The Cielo Journal

"The Cielo": Still a lot of interest

It's been ten months since "The Cielo" was published. I thought its fifteen minutes of fame ended a while ago, but there still seems to be interest.

Last week, I was asked by a book club in Waukesha to talk about how the novel came about and to discuss the writing process. The members not only liked the book, they had obviously read it thoroughly. They remembered details I had forgotten. One member brought along a CD of the Corelli "La Folia," the piece Francesco plays in the book and which we used as background. Now that's attention to detail!

This Saturday, I'll take part in a panel at the Wisconsin Book Festival, the amazing celebration of books and authors held in Milwaukee and Madison. I'll be on the panel "Six Wisconsin Authors Talk about the Writing Life." It's at the Redbird Writing Studio, 3195 S. Superior St., from 4 to 7 p.m.

The following weekend, I'll be on another Wisconsin authors panel at Schwartz Bookstores' "Readers' Retreat" at The Abbey in Fontana, Wis. I'll be with C.J. Hribal and Lesley Kagen in sessions at 2 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday.

And there are some other things coming up, too. This continues to amaze me.

Selling "The Cielo" at a block party

The annual block party of my parish, SS Peter and Paul in Milwaukee, is not only a good fund-raiser but also a lot of fun. It was a beautiful day Saturday after a lot of rain and, except for the mosquitoes, perfect for the event. I had a table in the "market" and greeted old friends and made new ones. And sold some books.

It's surprising that the book is still getting attention since it's been out since last November. But the other day, out of the blue, I received an email from a magazine in Canada asking for a copy for a review. "Accenti," which is published quarterly, calls itself "The Canadian Magazine with an Italian Accent." It looks fascinating from its website and I'm looking forward to the review.