#Authorsonlocation – Lake Garda, Italy – Darcie Boleyn

Darcie Boleyn transports readers to many a fine location but in her latest book takes you to Italy and the beautiful Lake Garda for some sun, romance and a plot to fall in love with..

Love at the Italian Lake (c) Darcie Bolyen

Why I Chose Lake Garda as the Setting For Love at the Italian Lake

In 2010, my husband and I holidayed in the beautiful Malcesine on Lake Garda. We were looking for a suitable location for our 2011 wedding, and thought that Castello Scaligero might be the perfect place.

Malcesine Lake (c) Darcie Bolyen

We enjoyed an idyllic holiday on the shores of the lake and I knew then that I’d set a story there one day. Love at the Italian Lake is that story and it features locations that we visited and activities we enjoyed during our time there. For example, we did visit Malcesine’s open-air market, and tried some of the delicious Italian foods on offer. We also drove to Verona where we went to Juliet’s house and I had my photo taken with the statue of Juliet and on the balcony. That same day, we enjoyed a meal in one of Verona’s wonderful restaurants then saw Aida in the amphitheatre, which really is the best way to enjoy opera. It was as haunting and moving as I’ve described in the story.

Verona opean Aida (c) Darcie Bolyen

The scene that made me laugh the most as I wrote it, though, was the one on the speedboat. Now you won’t know why unless you read the novel, and I’m not going to spoil it for you, but that day was one of the funniest of my life, because what happens to Sophia, actually happened to me! I’m just lucky my husband found me entertaining, even back then…

If you ever get a chance to visit Malcesine, or one of the other towns on Lake Garda, you should take a trip on the lake in a speedboat, as it is the best way to enjoy the lake. Out there, looking back at the shore, you can soak up the beauty and tranquillity of the stunning scenery, from the picturesque towns to the dramatic mountain ranges, but do not go out when a storm is imminent! The storms out there sweep in from the mountains, the sky turns gunmetal grey and the rain falls like sheets from the sky. I’ve never seen rain like it and I come from Wales, so that’s saying something.

View from Speedboat (c) Darcie Bolyen

I enjoyed writing Love at the Italian Lake so much because it meant that I was able to revisit Malcesine and the descriptions are from the heart; from the window boxes bursting with colourful, deliciously fragranced flowers, to the cobbled streets with the higgledy-piggledy houses and their terracotta roofs, to the impressive mountains ranges that reach up into the sky. I wanted to take my readers to Italy with me, so they could enjoy a sensory experience and spend some time on the shores of the beautiful lake, and perhaps even bring a sense of the tranquillity of Lake Garda away with them.
We didn’t get married there in the end, because we actually got married in the snow that Christmas – and that’s another story for another time – but we did fall in love with Italy.

Thanks Darcie! What a lovely story behind your setting and inspiration for the novel! Just remind me never to go on a speedboat with you! hehe

Booktrail Boarding Pass:  Love at the Italian Lake

Twitter: @darcieboleynn  web: darcieboleyn.wordpress.com/