Thoughts on Writing and the Creative Process: How I am inspired by Italy and its Inspiring Women

Thoughts on writing and the creative process: How I am inspired by Italy and its inspiring women.

Ciao a tutti! I am Melissa. In Italy, they call me “matta,” which means crazy — but in a good way! You may be wondering what sparked my madness for Italy and set me down a path to write four novels set in Florence, Arezzo, Rome, and Cremona. The answer is simple — its art and its inspiring women!

Italy has a way of slipping into your heart and capturing your imagination. In my case, my love affair began early and has endured my entire adult life. It inspired my first graphic design career and guided me to my current literary and educational profession. I am now the author of four novels set in Italy, all of which have won Reader’s Views Choice Fiction Awards in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021. I write a column about film and social media for L’Italo-Americano, one of this country’s oldest Italian publications. I created StudentessaMatta.com, a dual language Italian website, featuring articles about Italian culture that help individuals learn the Italian language. Through my website, I teach and offer conversation practice and organize Italian Language Homestay Vacations and Co-Direct Language Immersion Programs with partner schools in Arezzo, Lucca, and Ascoli.

This year, I am particularly proud of an initiative I began called Matta “Leggiamo” Bookclub. The first book I selected was “La guida astrologica per cuori infranti” by Silvia Zucca, an author from Milan. The book has been adapted by Netflix and is currently topping the charts. After we finished reading Silvia’s book in Italian, I organized a Zoom meeting so we could discuss the book with the author live and in person!  

How do I juggle all these projects, programs, courses, clubs, publications, set goals, stay the course, and finish what I begin? Allora… non è sempre facile! Ci vuole molto pazienza, diciplina… tante notti in bianco… una passione e un amore per l’Italia (un po’ di vino rosso) e donne ispiratrici che mi danno motivazione. It’s not always easy! It takes lots of patience, discipline… lots of late nights… a passion and love for Italy (a little red wine), and inspiring women who motivate me.

Over the years, managing a one-woman graphic design business taught me how to self-motivate, stay focused and find the discipline to finish multiple ongoing projects. It takes a particular kind of person who can work independently and be intrinsically motivated — that is, someone who can find creative inspiration from within. I discovered these same character traits have served me well in writing novels, too. 

After formulating an idea for a novel before setting pen to paper, I envision the end product and what I want to accomplish. In my mind’s eye, if I can see a beautifully designed book with an attractive cover (I am a graphic designer after all, and have created all my book covers!) and imagine feeling its weight in my hands, turn its pages, and read the first and last lines of its chapters — the story will indeed become real. I must be fully committed to the project before I begin. Only then am I ready to create the first draft, permitting myself to write wildly and fluidly. Of course, months later, the result is much better than the original fledgling idea, but the first draft is the spark that starts the process. It is the “road map” that keeps me moving forward.

What do I enjoy the most about the creative writing process? I would have to say I enjoy brainstorming, researching, and putting the puzzle pieces together. I don’t mind the endless rewrites, but the part I like the best are the serendipitous and happy moments when words, characters, emotions, and scenes harmoniously slip together. Those are the moments I live for and are worth every second of the late-night rewrites, rescripting, and re-envisioning.

When I begin a new novel, I start with the premise that it will entertain and tell a good story, but I also hope to educate. I want to take the reader to Italy to discover all the marvelous towns, sights, sounds, food, music, and art and make them fall in love with the country that has captured my heart. But I also want the reader to learn the story of a remarkable woman. I want people to remember and be moved and inspired by her triumphs and tribulations, as I have been.

To date, each of my novels focuses on a strong woman who overcomes odds to full her dreams. Women like Sofonisba Anguissola, Artemisia Gentileschi, Isabella de’ Medici, and Sophia Loren, who, through hard work, humility, resilience, integrity, and respect, made their mark on the world. They are true heroines and role models for all women on the road to equality. I want to inspire the current generation by bringing lesser-known stories to light so their messages of staying true to convictions despite hardships and betrayal are not forgotten.

I’ve been writing novels for seven years, publishing one after another. “Dreaming Sophia,” published in 2016, has been described as a “love letter to Italy.” It is true. My debut novel was penned with “amore” for a country that stole my heart, and I took my time with it, fearful of releasing it too soon. Since then, I’ve learned that you must let go of your work to make room for the next book or creative project inside of you. My fourth novel, and most recent book “The Secret Life of Sofonisba, the most famous woman you’ve never heard of,” was published in December 2020. Also, during the summer of 2020, I had a wonderful experience working with a New York actress turning my first three novels into Audiobooks. She did a marvelous job with the Italian accents, singing, and bringing the stories to life as if they were Broadway plays.

What will be my next writing project, and who will be my next heroine? An excellent question as I, too, am curious to know. My stories come to me in unusual ways. The idea for my first novel, “Dreaming Sophia,” came to me in a dream and is quasi-autobiographical and is my way of explaining the odd connection I have with Italy and Italian art and artists despite having no Italian blood connections. 

