The Cielo Journal

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.

Back from a wonderful "retreat"

It's been four days now since I returned from Edenfred, the wonderful place in Madison, Wis., where writers and others can spend time alone and work on projects. I didn't know what to expect, and it was far more than I expected. Besides the executive director, who prepared a great gourmet meal for us Tuesday night, there were only four of us there. Two were other writers who had won first place from the Council for Wisconsin Writers and the fourth, besides me, was a painter from Hawaii.
Because we were working in our own 'suites,' we saw little of each other, though we all enjoyed the gorgeous, beautifully decorated house, built in 1916. It was a terribly hot week, too hot for me to go into the swimming pool, but the others did.
I needed the time to focus on the sequel to "The Cielo." I thought, at best, I might write four or five chapters. Instead, the atmosphere and the isolation kept me going and going and when I left on Saturday, I had completed ten chapters -- the final part of the book. I have to add that much of this was very rough, little more than outlines, but I wanted to get the story down, and I did that. This week I'm working on revising, adding and, yes, eliminating.
I can't thank Edenfred enough for this experience.

Off for a week of writing at a retreat

When the Council for Wisconsin Writers awarded "The Cielo" first place for fiction last May, part of the prize was to spend a week at Edenfred, an "artists retreat" in Madison. Well, I waited until now for that week and I'll be going to Edenfred Sunday, returning on Saturday.
This is very exciting. There will be two other authors who won first-place awards, plus someone we're told is "an artist from Hawaii."
There are only four guest suites, so this will be an intimate surrounding for us to pursue our projects. Mine? Well, I've been hard at work on the first draft of the sequel to "The Cielo" and I hope to do more there. I'm at a crucial point in the narrative now, so it will be good to be able to focus hard on this.
And besides, the place has a pool.
As you can see from the photo, Edenfred is housed in a large mansion. It's in the "Highlands" of Madison.

"The Cielo" makes its debut at Festa Italiana

Festa Italiana is billed as the largest ethnic festival in the United States, and it certainly seemed that way over the weekend. The large crowds enjoyed perfect weather along Milwaukee's lakefront (I've never seen Lake Michigan so blue), great food, wonderful exhibits and exciting entertainment.
I was pleased to offer "The Cielo" in the Art Tent. I had no idea that sales would be so great, and I actually ran out of books by 5 p.m. Saturday and then had to take orders for those who still wanted it. I'll have a new supply in a week and will mail them out.
I was also pleased to do a short reading from the book on Saturday and to take part in a panel discussion on Italian American writers on Sunday.
I look foward to next year's Festa!

"The Cielo" featured in Italian language paper

Patrizia Barroero's lovely story about "The Cielo" (see below) has been published by America Oggi, a widely distributed newspaper written entirely in Italian. It is published in Westwood, N.J. The story was featured in the paper's Culture pages on Sunday, July 8. Thank you, Patrizia!

A review of "The Cielo" -- in Italian

Patrizia Barraero was born in Italy, studied in Turin and Luxembourg and is now studying at the Art Students League of New York. She is a painter and illustrates children's books. She teaches the Itaian language to children. And she is a writer.

Recently, she read "The Cielo" and wrote a lengthy review which she has posted on her web site. I have managed to read some of it, and thank Patrizia for her insight and her kind words. You can read the entire review here

"The Cielo" to be honored at New York Book Festival

The New York Book Festival will be held in Central Park on Saturday. It's a celebration of books, but also a family day, with live music, clowns, food and author readings. Thousands of people are expected to attend.

More than 1,100 books have been submitted for judging, and the winners were announced over the weekend. I was pleased to learn that "The Cielo" was one of twenty-seven books to receive an Honorable Mention in the Fiction category.

Another nice honor.

Also in New York, "The Cielo" was displayed at the huge Book Expo 2007 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center from May 31 to June 3. It was among the books in the New Title Showcase. More exposure.

At the Printers Row Book Fair

Each year, the Chicago Tribune sponsors the Printers Row Book Fair, with booths stretching along Dearborn for a couple of blocks for a weekend. On Sunday, I joined the Italian Cultural Center of Chicago in their booth, and it was great fun.

Met some interesting people, and sold some books. The weather was just right.

Perhaps best of all, I found a book about the war in Barga. Amazing. It will prove most useful as I continue to write the sequel.

A problem, however: It's in Italian and I don't read Italian. So now I'm trying to find a translator.

A trip to Italy for, well, 'research'

It's been more than a week since I wrote something here. That's because I've been away.

I've hestitated to put this in print, but I might as well. I've started a sequel to "The Cielo."

I don't know if it's going to work or not. I may find that I will have to abandon it at some point. But for now, I'm plugging away. I started writing many months ago, in fact, but wasn't happy with what I'd written and put it aside.

Then in April I started again and wrote what I hope will be Part One. But I'm not sure of that. Those chapters are now being read by two friends and I'm a little apprehensive about their reactions. Maybe I'll toss that version, too.

At any rate, I knew that I needed to get more color, more description, a better "feel" of two places that would form the setting of some of the actions in the new book. So last week I flew off to Italy, and with my trusty driver/interpreter, Marcello, visited Pietrasanta, near the wetern coast, and the area around Barga, north of Lucca.

I also did some interviews and, of course, visited my cousin, Fosca, and her husband, Renato, who inspired "The Cielo."

I've come back with a full notebook and three rolls of film so help my memory when I write. The goal now is to go over those first chapers, expanding and changing where necessary, and then move on. We'll see where this goes.

While I was there, I also placed "The Cielo" in two English-language bookstores in Florence, McCrae's and the Paperback Exchange. Who knows? Maybe someone from Kankakee will discover "The Cielo" in Florence.

More exposure for "The Cielo"

Even though "The Cielo" has been out for months, there still seems to be considerable interest.

Last week, I attended a meeting of the Cedarburg Arts Book Club, a book club made up of people in the arts. They had read my book and liked it a lot and had some very good questions. This was the first time I'd met with a group that had read the book, rather than doing a reading for people who didn't know much about it

Over last weekend, I was interviewed, by email, by a writer for America Oggi, an Italian-language newspaper which I think circulates pretty heavily on the East Coast. If and when the article appears, I'll need a translator.

On Monday, I did a reading for the Cudworth Post of the American Legion here. There were a few WWII vets; most, though were from the Korean War. They were very interested in the subject matter.

On Tuesday evening, I was interviewed, on the phone, by a young man, Tony Mangia, from William Patterson University in Wayne, N.J., who has a weekly Italian Hour on the local station. Tony asked very good questions and it was a great interview.

All of that has been very satisfying -- and fun!