Florence
looks like a great travel guide. Do you plan to write any similar
books?
Yes.
There are currently 2 more books in the works. Similar to the
FLORENCE book, they will cover the fun historical stories of VENICE
and ROME – in that order. And, like the FLORENCE book, they will
each give the traveler easy access to a deeper travel experience.
What
do you think makes a travel guide?
I
think that most perspectives can generate a good guide. But for me, a
deeper historical sense of a place is usually what has been missing
from most guidebooks in nearly every city in the world that I have
visited. Knowledge about what made a city into what you see today is
usually a heavy reading commitment. I want deep knowledge with a
quick in-and-out approach. So that is how I decided to present my own
book.
What
inspired you when writing Florence?
I
went to Florence to be alone with my camera. I didn’t realize that
I would be captivated by its story. I was drawn into it by
Michelangelo, and Botticelli, and the Medici, and all of those
incredible men, that by no intention to do so, turned history on its
ear, ended the Dark Ages, and formed what we now call The Renaissance
Era. THAT is the true essence of Florence. When you visit this city,
it is what EVERYTHING and EVERYONE there boasts. It really helps to
turn that message into something a pass-through visitor can grasp
quickly, and that is what my book does for the reader.
What
are your ambitions for your writing career? Full time? Part time?
When
I returned from Florence and realized that my notes were quickly
morphing into a full book, I made the conscious decision at that
point to turn off my 20-year-old graphic design business and dedicate
myself to my writing career on a full-time basis. Today, I focus most
of my waking hours to writing or promoting my writing. My family and
friends have gotten behind me 110% making it a simple transition. The
hardest part was letting my clients go, some of which have been with
me for nearly 20 years.
When
did you decide to become a writer?
My
dad was a writer. When his writing mentor, Howard Pease, grew old, he
moved into our family’s house. My dad invented stories for us every
night before bed, then when Mr. Pease moved in, story-telling became
a daytime activity as well. I inherited the same story-telling gene,
and have been asked to write for businesses since I was in high
school. I wrote in college, then I wrote during my high-tech
marketing days for everyone I worked for. Early on, I demonstrated a
knack for taking a complex topic apart, and putting it back together
in mini bite-sized nibbles for outsiders to grasp. I did that for IBM
and their technology end-users. Today, I use this same approach to
writing about the complex history of a destination to make it simple
for visitors to get the most out of their vacation.
When
writing Florence
did anything stand out as particularly challenging?
Sure.
Today’s world of publishing is a huge barrier to writers that did
not exist when I was a little girl with my dad. I was raised to think
that the publishing industry was the one thing that would help
writers by helping them by ushering their work out to the world. But
that paradigm has long since vanished along with the telephone booth
and the typewriter. And unfortunately, it has now become the thing
that dissuades writers from writing, and often kills their spirit.
Coming from a high-tech background, I have some thoughts on a new
Publishing paradigm, but that’s a whole other interview!
What
do you like to do when not writing?
I
am one of those annoying people that can’t sit still. Ever. If I’m
awake, I must be doing something. When watching a movie or a football
game with my husband and son, I am cooking up something new in the
kitchen, or experimenting with the creative arts like working with
clay, or making jewelry. I volunteer with a few organizations, and
offer my graphic design services to help to get their message out. We
live on the water in Southern California and we are avid boaters. We
love sailing regularly to Catalina island. Our social life is pretty
huge, so we find ourselves weaving in and out of fun local
activities. I am on several boards, and one of my favs is the
Director’s Council of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA.
With their archaeologists and scientists, we have travelled (and
still do) in search of lost and ancient cultures in the tiniest
little hidden corners of our world. For 17 years, I have written and
photographed my way through those epic journeys. All in all, my life
is pretty fantastic, and I seem to want for nothing ~ except to make
sure my books get out into the hands of travelers.
As
time goes on, I hope it gets easier and easier to find my work. But
currently, they can find me and my work on:
~
on Amazon https://bit.ly/FloGems
~
my website: http://FlorenceTravelBook.com
~
Facebook: patty.civalleri
~
Twitter: @PCivalleri
~
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=patty+civalleri
~
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcivalleri/
~
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pcivalleri/pins/
My
books can also be found in travel bookstores like “Distant Lands”
(in Pasadena, Ca), community bookstores like “PAGES Bookstore”
(in Manhattan Beach, Ca) and in university bookstores like Cal State
Univ (in Long Beach, Ca).
…and
a whole myriad of book-related links.
See
you there!
Ciao,
Love
Patty
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