Again, I traveled to research the second book in The Wine Lover’s Daughter series, Finding Angelo. This time, the journey in the novel began in Paso Robles, California, the home and vineyard of Sofia and Nicholas Segantino. Sofia and Nicholas traveled to New York City for a late honeymoon. From there, Sofia embarked on an adventurous and dangerous trip to Tuscany and the Piedmont region in Italy in search of her missing great uncle, Angelo, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances twenty years ago.

The goal of my research was again to capture the unique features of the locals and the people, the vineyards of the Central Coast of California, the bustling life of New York City and Staten Island, and the diverse and fascinating countryside of Tuscany and the Piedmont region of Italy.

Let’s take a trip together through my novel, Finding Angelo (The Wine Lover’s Daughter, Book 2). Enjoy the journey from the convenience of your home. Click on the following link:

Picture Tour – Finding Angelo

One of the most interesting aspects of planning and writing a novel is doing research, meaning reading a lot, traveling to the locals where my novels take place, and taking pictures that fuel my imagination while writing.

I love to travel, and I find joy in “situating” my novels in locations I’ve come to know through past adventures or by exploring new destinations. Unlike a casual tourist, my travels are driven by the eye of a researcher, cataloging every detail—the landscapes, the quaint villages, the bustling cities, the local cuisine, and the diverse tapestry of people.

What sets this form of travel apart is the intent behind the journey. I’m trying to capture the essence of a place that will breathe life into my storytelling. It’s a journey where my camera becomes a tool not just for capturing memories, but for documenting scenes that will later inspire my writing.

Let’s take a trip together through my novel, The Italian Sister (The Wine Lover’s Daughter, Book 1). Enjoy the journey from the convenience of your home. Click on the following link:

Picture Tour – The Italian Sister

Dear bookworms and loyal readers,

I’m excited to let you know that all my novels are now available as audio books on Audible.com.

Check out the free samples:

Audio Books on Audible

Happy listening and have a great weekend!

Christa

Finally! This book took me forever to write, at least it seems that way, but here it is now. I’m very happy and grateful for the wonderful reviews it has garnered so far. Here is the blurb:

With a captivating mystery at its core, Letter from a Cave is a suspenseful journey through Switzerland and Italy that will make readers feel a gamut of powerful emotions. Fans of Christa Polkinhorn’s other novels will be delighted to meet a few familiar characters. Don’t miss your chance to get lost in this unforgettable story!

Andreas, a Swiss sculptor and stonemason, grieving the loss of his wife from three years ago, discovers an old, abandoned backpack in a cave during his hike in the Swiss mountains. What he finds within the backpack—a letter written by a young Jewish refugee during the Second World War to his pregnant wife in Italy—sets him on a quest with his friend, Luisa, to find out what happened to the man, to his wife, Bella, and her family in Italy. During their search, they meet both helpful people and those who try to prevent them, even by force, from digging into a past filled with heroism but also with cruelty and betrayal. Will the outcome of the quest bring closure and peace, or will it cause turmoil and heartache?

Review by Lisette Brodey:

I’ve read several of this author’s books over the years, and I was very happy to learn she had a new release, one that gives new adventures to established characters. It’s always great to see old friends. That said, this wonderful book doesn’t rely on past novels to be enjoyed.

Sculptor Andreas, who has been lonely and depressed since his wife’s death three years prior, often hikes into the mountains. One day, while with his dog in a cave, he is surprised when the dog unearths a backpack from years ago. Looking inside, Andreas finds a letter from an Italian man named Joshua to his pregnant wife, Bella during World War II. He realizes Joshua never made it home and his family most likely never knew what happened to him or that he had tried to make contact.

The emotional weight of the letter hits Andreas hard, and with the encouragement of his daughter, Emilia, and his son, Tonio, he sets off to Italy to see if he can do the impossible and track down Bella (if she’s still alive) or other family members. Tonio takes his sister and father to a vineyard in Tuscany where he has a friend, Julietta. Readers of the author’s previous book will remember Julietta and her mother, Luisa, from The Italian Sister.

From this point on, the story really takes off. I don’t want to summarize the plot, but rather offer a short commentary on why I found this book to be so special. Author Polkinhorn has several wonderful and heartfelt sub-plots flowing through the main story. All of them are skillfully woven together, beautifully emulating life and its twisty, unpredictable ways. I genuinely cared about every character.

