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Waking Isabella – How My Second Novel Came To Be

July 17, 2018 | By Melissa Muldoon | Reply More

How does one come up with the idea of a novel I am often asked? That question is often followed by a second one: Once you have an idea how do you sustain it and spin it into a full-length story?

For me, it all begins first and foremost with an intriguing historical anecdote. Then I create a compelling leading lady and select an interesting town in Italy in which my story can take place. Next, add in a lot of historical research, personal travel experiences and observations, throw in some art and a bit of human drama – unanswered questions, private yearnings, unfulfilled desires, a few tragedies – mix thoroughly and voila! My story begins to come to life and takes shape.

“Waking Isabella – because beauty can’t sleep forever” began in just this way. In fact, the idea came to me as I was finishing my first book “Dreaming Sophia – because there is an art to dreaming” that is also set in Italy. At the time I was living in Arezzo, a small hill town in Tuscany just about an hour south of Florence. I had found the experience of writing my first novel so enjoyable, I knew I wanted to start another right way and was already casting around for a premise for a second book.

I didn’t have to wait long, and the idea more or less snuck up upon me one day when I was visiting Giorgio Vasari’s house in Via Settembre.

Giorgio Vasari was a prominent artist during the fifteenth-century and painted the interior of the dome of Florence’s cathedral. He also is considered the first art historian as he recorded stories about his contemporary painters, the likes of Michelangelo and Leonardo. As I was roaming around his home in Arezzo filled with lovely ceiling frescos and paintings in one of the rooms I came upon a painting of a Renaissance woman dressed in an elaborate gown with pearls and ribbons.

From the moment I laid eyes on her, I was mesmerized. I gravitated to the portrait, drawn in by the look in the woman’s eyes and it felt as though she was calling out to me. When I took a closer look at the brass plate on the wall and discovered that the woman’s name was Isabella de’ Medici and realized that she was the daughter of Cosimo I and Eleonora – two characters in my first book – I felt it was destiny that I should meet her that day.

As I left Vasari’s house the seeds for “Waking Isabella” were planted. I had discovered Isabella and I also had my setting – Arezzo. And in fact, Arezzo the town itself is also a protagonist in my novel. Through the pages of “Waking Isabella” the reader will be transported to this small Tuscan city and will become familiar with its quaint streets and piazzas as well as its art, legends and fantastic Giostra – the medieval jousting festival that occurs in Arezzo twice a year.

The feeling that I was on to an intriguing plot line only grew stronger when I returned home and began researching Isabella and discovered what a rare, spirited creature she was. In a time when it was unusual for a married woman to live independently she had done just that. Not only was she a reputed beauty, she was a gifted, talented, and educated female. When her mother died of malaria she assumed her role in the Medici court and was well loved by the Florentines who called her the “Star of Florence,” because of her many virtues and talents.

But, the most startling thing I discovered about Isabella was that because of her waywardness and independent lifestyle, she had been murdered by her husband in one of her father’s hunting villas just outside of Florence. It is even rumored that her ghost still haunts the villa.

In my quest to learn more about the Medici princess I made a pilgrimage to the hunting villa in Cerreto Guidi in Tuscany where Isabella was assassinated. I stood in the room and gazed up at the hole in the ceiling from where the rope was lowered to hang her. I bonded with Isabella once again that day and much of what I learned during my time in Cerreto Guidi I wove into my fictional story.

As I completed my research and the puzzle pieces of my novel started to come together, all that remained was to create my leading lady Nora, a contemporary woman recovering from a divorce, and haunted by regrets about the choices she has made in her life. Nora’s journey of self-discovery is intricately entwined with Isabella’s story, a few mysteries, as well as a painting that was lost during the war years when Hitler suppressed and destroyed art during the 1930s.

There is a colorful cast of characters – some dating back to the fifteenth century, and some to the 1940’s when Arezzo was caught in the conflict between the Allies, Partisans, Fascists, and Nazis – who also have complicated pasts and a few ghosts of their own.

I am currently finalizing my third novel “Eternally Artemisia – some loves like some women are eternal” (due out Fall 2018) and as I look back over the storylines of all three of my books I realize not only have I created fictional stories set in Italy that focus on strong women, but I have also created a trilogy about art.

The first novel “Dreaming Sophia” investigates the source of creativity and the third book “Eternally Artemisia” celebrates that idea that art is eternal. “Waking Isabella” on the other hand touches on the theme that art is all around us if we take the time to notice it and we are open to it. The story also explores that idea that no one can dictate what beauty means for another person and what happens when art and ideas are suppressed – the ultimate violation of personal freedom.

But most importantly, “Waking Isabella” is a story about women who dare to make changes in their lives and confront difficult situations. It is a love story, but a love story about falling in love with yourself, with Italy as well as another person.

It is about finding that thing in your life that fills you with joy and sustains you and makes you the best version of yourself that you can be. When we do, we wake our inner Isabella and discover life really is beautiful.

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Melissa Muldoon is the author of “Dreaming Sophia” & “Waking Isabella.” She is also an artist, designer, and creator of the Studentessa Matta Dual-language Blog and Youtube Channel. Through her many projects as well as her programs to study in Italy Melissa promotes Italian language and culture. She has a B.A. in fine arts, art history, and European history and a master’s in art history. She studied painting, language and art history in Florence.

Melissa’s first two books take readers to Florence and Arezzo and are inspired by Melissa’s experiences living and traveling in Italy. Now in another art history adventure, due out Fall 2018 called “Eternally Artemisia.” readers will go to Tuscany, Montepulciano, and Florence in the sixteenth century and Rome in the 1930s.

Melissa’s websites:

Author Website: www.MelissaMuldoon.com

Studentessa Matta Italian Dual Language Blog Website: www.StudentessaMatta.com

Dreaming Sophia Art History Website (where I blog in English about Art and Artists): www.DreamingSophiaBook.com

Amazon Melissa Muldoon Author Site: https://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Muldoon/e/B01LYC716