Hello Lovelies! Please excuse our dust while we do a bit of construction on the blog. We will still be posting exciting reviews, brilliant guest posts, and exciting giveaways but we are in the process of transforming the blog and adding new content and features for you to enjoy.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Blog Post by author Donna Russon Morin and Giveaway

Readers need that sense of inspiration to pick up a book, whether it’s the cover, the blurb, or the author themselves, something grabs the reader and makes them need to read the story. For me, writing is the same…I must be inspired by my story, I must feel the need to know it, before I can write it.

I had always been a fan of Katie Couric through the many years she worked on the Today Show. So when she was appointed as the anchor of the CBS Evening News, I tuned in despite my typical aversion to television news programs, feeling a sense of camaraderie and sisterhood for a woman trying to break boundaries. How could I know that just a few weeks into her tenure, a two minute story would provide me incredible fodder for my second book?

It was a feature story about the glassmakers of Murano. While other countries were vainly attempting to imitate the artistry of the centuries old craft, few had come close to revealing the secret of the glass—the particular formula that made Murano glass so exceptional. Laced throughout the story were snippets of Murano glassmaking history. One point in particular caught and captured my imagination: for hundreds of years the glassmakers of Venice were virtual prisoners in their own land, captives of their government, a powerful republic determined to keep the prestige and the profit produced by the glass for themselves.

The percussion of inspiration in my mind was as loud as a foghorn blast in the middle of starkly still night. Within a half hour of viewing the story, I had a two page synopsis written, a complete plot mapped out about a young Murano woman who must somehow save herself while protecting the ‘secret of the glass,’ a phrase that would become the title of my second book.

Other than what I had gleaned from the news, I knew little of Venetian history and that of the glassmakers, though I was enthusiastic to begin my research. Always a favorite part of the process for me, the subject matter would also take me to the land of my ancestors (of full Italian descent, I am but a second generation American as proud of the land of my antecedents as I am of my homeland). Having spent the previous year researching France for work on my first book (The Courtier’s Secret, Kensington, Feb. 09), I couldn’t wait for my time in Venice.

And there, between the pages that brought the old world to life, I found Galileo. I was unaware of how much time he had spent in the magical city, unaware how prominently the land figured into his story and he in Venice’s. I was astounded when I learned that, like myself, the professor suffered from a chronic illness. The more I read, the more sure I became that, had the astronomer been privy to modern day medicine, his diagnosis would have been auto-immune, like my own. I found kinship in his tale of determination, one echoed in the story of the land itself and the people that had made it so unique.

It became a daily thrill to tell their story, to give breath to these marvelous characters. On every page are the words their inspiration gave to me.


The Secret of The glass
By Donna Russo Morin


If you'd like to win a copy of The Secret of the Glass then just leave a comment and be a follower of this blog. Winner will be announced in 2 weeks.

40 comments:

Unknown said...

Great post! I love hearing from authors and the book sounds especially captivating.

brokenteepee said...

Thank you for another great post in this series. I have truly enjoyed them all.
Please enter me.
kaiminani at gmail dot com

Dwayne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Aleksandra said...

If the giveaway it's international, than sign me up :)
I'm already a follower :)

Linda said...

Interesting tie-in with Katie Couric - I'm also a fan of hers, wish she was still on Today. I would love to win this book.

And I follow your blog via Google Reader.

Thanks for the giveaway.

Sandy Jay said...

Sounds interesting. I'd really love to read it.

I'm a follower.

forwhlz at gmail dot com

Wendy said...

This book sounds wonderful!

Thank you for the entry!

Wendy
wendysfictionaddiction(at)gmail(dot)com

Jennifer | Mrs Q Book Addict said...

I'd love a chance to win a copy.

I'm a follower.

quirion (at)me.com


Jennifer@Mrs. Q: Book Addict
http://web.me.com/quirion

misskallie2000 said...

This book sounds fasinating. I really want to read it. I also love Murano Glass, so beautiful. I loved the way the concept of this book began, by watching the news. You can learn a lot of nice things and interesting history facts on the news along with the bad and sad.
The review was awesome. Thanks for the opportunity to enter contest.

I am follower via GFC
I am subscriber via email

misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com

Blodeuedd said...

Same with me, if it is open to all then I am in :)
blodeuedd1 at gmail dot com

This book sure sounds good, glass, have not been that interested in it, but I do like a book that can make something I have never thought about fascinating

Beth said...

