The Casanova Papers
Ellie Murphy takes a contract teaching English at a school in Venice. There she meets the sexy, enigmatic Professor Piero Contarini, from an ancient Venetian family, and agrees to help him in his work curating a new edition of the memoirs of the famous seducer, Giacomo Casanova. Taking their task seriously, they start to enact his adventures with each other, ecstatically revealing their own kinks as they do so. But who is watching them from the shadowy alleyways of Venice?
Purchase Links
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Casanova-Papers-Kate-Zarrelli-ebook/dp/B089T48ZW5/
Author Q&A
Author Q&A
1. What would you consider to be your Kryptonite as an
author?
Kryptonite as in something that weakens me? Definitely self-doubt. I don’t think I’m alone in this.
Kryptonite as in something that weakens me? Definitely self-doubt. I don’t think I’m alone in this.
2. If you could tell your younger writing self anything,
what would it be?
Write every day even if you don’t feel like it, and even if you think it’s rubbish. You can revise rubbish the next day. You can’t revise a blank page.
Write every day even if you don’t feel like it, and even if you think it’s rubbish. You can revise rubbish the next day. You can’t revise a blank page.
3. What book do you feel is under-appreciated? How about
overrated?
Underrated would be David McLaurin’s The Bishop of San Fernando. He wrote three books, in a style that’s a mixture between Graham Greene and Joseph Conrad, then became a Catholic priest and stopped. JD Salinger’s A Catcher in the Rye I just couldn’t see the point of. Maybe it was more impactful when it came out.
Underrated would be David McLaurin’s The Bishop of San Fernando. He wrote three books, in a style that’s a mixture between Graham Greene and Joseph Conrad, then became a Catholic priest and stopped. JD Salinger’s A Catcher in the Rye I just couldn’t see the point of. Maybe it was more impactful when it came out.
4. Favorite childhood memory involving books?
My grandmother giving me a little wooden
bookcase with all the Beatrix Potter books. I reread them regularly.
5. If you could dine with any literary character, who would
it be and why?
Am I allowed Heathcliff?
Picture the Ralph Fiennes version; do I still have to say why? He mightn’t have
brilliant table manners though, but who cares?
6. What fantastical fictional world would you want to live
in (if any) given the chance?
Hobbiton,
probably. Only I’d like my little house so much I probably wouldn’t want to
leave it to have adventures.
7. Did you want to be an author when you grew up?
Yes, from when I was a little girl. I didn’t
do anything about it until my 30s, and then got discouraged, had another go in
my 40s, got discouraged, and then started again properly in my 50s and can’t
stop myself.
8. If you had to describe yourself in three words, what
would they be?
Obstinate, impulsive,
hard-working.
9. What is your most unusual writing quirk?
I interview my characters, almost as if they
were applying for a job, and then I write up my notes on them.
10. What’s one movie you like recommending to others?
Titfield Thunderbolt, an Ealing comedy
from 1953. The director many years later made A Fish called Wanda.
11. If you could own any animal as a pet, what would it be?
My life is shared always with at least one
cat.
12. Have you ever met anyone famous?
I met Prince Charles when he came to formally open a factory I worked
at. He’d just been in the newspapers with stories about grass stains on his
pyjamas when his relationship with Camilla was blown out in the open. It was
all we could do not to mention it to him. He was very polite but a bit nervous.
13. What is the first book that made you cry?
Tess of the d’Urbervilles when I was thirteen. I couldn’t believe they’d hang her.
Tess of the d’Urbervilles when I was thirteen. I couldn’t believe they’d hang her.
14. How long, on average, does it take you to
write a book?
I usually have two on the go at once, so if I feel am running out of steam on one, I move to the other and back again. The Casanova Papers took about six months, on and off. Longer novels, a year.
I usually have two on the go at once, so if I feel am running out of steam on one, I move to the other and back again. The Casanova Papers took about six months, on and off. Longer novels, a year.
15. How do you select the names of your
characters?
This is going to sound very morbid, but because I write a lot of historical fiction, I visit graveyards where the book I’m writing is set. If for any reason I can’t get to them, I look up World War I memorials on-line instead. Out of respect, I never reproduce a name completely. I take the first name from one person, and the surname from someone else.
This is going to sound very morbid, but because I write a lot of historical fiction, I visit graveyards where the book I’m writing is set. If for any reason I can’t get to them, I look up World War I memorials on-line instead. Out of respect, I never reproduce a name completely. I take the first name from one person, and the surname from someone else.
