The theme of music is in my two previous novels and will be a major theme in my forthcoming novel. In Olive Branches Don’t Grow On Trees,Ā Silvia listens to music while she paints. Music inspires her: Ā “The music seemed to go right
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Bakersfield, California: places from the road trip story, “Discovery of an Eagle”
Posted by Grace Mattioli in The Places in "Discovery of an Eagle" | 0 commentsSilvia’s car breaks down, forcing the traveling siblings to find an auto body shop. Luckily, this happens as they are near the city of Bakersfield, a freeway-filled place with no shortage of automobile services. About a hundred miles north
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Flagstaff, Arizona: places from the road trip story, “Discovery of an Eagle”
Posted by Grace Mattioli in The Places in "Discovery of an Eagle" | 0 commentsAfter their visit to the Grand Canyon, Silvia and Cosmo head down to Flagstaff. Established in 1882 as a railroad stop, today this lovely little city has a population of just over 67,000 and is home to Northern Arizona University, Lowell
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Hopi, Arizona: places from the road trip story, “Discovery of an Eagle”
Posted by Grace Mattioli in The Places in "Discovery of an Eagle" | 0 commentsThere aren’t many places in the world as sacred as the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. Situated in the Northeastern part of the state and completely surrounded by a much larger Navajo reservation, Hopi was settled in circa 1100 making it the
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Tucumcari, New Mexico: places from the road trip story, “Discovery of an Eagle”
Posted by Grace Mattioli in The Places in "Discovery of an Eagle" | 0 commentsCosmo and Silvia stop in a town just west of Albuquerque which is modeled after Tucamcari, New Mexico. Named after the mountain that is situated near this small city, it has a charm of its own with a number of vintage styled hotels and
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Texola, Oklahoma: places from the road trip story, “Discovery of an Eagle”
Posted by Grace Mattioli in The Places in "Discovery of an Eagle" | 0 commentsCosmo and Silvia make it to the western most edge of Oklahoma and stay in a motel near Texola, Oklahoma for the third night of their journey. This nearly abandoned ghost town sits on the Oklahoma-Texas border. Ā This town dates back to the
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Memphis, Tennessee: places from the road trip story, “Discovery of an Eagle”
Posted by Grace Mattioli in The Places in "Discovery of an Eagle" | 0 commentsOn the second night of their journey, Silvia and Cosmo make it to Memphis, Tennessee, where Silvia has a friend, Clay, who is Blues musician. When he tells Cosmo that he moved there to study the Blues, Cosmo assumes that he is attending a school
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Best of Suspense Magazine: Award-winning literary fiction novel
Posted by Grace Mattioli in News | 0 commentsI’m honored to say thatĀ Olive Branches Don’t Grow On TreesĀ is on Suspense Magazine’sĀ prestigiousĀ Best of 2012 List!
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Olive Branches Don’t Grow on Trees: The First of the Greco Family Books
Posted by Grace Mattioli in News | 0 commentsDrawing on her own background, Grace Mattioli has created a warring but loveable Italian-American family, who just canāt seem to get along. While they all have their individual problems, youngest daughter, Silvia Greco, hopes that she can bring
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Tips for Writing Fiction: Characters in Motion
Posted by Grace Mattioli in Writing Craft | 0 commentsSilvia moves through the world like a Peanutās character dancing. Ā Frank moves from one side of the kitchen to the other like he is keeping beat to a Polka song. Ā Cosmo moves with a bounce in his step, his head bopping back and forth like a
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