Some people light up social media with their positivity, and Camilla is one of those people, and she’s like that in real life too, I remember chatting to her many times when she worked in Le Fournil in Sligo town. I caught up with Camilla to find out more about her and her brand-new book – Beatrice’s Fate. Here’s is Camilla’s story:
“I was born in a little town about 30 kilometres from Bergamo in Italy. After graduating in Foreign Languages and Literature at the University of Bergamo, I decided to go to Ireland for what should have been a 6-month aupairing experience. Once in Sligo, I fell in love with its beauty and with Séamus, a traditional Irish musician from Gurteen who is now my husband, and I decided to stay. I’ve been in Sligo for over 12 years now and I love it. I like the kindness of people, the beautiful landscape, the music, the culture. I worked in Le fournil bakery for 8 years, but then in 2021 I decided to make good use of my degree and I became a self-employed online Italian and English tutor, as well as a translator.
I’ve always had a passion for storytelling and writing but working a full-time job I never had time to dedicate to my writing, until…. 2020 when we all went into lockdown, and I found myself with a lot of free time. Bergamo was one of the worst affected areas, if not the worst, in Italy with Covid and one day I read an article which explained how the same two towns that were experiencing the highest number of Covid deaths were the same ones which experience the highest number of deaths during the plague of 1630 (it was a bad plague which hit the North of Italy…it’s very famous in Italy as it’s featured in one of our classics from the 1800s called ‘I promessi sposi’ by Alessandro Manzoni). So, I started imagining a story that could tie in well with that episode in history, but also with what we were experiencing in our time.
Beatrice’s Fate is a gripping historical romance set in 17th century Northern Italy (Bergamo and Venice). It is full of twists and drama, but it is not only about romance. It is about friendship, loss, pain, resilience, and features strong female characters.”
Beatrice’s Fate will be launched on Thursday, 2nd May, in Liber bookshop at 5pm, and Achonry Farmers Market is hosting a book signing on Saturday 4th May, from 10am until 1pm. All are welcome at both events.
I’d like to wish Camilla the very best with Beatrice’s Fate. The book is available to purchase in Liber, Sligo, The Castle Bookshop in Castlebar, as well as McLoughlin’s/Tertulia bookshop/The bookshop in Westport. It is available on buythebook.ie or on Camilla’s website and the ebook version is available on Amazon, apple books and Kobo.
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