1489 AD – just north of Rome
Aurelia Nardini dresses as an ancient hag, sneaks under the portcullis, and sounds the alarm. Tonight, her uncle plots to murder the whole Carvajal family and take the city. Worse yet, because of love for her, the eldest son is locked in the dungeon. She must take action.
What is it about this infuriating woman? Bernardo Carvajal rescues her from Borgia’s bed, from a well-armed neighbor, and her uncle’s fist. Despite admitting her love for him, the stunning beauty refuses to marry. She speaks too rationally, acts too boldly, and drives him mad. And he can’t go on without her.
Enjoy the fictionalized version of events that’s celebrated every year in Soriano’s ancient hazelnut festival.
My latest thoughts…
The year 1489 perhaps is on the cusp of the Renaissance in Italy. Some would insist the year is still Medieval. The world was still changing slowly. Fear of plague kept strangers at bay. Forks were only recently in use and only among the nobility. Benches were still more common than chairs.
My story takes place in the town I visited last Christmas, where my daughter’s fiance has a family residence, built into the tufa of the volcano. When I heard of their hazelnut festival, my imagination took off….
But did I want to start researching a whole new era, a new society, two hundred years later than my last trilogy?
The story screamed in my head. YES! YES! YES!
Why does the festival in Soriano celebrate an old woman who saved the town? Why, did the heroine haunt me, claiming to be a young woman in disguise?
Who do I see a dark Spanish hero, who fights off the evil plots of a greedy neighbor?
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