Letter from a Cave offers suspense, romance, emotion, surprises, nostalgia, and so much more. The author’s gorgeous descriptions made it easy to visualize the scenes in Switzerland and Italy—not to mention making me hungry for Italian food.

This was truly a feel-good read, and I hope the author will continue to write more stories with her delightful characters. Already, I’m wondering how they’re all doing.

Thank you so much, Lisette!

Letter from a Cave, eBook

Letter from a Cave, paperback

Happy Reading!

I’m a writer but also an avid reader and I love to share books and authors I like. Murder in Tuscany (An Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Mystery, Book 1) by T A Williams is a novel which I thoroughly enjoyed and which takes place in one of my favorite parts of the world. Tuscany is also the locale of my own series The Wine Lover’s Daughter.

Here is my review on Amazon:

Newly retired DCI Dan Armstrong was given a retirement present by his colleagues at the force in England—the opportunity to attend a writing retreat at a stunning villa in beautiful Tuscany. While he is grateful for their generosity and the opportunity to finish writing his novel and leave his personal problems, among them a failing marriage, as well as rainy England behind him for a while, he is less enthusiastic about the genre of the literature taught at the retreat—erotica of all things. The somewhat strait-laced former policeman decides, however, to make the best of his time and try to fit in with the group of the other probably crazy writers.

If Dan thinks he left police work behind, he has a rude awakening a few days into the retreat when one of the people is found dead and it looks very much like murder. Together with his friend, the Italian detective, and his sidekick, Oscar, the enthusiastic and exuberant Labrador pup of the owner of the villa, he tries to shed light on the happenings and begins to uncover some very dark secrets among the attendees of the retreat and the hosts.

This is a fun and suspenseful mystery with interesting and quirky characters and vivid descriptions of Florence and the Tuscan landscape, the excellent food and wines. It kept me engaged from beginning to end and I look forward to part two of the series. Highly recommended!

The Italian Sister

Dear Friends and Book Worms,

My new (and fourth) novel, The Italian Sister, is on its homestretch. This time, I have the opportunity to win a publishing contract through the Kindle Scout program. This is a contest, organized by Amazon, where readers have an input on which books get published. It’s a new concept and it sounds exciting to me. The first step in the process is to get enough readers to nominate a book. Although this is not the only criteria for having the manuscript accepted, it is an important first prerequisite.

And this is where you come in. You can help me get enough votes. It’s very simple and it only takes a few seconds of your time. Click the link below, which will take you to my Kindle Scout campaign page, where you’ll find a short description of the book, an excerpt, a brief bio, and a few questions and answers, and the important NOMINATE button. This page will be up for 30 days, starting ??

Please click the NOMINATE button – but only once. If you click again, it will undo the nomination. This is of course to prevent some overly enthusiastic supporters from clicking it repeatedly and give the book an unfair advantage.

You will also get something for your help. If The Italian Sister is published through the Kindle Scout program, you’ll get a free Kindle copy!

And now, here is the link:

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/1I2WVS88HW5KR
 
After nominating the book, you can continue to help me by spreading the word to your friends and share my announcements and reminders on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus.

The competition on Kindle Scout is fierce, so I need all the help I can get. Thank you in advance for your support. It really means a lot to me.
Christa

Chapter 5 of my novel Love of a Stonemason. It is available both as Kindle ebook and trade paperback at Amazon and in different ebook formats at Smashwords. Average customer reviews: 5 stars.

