It is my pleasure to have as my guest today, Traci Andrighetti:
Five Fun Facts (or should I say “Pertinent Points”?) about Prosecco Pink!
By Traci Andrighetti
1.The title
You may have noticed from Limoncello Yellow, Prosecco Pink, and “Rosolio Red” (my short story in Cozy Christmas Capers) that my titles involve an Italian liqueur or wine and a color. I came up with this theme thanks to Italian author Gabriella Genisi, who often uses a fruit and a color in her titles. In an ironic twist, I recently signed a contract to translate her Inspector Lolita Lobosco series from Italian into English for Gemma Halliday Publishing. So, look for my translation of the first Genisi novel, The Circumference of Oranges, to come out later this year.
2.The plantation home
As my book blurb and the cover of Prosecco Pink indicate, the murder of the cosmetics CEO takes place at a fictitious sugar cane plantation called Oleander Place. My plantation home (and the cool objects inside it) was inspired by the antebellum Greek revival mansion known as Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana. But the legend involving the death of the original mistress of Oleander Place was inspired by a tragic story from Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana, involving a house slave named Chloe and an oleander plant.
3. The pirates
I’m not normally into pirates and pirate legends, but they’re hard to escape in New Orleans since it was the stomping grounds of the notorious pirate Jean Lafitte (1780-1823). So, the two bars I mention in my book, Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop Bar and Jean Lafitte’s Old Absinthe House are real places, not my inventions. Also quite real, hilariously enough, is the annual pirate festival “Shore Leave” held on Bourbon Street by the pirate-minded social organization NOLA Wenches. Can you imagine the French Quarter overrun by pirates? Blimey!
4.The graduate student
One of my favorite aspects of Prosecco Pink involves the PhD History student, Troy Wilson. I was once a graduate student of history, so I had tons of fun with this story line (and I can’t wait for some of my old classmates to read it). I can’t tell you too much about Troy because it would give away the ending. But suffice it to say that it’s an extremely dull and difficult program—one that often causes students to lose touch with reality. But not me, though. I ran screaming!.
5. “The vassal”
Besides being a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, I was also a Lecturer of Italian. The character of “the vassal,” a Tulane freshman fraternity pledge who is assigned to do the bidding of David Savoie (Franki’s part-time research assistant) by their Computer Science frat, was inspired by an incident in one of my Italian classes involving a six-foot-seven-inch freshman fraternity pledge and two short seniors. The freshman was not only assigned by his fraternity to drive the two seniors around, but they also made him wear only long sleeved shirts, blue jeans, and cowboy boots in the Texas heat. When the freshman mysteriously lost his boots at a football game, the seniors told him he had to go barefoot for the rest of the year. I pointed out to the freshman (in front of the seniors) that he was big enough to kick both of them to the curb—with his bare feet. The next day he wore shoes to class. ;)
I hope you enjoy reading Prosecco Pink as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Author Links
About This Author
Traci Andrighetti is the author of the Franki Amato Mysteries. In her previous life, she was an award-winning literary translator and a Lecturer of Italian at the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a PhD in Applied Linguistics. But then she got wise and ditched that academic stuff for a life of crime–writing, that is.
If she’s not hard at work on her next novel, Traci is probably watching her favorite Italian soap opera, eating Tex Mex or sampling fruity cocktails, and maybe all at the same time. She lives in Austin with her husband, young son (who desperately wants to be in one of her
books) and three treat-addicted dogs.
Synopsis of Prosecco Pink
For Franki Amato, life in New Orleans is anything but “The Big Easy.” When she met handsome bank executive Bradley Hartmann, she knew she’d finally found a man she could trust. But she can’t say the same for his sexy new secretary, who is about as trustworthy as Mata Hari and every bit as seductive. Meanwhile, Franki’s best friend and employer, Veronica Maggio, has named her the lead investigator in the murder of a gorgeous cosmetics CEO who was found lying dead in the master bedroom of a historic plantation home.
Now the pressure is on Franki to figure out what a bottle of pink lip gloss and the legend of a pink diamond have to do with the bizarre killing. The problem is that the plantation is notorious for being haunted, and Franki is less than enthusiastic about the prospect of meeting a ghost. Adding to her stress, her Sicilian grandma is up to her usual meddling antics—this time planning Franki’s engagement to Bradley before he’s even considered popping the question. As Bradley grows distant and plantation employees begin dropping like Southern belles during a sweltering summer, Franki turns to a psychic with a phobia of ghosts to solve the mysterious murders and her own relationship fears.
Franki Amato Mysteries:
Limoncello Yellow (book #1)
Prosecco Pink (book #2)
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It’s Mardi Gras season in New Orleans, but PI Franki Amato has too many problems to celebrate. A proven Sicilian lemon tradition hasn’t landed her a proposal, so her nonna has amped up the meddling to get her married, and pronto. Franki’s also under pressure to solve the strange murder of a family friend’s nephew, Nick Pescatore, who was found on a Mississippi River steamboat rumored to be haunted. When the sinister old boat sets sail on an overnight gambling cruise, Franki goes undercover with a motley crew, including a Mark Twainophile captain with a murderous past and a slimy galley chef with a mobster brother, not to mention an ex-stripper landlady with a newfound career as a memoir writer and all-too public speaker. Franki has to figure out what missing Civil War gold, a playing card, and a mysterious woman on roller skates have to do with Nick’s death. If she doesn’t, it’s anchors aweigh for Franki — down to Davy Jones’ locker.
About Traci Andrighetti
