Book Tour: Day 6 and 7
Day 6 of my book tour resulted in two lovely reviews. Once again, both noted how much they particularly enjoyed the setting for my story.
Thank you Natalie @curlingupwithacoffeeand a kindle and Zara @worm_talk_book_club for your encouraging words.
You can read both reviews by following the links above.
Day 7 started with a surprise from splashesintobooks. Another great review but in verse! Thank you Elaine. How creative! It’s amazing how you managed to capture so many aspects of The Starling Dance – characters, themes, storylines – and all in rhyme.
You can read this poetic review here.
Then it was time for me to do some work. MJ Porter was kind enough to invite me as a guest blogger on her site. I chose to write about the street artists who perform for tourists around the squares in Rome who, it transpires, have been a feature of street life in Rome since ancient times.
Although the main inspiration for The Starling Dance was Rome itself. I started meeting many different kinds of people that live in the city – the locals, the artists and performers that line the streets, and the migrants who have risked their lives to reach Europe and, from all this. I knew that one of my main characters would be a street performer, so I took the time to meet many street artists around the city and get to know them.
In the book, Viviano is a street artist who poses around the city in elaborate costumes, which he designs and makes himself. He’s a fiercely intelligent, eccentric and artistic Italian in his late twenties. He lives with his mum. Viviano could have the world at his feet, but his mental health struggles, which he hides behind his smile and good humour, hold him back in life. He loves adventure and has a diverse group of friends. He cannot bear to be alone with his own thoughts.
We often walk past these people, who paint their bodies, wear disguises and perform for crowds but usually we never know anything about the person behind the costume. I wanted to portray them as real characters with fascinating lives and back stories.
You can read my guest blog here.