This looks great! Please enter me!

I'm a follower.

BethsBookReviewBlog AT gmail DOT com

Bekah said...

wow. I love how she started writing it. That's how a lot of my research starts. I learn a little something and end up delving deep into a new subject. I follow you. please enter me in the contest.

freedom_turtle AT hotmail DOT com

bianca_riot said...

Looks great!.if its international- Australia,
enter me please =). I already Follow.

bianca.riot.08(at)hotmail(dot)com

Lisa Richards/alterlisa said...

Sounds great. I love historical fiction and don't think I've ever read one set in Venice.

follower

alterlisa AT yahoo Dot com

Mystica said...

I love how a chance comment started this book and how you got your inspiration to write this.

Thank you for the giveaway and yes I am a follower. Please count me in.


mystica123athotmaildotcom

Curling up by the Fire said...

That was a great post and I enjoyed reading it. I love historical fiction and would love to be entered in this giveaway.

I am a follower.

icewoman96 at gmail dot com

Mitzi H. said...

I love this kind of story. Please enter me too!!!

I'm a follower on GFC.

mitzihinkey at sbcglobal dot net

Kelsey said...

Please enter me, I'd LOVE to win this. I am a follower.

Thanks,
Kelsey
krae991@yahoo.com

Martha Lawson said...

This ounds like an interesting book! Please enter me for it.

I am a follower on google friend

mlawson17 at hotmail dot com

buddyt said...

Just goes to show ideas can come from anywhere !

I often find that when I enjoy a book it is because the author has bothered to really research the subject they are writing about.

Please enter me in the giveaway.
I am a Follower.

Carol

buddytho {at} gmail DOT com

Dani said...

Awesome post and review please enter me in the drawing i am follower a well

Anita Yancey said...

Sounds very interesting, I'd like to read it. Thanks for the chance.

ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

Jen at Introverted Reader said...

This sounds great! I'd love to win! Thanks!

ibeeeg said...

This sounds like a fabulous premise for a story. I am always fascinated by the research that an author does to bring their story to life. The research, the knowledge gained is amazing.

I would love to win a copy.
ibeeeg(at)gmail(dot)com

host said...

Sounds like a great story!
Please count me in :=

Amanda said...

This sounds like a lovely read! Thanks for the chance to win!

Celticlady's Reviews said...

Interesting topic. Amazing what you can learn here in bloggerville, please enter me I am a follower...

momkelly2003@yahoo.com

Thank you!!

Notobe said...

Great giveaway. Please count me in.

nocas82[at]gmail[dot]com

Unknown said...

Great post, I always like to read more about authors, so I see the person behind the book :-)

Please enter me in the contest,

stella.exlibris (at) gmail DOT com

Amanda Leigh said...

Wonderful post! This sounds like a very interesting read!

notreallysouthernvampchick(at)gmail(dot)com

ossmcalc said...

I first heard of Murano Glass from my neighbor when she was showing me the items that she had brought back from her trip home to Italy. She actually grew up near where the Murano Glass is made. Based on the stories that she has shared with me, I would really love to read this book.

Thank you,

Christine
womackcm@sbcglobal.net

ossmcalc said...

I forgot to mention that I am a follower of this blog. I am unsure as to whether this should be a separate entry or not.

teabird said...

I'd love to read this - thank you! I'm a follower --

teabird17 AT yahoodotcom

Laura said...

Thanks for the opportunity! I'm a follower on bloglines.

Laura

Keyes97 (at) aol (dot) com

Shannon said...

I follow through Google Reader. Thank you!

sliugarcia@gmail.com

Oregon Kimm said...

I love hearing about what inspires an author. Such an unusual story! Thank you for sharing it.

I look forward to reading the book. It's on my list.

Oregon Kimm
oregonkimm(at)gmail(dot)com

Sarah E said...

Please enter me in this giveaway!

I'm a follower.

saemmerson at yahoo dot com

Sarah E

CherylS22 said...

I'd love to read this book! I've always admired the beautiful glass that comes from the Murano glass company in Venice. Thanks for the opportunity!
I follow in GFC

Carol W. said...

I follow with Google Friend Connect, and I'd love to read this book. I love Venice.

wolfcarol451(at)gmail(dot)com

Cindy W. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.