I put the finishing touches on the first full draft of my newest manuscript not that long ago, and let me tell you that it feels really good. I always liken writing a book to birthing a baby, so now perhaps the baby is freshly born but will still need a lot of mothering before it makes its debut in the world. (I may be overdoing that metaphor.) Anyway, the first draft is complete, even has an extremely tentative title, and while I know it will need more drafts and edits before its ready to hit the bookstores, it is nonetheless an exciting milestone for an author, especially after spending many months of writing (also known as tearing your hair out, procrastinating, etc.).
For those of you wondering what it’s about, it’s the incredibly story of a real life Venetian courtesan who lived in the second half of the sixteenth century. More to come soon!
In the meanwhile, speaking of Venice, on April 2, 2025, the world celebrates the 300th birthday of Giacomo Casanova! This drawing of the legendary lover was created by his brother Frederico in 1774.
Casanova was the official theme of this year’s Carnevale, which just wrapped. If you missed that celebration, you might want to mark the man’s birth at the Casanova in Time Symposium, running in Venice June 5-7, 2025. More Casanova @300 events listed here. But perhaps the most fitting way to celebrate Casanova is by reading his autobiography called The Story of My Life.
BLAST FROM THE PAST:
I was looking through some personal digital archives and stumbled across this beautiful video my husband made for the launch of my very first book, The Sidewalk Artist. Set to a perfectly haunting song by Ben Harper, the video portrays the book’s launch in 2006 (I cannot fathom that was almost 20 years ago!) and the gorgeous sidewalk drawing of the cover created at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto by the very talented Chalkmaster Dave, who I’m happy to say still seems to be making art.
I hope you enjoy the video.
Gina Buonaguro 