EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY
Waking Isabella
by Melissa Muldoon
Waking Isabella by Melissa Muldoon is currently on tour with Italy Book Tours. The tour stops here today for an excerpt and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
Waking Isabella is a story about uncovering hidden beauty that, over time, has been lost, erased, or suppressed. It also weaves together several love stories as well as a few mysteries.
Nora, an assistant researcher, is a catalyst for resolving the puzzle of a painting that has been missing for decades. Set in Arezzo, a small Tuscan town, the plot unfolds against the backdrop of the city’s antique trade and the fanfare and pageantry of its medieval jousting festival. While filming a documentary about Isabella de’ Medici - the Renaissance princess who was murdered by her husband - Nora begins to connect with the lives of two remarkable women from the past.
Unraveling the stories of Isabella, the daughter of a fifteenth-century Tuscan duke, and Margherita, a young girl trying to survive the war in Nazi-occupied Italy, Nora begins to question the choices that have shaped her own life up to this point. As she does, hidden beauty is awakened deep inside of her, and she discovers the keys to her creativity and happiness.
It is a story of love and deceit, forgeries and masterpieces - all held together by the allure and intrigue of a beautiful Tuscan ghost.
Book Video
Excerpt
Click below to read an excerpt.
Praise for the Book
“Waking Isabella” by Melissa Muldoon is a must-read for all fans of Italy, history, romance and intrigue. Eccellente! Muldoon magically weaves together the lives of Nora, Isabella and Margherita, spanning the course of many centuries, into a story that will mesmerize and haunt readers long after the last page is read.” ~ Sheri Hoyte for Reader Views
“Another wonderful winner from Melissa Muldoon! Her tales of Tuscany, woven seamlessly between history and present-day, incorporate all the elements of a good book: characters we grow to know and care about, locations beautifully depicted, intertwining plots that unfold in ways that keep the reader enthralled. Great for the armchair traveler as well as those of us who know Tuscany well. Can't wait for the next one, Melissa!” ~ kara s.
“Melissa has the ability to transport you to another world and fall in love with her characters past and present. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and learned a lot about history and art that I didn't know about.” ~ Lunette Rawlin
“The plot is unique and full of mystery and hope. I loved learning about all three women - they all are strong and independent and for two of them, this is what causes their death. I loved the Melissa intertwined their past and future to help solve the disappearance of the Medici painting. In between this, we also have Nora re-discovering herself as an individual and a woman. It is a beautiful story of love, forgiveness, hope and the hurt that lies can cause.” ~ Carla
“A latter-day Renaissance woman, Melissa Muldoon blends fact and fantasy, history and art, English and Italian in this richly woven tapestry. Waking Isabella, carries us from 16th-century Italy to modern-day Arezzo, from palace plots to wartime intrigues. A perfect read for Italophiles, art lovers and armchair romantics. Brava!” ~ Dianne Hales
About the Author
Melissa Muldoon is the Studentessa Matta - the crazy linguist! In Italian, “matta” means “crazy” or “impassioned.” Melissa has a B.A. in fine arts, art history and European history from Knox College, a liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, as well as a master’s degree in art history from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She has also studied painting and art history in Florence.
Waking Isabella is Melissa’s second novel and follows Dreaming Sophia, published in 2016. In this new novel about Italy, the reader is taken on another art history adventure, inspired by Melissa’s experiences living and traveling in Italy, specifically Arezzo, as well as her familiarity with the language and art.
As a student, Melissa lived in Florence with an Italian family. She studied art history and painting and took beginner Italian classes. When she returned home, she threw away her Italian dictionary, assuming she’d never need it again, but after launching a successful design career and starting a family, she realized something was missing in her life. That “thing” was the connection she had made with Italy and the friends who live there. Living in Florence was indeed a life-changing event. Wanting to reconnect with Italy, she decided to start learning the language again from scratch. As if indeed possessed by an Italian muse, she bought a new Italian dictionary and began her journey to fluency - a path that has led her back to Italy many times and enriched her life in countless ways. Now, many dictionaries and grammar books later, she dedicates her time to promoting Italian language studies, further travels in Italy, and sharing her stories and insights about Italy with others. When Melissa is not traveling in Italy, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Melissa designed and illustrated the cover art for Waking Isabella and Dreaming Sophia.
Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win some great prizes, including a $10 Amazon gift card.
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