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Giovanna Siniscalchi Samples The Taste of Light

Katherine Grant: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Historical Romance Sampler Podcast. The place for you to find new historical romance books and authors to fan over. I'm award winning historical romance author Katherine Grant, and each week I'm inviting fellow authors to come on and share a little bit of their work and themselves.

They'll read a sample of one of their books, and then I'm going to ask them a bunch of questions. By the end of the episode, you'll have a sense of what they write and who they are. Hopefully, you and I both will have something new to read. So what are we waiting for? Let's get into this week's episode.

All right, I am So excited to be joined today by Giovanna Siniscalchi. Giovanna is a In Brazil, and she chased narrative arcs and climax points in the NASDAQ for 12 long years working as an economist. Still, her romantic imagination [00:01:00] was wasted in the financial markets, so she decided to put it to better use by writing fiction.

She is married with two great kids, and her passions are eclectic, including reading, traveling, surfing, wine, and of course, historical romance. Giovanna, I'm so excited to have you today!

Thanks so much Katherine.

Giovanna Siniscalchi: I'm so excited to be here. Thank you so much for receiving me.

Katherine Grant: So what are you reading for us today?

Giovanna Siniscalchi: Oh, I'm going to read from my second novel. And the title is The Taste of Light. And I chose this novel because I think my readers and myself agree that it is my best work. And I love it so much. And it's about Pedro, which is Portuguese. Aristocrat and he is a very complex character. He was the villain from my first novel, and in the second novel he is he [00:02:00] kind of lost, lost the love of his life and he is in a bad moment, and I loved it.

Charting his redemption from this very miserable and guilt ridden character into to this amazing hero that every reader loves and says, Oh my God, I wish I could, I could meet Pedro and I'm not going to forget him very soon. So I think this is my, my, my favorite book. And this is what I want to share.

Katherine Grant: Oh, I'm so excited to hear it.

Giovanna Siniscalchi: Okay.

I'll be reading from this passage, which is actually the characters meet cute. And I'm going to give a little bit of the setup. So Anne is an English lady. She has been living in Portugal since she's six years old. She came with her brother because they, [00:03:00] they lost everything in England. And her brother, he came to Portugal to start selling port wine because back in, in the 19th century because of the wars between England and Portugal I'm sorry, because England and France the drink of the hour.

The drink of the really patriotic England, English man, was port wine. So her brother came to Portugal to sell port wine to England. And she came with him and she grew up in Portugal and she is this she's very whimsical and very gentle and kind And she's all light. And she came to Portugal to she's living here and her brother, he he married a Portuguese woman and she has a vineyard.

And, and started she came to Portugal and started living with them in the vineyard and [00:04:00] her sister in law is pregnant and she decided to help her sister in law by visiting the neighboring wine properties to help them improve winemaking. So this is Anne. She just arrived at this beautiful property in the Douro Valley.

And she's very hopeful, very business like in her mind. She thinks she's very grown up at 18 and she wants to visit this property and give some advice. Some in part, some winemaking expertise and then this is, this is the setup. She, she knocks at the door and I start reading from, from, from this point. Anne strolled to the front entrance and fluffed her new dress. Made of ivory satin, the bodice hugged her torso and the overskirt opened to show layers of white too. The tiny grapes, a compliment to her embroidering skills, [00:05:00] added just a touch to the ensemble.

Satisfied, she appeared both feminine and businesslike. Anne reached for the brass knocker and made it resound two times. Several heartbeats passed. No birds chirped on the cypresses and no insects droned over the manicured flowerbeds. Even the breeze had hushed. She gazed longingly at the stables and lifted her hand to knock again when the door swung outwards, missing her by an inch.

