When I graduated from college I wanted nothing more than to take a stab at living la bella vita in Italy. I wanted to speak Italian and throw my American worries to the breezy Tuscan hills. And that’s just what I did. Sort of.
I was an au pair for 15 months and in my spare time I learned fluent Italian, taught English, gallivanted about Florence and its neighboring towns, worked in a shop that imported American and British food products, drank lots of Chianti and espresso, ate sumptuously well, lived in the tower of a castle and swam laps amidst olive groves and rosemary bushes.
Of course, I also wrote. First for The Florentine, a local English language news & culture paper. Articles stored here.
And then for myself.
I wrote a book. A proper full-length manuscript about my personal nanny-cum-writer Florentine experience. It’s called Amber Hates March (not out in bookstores just yet).
Most people would be envious of your adventurous move to Florence. I wish I would have taken a chance and lived in Italy right out of college. Florence and the Tuscany region are a passion of mine. I lived in Italy for several years and loved making trips up north to Tuscany.
Let me know when your book hits the bookstores.
Ciao,
Joe
I can vividly recollect the butterflies flapping in my stomach when I boarded the plane. It sounds like you got over anyhow and that’s what counts – whether sooner or later! To tell the truth, my book’s nowhere near shop stage (the hunt for an agent continues), though if something comes through I’ll be sure to let everyone and their grandmother know. Buona notte!
When does Amber Hates March come out? Or at least when do I get to read it? I was just telling someone about your book the other day as March is right around the corner, yuck!