April Lindner

Today marks the launch of my newest baby, Far From Over , a digital-only novella companion to Love, Lucy .  And to mark the occasion, the e-book of Love, Lucy is on sale (only $2.99) for the rest of the month.  If if you've got a yen for some southern Italian sunshine and romance, please take a look!

Thanks to my friends at The Fantastic Flying Book Club for taking Lucy on tour.  Check out her itinerary  here .  There will be reviews , i nterviews , and a giveaway, so visit any of the stops along the way for  chance to win a copy of Love, Lucy .

Italian Cheese Shop, photo courtesy of Madame Fromage On the eve of Love, Lucy 's release, I'm still fine-tuning the plans for Friday's big Italian-themed launch party.  One of the things I really want to do is recreate the impromptu picnic lunch my characters share in Florence's Boboli Gardens.   Lucy and her traveling companion Charlene meet up with Jesse, the cute street musician who also works at the hostel where they are staying.  He arrives bearing some very special delicacies: "Jesse--with his hair ruffled from the walk across  town--was a welcome sight, to Lucy at least.  'You brought your guitar,' she observed, taking one of the bags from him. "'Everywhere I go,' he said.  "Let me show you my favorite spot for a picnic."  He led them along a winding path to a shady spot in a grove of pine trees, spread his blanket among the fragrant needles, and motioned for them to sit.  Then he unpacked the grocery bags...

After all the work and waiting, the first few boxes of Love, Lucy have arrived on my doorstep, wafting that new book smell. Meanwhile, in anticipation of the big Italian-themed launch party I'm throwing, I've been trying out recipes for cannoli bites, trying to achieve the perfect mix of ricotta, mascarpone, cinnamon, and amore .   I've been consulting with my fabulous friend Madame Fromage on the perfect cheeses to convey the mood of a picnic in the Boboli Gardens , perfecting my playlist of Italian music....  and counting up the numbers of likely party guests to make sure we've got enough antipasti to go around. An embarrassment of riches By the way, there's still time to RSVP if you'd like to join me for the festivities.  We'll be gathering on January 30 from 7-9 p.m. at Salem Oak Vineyards , 60 North Railroad Avenue, Pedricktown, NJ.  Contact me at alindner@sju.edu to say you'll be there!

...because there's nothing quite like holding your newborn for the very first time.  Or setting off on a brand new journey. Lifted from http://www.residenzadellasignoria.com/images/mappa_grande_residenza.jpg

Glimpsed in Tuscany As the Love, Lucy launch day grows tantalizingly close, some terrific book blogs have been running reviews and, in the case of Dizneeee's World of Books , an interview. Thanks to Lisa for asking me some really great questions, and for letting me share our conversation here with you. *** Q: Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions with me today. My book club recently read Love, Lucy and we had a great time discussing it and dreaming of taking a European excursion to see the sights and meet cute boys! We loved your retelling and spin of  A Room With a View ! What gave you the idea to write a new adventure for this particular story?  A: You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed the book. Like Lucy, I was given the chance to backpack through Europe when I was pretty young. Ever since, I have wanted to write a novel inspired by my backpacking experiences, and  A Room With a View —Forster’s novel and also the glorious 1985 Mercha...

La Dolce Vita, Firenze-style On Thanksgiving Eve, as I make cranberry relish, my grandmother's Italian-style stuffing, and Mississippi Mud Cake, I've been taking brief breaks between all the grating, mixing, and sauteeing to dip into The Stones of Florence by the inimitable Mary McCarthy. See the underlining?  I made it in 1985, when I was just back from my first trip to Europe, a solo backpacking expedition that turned me into the rabid Italophile I've been ever since.   Vespa showroom Now I'm revisiting McCarthy's classic book as I choose texts for a travel-writing class I'm planning--a study tour to Italy that will run from June 28 to July 29.  We will be based in Rome, with excursions to Sorrento, Assisi, Pompeii, Orvieto, Capri, and, of course, Firenze! Are you dreaming of Firenze too?  There's still space left in my class.  Any college student in a degree-granting program (graduate or undergraduate) is welcome to apply.  We...

Mule on Syros, Greece Last night I stayed up late to finish the second draft of my Greek novel. Of course reaching the finish line felt good, and I allowed myself at least five seconds of satisfaction before I began worrying about what comes next.   One thing is fairly certain: there will most likely be a third draft, and a fourth, and probably a fifth, but those can only happen after I get some feedback on what I've already got on the page.  So for a little while, I'm adrift and unsure, floating between imaginary worlds. Which means I've got time for something (almost) completely different: writing poetry. In other news, it's not too late to sign up for a Young Adult fiction workshop with me at the Nightsun Writers Conference  this July in Frostburg, Maryland.   Something else it's not too late to do: enter to win a $15 gift certificate from Amazon , in celebration of my new novel, Love, Lucy , now available for pre-order. Central Market, Flore...

photo by Melody Lindner I'm thrilled to report that the Love, Lucy book blast is underway, courtesy of my friends at Rock Star Book Tours. The book blast commemorates the fact that Love, Lucy is available for pre-order at Amazon .  It's an MC post, which in the Young Adult book blog world means that it's written by the main character--Lucy herself, describing the ten things she loves most about backpacking in Italy.   Check it out at one of the wonderful book blogs that are taking part.  Here are just a handful for starters: Mostly YA Lit Book Hounds [Fikt]shun And this is just the beginning! When you're done reading Lucy's post, please enter to win a $15 Amazon bookcard.  

Santa Maria Novella Train Station, Florence, Italy Yesterday I learned that Love, Lucy , my third and newest novel, is now up for pre-order at Amazon .   This is a thrilling milestone for me, especially since the process of writing Love, Lucy was long and fraught with doubt.  Thinking back on it now, I'm reminded of that famous quote from E. L. Doctorow: "Writing is like driving at night in the fog.  You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." Except if you're like me, you spend huge portions of the trip pretty sure you've taken the wrong exit and are maybe even headed off a cliff. I kept going because I fell in love with my main characters, Lucy and Jesse, and I couldn't imagine abandoning them. And because I loved writing about Italy, and about backpacking across Europe.     Rome Termini Station And because I knew there was a destination worth getting to, even if I had to take some bumpy backroa...

Window Shopping in Florence, Italy Love, Lucy gets her first  Waiting on Wednesday mention  from Stories and Sweeties.  Waiting on Wednesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine .  Every Wednesday book bloggers list the soon-to-be-released Young Adult books they can't wait to read. The January 2015 release of Love, Lucy feels so far away.  In the meantime, though, it's spring break, and I'm writing up a storm, working on the yet-untitled Greek novel.  For research and inspiration purposes, I've been digging around, looking for the lost Greek memory card, the one with a thousand pictures from my last trip.  Instead, I've been finding all sorts of other old pictures, like the one above, taken when I was in Florence, researching Love, Lucy . And then there's this, taken two summers ago: Some of my friends will undoubtedly recognize the handwriting, but for all the others, this is a speech, spelled out phonetically by...

The Advanced Review Copies of Love, Lucy , reached me today.  And they're every bit as pretty as I hoped they'd be!

Nico is emitting powerful "stop grading and hug me" vibes. Meanwhile  the struggle for the future of Saint Joseph's University wages on: Saint Mary's Hall Saint Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits To pacify myself/procrastinate, I look at pictures of travels past and dream of travels future. With my sister: outside the duomo in Florence and inside the duomo And I look forward to Monday.  If I can only grade fast enough, I can let myself return to my Greek novel on Monday. At Knossos, looking up