Meet Me in Venice

The new romantic drama by multi-award-winning author Barbara Hannay.

A year after her husband Leo's death, widow Daisy invites her three adult children to join her for a holiday in beautiful Venice. It will be wonderful, her chicks under one roof again in their father's birthplace. But is it possible to recapture the past?

Marc's marriage is in jeopardy, but for his mother's sake, he convinces his wife to keep up appearances. Anna's trying to hide the truth about the dismal state of her London acting career; and Ellie, enjoying a gap year and uncertain about her future choices, wants to avoid family pressure to conform.

Despite the magic of Venice, family ties are tested to the limit, especially when a shocking secret from Leo's past is revealed. Now everything they value about love, family, commitment and trust must be re-examined.

How can one family holiday require so much courage? Will Daisy's sentimental journey make or break them?

From multi-award-winning author Barbara Hannay comes a moving and heartfelt family drama about difficult choices and finding happiness in the most unexpected places.

A former English teacher, Barbara Hannay is a city-bred girl with a yen for country life. Many of her forty-plus books are set in rural and outback Australia and have been enjoyed by readers around the world. She has won the RITA, awarded by Romance Writers of America, and has twice won the Romantic Book of the Year award in Australia. In her own version of life imitating art, Barbara and her husband currently live on a misty hillside in beautiful Far North Queensland where they keep heritage pigs and chickens and an untidy but productive garden.

Meet Me in Venice
Penguin
Author: Barbara Hannay
ISBN: 9780143794233
RRP: $32.99

Interview with Barbara Hannay

Question: What inspired you to write Meet Me In Venice?

Barbara Hannay: Writers garner ideas from all kinds of situations and on this occasion I was inspired by a conversation with a friend. She told me about a woman she knew, an Australian widow with adult children scattered all over the world, who decided to invite her brood to join her for Christmas in Scotland. My imagination immediately started firing and I came up with my own characters and destination.


Question: What was the best part about creating the character of Daisy?

Barbara Hannay: It was a challenge to write about a grieving widow, but I enjoyed exploring Daisy's happy memories of her marriage and of her family when they were young. I also enjoyed exploring Daisy's role as a mother now that her children are adults. This can be quite tricky, especially when a mother can see her kids in trouble or making mistakes. Daisy's offspring all have problems, so helping her to navigate these, deciding when she should speak up and offer advice, or when she should hold her tongue was an interesting path to navigate.


Question: Are the characters based on anyone you know?

Barbara Hannay: I do know a very clever young man who went off to work in Silicon Valley. Also my two daughters have explored careers in the Arts, one in music and the other in dance, so when it came to writing about Anna's struggles as an actor, I felt I understood both her aspirations and her fears.


Question: How much of your inspiration comes from real life and real people?

Barbara Hannay: I guess there are always seeds of inspiration from the world around me. In this case, the setting of Venice came from my own visit to Italy and falling totally in love with that ancient and most romantic of cities. Quite often further research can help to add details, but for the most part my stories spring from my imagination and how and when that happens continues to surprise me. Often the best ideas come out of the blue when I'm doing something mundane like ironing or taking a shower.


Question: What's next for you?

Barbara Hannay: I'm now writing about Daisy's friend Freya, who made a brief appearance in Meet Me in Venice.


Interview by Brooke Hunter

Meet Me in Venice 
PenguinAuthor: Barbara Hannay
ISBN: 9780143794233
RRP: $32.99