The idea for my second novel, “Waking Isabella,” came to me in the Tuscan town of Arezzo while standing in front of a painting of Isabella de’ Medici in Giorgio Vasari’s house. I was mesmerized by the woman’s eyes and felt she communicated something to me. When I began to research Isabella and learned her husband and brother murdered her, I knew I’d had to write about her and the town where I had discovered her.

My third novel, “Eternally Artemisia,” was already taking form in my head before the ink had barely dried on my pages of my second novel. Since college, I’ve been intrigued by Artemisia’s story. Raped when she was only sixteen, with her reputation in tatters, Artemisia rose like a phoenix to become the most famous female Baroque painter of her day. She defied a misogynist system and was the first woman to be accepted into the all-male Florentine Art Academy; she was Cosimo de’ Medici’s protegee and a friend to Galileo. 

Based on Sofonisba Anguissola’s life story, my latest novel is about another remarkable female artist who defied Renaissance female stereotypes. When I learned in the arc of her very long-life span (she lived into her nineties) that she had been a student of Michelangelo, knew Anthony van Dyke, and had been the court painter to Queen Elizabeth of Spain, I was dumbfounded. I realized the world needed to learn more about this talented woman who the history books have conveniently excluded over the years.

Now I am waiting to be inspired by another fearless woman with tenacity. Hopefully, I won’t have to wait too long. Soon I will return to Italy for my 2022 Italian Language Immersion Programs, and I hope to find my next heroine hiding behind a dusty tapestry in a remote castle in Ascoli or wandering through Arezzo’s antique market, or riding a Vespa in Volterra. It will be my pleasure to take her hand and draw her back into the limelight and introduce her to my readers. 

If you are interested in learning Italian, go a little “matta” and come with me to Italy. I have three Italian language programs set for 2022 in Arezzo in June, Lucca in September, and Ascoli in September. For more information visit the www.StudentessaMatta.com website. The Matta Italian Book club will begin again in the fall with a new Italian novel to yet be disclosed. If you would like to learn Italian or practice Italian conversation, contact Melissa on her website. Melissa’s novels are available in print, Epub and Audiobook.

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The Secret Life of Sofonisba Anguissola

Set in the sixteenth-century, The Secret Life of Sofonisba Anguissola tells the story of a woman’s passion for painting and adventure. In a world where women painters had little to no acknowledgment, she was singled out by Michelangelo and Vasari who recognized and praised her talent. Gaining the Milanese elite’s acclaim, she went on to become court painter to Spanish King Philip II and taught his queen to paint.

One can’t live such an extraordinary life without having stories to tell, and tell them Sofonisba does to Sir Anthony Van Dyke, who comes to visit her toward the end of her life. During their meeting, she agrees to reveal her secrets but first challenges the younger painter to find the one lie hidden in her tale. In a saga filled with intrigue, jealousy, buried treasure, unrequited love, espionage, and murder, Sofonisba’s story is played out against the backdrop of Italy, Spain, and Sicily.

Throughout her life, she encounters talented artists, authoritative dukes, mad princes, religious kings, spying queens, vivacious viscounts, and dashing sea captains-even a Barbary pirate. But of all the people who fell in love with Sofonisba, only one captured her heart. The painter may have many secrets but the truth of her life is crystal clear from the beginning. Always a strong, passionate woman with a dream, she was an intelligent artist who knew her self-worth and in the end, as Michelangelo had done for her, Sofonisba passed her brush to a new generation.

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Reviews for “The Secret Life of Sofonisba Anguissola”

“Through meticulous research, Melissa Muldoon spins a captivating tale of a Renaissance woman whose melodious name—Sofonisba Anguissola—should be far better known. Mentored by Michelangelo, esteemed as one of Europe’s finest portraitists, Sofonisba comes to life as a charming, intelligent, passionate and talented woman who defied the conventions of her time to follow her heart and make her living by her brush.” Dianne Hales, author of La Bella Lingua 

“The Secret Life of Sofonisba Anguissola is a very enjoyable work of historic fiction, enhanced by Melissa’s expertise in art history and Italy. I’d say it’s excellent.” Martha Bakerjian, author of Martha’s Italy

“Muldoon has woven a compelling and action-filled story: from Sofonisba’s upbringing in Cremona, east of Milan, to her life in Madrid as a court painter and confidente of Isabel de Valois, wife of Philip II of Spain, and beyond. This is a novel rich in description, romance, and adventure that combines detailed research with excellent characterization.” — Kate Braithwaite, author of Charlatan, The Road to Newgate

“Spectacular writing, intriguing art and history, inspirational characters – these things all combine to create a story of excellence. I was completely enthralled with Sofonisba Anguissola – it’s a story of vision, strength, and determination that history and art enthusiasts, along with romance and intrigue fans will enjoy.” — Reader Views

 

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