In the doorway stood a grey liveried butler, his pockmarked face scrunched in a frown. He eyed her as if she was a bandit bent on invading his master's home. She forced a smile. "Hello, I'm Miss Anne." The servant grabbed her arm and pulled her inside the unlit vestibule. "Wait, what?" Barking Portuguese words she didn't understand, he steered her along a palatial foyer [00:06:00] and hallway

decorated with impressive military paintings. She had to take quick steps to avoid tripping on her skirts. When they arrived at a set of French doors adorned with blue panels, he halted. "Sir, if you will." Without knocking, he shoved it open and signaled impatiently for her to go inside. Anne entered gingerly, heart beating in her throat.

"Espere aqui." The butler banged the door shut and left. What was wrong with him? Anne stared at the stained glass, catching her breath. The poor man must have confused her words. Either her Portuguese was not as good as she believed, or he spoke a dialect. Soon she would laugh at this over a steamy cup of tea.

Anne spun in a circle, her slippers reflecting over the travertine floor. Light peeked from slits on the velvet drapery, hardly enough [00:07:00] to satisfy her curiosity. Shadows played over the Venetian mirrors and on the gilded leaves and rose festooning the ceiling. Opposite, a grand piano loomed an assortment of guns and wicked swords.

Anne touched the tip of a curved saber and pinpricked rose along her skin. A chaise lounge stood at the other corner, pillows scattered over its damask upholstery. A coffee table had liquor bottles as adornments. She brought one to her nose and grimaced at the alcohol fumes. What a shame to ill use such a superb room.

Anne touched the piano keys, the notes echoing through the height ceiling, conjuring a dazzling balls. Villanova's residents would enjoy coming here to dance. How selfish to keep it hidden. On top of an oak desk lay an ancient tome, and [00:08:00] trailered fingers over the red and gold title, The Infinite Love of D.

Pedro and Inês de Castro. Her gaze flitted to the door, and seeing it still closed, she opened the book. Albuquerque Castle, June 1312. Inés searched the Castilian skies. Arturus, the queen of stars and stars of queens. Her star shone mildly. It must be a sign, had the witch not said her fat fate awaited in Portugal.

Out in the courtyard, the moon's braid jingled their harnesses. Impatience should take her there. Just a moment, moon. With agile fingers, Ines braided the flowers into a fragrant bouquet. Odd numbers for luck, daffodils for truth, blue bells for health, roses for love, and the hyacinth for joy. She couldn't begin this journey without happiness.[00:09:00]

Before the tale swept her away and stopped reading, the romance was another oddity. This property must get the richest in the region and by far the most desolate. Who lived here? The question gnawed at her insides, spurring her to explore further. She paused before a life sized painting of an officer wearing the marshal's uniform.

His face was vaguely familiar with a severe mustache and white hair. What if war had left him deformed? That's why this neighbor would not socialize and allowed his vineyards to die and could help. Why not bring him into their society? A breath of light would soften the heart of a weary soul. A draft left the hairs on Anne's neck, and the top of her ears pricked.

The butter must have upset her nerves. [00:10:00] Brushing the exposed skin of her arms, Anne turned. On the darkest side of the room, her inquiry in a throne like chair, features concealed by shadows was a man. Had he been there all the time? Anne thanked her bonnet for concealing the fierce heat that coursed through her face.

How would she convince him to rebuild his vineyards after he caught her snooping? He rose and yielded unfolding his lean, tall frame graciously. Anne waited for him to speak, to introduce himself, her heart battering against her ribs. He crossed the ballroom with purpose and force, the gait of one who commanded all with a wave of his gloved hands.

Anne's gaze was drawn to his unfashionably long hair, the burnished gold strands reaching his shoulders. He wore it tight at the neck in the style of a noble [00:11:00] from France's first empire. He stood before her. His expression could be carved from marble, so little feeling it showed. Was he displeased? Anne inhaled to speak, but his eyes scrambled her apology, their irises nuanced from tawny to yellow, like a kaleidoscope made of shattered topaz.

He tilted his head, and the aloofness vanished, replaced by a sardonic smile that caused her cheeks to burn. Anne hid her gaze behind her eyelids, and if there were a hole in the floor, she would hide her head too. He wasn't an old general, and he most certainly wasn't deformed. "I can explain," the girl said, wringing her little hands.

