Women in Sunlight came right out of seeing women travelers in Italy. Every day I walk into town for a coffee in the piazza. Often, around me I see a woman engrossed in writing in a notebook, or sketching, or talking animatedly with a friend. I’ve met many of them. They’re not casual travelers at all—they’re on a quest. They’re looking for something deeply personal and important to their lives. I know. My narrator and the three older American women she chooses to write about are also such seekers.
The three women felt their options dwindling at home. They’d begun to pick up the not-so-subtle signals that when you are older you need to simplify, become fearful for your health, retire! I take them to Italy, where their lives grow complicated, where they change, where they explore living again with friends, as they did in their youth.
When you’re older, there are so many endings. I wanted to give them beginnings. Kit, Susan, Camille, Julia—I know them so well because they are made of my own friends’ qualities, tastes, humor. They’re fiction, of course, but became so real to me that I sometimes wonder what they’re up to over in that big villa. Giving them life was such a pleasure. And the process zinged my own life as well! As soon as I finished the book, I set off for eighteen months of travel. The result—See You in the Piazza: New Places to Discover in Italy, coming out in Spring 2019.
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Text Frances Mayes
This sounds like a wonderful book! As an avid traveler who loves Tuscany, I can say without hesitation that this is the perfect place to find oneself. A great place to start or end a life’s journey of discovery.
I look forward to reading this new book!
God bless !!
Brandon Hartford
Te Deum Cottage