The Florentine Bridge
Page 25
‘We’re going to be okay, aren’t we?’
Luca strokes my cheek and smiles. ‘This bridge is like us, Mia: it can withstand anything, no matter what life lobs its way.’
‘Prendiamo la vita come viene.’
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Immense thanks to my brilliant agent, Cassie Hanjian, for your support, encouragement, and belief in The Florentine Bridge. You provided much guidance and invaluable advice along the way, which helped make this a better book, and for this I’m very grateful. Special thanks also to Rachel Clements at Abner Stein, Marshall Yarbrough, and the rest of the team at Waxman Leavell.
To the lovely Rachael Donovan, Laurie Ormond, and everyone at Harlequin Australia, thank you for your enthusiasm and for making the entire process of making a book such a wonderful one. To my editor, Alex Nahlous, it was an honour to work with you. Thank you for all the excellent suggestions you provided. Thank you also to Kate James for your incredible attention to detail. I also owe thanks to the supremely talented Nada Backovic, who did an exceptional job on the cover. I can’t look at it without smiling. It’s everything I hoped for and more.
Heartfelt appreciation to Laura Brown, Natasha Lester, and Mary Lovelien, who provided feedback on an early draft, as well as ongoing support throughout the process of finding this book a home.
Gratitude to Andrea Tyrell, who always believed in me and my story, and helped to keep my hopes high and my heart open.
To the most supportive friends a girl could ever wish for: Amanda Ingrosso, Jane O’Keefe, Katrina Agius, Lucinda Westerman, Natasha Gropel, and Stav Catalano – big love, and even bigger thanks. I’m also fortunate to have some amazing friends who made sure my children had a blast in their care when I needed to squeeze in some extra writing or editing time. Amelia Rambaldi and Giuliana La Valle – grazie mille!
Thanks to Anjanette Fennell, for seeing something in my work before I ever did. You told me it was a matter of ‘when, not if’ and then somehow you made me believe it.
To my circle of writing friends and members of my writing group – I’m blessed to have you all in my life. And, of course, a special thanks to Kimberley Foster. Our weekly (and sometimes very long) chats about all things writing related are a favourite part of my week.
Thanks to Heather Waring, my primary school library teacher, who, through her immeasurable love of books, inspired me to hold onto the dream of one day becoming a published author.
Thanks also to my mum, who always bought me books as a child and turned a blind eye when I stayed up past my bedtime to read them, and my brother, who read a draft of this book on the bus to work, pretended not to cry, and thereafter encouraged me, with unwavering faith, to pursue one of my biggest dreams in life.
Finally, to Fabio, Christian, and Alessia, you are my world, my everything. Vi voglio un mondo di bene.
BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION POINTS
1. Mia has gone through a traumatic experience. What do you think of her decision to leave her home and her old life behind her, and especially her parents who were with her through everything?
2. Do you think you might be inspired to move overseas if you were recovering from a life-threatening illness? Or would you do something differently?
3. Does Mia’s relationship with her art change over the course of the novel?
4. What is your favourite description of the painting in the novel?
5. How would you react to a tragedy that directly impacts a loved one? How do you think Mia handled the aftermath of Luca’s accident?
6. When Luca and Mia meet, Luca has already gone through an experience of grief and loss and come out the other side. Why do you think Luca reacts the way he does after the accident? What do you think has changed?
7. How do you think Luca and Mia change each other’s perspective on life throughout the novel?
8. Have you ever been to Italy? How do you think the setting impacted the way Mia was able to overcome her fears and see life in a new way?
9. If you could move anywhere in the world to make a fresh start, where would it be?
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ISBN: 9781489214539
TITLE: THE FLORENTINE BRIDGE
First Australian Publication 2017
Copyright © 2017 Vanessa Carnevale
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises (Australia) Pty Ltd, Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia 2000.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Cover design: Nada Backovic
Cover image: Woman: Photography by © Ildiko Neer / Trevillion Images
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