Karina Kennedy interviews Marina Taylor from A Not So Lonely Planet: Italy

June 8, 2021 | By Women Writers Women Books | Reply More

Karina Kennedy makes her debut onto the contemporary romance scene with A Not So Lonely Planet: Italy, following the comical and romantic misadventures of Marina Taylor, a globetrotting travel blogger from Key West.

Karina Kennedy interviews Marina Taylor from A Not So Lonely Planet: Italy

KK: Marina, I’m a well-traveled romantic myself and I love your Wanderlust travel blog, which is quite… unique. Can you tell us about it?

MT: Wanderlust is my diary for romantic readers. So many travel blogs are all about places and photos, but I think the deepest, lasting impressions of any trip are the experiences you have with the people you meet. That’s what I decided to share with people.

KK: You mean friendships you form with other travelers?

MT: Exactly. Like these two new friends I met on a train in Italy. I call them Yin and Yang: a sweet, gorgeous, blonde waif from society Paris and her sassy, curvy, tattooed siren of a girlfriend from Brixton, London. They’re so different they just fit each other perfectly. And they were a hell of a lot of fun.

KK: So, your blog is about experiences, friendships and the romances you have along your trips? There’s some steamy stuff there.

MT: Yeah, my presbyterian mother calls it my sex blog. But Rosalie crochets cat toys for shelter kitties and sells manatee pillows made from repurposed sweatpants at charity craft shows.

She runs her own B&B in Key West, where I grew up, and she’s the kind of woman who gets up at five am to make fresh bread for her guests. I’m the kind of woman who’s trying to sneak past her at five am, having just arrived home from a yacht party that ended up in Miami forcing me to catch a ride back on an oyster boat which may or may not have been smuggling drugs.

KK: You’re twenty-four, and live with your mom?

MT: Why pay rent when all you need is a launch pad from which to travel the world writing books?

KK: Is that why you recently went to Italy?

MT: Yes. My friend Mike is a flight attendant, and he gave me a buddy pass, which is this uber cheap open ended standby ticket. You’re basically a seat filler, like at the Oscars but you’re sitting next to a gas passing, vegan octogenarian instead of George Clooney. And instead of an Oscar de la Renta ball gown you’re wearing three-day old clothes that make you smell like Oscar the Grouch because you’ve been living at the airport like Tom Hanks in Terminal.

KK: Wow. I’m glad you made it to Italy. Tell us about your book.

MT: It’s about influential Italian women- like Sophia Loren the actress, Maria Agnesi the mathematician, Alda Merini the poet, and Virginia Oldoini the selfie queen of the 1800’s.

KK: Virginia Oldoini – The Countess of Castiglione, wasn’t she the mistress of Napoleon?

MT: Yes, and probably responsible for Italy becoming its own kingdom, but her lasting influence was in photography. She art directed over seven hundred stunning portraits of herself in these fantastic costumes, depicting parts of her life… even some showing bare legs or feet— which was really taboo back then. Those photos are all at the Met now. Virginia was exploring herself through photography and the power of the sexual gaze.

KK: The sexual gaze? Tell me more.

MT: I’m still figuring it out too. It’s like this kind of jedi mind thing that has to do with beauty, desire, respect and power. The way you see someone or are seen by that person, that creates an internal yearning for connection– approval, friendship, or sex. That’s what Regina Lombardi says anyway. She’s like the queen of the sexual gaze.

KK: Regina Lombardi? Is she an Italian woman of influence in your book?

MT: She should be. She’s a retired actress and European sex symbol. I got to stay at her amazing villa near Ravello which was like a paradise resort, with terraces, gardens, a real peacock and these gorgeous assistants all called Piero, so she never forgets their names. It was perfetto. That’s my favorite word the Italians use all the time. Perfect.

KK: That sounds ridiculously amazing. I’m jealous.

MT: There were all these other artists staying there too for this crazy photo shoot with people posing nude in a fountain like living statues.

KK: And did you participate?

MT: Well, it was like Robert Mapplethorpe meets Spencer Tunik, how could I not? The photographer was like this well-known French-Italian man, handsome, charming… completely irresistible and madly infuriating at the same time.

KK: He sounds rakishly wonderful.

MT: We met in Rome during some Piazza di Repubblica fountain frolicking that was busted up by the polizia. Then I saw him again at a dinner in Positano, that didn’t exactly end as planned. But I got another shot during his masquerade ball charity fundraiser in Venice.

KK: Venetian Masquerade ball? Is there more? Do tell…

MT: Yes, trust me, there’s a lot more, but this isn’t the kind of magazine that is sold wrapped in black paper, so I’ll have to save the juicy bits for my blog… or maybe my book.

KK: You’re writing about yourself in your book? Are you a role model for the adventure seeking young woman of today, out to see the world?

MT: I’m more the opposite. Foil to impressive women everywhere. I’m the one who does it wrong. The klutzy Bridget Jones type whose mind is always racing three steps ahead of her body. You know those “How to” books? Mine’s more like “How Not to.”

KK: So why put that in your book?

MT: Yang said the sexy, fun stuff would balance out the learning. Yin thought my comical debacles would be entertaining. But it was Regina that made me realize sharing my own experiences would connect with readers. They can enjoy the journey as I did, researching these amazing women, finding friendships, romantic adventures and learning about myself.

KK: Sounds perfetto. So, you’re back home now in Key West. It must be hard for someone like yourself to stay put long. Any plans for another trip?

MT: I can’t, I’m broke, I’ve got heaps of work to do on this book. And there are always beds to make or fish to clean at the Bed and Breakfast. But I did see a special that Air New Zealand was running…

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Karina Kennedy is a romantic writer and restless spirit. Growing up in Florida, she cheated her Choose Your Own Adventure book by keeping fingers stuck in the pages so she could change her mind. Who wants only one adventure? Karina is inspired by strong, creative women in all walks of life and uses this passion to fuel her travels all over the world.

https://linktr.ee/Karinakbooks

Twitter @KarinaKbooks

Instagram @karinakbooks

A Not So Lonely Planet: Italy

Marina Taylor is a bold, adventure-seeking writer with a one-way ticket to Rome and big dreams to write her book, Italian Women of Influence . . . but an undeniable connection with an irresistible stranger—and her penchant for disaster—just may derail her plans.

Inspired by actress and sex icon Regina Lombardi, Marina tries to master the sexual gaze as she researches her book and stumbles her way through Italian scholars, Turkish footballers, and Sicilian twins. From the nightclubs of Rome to a Venetian masquerade ball, Marina’s escapades leave her yearning for a particular French-Italian photographer. Will she catch her illusive stranger, or prove more calamity than coquette? And what about the ruggedly down-to-earth ex who’s waiting for her back home?

Equal parts laugh-out-loud travel comedy and sexy adventure, Marina’s first trip abroad will inspire you to throw your own itinerary out the window and throw caution to the wind. Art, love, sex, wine—the Italian playboy and the boy next door—who says you can’t have it all?