Welcome
to the first week of June, everyone. Today we are sitting down with author Giuliana
Sica to ask her a few questions.
SC:
Tell me a little bit about your main character of this book.
GS:
Porzia Amard has left her French-Italian roots and her beloved wine making
family behind in Tuscany to pursue her journalistic studies in the USA,
eventually settling in Florida; Pensacola, to be exact, where hurricanes
abound. And it is on the forceful tail end of one such hurricane that her life
suddenly takes a mystical turn and the story begins.
Porzia
is pretty much a sort of Sex and the City Carrie Bradshaw gone mystical leading
a satisfying professional life as a wine and gourmet food writer. Never mind
the fact that her pathetic love life amounted to nothing more than a
devastating relationship with an alcoholic pastry chef.
Stubborn
and beautiful, yet often playful, her colorful and sometimes blunt comments
make her irresistible in the eyes of one special man in each of the 3 books in
the series.
When
she unexpectedly inherits the legacy of magical powers at her beloved
grandmother's deathbed, her usual self-assurance is shaken, yet she stays true
to her promise to accept the challenge before her. Tormented by doubts, Porzia
has no time to fully absorb the enormity of her life-changing decision before
she finds herself in the middle of events she cannot comprehend.
Under
the caring guidance of her spiritual mentor Evalena, Porzia abandons the
straightforward path after a past life regression introduces a distant soul
mate, revealing a love so intense it has resisted the tarnishing of time.
SC:
You had me at wine and gourmet food writer. A spooky Carrie (no pun intended)
sounds intriguing indeed. Do you believe
in the paranormal and if so, do you have an experience you can share?
GS:
I believe. There is no other way. The paranormal for many, can be the ‘norm’
for just as many, if not more than many. We’re just a little more discreet
about it. I lost my father in 1999 to lung cancer. I lost my first husband to
alcohol in 2008 and my mother to heart failure on 2012. I have lost them in
this realm, but I dream. like many of us out there. I dream. And often, these
dreams bring forth a message, a visit, a comforting moment, a shared memory,
but usually it is a warning of upcoming peril or a warm embrace to remind us
that we have not been left alone. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I found
out it would be a very risky 9 months. I wasn’t the youngest, and I have an
autoimmune issue that required 8 infusions of a very expensive therapy. I was
so afraid I would never make it to the end to hold my baby girl. I was about
10/12 weeks along when I had a dream in which my father and my mother were
driving me in this old beat up car (probably my own ageing body), up a winding
mountain road. At one point, my father told me not to worry. He had the wheel
and he’d take care of me. He then drove us all up a narrow path of stairs!!!
All the way to the top of the mountain where he parked. Turned to look at me
all disheveled and shaken up from the bumpy ride, and he winked. They watch
over us and they protect us. My daughter
is a healthy toddler today. I have always been open to the spiritual realm and
I believe this truly helps me walk in life with hope and a more positive
attitude.
SC:
What titles are you working on now that you can tell us about?
GS:
I am working on a children’s book to help my little daughter welcome a little
sibling in November. Yes, magic, persistence and my father still gripping the
steering wheel might just make a miracle happen a second time. I am also
working on Book III of The Entrainement Series where Porzia will find herself
conflicted between two love interests. One from her present and one from her
past. Her magic will definitely help her sort things out but a totally
unexpected twist will make her doubt and second guess her choices.
SC:
Thanks for chatting with us. Let's take a look at your novel now.
The Bridge Across Times
Entrainement Series
Book II
Giuliana Sica
Genre: Magical Realism, WitchLit, PNR
Entrainement Series
Book II
Giuliana Sica
Genre: Magical Realism, WitchLit, PNR
Date of Publication: May 17th, 2019
ISBN: 9781797676142
ASIN: B07PKWTLT6
Number of pages: 244
Word Count: 63,496
Cover Artist: Enterline Design
Tagline: Join Porzia in her magic quest for a timeless soulmate.
Book Description:
Porzia's journey continues.
From the first page, Magic carries Porzia and all of us into an exotic and fantastic world. Emerging from two years of grief, her quest for a soul mate takes her to Japan where an unexpected encounter with a mysterious and fatally attractive artist unleashes an irresistible whirlwind of passion.
Music entangles them in a slow, sensuous dance. With the help of her esoteric teacher Evalena, Porzia has been honing her magic abilities. More confident and controlled, she now summons Magic at her will... with only an occasional flaring of rebellious powers.
Among scrumptious bites of delicious food and thirst-quenching sips of wine she summons a ghost from a distant past. The enigmatic message leaves her puzzled, but also determined to resolve the mystery hidden in the almond-shaped eyes of her dangerous and yet so passionate lover.
