“Il Molo = One woman + two soulmates + the Italian seacoast + crime” – I thank Writers’ Lens for coming up with this equation of Il Molo as the title of an interview I gave on the website (See post) . This is the final element of the equation of Il Molo.   

The scene of the crime… next to the bastion on the the Punta Crena.

Although I love a well written book in almost any genre, the exception being science fiction, crime and thrillers remain my favorite. From John Grisham to Nicci French to Stieg Laarsen to Lee Child, the more crime and suspense the better – but not too much blood please.

In Il Molo, there is no blood, but there is a crime. A body on the beach of the spiaggetta. Who is it and why? In the dream version the mystery is never solved. This leaves Martha uneasy about the scenes she witnessed in her subconscious, especially when the dreams seem to become reality. In the real world, a crime of passion, one could say. A perceived sense of wrong, a too proud ego, a man who unjustly blames another.

Why here? The possibility of a crime in this relatively peaceful vacation spot is what inspired Il Molo.

In July 2010, I was sitting on Varigotti’s beach engrossed in another crime novel. An Italian friend (who inspired one of the characters in Il Molo) came to join me on the beach. Noticing that I was reading another thriller, he asked me if I could write one. My reply was “why not?” I immediately thought of the little beach, the spiaggetta, under the Punta Crena and imagined a murder, or a suicide, a body found on the beach, a police investigation.  The spiaggetta, sinister and unwelcoming to me, was the perfect spot for crime. I could very well imagine someone falling from the cliff above. I added an inept investigation by the local police in the dream version and a surprise motive in the real version.

There are still some surprises but I can’t reveal everything. I hope these four posts have inspired you to read the book.

Il Molo  – available on Amazon, paperback and Kindle.

#ilmolo

 “Il Molo = One woman + two soulmates + the Italian Seacoast + crime” – I thank Writers’ Lens for coming up with this equation of Il Molo as the title of an interview I gave on the website (See post) . This is the third element of the equation of Il Molo.

Ahh! Varigotti’s beach, spiaggia in Italian, is absolutely beautiful. In general the sea is clean, at least in the morning, and its western exposition means there is sun all day long. The beach is made up of tiny pebbles so you don’t have sand clinging to everything. Unfortunately the pebbles get really hot and by early afternoon it is impossible, at least for Martha, to walk on them.

Martha and Carl take their annual summer vacation in Varigotti. For them it is the ideal vacation spot filled with many cherised memories. The splendid beach is not the only attraction. The small resort, frequented mostly by Italians, is nestled between the hills and the sea. The village is picturesque and worth exploring.

The couple have been coming here for so many years that they know a lot of vacationers, if not by name at least by face. Over the years, they have watched children grow into adults. These young adults have started their own families and have made Varigotti their preferred paradise.

The molo in high season.

The molo, from whence the name of my book, or jetty, juts out into the sea, turning about halfway at a slight angle. It is about two meters high and is lined with huge boulders. The existing molo was built to break up the waves that would otherwise slam on to the beach. The photo shows an aerial view of the molo from the cliffs above. Also one of the heading photos on my blog shows the molo seen from the beach.

Not far from Varigotti’s beach is the small beach known as the spiaggetta in Italian. The spiaggetta is in an alcove backed by a cliff named the Punta Crena upon which stands an abandoned guard tower and bastion. The beach can be reached by swimming, by boat, by paddleboat, or by climbing down the Punta Crena. This beach is the scene of the crime!

Il Molo  – available on Amazon, paperback and Kindle.

Stayed tuned for – Crime – #ilmolo

 “Il Molo = One woman + two soulmates + the Italian Seacoast + crime” – I thank Writers’ Lens for coming up with this equation of Il Molo as the title of an interview I gave on the website (See post) . This is the second element of the equation of Il Molo.   

Can you be romantically attracted to two people at the same time? Do you have several soulmates, with whom you could be happy and even marry? Martha deals with this eternal question in Il Molo. Carl, her husband, whom she’s been with for almost twenty years, and Bjorn, ten years her junior, whom she met on the ski slopes not long after her move to Geneva.

The first time she met Carl, a sculptor, was at a gallery opening in Geneva. The encounter was brief. Her second meeting was almost a year later and once again at an art show opening in Geneva. At the time she found him very attractive and charming. She took the risk and was glad that she did. It was Carl that introduced her to Varigotti.

Her first encounter with Bjorn was also brief. And here is where Martha’s dream world distorts reality. She did meet him on the ski slopes when she went skiing with her then boyfriend. After that encounter she never Bjorn again. But…her dream world showed her another version and one that apparently held an important place in her subconscious.

When she runs into Bjorn in Italy her heretofore stable world is shaken. Even more so when she discovers that he may be a part of a tragic incident that took place in Varigotti at the beginning of that summer. Martha is confronted with her true feelings for Carl and Bjorn. Can she love two men at the same time? Could she have been happy with Bjorn?

Are these two men based on real people? I already answered this concerning Carl in the previous post. As for Bjorn? I am not at liberty to say.

Il Molo  – available on Amazon, paperback and Kindle.

Stay tuned for – the Italian seacoast – #ilmolo

“Il Molo = One woman + two soulmates + the Italian Seacoast + crime” – I thank Writers’ Lens for coming up with this equation of Il Molo as the title of an interview I gave on the website (See post).  The next four posts will delve a bit into each of the parts of the equation of Il Molo.   

Martha Nathan, the protagonist of Il Molo, is an expat living in Geneva Switzerland. This year she is enjoying her traditional summer vacation in Varigotti, Italy on the Ligurian seacoast, reading, relaxing and swimming in the beautiful Mediterranean.  She has some doubts about her career and her love for her husband. Being naturally optimistic and positive she tries not to let these doubts interfere with her vacation.

Dreams are an important part of Martha’s psyche. She dreams every night. Sometimes she remembers the scenario that she lived in her subconscious but most of the time only vague sensations or snippets stay with her once she wakes up.  Her fear is that the dreams are premonitory. She would prefer them not to be and would rather have them be only a reflection of incidents she experienced during the day. Her dreams are an integral part of Il Molo and lead the reader to the action that unfolds in Part II.

I will let you in on a little secret. The character of Martha (my mother’s name) is based on me, sometimes the real me and sometimes the imagined me. I have been living in Geneva since 1979, working in finance, and my husband and I do take our yearly summer vacation in Varigotti. I dream almost every night – fantastic, absurd, and sometimes scarily realistic dreams. I remember the dreams the first thing in the morning, but unfortunately, as my senses become assaulted by reality, the only thing left of my nighttime scenarios is a vague impression of what transpired.

Martha’s husband Carl is also based on a real person – my husband – who is an artist, a painter. One of his paintings graces the cover of the book. Carl’s approach to the world as related in the book is also real. For that I consider myself lucky. Most of the other characters are based loosely on friends and acquaintances.

Why did I decide to be so realistic in Il Molo? Because it was appropriate to the development of the story.

Il Molo  – available on Amazon, paperback and Kindle.

Stay tuned for – Two soulmates – #ilmolo