Set in Rome. Follow the whirlwind antics of a publicist as he struggles to manage his first TV chef client, his new life, and an unexpected visit from his ex-girlfriend.
Alex recently moved to Italy for an opportunity at a PR firm in Rome. His first client is the beautiful Danish chef Pernille Bjørn, a popular model, TV personality, and cookbook author just entering the booming televised cooking show market in Italy.
Alex's single-minded career focus is soon thwarted by Emily, an ex-girlfriend he hasn't heard from in almost a decade.
Italy's modern culture and enchanting sights set the backdrop to this Rome-antic comedy.
Buy the Book: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Indiebound ~ Chapters Indigo ~ Amazon.ca ~ Add to Goodreads
Interview -
You
came to writing at a later age, after earning an MBA and working in
the field of PR/Marketing. What was your journey from that career to
writing and publishing your first book?
Well,
to start, I never thought I would be a writer of a whole book. I’ve
written press releases, promotional scripts, and web content, but
never had to really write a long form piece – other than at
university. I’ve always had ideas for stories, but I never really
gave myself the push to actually write them. I’ve taken notes,
jotted ideas down, and daydreamed about stories, but never took the
opportunity to write any of them. Maybe it was time – finding the
time to write is very difficult.
It wasn’t’ until I moved to Rome
temporarily in 2011, that I had that time. I was working freelance
blogging about food in Rome, which forced me to walk around and
explore the city well. But the gig was part time – and finding a full time gig was difficult - so I had a lot of free time to explore.
But I wanted something to give my time in Rome a purpose. One morning
I woke up and thought – I should write and see if I can write a
book. I started and immediately the story just flew out of me. But
without that time, I don’t think I would have written THE LOVE FOOL.
Where
did the inspiration for THE LOVE FOOL come from? For the characters
who make this story come alive?
The
city of Rome itself had a lot to do with the inspiration for THE LOVE
FOOL. I walked around the city and got to know her well. I fell even
more deeply in love with her. Immediately, I knew I would set my
story there – and not just make Rome the setting. I wanted to make
the city a part of the story itself. My story was influenced by
Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, I wanted a celebrity. In the film the
celebrity was a Swedish movie star, but in THE LOVE FOOL, I kept her
Scandinavian, but instead of a movie star I made Pernille a model TV
chef – because it seemed to be the popular thing. Pernille’s work
forced Alex to have a similar profession to my past – pr/marketing
for cooking and travel shows in USA – because it was what I knew
and thought it would be interesting. The romantic and not so romantic
part of the story… well, that’s just my Italian passion on
display.
What
research did you need to do to make sure the details were accurate?
Fortunately,
my part-time gig – writing about foods of Rome – required me to
bop around the city, meet locals, and taste the delicacies. A very
daunting task as you can imagine – joking. But this is what helped
me really put Rome inside THE LOVE FOOL.
How
does the writing process work for you? Do you schedule a time every
day, work madly when inspiration hits or ?
Writing
is very tough. Especially when working full time. But I come up with
ideas usually when I’m commuting to work and back. I have to repeat
the ideas over and over until I get to my destination and type them
out. If I can write them down in between, I do. And I found that
listening to music helps me to write. So, when I’m home on weekends
and inspired to write – because you have to be inspired – I put
on some music and type away.
What
did you enjoy about writing process? What felt like a chore?
Letting
all the ideas out and letting them flow. I just write whatever comes
to mind and worry about editing later. I know the first attempts are
crap, so I don’t bother with how bad it is. I just let it out and
then go back to it all later to edit or adjust. It’s not a chore –
otherwise what is the point? I write because I enjoy it. If it were
to become a chore, then I worry it would reflect in the writing and
the story I try to tell.
What
would you most like readers to know about you?
I’m
a bilingual Italian-American born and raised in the USA and spent my
summers in Southern Italy. I love to travel. I go to Europe once a
year – mostly Italy. My travels inspire my writing and I blog
about it on my website magnusmade.com. When I need a mental break
from writing, I enjoy cooking and baking.
Do
you have ideas rolling around for a new storyline or perhaps a second
book in progress?
Writing
THE LOVE FOOL was a challenge to myself to see if I could actually
write a whole book. It feels awesome to see that I achieved that! I
want to challenge myself again with another book, but kick up the
challenge by switching genre. I’m attempting to write a noir-style
story – we’ll see what this new story will end up becoming, but
noir is the goal for now.
Any
advice you can offer to others who are working full-time, but still
dream of writing a book?
I
want to reiterate a couple that I’ve mentioned and a couple more.
- Time is important. Set aside that time. Uninterrupted time. Even if you’re not inspired to write. Just make the time to let your mind relax, and eventually ideas will come.
- Write anything. Just write it. It doesn’t matter if it’s bad, just get it out. You may not like it, but you never know if you’ll look at it later and that crap you wrote may end up inspiring you with something more. Just write.
- Repeat. When you think of scenes, just keep repeating that scene in your mind over and over. Eventually new details and new ideas pop up.
- Don’t give up.
Meet the Author -
Lorenzo Petruzziello holds an MBA in global marketing from Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts. His background includes publicity and marketing for many of public television’s popular cooking and travel shows. He lives in Massachusetts focusing on his writing. THE LOVE FOOL is his first novel.
Connect with Lorenzo: Website ~ Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram
Connect with Lorenzo: Website ~ Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram
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