Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with Elena & Michela Martignoni:
Book Title: Double Murder at the Grand Hotel Miramare
Released: 07/11/23
Genre: Adult Murder Mystery
Interview by Heather L. Barksdale
What inspired you to write “Double Murder at the Grand Miramare Hotel”?
Elena & Michela Martignoni: The hotel, undoubtedly. From the beach where we spent our holidays every summer, we could see the white facade, in Art Nouveau style, of the Grand Hotel Miramare. We imagined the elegantly furnished rooms and suites where the hotel guests, especially Americans, enjoyed an ‘exotic’ stay. Famous people have stayed in that wonderful hotel, such as Vivien Leigh and Sir Lawrence Olivier, the Shah of Persia and others. So we thought of inventing a very rich countess with magnetic blue eyes who lived there, hiding a dubious past...
How did you come up with the names of your main characters?
Elena & Michela Martignoni: We always do a detailed study of the names and sometimes we even change them while we write our novels if they don’t convince us. When it comes to stories set in particular regions, we look for the most common surnames in that area and choose those that, in our opinion, best suit the characters. In this case, Countess Van Der Meer, born in the Friuli region, had married a wealthy and noble Dutchman; therefore, her last name had to be Dutch. Her first name, however, Licia, is the name of one of our cousins, a beautiful blonde woman with blue eyes, who was born in Friuli.
Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process or your book?
Elena & Michela Martignoni: Yes, we would like to tell our American readers that every time we write an episode of this series, in addition to an intriguing criminal plot, we also look for a particular theme to explore. In this case the theme is the stormy past of people who are forced to hide and create a new identity to mask difficult or unpleasant episodes of their lives. We had to use a lot of imagination to come up with the character of our countess, but at the end we almost felt like we knew her, so haughty and yet human, with signs of her suffering on her face, despite her extremely comfortable life. Even Inspector Berté, who doesn’t like nobility, is fascinated by Licia’s gaze and he can feel her desperation. We also want to tell our American readers how blessed we have been by our
“association” with Inspector Berté. We were particularly lucky with this book. In Italy, it was published by two different publishers and with both of them it sold really well. Readers seemed to really enjoy it and wrote lots of reviews. Now it has also been published in an Italian audiobook version. We had the chance to present this book at the Grand Hotel Miramare itself, thanks to the hotel’s owner, Andrea Fustinoni! And, as you all know, Double Murder at the Grand Hotel Miramare is the first Inspector Berté to have been translated into English. So we hope Inspector Berté makes a lot of new friends in America and gets a lot of reviews there, too. ;)
If "Double Murder at the Grand Hotel Miramare" was adapted into a movie, who would you like to see cast to play your lead characters?
Elena & Michela Martignoni: If the world of cinema discovered Gigi Bertè we would be very happy! When we write we always think in images and we often take inspiration from the faces of famous actors when creating our characters. Michelle Pfeiffer could be a fantastic Licia Van Der Meer! But Helen Mirren would also be very suitable, just as Antonio Banderas could very well play one of the mysterious Argentines who frequents the hotel.
When you encounter writer’s block, what do you do to break yourself out of it?
Elena & Michela Martignoni: Writer’s block is a bad beast, but all writers sooner or later encounter it. We try not to panic. We must accept the momentary ‘lack of imagination’ and wait, allowing ourselves a few days of mental rest, reading the great authors who are always a source of inspiration and recharge, looking at the world and others with curiosity... Usually, after a short time, the ‘writing demon’ reappears, urging us on with his pen-shaped trident.
Are there any tips that you would like to share with other aspiring authors?
Elena & Michela Martignoni: Giving advice is dangerous (for those who give it) and can also be harmful (for those who receive
it). We don’t believe in schools of creative writing: in your regular school you learn language, grammar and syntax and they are enough to allow you to begin writing. We suspect there is also some talent required and that is a gift that can’t necessarily be taught. But it would also be useful to educate aspiring writers to self-criticism and humility, something that mediocre authors and scribblers often lack, because no matter how good you are, you can always improve. The best thing for every aspiring writer is to seek out new experiences and draw lessons from the great writers, who are the only true teachers.
What is your favorite genre, book, and/or author?
Elena & Michela Martignoni: We are omnivorous readers. The novel is our favorite genre, in all its facets, but we also read a lot of non-fiction, which is very useful for keeping us informed culturally and scientifically. For poetry, in addition to classical poetry, we like haiku. The list of authors who are our ‘favorites’ is very long and they are authors from Italy and the entire world. They range from the Odyssey to Dante Alighieri, from Garcia Marquez to Hemingway, from Selma Lagerlof to Grazia Deledda, from Dostoevsky to Chinghiz Aitmatov and Dickens, from Agatha Christie to Irène Nemirovsky and so on in an almost endless list that ends with… Alessandro Manzoni, the Italian master from the 19 th Century author of The Betrothed, who is to us a timeless master.
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