1–What is the title of your latest release?  OUR ITALIAN SUMMER 2–What is it about?  Three generations of women in the Ferrari family must heal the broken pieces of their lives on a trip of a lifetime through picturesque Italy. 3–What do you love about the setting of your book?  The book literally takes you through a tour of Italy, from Rome all the way to Tuscany. It’s full of amazing food, wine, and experiences that Italy is beloved for. 4–How did your heroine(s) surprise you?  There are actually three heroines in this book. Francesca is 49, Allegra is 18, and Sophia is 75! I love diving into the various points of view for each age. I think what surprised me the most about all of them is the inner strength each of them have to keep them pushing through challenges. 5–Why will readers love your hero(es)?  There are two main heroes in this book! Enzo is the Italian tour guide, and Ian is one of the tour members from Ireland. Enzo falls for Francesca, and Ian falls for Allegra. These love stories are both very different but extremely emotional and poignant. I know these two men will make my…

Complex as its luxurious brocaded gowns in rich colors, the Renaissance abounds in stories of intrigue, political maneuvering, lust, and murder, and features larger-than-life historical figures.  In this month’s column, we will look at four novels exploring this world of splendor and violence. We begin with THE VATICAN PRINCESS by C.W. Gortner, which features one of the Renaissance’s most fascinating characters, Lucrezia Borgia.  This novel, narrated in her own voice, deals with the central portion of her life, after her father, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, becomes Pope Alexander VI.  The beautiful Lucrezia and her brothers Cesare and Juan are stars of the Papal court–but also pawns in the political power games that seek to maintain the Borgias as the dominant family of Renaissance Italy. Her first marriage is annulled when the winds of fortune change, after which she is allied to a Prince of Naples.  His later death, and the convoluted scheming between marriages, lead to charges by her enemies that she was involved in murder and even incest. A third marriage to the Duke of Ferrara, scion of the equally powerful d’Este family, finally provides a measure of stability for a girl who has been forced to survive in a…