April Lindner

Trevi Fountain Love, Lucy comes out in paperback today, and I thought I'd commemorate Lucy's paperback birthday with a celebration of the Eternal City, where she travels with her summer love Jesse.   Here are some of my favorite spots in Rome, including the "greatest hits" I've set out to find, street map in hand.  Here's Piazza Spagna in the evening: Stormy skies And the Spanish Steps themselves, gorgeous even when under construction: Of course there's the stunning Pantheon:   And all the wonders of Vatican City: And then there are the beauties I've stumbled upon by sheer accident, like St. John Lateran: Not to mention the city's smaller but no less noteworthy wonders: The world's best macchiato Wishing you were in Italy?  (You're not alone!)  Please check out Love, Lucy and Far From Over , Jesse's side of the story.  

Here in Southeastern Pennsylvania, we've fast forwarded through April Showers and made it to May Flowers in what seems like record time.  This year April brings with it the publication of Far From Over , the new digital-exclusive companion novella to Love, Lucy.  It also brings some celebratory blog posts including this one, from NOVL , on the travel destinations that inspire me most .     And this musical F ar From Over playlist from With Her Nose Stuck in a Book .  What songs does street musician Jesse Palladino play on the streets of Naples?  Here's a little taste: Finally, April brings a really nifty sale-- Love, Lucy in e-book form for only $2.99 --which means for a little while longer you can download both Love, Lucy and Far From Over for under five dollars.  So if you're yearning for a little vacation flirtation in sunny Italy, please give them a look!

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!

Where have I been lately and why haven't I been blogging?  Well, for one thing, I was writing (and rewriting) Far From Over, a digital-exclusive companion novella to  Love, Lucy .  It comes out on April 12, and I'm thrilled with the cover. Here's what it's about: Jesse Palladino is used to moving on. As a street musician backpacking through Europe, he's never in one place for long. Which is why it's so surprising he can't seem to move on from Lucy, the girl he fell for in Florence. They parted ways when Lucy returned home to start college, but every crowded piazza and winding cobblestone street reminds Jesse of the time they spent together. Now staying with a friend in Naples, he can't help wondering if it's time to pack up and move on again. But just when his mind is made up, something--or someone-- might give him a reason to stay.  I Heart Naples! Far From Over is available for pre-order now.  And please, stay tuned, as I r...

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 .

Whatever else my new novel Love, Lucy is about--romance, Italy, finding your way in the world--it's also about music.  At the book's start, Lucy has given up her first love--musical theater--in exchange for parental approval and a backpacking trip through Europe.  Then when she meets Jesse Palladino, a New Jersey street musician busking his way through Italy, she starts to find her voice again. So of course there has to be a Love, Lucy playlist--the songs that might catch Lucy's ear in a Munich internet cafe or a boutique on the Via degli Strozzi.  Songs she listens to on her iPod on the overnight train from Munich to Florence.  Songs she revisits after returning home to Philadelphia, trying to recapture the thrill of her travels: Thanks to Ashley and Alexis of  With Her Nose Stuck In a Book  for inviting me to contribute Lucy's playlist, and this little riff on my song choices: *** When I graduated from college, my parents gave me...

Alexis and Ashley at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book are two of my very favorite book bloggers.  Thanks to Alexis for this very festive post celebrating the release of Love, Lucy . Tomorrow, Alexis and Ashley will play host to yours truly.  I'll be writing  about the songs that transport me straight back into Lucy's European backpacking adventures--and her vacation flirtation with footloose Jesse.  So stay tuned!

Lucy as seen in the wild at the Vero Beach Book Center It's Lucy's launch day, and in her honor, the fantastic folks at Rock Star Book Tours are hosting a book blast and a giveaway!  To enter, visit one of the participating blogs!    The book blast post is a little something I wrote about the first time I backpacked across Europe, and how the experience taught me a few rules of the road.   Me at 22, in Versailles Like Lucy Sommersworth, the heroine of  Love, Lucy , my parents gave me the gift of a lifetime: a backpacking trip to Europe. I was a bit older than Lucy—22, and just out of college—but when I arrived in Milan, Italy with a Eurail pass, a copy of  Let’s Go: Europe , and a seventy-pound backpack I could barely lift, I was a wee bit terrified.  Like Lucy, I spoke only a little bit of Italian, just barely enough to get by, and I wasn’t particularly good at reading maps or train schedules.  Street map of Milan, cour...

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...