Pedro blinked several times, but he had not invoked the image. An apparition, in a clouded dress, stood in the middle of his hangover. Mayhap the report had made him delirious. Light from [00:12:00] the stained glass danced on her girl's skirts. A wide brimmed bonnet covered her head and face. Still her swan-like neck, dainty shoulders, and trim back offered tantalizing glimpses of her curves.

Nothing like the jaded whores the madam had sent last time. This must meet his brother's doing still. Pedro hadn't had a woman since carmen and his body decided it was done with celebrity. Pedro circled her. "You smelled my liquor. You tested my blades. You've read my book. Care to try the couch? See if it's soft?" He might be wrong, with the veil covering her face, but he could bet her cheeks had turned a pretty shade of pink.

Her lace-covered fingers traced the grapes embroidered in the body's furiously. Was she nervous? But he had barely begun. What was her game? To pretend [00:13:00] innocence? Intrigued, Pedro took a step closer. With a sharp intake of breath, she stilled. "I shouldn't have touched your things. I came to-" "I know why you came," Pedro whispered in her ear.

Her fragrance was layered like a delicate white wine. What did she look like beneath the tulveio? Would the illusion of innocence keep after he removed the bonnet? With a swift gesture, he unlaced the bow under her chin and flicked the hat away. Her hair cascaded down her back and flirted with her hips, the unusual champagne strands curly enticingly.

"Please, this is improper." She crossed her arms over her chest as if he had bared her clothes, a flush rising on her pearly skin. Her face, blue, innocent eyes, and rose lips. Only a beauty mark above [00:14:00] the left corner of her lip added a mischievous note to her celestial containers. Loveliness, such as hers, belonged in a Raphael painting, peeking at humanity from a lofty pastel cloud.

What the devil should he do with an angel? "She shouldn't have sent you here. Didn't she tell you what I do with breakable girls?" She laughed nervously and reached for her discarded bonnet, her hand shaking. "Why? I'm not made of porcelain or crystal. I'm quite strong. Indeed, I -" "Then why do you tremble?" Pedro caressed her cheek, feeling the downy hairs rise to meet his fingertips.

She replaced the hat, her fingers fumbling with the ribbons. "I will assure you, sir, I came here for a business reason, and I'm perfectly indifferent." Pedro caught the offending object and flung it away. Business, indeed. She thought this was a transaction, [00:15:00] didn't she? It was the only sensible notion the girl had spouted since she stepped into his life.

While she watched him with widened eyes, Pedro brushed his thumb over the naked skin above her glove. She stopped speaking, and the tip of her tongue came out to lick her bottom lip. She wasn't indifferent to him. Why the knowledge mattered when he was paying, he could not say, only that it did. A vision flashed of her touching him, dragging her delicate fingers over his arms, and he released her hand.

"Are you new to this?" "Yes, I've just started." "Say no more." Pedro silenced her with a fingertip over her mouth. He would not touch an angelic whore new to the trade. He would not trace her frowning brows and would not relieve her of the tight corset. He would not tie her hands and bend her over the piano. He [00:16:00] would not release her champagne hair and see it reflected over the lacquered surface while he pounded his lust on her until she screamed.

Who was he fooling? The screaming would start before he brought her to release, most likely when he showed her the robes. "Look at me." Pedro lifted her chin. She obeyed, and her eyelashes unveiled the bluest irises he ever navigated. The depths swirled with emotion, and he got lost in the ocean of her eyes.

To hell with good intentions. Pedro cradled her face, his leather clothed palms engulfing her cheeks. The girl clamped her eyelids shut. He came closer, their breath mingling. Kissing whores wasn't part of his transactions, but her impossibly soft lips lured him. He paused for a second and then tipped her head and joined their lips.

Warmth floated [00:17:00] his body, the sounds and sights of his scenes receding, leaving only roses and tea, silky strands of hair against his skin, and the pounding of his heart. Pedro broke the kiss. The pull was dangerous. It took him several seconds to still his breathing and push her away from him. "Run, little angel.

