This is a very special post dedicated to a
writer who is first a friend: Alana White. I “met” Alana virtually, she was the
very first person to get in touch with me as soon as I started blogging on the
Vespucci family a couple of years ago. We soon became “email friends” (can’t really
say pen friends in this virtual age….) and started exchanging knowledge on the
Vespucci and Renaissance Florence. I found out Alana was a short-story American
novelist and that she was writing her first book with two Vespucci family
members as main characters. That sounded so fascinating and I was thrilled
when, a few months later, she announced that her book was going to get
published…!
Here we go, The
Sign of the Weeping Virgin is about to come out and I really c.a.n.n.o.t
w.a.i.t to have it in my hands. What intrigues me most is the fact that,
despite what one could imagine when thinking of the name “Vespucci”, her novel does
not simply deal with Amerigo the explorer but also with his uncle Guido
Antonio. Now, having studied the Vespucci for two years (can't believe two years are gone already!) I can
assure you that nearly nobody knows who Guido Antonio is. Avid reader of Renaissance
history, culture, and art books, Alana engaged with some serious research and I
am curious to find out more about her work. If you want to know about Guido Antonio
and follow him across the street of Florence with his nephew Amerigo do not
miss out on this book. Oh yes, nearly forgot. They are investigating a
fifteenth century crime, Bring out the
detective in you and get ready to solve this mystery…
Coming
out in Winter 2012, it is possible to preorder a copy of The Sign of the Weeping Virgin through Amazon (here) If in the meantime you want to know more about Alana and her novels visit her website: http://www.alanawhite.com/the_sign_of_the_weeping_virgin_112597.htm
“If you
have ever been to Florence or you are going to Florence, or you want to go to
Florence, if you’ve ever whiled away an afternoon in company of Renaissance
masters in an art museum - or if you just want a really good read filled with
colour and intrigue a story peopled with characters who are at once exotic and
humanly familiar in their universal lust, passions, fears, and ambitions, then
this mystery, set in Renaissance Italy,
is for you. Through Alana White’s elegant prose and skillfully integrated research
the 15th century City of Flowers come to life” - Brenda Rickman
Vantrease author of “The Illuminator” and “The Heretic’s Wife”
