fun story with a great sense of place. -

When Scottish girl Brianna finds she has inherited a property in Italy she feels she will finally be able to get a feeling for the mother she never knew. The catch? She must be married to inherit it. Lucky for her she meets a kind, if a bit uptight, Australian guy, Tom, who for his own purposes agrees to help her out.

While at times I craved a bit more character development, this may have been because I liked both Tom and Brianna and wanted to see their personalities shine through even more. The story itself has just the right pacing so that the reader can enjoy the beautiful Italian setting.

And enjoy it I did! Descriptions of the villa she has inherited which brought me into the beautiful Mediterranean sunshine; attention to the details of food and drink; the portrayal of sounds which remind the reader they are in a living place.

     A whitewashed villa sprawled down the hill at the end of the
  road. The vista of the sea formed a scenic backdrop to the waves
  breaking gently on the pebbled beach far below them.
    “Is this it?” He strode down the hill and caught up to Brianna,
  who stood at a locked wrought iron gate. Tom peered over the
  top of the intricately scrolled metal into a paved courtyard with
  a small fountain in the middle. Wind chimes tinkled and the soft
  sound of the cascading water greeted them from inside.
                                                   (excerpt from- Italian Affair)

All of this allowed me, for a brief time, to travel to Italy and watch as the two main characters became the Italian versions of themselves… still quirky and unique, but a bit softer around the edges and more passionate about their own lives.

I give ITALIAN AFFAIR,  4 * stars. Take your own trip to Italy via this fun story and you might become a different person for a while as well.

Which of your favorite books have immersed you in their setting? Do you become a whole new person (without the help of alchohol:>) when you travel? I love to hear from readers, so leave a comment and be sure to let me know what you think of my posting a review every now and then.

Here’s to your own Journey Inspired by Love -
Deanne
                                    Be to click on the 'Read More' button below right for Author Bio, Book Blurb and Tour details

“It’s like you're trekking.”

With one of the chair lifts out of commission, and many of the runs closed, you would think our day of skiing would not have been much to talk about. Instead, though, the sun was out, the views were great, and I got to experience the concept of back country skiing as a guide led us across a run where at times we had to take off our skis and hike over patches of dirt.

The best experiences in my life, especially when I am travelling, always seem to occur when something unexpected changes my plan. Getting lost in Italy, finding myself without a hotel room in San Francisco, a car malfunction in England... these situation have led to my stepping outside my comfort zone and  relying on the generosity / help of others. And, when I get that chance to interact with locals, be they foreign or domestic, I usually get a much better understanding of the place I am visiting.

I suppose this is why solitary beach vacations don’t do a lot for me. It is not so much that I need to be active as that I like to be involved. In fact, I am currently intrigued by the idea of a working vacation…though I know these aren’t always as useful as they are promoted to be (see this article from Conde Nast Traveler for more.)

My husband doesn’t feel this need like I do, and so vacation planning is always a negotiation for us. Even when I go someplace like Hawaii, I tend to spend quite a bit of time chatting with my fellow- travelers; or better yet, with locals in restaurants or shops. How do they like living where they do? What do they do for fun? Have they ever visited where I am from? And if so, what did they think of it? I imagine it is like what a photojournalist must feel when they
travel… a moment that is shared even if it is not fully understood. (Link here to one of my new favorite t.v. shows Word Travels, about being a travel journalist.)

Hiking across those dry patches was just a moment of my day…and for the others simply a means to get to a lift that was otherwise inaccessible. But for me, it was the highlight of my ski trip.

“It must be spring.”

The birds are singing. The crocuses are blooming. The squirrels are friskily playing in my daughter’s fairy garden… Oh, Wait! That’s not playing. They’re practically setting up a house of ill-repute in our backyard.

Great, just what we need, more little baby squirrels looking for ways to get into our
attic.

Animals, no matter how cute, are messy. They dig where they shouldn’t, leave fur and feathers and all kinds of debris behind them, chew on stuff (like wires, ahem), and taunt my dog (who is clearly more person than animal). They represent the natural world, where things do not go according to plan and chaos seems imminent; a natural world from which modern society has created distance. 