Fly back to whatever cloud you came from and don't come back. Be thankful I'm not in the mood to give chase."

Katherine Grant: Wow. What a yummy misunderstanding.

Thank you so much for reading that for us. I have a lot of questions for you, but first we're going to take a break for our sponsors.

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Katherine Grant: All right. Well, I am back with Giovanna Siniscalchi, who just read a sample from The Taste of Light. And one of the first things that stands out to me is that this takes place in Portugal. Mm hmm. A place we don't often get to visit in the historical romance genre. So, can you tell us a little bit about why you decided to set it in Portugal, and how you [00:19:00] approach world building Portugal for readers who don't often encounter it?

Giovanna Siniscalchi: Okay, of course. I've always loved historical romance. My first, my first novel was from Julie Garwood. It was Honor's Splendour. And I remember picking it up from a bookstore, and I had no idea what the Genre was or are romance for that matter, I used to read only literary fiction and textbooks.

So I caught this, this book and it was like a fairy tale with spicy things and I love it so much and for, I don't know, like 12 years, I only read historical romance and then, but I never crossed my mind to write a novel. But then in 2018, I went to Portugal and we, we were visiting the Douro Valley, which is [00:20:00] where they make port wine and

I think it is the most beautiful place I ever visited. This beautiful, the scenery with the river, the terraces for the vineyards, and the Quintas, which is the properties that produce wine. So perfect and the people there is so embracing, so kind, so typical the culture and I went there and in one of these properties, there was this this black and white picture of a couple

which was an Englishman and a Portuguese woman. And it captured my imagination because I thought, oh my god, this, there is a historical romance here because they were dressed in Victorian clothes. And it was this amazing scenery through the window, you could see the Douro

river, which is very [00:21:00] beautiful. And I thought that, oh my God, there is a story here. And I came back to my home after the trip and I started to research about the time, this Victorian time in Portugal. And I learned that the story of port is very rich. Because it involves the Napoleon Wars and when Britain decided to stop buying wine from France and had to buy wine from one of its only friends in Europe, by that time it was Portugal.

So they created this relationship of friendship through wine. And most incredibly despite all this, this, this British man that went to Portugal to sell wine back to Britain. They created a community in Portugal. They are still there today, but they didn't marry. [00:22:00] With in with Portuguese women, they had their own clubs, their own spot at the beach their own culture, their own church, everything was a part.

So that couple that I saw was actually the exception to the rule because they didn't intermarry. That was like completely separate. So that makes me even more intrigued to understand what made a couple come together and create one of the most important families in Portugal. So that's when I decided, no, I need to write about this.

But I realized I didn't know the first thing about writing a novel. So then I started taking courses, I did an MFA in creative writing, everything to write this story because I couldn't imagine [00:23:00] writing any other book because sometimes people, why, why did you choose Portugal for your first novels, for your first series?

Because this is not marketable. This is not what everybody wants to read. And my answer is I couldn't write about anything else because this was the story that I needed to. So I learned to write because of this story.

Katherine Grant: Wow. That's so interesting.

 You mentioned Julie Garwood. Are there any romance authors or romance books that you really drew inspiration from when you were thinking about this particular story?

Or maybe not for The Taste of Light, but for Book One, where you had that couple in your head. Was there any story that you were like, oh, it's like this story?

Giovanna Siniscalchi: Yes, I think, I don't know if there isn't a single source of inspiration, but I always loved Lisa Klepas. And Tessa Dare and Julia Quinn. It was a bit [00:24:00] like this muses for me.

 I also think that when I started writing, I had this whole bunch of cliches in my mind. So the first draft of that, the first book was like filled of cliches. And because of, I think that we consume so much of the same tropes, the same characters from historical romances that when, that when you just begin writing, they are kind of all that you can think about.

And the kind of the they find their way into your first draft, but then I make this a decision to stop reading historical romance while I'm writing, because I think it is very easy to be influenced by others. By other novels and other styles. So I try to keep whenever I first think about an [00:25:00] idea for a scene, for a character, I try to stop and think, have I, I read this somewhere?

