Maria Grazia Swan | The Heart in My Settings

Once upon a time, travel was my answer to my problem. It was the adult version of running away from home…

First I would catch a flight to some foreign country. When I arrived at my destination, I’d haul out a travel guide to locate inexpensive hotels, hostels, or B & Bs. Twice I even stayed in people’s houses, with total strangers in Amsterdam! In all honesty, I wouldn’t even consider doing that today. Because both the world and I have changed.

Funny thing is, while I know there were travel fiascos, after all these years only the fun memories linger.

Now I draw from those memories when I write the Lella York series. My goal is to make each tale unique and give the reader a glimpse into someplace they may be unfamiliar with.

MURDER UNDER THE ITALIAN MOON, book #1, was easy. An unsettling nighttime encounter with an astrologer on the Ponte Vecchio Florence, Italy? Hey, it really happened. From there Lella travels home to Dana Point, Southern California, where I also lived. I had so much fun including local restaurants, streets, and stores—my old haunts. The writing came easily because the connection Lella feels to Dana Point I felt before her. Yes, even the love scenes. Only difference? Lella is a widow—I’m divorced. Then came book 2, DEATH UNDER THE VENICE MOON, set in my cherished homeland, a place I know like the back of my own hand—a place oh so close to my heart that my publisher, Gemma Halliday, encouraged me to draw my own map of that little corner of Northern Italy I still call home.

That brings us to book 3, DEATH UNDER THE DESERT MOON, just released. This one takes place in Phoenix, Arizona, my present home. You’re probably thinking easy peasy. Since I live here, all I have to do is look around. Wait—not so fast. Streets I drive on a daily basis, buildings I pass, stores and malls where I shop, cafes and restaurants where I eat—my habits have become so routine, I’ve discovered I no longer really see those places. I’ll find myself writing about a building I’ve driven by twice a day for the past ten years yet I suddenly can’t remember if it’s two stories or three, if it’s still pink or maybe repainted beige. I describe a bank and a few days later, I may pass it only to discover it’s now a different banking institution altogether…Noooo.

Eventually I made it through. Most of the action takes place in a fictional resort called Camelview Suites in the Central Phoenix-Paradise Valley area. Just to make the whole shebang more interesting, two weeks ago I sold my house and had to move in a hurry. Can you guess? I ended up moving to Camelback Road, just blocks from my fictional setting. That’s something I wouldn’t have guessed when I started this book. This only serves to prove something I’ve always believed: Life is stranger than fiction and can change in a heartbeat.

If you want to know more about Lella and my books, here is my website www.mariagraziaswan.com, don’t be shy, come by and say hello. From time to time I send out a newsletter, not often and never boring. When I do, I make sure to add a giveaway and something to make you smile. Still reading? Okay then, click on the link and join us. You won’t regret it, I promise

GIVEAWAY

Where do you think the next Lella York's story will take place? Tell me—don’t be shy. If you guess correctly, you’ll be eligible to receive an Advanced Reader’s Copy of book #4 of the Lella York series once it’s available (about 6 months from now). Plus two more winners will receive prizes. One will receive this gorgeous turquoise and silver bracelet; a beautiful reminder of the Arizona desert Lella York is bewitched by in DEATH UNDER THE DESERT MOON (US shipping only), and one will receive a digital copy DEATH UNDER THE DESERT MOON. (Open internationally)

About Maria Grazia Swan

Maria Grazia Swan was born in Italy, but this rolling stone has definitely gathered no moss. She lived in Belgium, France, Germany, in beautiful Orange County, California where she raised her family, and is currently at home in Phoenix, Arizona—but stay tuned for weekly updates of Where in the World is Maria Grazia Swan?

As a young girl, her vivid imagination predestined her to be a writer. She won her first literary award at the age of fourteen while living in Belgium. As a young woman Maria returned to Italy to design for—ooh-la-la—haute couture. Once in the U.S. and after years of concentrating on family, she tackled real estate. These days her time is devoted to her deepest passions: writing and helping people find happiness.

Maria loves travel, opera, good books, hiking, and intelligent movies (if she can find one, that is). When asked about her idea of a perfect evening, she favors stimulating conversation, spicy Italian food and perfectly chilled Prosecco—but then, who doesn't?

Maria has written short stories for anthologies, articles for high profile magazines and numerous blogs tackling love and life. She engaged her editorial and non-fiction skills for BOOMER BABES: TALES OF LOVE AND LUST IN THE LATER YEARS. Her romantic suspense novels LOVE THY SISTER and BOSOM BODIES are available at Amazon.com.

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About DEATH UNDER THE DESERT MOON

From award winning author Maria Grazia Swan comes a story of suspense, romance, and one mischievous cat...

How does a domestic black cat from Southern California become a stowaway and end up in Phoenix Arizona? That’s what Lella York wants to know as she crosses the desert, pedal to the metal, to bring her cat, Flash, back home. But something about a full desert moon bewitches Lella into staying in Arizona longer than she planned and playing house with the sexy Detective Lawrence Devin who is in Arizona as a special witness for an old murder case.

The desert is a land of extremes so it’s no surprise that Lella and Larry brave the heat to chase after a cold case. Throw in a hint of Russian mafia, some attractive flight attendants, and a ferret named Lucy, and Lella realizes what a dangerous place the desert can be under a full moon.