Disney solved this by hiring bunches of employees to sweep up after nature and by anthropomorphizing animals. Our food chain contains more cello wrap and Styrofoam than animal product. There are multitudes of sites whose whole purpose is to convince us to rid ourselves of spiders, moles, mice, and pigeons while others show us how to create elaborate indoor homes for rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and snakes.

I dream of someday living in Italy for a year. I picture myself picking olives and learning how to make olive oil to pour over the fresh heirloom tomatoes grown in my own orto, garden. But nowhere in that vision do I see myself picking spiders out of my hair after shaking the olives from the tree; nor fighting with slugs intent on eating my tomatoes. In my idealized version of Italy the dirt of the natural world is contained to the ground, and not on my
hands.

At 10,000 feet I imagine the messiness of the world blurs into perfection. Time allows me to see that the cycle of life might look chaotic but is actually an amazing choreography of interconnected dependencies. So while my first instinct is to call the squirrel whisperer from blog posts past (link), as I stare out at the squirrels making a little love nest, I know my only choice is acceptance.

“I’ve got a feeling…that tonight’s gonna be a good night….”

We lay in bed rocking out to the music that floated through our open window. From outside the celebratory sounds of a wedding party crashed the night.

It was one year ago today that I was honored and lucky enough to attend the most fantastic wedding in my life. No, not my own, but a friend’s wedding in Italy. Every detail, from the ceremony in an ancient church, to the fireworks that lit the sky over the medieval castle where the reception was held, was perfect.

But not all weddings go so smoothly. Some are unlucky, some were badly planned, and some were never meant to be. We’ve probably all attended at least one wedding where something major went wrong. And even my friend’s wedding in Italy had a couple of stumbles; the bus that couldn’t squeeze down the narrow, country road to the castle…. Or the train on the wedding dress that tripped the bride and groom as they did their first dance. But little issues like these are what make what would otherwise be too choreographed become real; human.

I am thrilled that in November Soul Mate Publishing will be releasing the digital version of my story, UNTANGLING THE KNOT (check here for a little more info about it). I loved writing this story because it takes place around a wedding; one with its own share of problems. And what could be more fun than that… Well, other than possibly attending the rocking wedding party I heard this weekend!!!

My Friends, Steven and Melissa - outside
Fiesole Cathedral; July 30, 2011 

“If the parmesan cheese suffered in the earthquake it must have also effected the Parma ham.”

Oh no! I hadn’t even considered that. It was enough when I heard up to 10% of the cheese had been harmed. Now I had to worry also that there would be a less ham. And in fact, according to an article in the UK newspapaer,
The Gaurdian, one farmer lost 100 pigs when a building housing them collapsed. (Read more here.)

Italy has had its share of troubles this year to be sure. Between the floods on the Cinque Terre coast, the monetary/budgeting issues and now the earthquake I am sure the people there feel like they can’t catch a break… or perhaps are being picked on.

On Saturday I received an email from a friend I met there last summer. She told me that she and her family live in that area and have been dealing with all of the debris and ongoing aftershocks. I know how scary this can be. In 1989 I was living in the bay area during the Loma Prieta earthquake. In fact, I was actually at the World Series game when it struck. That was scary enough… but it was the ongoing fear of aftershocks which put the biggest strain
on my emotions.

We convince ourselves that we are in control of our lives…but natural disasters like these fly in the face of that assumption.  They show us that things can change in an instant.

Fortunately, my friend and her family are fine…. shaken (metaphorically and literally) but fine. Life will go one, as it did after the floods…. As it did after the earthquake I lived through. Even the parmesan production will continue and will eventually resume normal levels. The question is what we do with the emotions which arise from challenges like these. When I have stood at the precipice of this truth, where I am reminded that very little of my life is actually under my control, I have had to decide if  I would live in fear, building walls and protection around myself or live each moment as fully as possible.

Ironically, in my third novel, Molto Mayhem, it is only when my main character, Lucia, arrives in Italy and is
thrown out of the protective cocoon that she has built for herself that she begins to find the peace that comes from letting go and experiencing each minute of her life.

And to me, this makes perfect sense…. Because there is no place like Italy to experience the true pleasures of life; the beautiful sound of language, the attentiveness of a good friend and the true wonder of a hunk of 24 month old aged Parmesan cheese.