Is this really original? Is this something that I can say, oh, I came up with this or this is something that I read somewhere? So then nowadays I, I am more, I think I'm more I kind of detox myself from all this because I try to read other genres to kind of make my writing more, more fresh. But, but this is me.

I know that this is not everyone, but it's just that I, I don't know. I feel that I, I cannot, I am very influenced by what I read. I feel like, my mind is a garden and whatever I plant, whatever I'm reading is like these seeds. And then what I write is the crops.

So , if I don't, if I read historical romance, I [00:26:00] will be only recycling what I'm reading. And I think it's, it's not worth it. And so I try to, to to read other stuff in order to, to be more, more creative. But I, I think that's a really.

Katherine Grant: Yeah, I think that's a really good insight that you had into your first draft, which was that you were pouring out all of the things that you had kind of been holding on to from decades of reading historical romance.

And I think, personally, that the joy of historical romance is seeing those tropes that we love, but in the hands of an author who finds ways to add nuance or, or use them to get to something that we haven't seen done before, or something that feels very unique to that story and those characters.

Well, I think it's a good time to move into our game, love it or leave it.

Katherine Grant: So, Giovanna, do [00:27:00] you love it or leave it? Protagonists meet in the first 10 percent of the book.

Giovanna Siniscalchi: I love it. And I think it's, it's not so much me as an author, but I think it's kind of to the reader because I think that the romance part, when the characters are together on the page, is like the engine of historical romance.

And it is very difficult to keep the reader's attention in this world that we live in, that are so much with distractions. If you don't introduce yourself. your characters together right in the beginning. So I try to, whenever I'm plotting and outlining a romance, I try to speed up the, the meet cute because I understand that readers will not

be as involved in the story, if the engine with this, this all the source of tension [00:28:00] of expectations of the novel is not introduced right in the beginning.

Katherine Grant: All right Love It or Leave It, dual point of view narration.

Giovanna Siniscalchi: I love it. As a reader, I love knowing what both characters are thinking and how the romance is affecting both points of view.

And as a writer, I love it. I also love it because when I'm designing the characters, I try to choose a flaw for them that are opposites. So while working on the dual point of views, I can expose to the reader how these flaws are changing, how the characters are arcing. So the, the dual point of view, it's a wonderful opportunity to show the characters

reaching each other in their, their subconscious and their emotions. I think it's much more rich than seeing just one side of the story. [00:29:00]

Katherine Grant: Absolutely. Love it or leave it, third person, past tense.

Giovanna Siniscalchi: It's another convention of the historical romance. Recently I've been writing a little bit on first person, present tense, but it's for another genre, it's for fantasy.

But in historical romance if you write in first person in per present tense, you will not be excited. I, I saw a lot of authors trying and nobody likes it , so it's kind a .

Katherine Grant: Yeah. Okay. Love it or leave it. Third act breakup or dark moment.

Giovanna Siniscalchi: I love it. Because I think also this is a kind of a very controversial issue in the Instagram. People discuss it all the time, but I think that the way I see story, it's like you have a problem. And this the character in order to solve this problem, he has to [00:30:00] solve something inside of himself.

I call it, and many people does, it's like this, his sacred flaw. He has to solve his sacred flaw in order to solve this problem. So in the last act, this is something human. We don't want to change. It is very hard to change. So when faced with the necessity to change, we will fight very hard in order not to change.

And, and by the last moment we will be tested in this, this, our conviction to change. And there will be this moment where we try to keep our flaw the way it is. So this is something very human of us to try to keep our identities the same until the very last possible minute.

So that's why it works. For my stories, usually my characters are flawed. So [00:31:00] in the crisis, they will have to make a choice. And the first choice it is, I won't change. And then you have the break.

It is kind of in order to get this love, which is the goal of the story, the goal of their lives, they will have to break first before, before actually changing. So I'm a very fan of, I love it when there is a very well done break because it is the moment that you cry, we have like this catharsis

right for the reader. Oh, we had so much emotion and now is the time that you cry, that you feel this in, in your gut, you know?

