It's another Fiery Friday and today's special guest is author Rose Anderson. Rose took the liberty of interviewing one of her characters from Loving Leonardo.
Take it away, Rose! :)
Thanks, Tonya. I’ve recently completed book two in
my unusual Victorian bisexual polyamorous romance – Loving Leonardo. Needless
to say, I’ve been in a Victorian frame of mind lately.
I’ve mentioned here and there around
the web that this tale came right out of the American headlines last summer.
The news was filled with women’s issues and negative talk of “progressives”. I’d
heard the term women’s issues combined with progressive before as though the
concept of women making their own decisions was unthinkable. That was the point
to the Suffragettes 100 years ago! Here it was 2012 and women’s rights were
being decided by panels of men. Before I knew it, I had a very American, very
unorthodox, Victorian progressive heroine named Ellie and she was as annoyed
about the politics of her times as I was about the politics of mine.
What’s more, whom you love, and who
you wanted to commit your love to, were hot issues as if love itself was a
social condition and not a deeply personal thing. Loving Leonardo as a whole is
one of those color outside the lines stories for me. I’d never written a ménage
before and I didn’t set out to write one with this story. I set out to make a
mini social statement by writing an intelligent romance between two loving men.
I suppose if I was a highly organized person instead of a
fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants writer, I could have held to that original idea.
But like any good story that takes on a life of its own, it soon told me where
it wanted to go. Ok. I like to stretch my abilities as a writer and I
especially love challenges.
Available at Amazon
Here’s the blurb:
Bound by limits dictated by society, Art Historian Nicolas
Halstead lived a guarded life until a tempest in the form of Elenora Schwaab
blew into his world. At first Nicolas can’t decide if the audacious American is
simply mad or plotting blackmail for not only does she declare knowledge of his
homosexuality, she offers him a marriage proposal. After Ellie tells him of a
previously unknown work of Leonardo da Vinci, a book of erotic love poems and
sketches dedicated to the artist’s long-time lover Salai, Nicolas joins her in
a race to save the book from destruction. Along the way they encounter
Historian Luca Franco and discover a comfortable compatibility that comes to
redefine their long-held notions of love. The trio embarks on an adventure of
sensual discovery, intrigue, and danger.
Little do they know Leonardo da Vinci’s book is far more than meets the
eye.
The story continues in Loving
Leonardo - The Quest. I’ve enjoyed these characters so much, they may very well
return for other adventures.
I’d done several character interviews
in the last two years. Believe me, it’s an odd thing to converse with
characters born from your imagination, it’s even stranger to interview them
yourself and not have to think too long before you answer! So I recently had an
encounter with Nicolas where I sat him down and asked some questions. I
wondered what Luca might say. I no sooner had the thought when he appeared at
the table. Luca Franco was exactly how Nicolas described him. Of course he
would be. I’d seen him myself roughly forty years ago. I never knew his name,
but he was much older than I and worked in my neighborhood deli. I grew up in a
blended Greek and Italian neighborhood in Chicago. Like a duckling, I do
believe I imprinted on dark and handsome Mediterranean men. When I wrote Luca,
I saw him in my mind's eye because he was real. I recall he had very little
English, but OMG was he beautiful with those snow-shadow eyes against his
warm-hued skin. I think cold cuts sales tripled with him there. Luca is my
imagination’s homage to that gorgeous foreign man. When my voice finally
returned, I had a conversation with him.
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Luca: Rose! Buona sera!
Rose: Good afternoon Luca, I’m glad you
could join me. The story is told through Nicolas’ eyes, but I was wondering if
you’d like to share a few of your own perspectives.
Luca: I am happy to oblige, my dear.
Rose: Well, to start why not introduce
yourself. I’m sure people will be interested in the inner workings of Luca
Franco.
He chuckled.
Luca: I can’t imagine that to be the case.
I’m a simple fellow. But as I owe you much Rose, I’ll follow your lead. Where
shall we begin?
Rose: Like Nicolas, you too work at the
Ashmolean Museum. What work do you do specifically?
Luca: I travel the world searching for
precious items from antiquity and bring them back to the museum to be studied,
catalogued, and kept safe from the further ravages of time.
Rose: And this interest in Leonardo
da Vinci that you share with Nicolas and Ellie…I know Ellie is drawn to the
philosophy of the man many consider to be the personification of the
Renaissance, and Nicolas is fascinated by the mind behind man’s unique
artworks.
Luca: Yes. They bring perspectives into
our conversations that are as intriguing as the artist himself.
Rose: And what do you bring?
Luca: I’ve studied da Vinci’s world and
his place in history to feed my own curiosity. The man was beyond brilliant. He
possessed a ricchezza d'ingegno, a
talento. A persona di genio.
Rose: I’m sorry. I only speak a little
Italian.
Luca: Forgive me. I said Leonardo
possessed a richness of intellect, a talent. He was undoubtedly a person of
genius
Rose: I find him all of those things as well.
Rose: I find him all of those things as well.
Those snow-shadow blue eyes sparkled. Good lord he was as handsome as I
remembered.
Luca: But of course you would. You are the
author here.
Rose: So…tell me about this unusual
relationship you have with Nicolas and Ellie.
Luca: Never have I felt such loving
acceptance. We’ve bonded through our common interests, beliefs, and
temperaments. I love them with every fiber of my being. I’d die to keep them
safe.
Rose: Yes, there are terrible dangers
ahead. And do you see this…this, loving ménage lasting? Nicolas has family
obligations to his title and estate...
Luca: Oddly enough, I do. The important
thing is love, Rose. With love, anything is possible no matter the opinions of
the world. Even in your time, mio caro.
What more could I say. He mirrored my sentiments exactly. Of course he
would. :)
About Rose ~
I love words and choose them as
carefully as an artist might choose a color. My active imagination compels me
to write everything from children’s stories to historical fiction. As a
persnickety leisure reader, I especially enjoy novels that feel like they were
written just for me. It's hard to explain, but if you've ever read one of those,
then you know what I mean. I tend to sneak symbolism and metaphor into my
writing. You might say it's a game I play with myself when I write. And I so
love when readers email to say they've found something. I’d like people to feel
my stories were written just for them, for that’s the truth. These hidden
insights are my gift to my readers.
Loving Leonardo Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009LS3H6Q
Main Blog: http://calliopeswritingtablet.com/
Satellite Blog: http://calliopeswritingtablet.blogspot.com/
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/FollowTheMuse/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rose.anderson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/roseanderson_
Hi Tonya, Thanks for having me..uh...us. :)
ReplyDeleteRose