16. What creature do you consider your
"spirit animal" to be?
I’d be a cat. They’re complete anarchists who exist solely for the pursuit of comfort, theirs and the people they deign to live with.
I’d be a cat. They’re complete anarchists who exist solely for the pursuit of comfort, theirs and the people they deign to live with.
17. What are your top 5 favorite movies?
The Titfield Thunderbolt, Twelve Angry Men (the 1957 version with Henry Fonda), Once upon a time in the West (no, I don’t have a thing about Henry Fonda, honestly), a low budget quiet Irish masterpiece called Pilgrim Hill, and Far From the Madding Crowd (the version with Terence Stamp – I mean, who else?).
The Titfield Thunderbolt, Twelve Angry Men (the 1957 version with Henry Fonda), Once upon a time in the West (no, I don’t have a thing about Henry Fonda, honestly), a low budget quiet Irish masterpiece called Pilgrim Hill, and Far From the Madding Crowd (the version with Terence Stamp – I mean, who else?).
18. If you were the last person on Earth, what
would you do?
Go to County Kerry and take long walks until I dropped.
Go to County Kerry and take long walks until I dropped.
19. What fictional character would you want to be
friends with in real life?
Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mocking-Bird.
Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mocking-Bird.
20. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Read well, write every day, and be easy to deal with. No hissy fits. Agents and publishers do in fact want you to succeed, so listen to them.
Read well, write every day, and be easy to deal with. No hissy fits. Agents and publishers do in fact want you to succeed, so listen to them.
21. What book do you wish you had written?
Far from the Madding Crowd
Far from the Madding Crowd
22. Tell us 10 fun facts about yourself!
I was born bottom first (actually, this was pretty risky for both me and my Mum); I have a natural immunity to smallpox (useless, as it’s been eradicated); I once cadged a lift home in a police car; I married the same man twice (once in a civil ceremony, the second time religiously); I can say a few rude things in Welsh (and other languages); I am an accomplished dressmaker but most of the time buy good things from thrift shops and change the buttons; I have a vast collection of Willow Pattern china; if I get lost in my car (I’ve never had a SatNav) I put my coat on inside out and somehow I find my way); I possess five pairs of Mary-Janes, one from the 1930s; I went to the same school as Muriel Spark (only much later, when it was a state-funded school) and also had an utterly inspiring teacher (who was much nicer than Miss Jean Brodie).
I was born bottom first (actually, this was pretty risky for both me and my Mum); I have a natural immunity to smallpox (useless, as it’s been eradicated); I once cadged a lift home in a police car; I married the same man twice (once in a civil ceremony, the second time religiously); I can say a few rude things in Welsh (and other languages); I am an accomplished dressmaker but most of the time buy good things from thrift shops and change the buttons; I have a vast collection of Willow Pattern china; if I get lost in my car (I’ve never had a SatNav) I put my coat on inside out and somehow I find my way); I possess five pairs of Mary-Janes, one from the 1930s; I went to the same school as Muriel Spark (only much later, when it was a state-funded school) and also had an utterly inspiring teacher (who was much nicer than Miss Jean Brodie).
23. If you could live in any time period, what
would it be and why?
That’s a difficult one. I love the eighteenth-century for the clothes and the music. But who is to say I wouldn’t have to live it as a scullery-maid with no rights and limited access to hot water and decent medical care? And would anyone have taught me to read?
That’s a difficult one. I love the eighteenth-century for the clothes and the music. But who is to say I wouldn’t have to live it as a scullery-maid with no rights and limited access to hot water and decent medical care? And would anyone have taught me to read?
24. What is your favorite genre to read?
Historical fiction, and some quirky, original contemporary romance.
Historical fiction, and some quirky, original contemporary romance.
Author Bio – Kate Zarrelli is the romance and erotica pen-name of Katherine Mezzacappa. Kate is Irish but now lives in Carrara in Northern Tuscany, between the Apuan Alps and the Tyrrhenian Sea, with her Italian husband and two teenage sons. She is the author of Tuscan Enchantment (eXtasy: Devine Destinies). Kate/Katherine writes historical, erotic, feel-good and paranormal fiction, set all over Europe, and in her spare time volunteers with a used book charity of which she is a founder member.
Social Media Links – Twitter: @katmezzacappa
Giveaway To Win an Inky black pendant of Portoro marble, with a golden streak at its heart, from the quarries above La Spezia (Open INT)
*Terms and Conditions –Worldwide entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.