Each intriguing and intoxicating page is another luscious bite into Porzia's world and the magical possibilities that may be there for all of us.
PROLOGUE
Firenze, Italia. Galleria degli Uffizi.
The echo of the
security guard’s footsteps slowly faded toward the distant museum exit.
Silence.
Silence echoed
along the austere arcades on the first floor. Sunset filtered through the
ancient windows, the sun rays interrupted in their paths by massive walls.
Golden light ricocheted and dispersed off myriads of dancing dust motes. At the
end of the high-windowed Galleria, the heartbeat began to pound within the
chilled white marble of Michelangelo’s Davide. Life’s essence stirred through
his perfectly chiseled body until strength and heat gave him the power to move.
He slipped from his pedestal and headed toward Venere in Botticelli’s room.
Davide’s shadow
glided undisturbed amongst dozing masterpieces. On the upper level, beneath
gilded ceilings, silence reigned.
Venere stepped
out of her golden frame and leaving her seashell behind, she entered reality.
The Angels’ gazes followed her progress while her ancella gently smiled and
wiped a lonesome tear.
Still wet from
the scented sea mist, Venere’s long auburn hair trailed, barely covering her
glowing body. Desire stirred deep within her soul, conjuring rhythmic waves
within her.
She met Davide
on a sunset-lit windowsill. Doubts dissipated, washed away by the high tide of
her will. The lovers allowed the salt-scented mist to subdue them, slowly, to
unfold erotic dreams.
Please let
reality be what fantasy was.
As the sun’s
light faded away, she drew him in, savoring primitive rituals, riding the moist
rhythm of the waves to slowly drown their thirst. With the moon silently
smiling, they reached for the sky and left agony behind.
That was the
night my parents gave me life.
This life.
If I were a
color, I would be gold. Born under the blessing of the full moon, protected by
ageless winged guardians, I played hopscotch with Giotto on checkered floors
and hide-and-seek with masterpieces along marble staircases, among their golden
frames and moth-dappled velvet drapes. My tiny hands pressed against
rain-streaked windows while outside the river Arno swelled and found its way to
the sea.
I grew up in the
shadow of the Leaning tower of Pisa. And although the colors of Tuscany in
August blush my skin, it is the Manouche mystery that pounds through my veins.
I know the woods where Dante lost his way as the palm of my hand. I could
escort you to the Inferno door blindfolded, for I have knocked on it often
myself. I crossed the Mississippi River and heard Jesse James ask Huckleberry
Finn if he were real.
I swam with
dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico and danced with the Queen of New Orleans on a
wet, humid winter night. I got drunk with Ezili in Savannah and cursed life,
screaming at the moon in rage. I wandered in meadows restlessly and watched the
winds with a longing I could not understand.
I challenged the
Goddess, belied my powers, and regretted it all. I soared after a majestic
eagle toward a sinking sun and caught up with her by Ayers Rock, where,
anguished, I bowed. Subjugated at last, I embraced Magic.
Too wild, too
strong to be mortal, I wove a dream with love in my heart, passion in my soul,
and the breath of my life.
I have summoned
the elements, conjured my yearning into a spell to be taken away across the
endless sky. I have swallowed my pride and begged the gods to give me proof
that life is worth the fight. Now I walk through sorrow barefoot, careful not
to step on the sharp, shattered pieces of my broken dream.
Now I lay still,
numb and spent, waiting.
Until rage and
anger fueled my soul to rise.
I sought answers
and hope in distant lands, in ancient scripture, in encrypted mysteries and
timeless traditions. I sought answers within and finally understood how to
accept the void of my damaged soul, how to gather strength to stir and to
finally move, once again, into the beauty of life’s simplicity.
I healed,
nurturing my wounds, shedding tender skin. Reaching for the goddess within, at last,
I have accepted my feminine self. Bowing to the Rising Sun I welcomed my new
self and embraced Courage. Instants later, absolutely still in a Veronica, I
held a crimson cape of fears, enticed a crippled wolf to charge, and defied
time.
About the Author:
Giuliana was born in Siena, Italy. At the age of 4 her father gave her a box of markers. She immediately began to doodle stories on the house walls. After a few weeks of repainting, they finally gave her paper as well. She has not stopped writing since. She calls home Whidbey Island where she settled in 2001 after globetrotting teaching Italian in exotic places as far as Japan.
She holds a Classic Italian Literature and Philosophy degree with a minor in English still laced with a Chianti-infused accent. She speaks fluent Spanish, has forgotten most of her French, and holds tightly to her Japanese, mostly by eating sushi every chance she gets. She shares a yellow cottage on the island with her husband, 3 cats, an unstoppable toddler, a vegetable garden, and a fig tree named Federico. Every residual free minute of her life is spent working on Book III, and catching up on some much-needed sleep.
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