Anita Abriel was born in Sydney, Australia. She received a BA in English literature with a minor in creative writing from Bard College. She is the internationally bestselling author of The Light After the War, Lana’s War, and A Girl During the War. She lives in California with her family.
Today, to celebrate the recent release of her new book The Italian Girl, Anita Abriel is on the blog to take on our Ten Terrifying Questions! Read on …
Anita Abriel (Photo by David Perry).
1. To begin with, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?
I was born in Sydney and attended Kambala School. When I was a teenager, my family moved to America and I attended college in New York before getting married and settling in California.
2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?
When I was eight years old, I won The Australian‘s best young writers contest in my age group. My name and photo were in the newspaper and from that moment I wanted to be a writer. Apart from being a mother, it has always been my life goal.
3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you don’t have now?
I believed nothing was more important than travel and seeing other countries. While that is wonderful, now I love staying home with my family.
4. What are three works of art – this could be a book, painting, piece of music, film, etc – that influenced your development as a writer?
My writing has been influenced by classic movies – To Catch a Thief with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly to name one, because of the wonderful dialogue and fabulous locations and Grace Kelly’s amazing dresses. It is also inspired by blockbuster authors of the 1980’s like Judith Krantz. I adored Princess Daisy because she is such a strong heroine. And I have always loved Monet’s paintings – particularly his haystacks. I’m a fan of beauty in things whether it is art or fashion or just one’s surroundings.
5. Considering the many artistic forms out there, what appeals to you about writing a novel?
I love writing novels because I lose myself in the locations and the characters. The characters become very real to me. I can’t wait to return to them each day, and I care so much about what happens to them.
‘I’m a fan of beauty in things whether it is art or fashion or just one’s surroundings.’
6. Please tell us about your latest book!
The Italian Girl is about the daughter of an art gallery owner in Rome during the German Occupation in World War II. Marina’s father is murdered by the Germans for hiding a Jewish artist and she goes to stay with a well-known art collector at his villa outside of Florence. While there, she becomes involved with the Resistance and falls in love. It is about courage and love and how the war threatened the great art collections of Europe.
7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?
I hope they form a new understanding of how brave ordinary people were during the war, particularly young people. Men and women like Marina who were in their early twenties, did everything they could to fight the Germans.
8. Who do you most admire in the writing world and why?
I admire all authors! It can be a lonely profession and it takes a lot of self-discipline to sit for hours a day and write.
9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?
I always want to be able to write another book and have people read it. I love my readers and can’t wait to share with them the stories and characters I create.
10. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Write what you love to read, and others will want to read it too.
Thank you for playing!
—The Italian Girl by Anita Abriel (Simon & Schuster) is out now.
The Italian Girl
Rome, 1943: Marina Tozzi adores her father Vittorio and working together in his art gallery is her only escape from the reality of the Nazi occupation. Not only has Marina inherited her father’s passion for art but she is earning a reputation as an expert in her own right.
However, Vittorio is keeping a deadly secret from his daughter. He has been hiding a Jewish artist in their basement and one day Marina returns home to find her father has been brutally murdered by a German officer. Devastated, Marina flees to Florence to seek help from a man who owes Vittorio his life...
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