Katherine Grant: Yeah. All right. Love it or leave it. Always end with an epilogue.

Giovanna Siniscalchi: Ah, yes. Love it. I think it's, because always my novels,

they have something else going on and sometimes with high stakes. And with other characters [00:32:00] involved, and I try to keep the climax of the story, this very emotional scene where what is solved is the, the issue between the protagonists. This is the moment where they solve their issues and they get together.

And if I were to introduce the ending of the side characters of the story world in the scene, it would get like, it would be anti climactic, would drain all the tension from this climax scene. So that's why I prefer to include an epilogue where I show to the reader, oh, this is what happens to the side characters.

This is what their life will be from now on and so on. So I like to keep all this amazing tension for the climax and the epilogue is cool. It's like the, the closing of the curtains in the cinema. It's, it's this moment.

Katherine Grant: Yeah. All [00:33:00] right. And love it or leave it. Share research in your author's note.

Giovanna Siniscalchi: I love it.

I love it because it's not something that you are required to read it. If you are a reader and you are you just finished the story, you don't have to read the author's note. You can simply close the novel. But if you are interested in all the I think most, most readers are want to know if is, is, was that true?

What is, is it true that 90% of the vineyards in Europe died during the ox, Sarah, was it true that there was a curse? For the Portuguese king, is it true that there was an earthquake in Lisbon that killed 50 percent of the population? There was so much, so many rich factors, and I want to tell to the readers, Oh no, it is true, this is true, this [00:34:00] is true, and this is, no, this is fiction.

So I like to think, I think I owe it to the readers to give them this. This, this moment of, no, this is true, this is not, just because I, I tried to put a lot of research in the novel, so I think that they, most of them, they, they end up with this, this curiosity, what is real and what is not.

Katherine Grant: Yeah. All right.

And my last question is, are there any other romance roles I didn't ask about that you like to play with or break?

Giovanna Siniscalchi: I think that we talked a little bit about this, but I think that I love the tropes of historical romance, and I absolutely love to play with them, and for instance, the one bed. How can we take the one bed trope and create something different and new?

So [00:35:00] in this this novel that I'm working right now, and it is a Regency one, because I decided that I want to have a marketable romance. And this one, there's going to be one chair, so it is there's one chair, and I love the common tropes and turn them something new and also characters because we have this archetypes characters in historical romance like the Bluestocking, the Spinster, the Rake and the Duke and try to transform them from the cardboard characters that you kind of read one rake and you kind of read them all they are kind of all the same and try to really add some depth.

How can I take one rake and transform him into a person with a very different dimensions and with humor, with a dark side with [00:36:00] fears and who can be you can sense that there is a person behind the rake, let's say. So I love this about, about historical romance, the possibility of working with these archetypes.

Katherine Grant: Yeah, that's lovely. Well, thank you so much, Giovanna. This has been a fantastic conversation. Where can our listeners find you and your books?

Giovanna Siniscalchi: Okay, so I'm I'm on Amazon on Kindle Unlimited, and you can search for my series, which is The Winemakers. And I'm also on Instagram. It is Giovanna Siniscalchi. And on Facebook, also Giovanna Siniscalchi, and on Goodreads Giovanna Siniscalchi you can find me everywhere.

Katherine Grant: I'll put a link to your website in the show notes so everyone can find you.

Giovanna Siniscalchi: Okay, thank you so much, Katherine. It's been such a pleasure and I wanted to thank you for being such [00:37:00] a great support for the general because our general is so fantastic and I love it that you're bringing it for us more people and helping to spread the word about it.

It is such a a commendable effort and I'm, I'm really appreciate it.

Katherine Grant: Well, thank you. That's so sweet. Well, I really appreciate you coming on and I'm glad to have gotten to talk to you.

That's it for this week. Check out the show notes where I put links for my guests, myself, and the podcast. Until next week, happy reading.