About me
Language was my trade for over 40 years: first as a German teacher and translator in Florence, then as a wedding planner with hundreds of clients from all over the world. It was only late in life that I started using it for writing, although that had always been my passion.
My first screenplay immediately attracted attention. I could hardly believe it when I heard the words "remarkable", "elegant" and "extraordinary". Three years later, I reached the semi-finals in Hollywood with "Murder and White Lace". Since then, several screenplays and novels have been written. It's never too late in life!
I just can't help it: whenever I start writing, the mischief in me comes out. Even though I write about serious and topical subjects. For me, humour is a vehicle for conveying the message I want to get across to my audience - just like a sweet medicine that cures illnesses.
Why I do this
On my solitary hikes through Tuscany or beautiful Bavaria, the stories just fly into my head. That's where I create the characters, which are remotely based on people I've met at some point or a mixture of many, where I develop the plot and record the dialogues on my mobile phone. Some people who see me will think: this lady is a bit weird... Fortunately, Italians are tolerant, and sometimes Germans, too...
One of the things I want to achieve in my stories is to depict Italy as it actually is. When talking to Germans or people from other countries, I always realize how little they know about the real Italy. Having lived there for 40 years, I know the country very well and I think it's a shame that there are still so many clichés floating around in people's heads. That's why I want to use my amusing stories to correct the image of Italy a little with a wink. By the way, you can find lots of useful information and delicious recipes on my blog. However, you should also read my books!
Eric Nicholson, (Professor and Dramaturg, PHD in Comparative Literature and Theatre Studies)
"Really magical, from start to finish! I'm not surprised that the screenplay of "Murder and White Lace" made it to the semi-finals in Hollywood. The story is a brilliant and witty "dark comedy" with echoes of "Arsenic and Old Lace", "Under the Tuscan Sun", "IQ84", and others. Charming characters, driven by strong and complex motivations, move against the backdrop of beautiful but deceptive Tuscany. The complex relationships between the individual characters, as well as those between the imaginary and the real, historical world... all this (and much more) is conveyed with rigour, imagination, intelligence, well-tuned rhythm and above all an impressive mixture of irony/comedy, suspense/horror and seriousness/social criticism. There is a real wealth of ideas, witty and funny gimmicks, plus a variety of fascinating interactions. The typology of the macabre-ironic-grotesque comedy is excellently achieved here. In short, the screenplay never gets boring! The serious appeal to our ethical consciousness to condemn violence and crimes against women and children is again and again superbly thematised against this background."