Blurb and Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

     The Nordfoehn, a dry northern wind, had been blowing on and off all night. This wind was the only disadvantage in the otherwise ideal environment. Once in a while, it had an invigorating effect on Karla, but most of the time it made her feel irritable, anxious, even depressed, and gave her a headache.
     “All right. I guess I wasn’t meant to paint outside this morning,” she muttered, as another blast swept down on her. She gathered her painting tools and put them into her studio. She didn’t feel like finishing the painting inside, so she grabbed her sketch pad, sat down by the window, and thought about what to draw. She made several attempts, but was unable to concentrate.
     It wasn’t just the annoying wind. Ever since yesterday, she had been thinking of Andreas, his sculptures, his kiss. It had been more than a kiss between friends and it had stirred up emotions she didn’t care for. After a series of unsuccessful short-term relationships, Karla had decided to stay away from men for a while. And then this fierce, irritating, but oddly endearing guy with his biting humor had to turn up and unsettle her again.
     And the thing with Sarah. What was the real reason behind Sarah’s visit? Was it really just to apologize and talk about art?
     Sarah and Karla had had an on-and-off friendship for several years. They exchanged ideas about art, went to museums and galleries together, and sometimes critiqued each other’s work. The friendship, however, had cooled when Karla had caught Sarah sleeping with one of her boyfriends.
     Was Andreas attracted to Sarah? He had shown concern for her but Karla didn’t think he had more than friendly feelings for her. But then you never knew. And why should I even care? Karla tossed her drawing pad aside.
     The wind was blowing fiercely now, howling around the corners of the house and slamming one of the shutters close. When Karla stepped outside to fasten it again, she saw that the sky was a deep clear blue, the wind having wiped away all the clouds.
     Karla sat down again and forced herself to get a least one drawing done. She picked up her pad and a piece of charcoal. Almost automatically, she began to sketch Andreas, as she remembered him sitting in front of the stone slab. She realized she was out of practice drawing human figures, having focused mainly on landscapes. After several attempts, she ended up with a sketch she liked. It depicted his muscular body bending over the stone, a strand of hair hanging into his face. She left out the mask and goggles, wanting to show his face in profile.
     Perhaps she would give it to him on Saturday. Feeling more at peace again, she was ashamed of her anger at Sarah. She was her friend, after all, and Karla hadn’t even called her to find out how she was feeling after her breakdown at the opening. She picked up the phone and dialed Sarah’s number. It took a while before she answered.
     Sarah’s voice sounded tired. “I’m trying to take a nap.”
     “Sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you; I just wanted to know how you were,” Karla said.
     “I’m okay.”
     Sarah’s distant and cool voice irritated Karla. You make an ass of yourself at my first opening. You could at least apologize. “I heard you went to see Andreas.”
     “Yes. I did. I wanted to apologize.”
     “Oh, I see. Was that the only reason? You were all over him at the opening.”
     “So? What do you care? Are you two an item or something? How did you find out I went to see him?”
     Karla felt anger rise in her like bile. “He told me. He’s my boyfriend, Sarah.” Gee, what a lie.
     It was quiet for a while at the other end. Karla could hear Sarah’s breathing. Then her voice again, friendlier now. “Karla, look, he’s great. I felt really low the last few days. Just talking to him made me feel better. I have no intention of interfering in your relationship. You’re lucky to have him as a boyfriend.”
     Karla started to feel ashamed but she still distrusted Sarah. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
     “Oh, Karla, why bring up that old stuff. You weren’t even interested in the guy anymore.”
     “Yeah, but you didn’t know that when you jumped in the sack with him.”
     “Karla, you know what? You’re so fucking petty.”
     “Sarah, let’s not fight.” It was too late. Karla heard the click at the other end.
     Why can’t I keep my mouth shut? Karla lowered her head on her arms and sighed. Not only had she lied to Sarah about her relationship with Andreas, she had begrudged her friend the little encouragement he had given her as an artist.
     Perhaps Sarah was interested in Andreas. At least she was honest about her feelings. Karla, on the other hand, had appropriated Andreas, although she wasn’t even sure how she felt about him or how he felt about her. He had kissed her, he wanted to meet her again, but that was all. And Karla’s feelings for him? She liked him, she was even attracted to him, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to get involved.

     The following morning, it was raining, the Nordfoehn having collapsed the night before. The rain felt soothing after the harsh, dry northern wind and the sky was a lively display of towering dark clouds. The mountain tops were hidden behind layers of white mist. Stormy landscape, Rembrandt, Karla thought as she scanned the horizon. It had cooled off somewhat and the air smelled of burning wood from the neighbor’s oven.
     Later that day, Karla made an effort to clean out the storage room, which was overflowing with canvasses of half-finished and finished paintings as well as sketches on paper. She resisted this periodic chore. It forced her to decide which pieces she considered worth keeping and which she wanted to discard or paint over. Not an easy task; it required ruthless honesty and a discerning eye.
     Karla kept pulling paintings out of storage, putting them back in, pulling them back out again. In the process, she came across the canvass with the dark woman she had been struggling with. She glanced at it, shook her head, and decided to hang on to it. One day, perhaps, she would be able to finish it.
     In the evening, there was a pile of discarded sketches in the recycling bin and several canvasses that could be reused. The clean-up gave Karla a feeling of freedom. She took a deep breath and stepped outside to watch the evening settle in. It had stopped raining and the heavy clouds had thinned. The southern sky was pink with tints of purple and the evening breeze brought a whiff of wet grass.