Your historical novel Playing by Heart is based on the real lives of the talented and accomplished Agnesi sisters from 18th-century Milan. How did you first learn of them, and what inspired you to make them the subject of your novel?

I came to know about the Agnesi sisters in a rather roundabout way. Even though I have a B.S. in Math and Computer Science, I’d never heard of mathematician Maria Gaetana Agnesi until I came across her name in an article about forgotten women of history. I was appalled that there’d been no mention of her in any of my math classes or textbooks. Maria Gaetana was a woman I could have looked up to as a role model had I known of her. After reading about her in that article, I began researching her life with the goal of writing a biography to inspire girls who might be interested in math. During my research, I also learned about her sister Maria Teresa’s extraordinary musical talents. I’d never heard of her either, even though she’d been one of the first Italian women to compose a serious opera.

I wrote several drafts of Maria Gaetana’s biography but wasn’t able to find a publisher. Meanwhile, one of the editors who read the biography suggested I write a novel based on the two sisters—there was definitely lots of drama in their lives to draw from. Both sisters were manipulated by their father for his own purposes, and both struggled against societal norms regarding a woman’s role. I found their lives inspiring and hoped that today’s readers would be inspired by their story, too. 

Playing by Heart has garnered many awards.  Did you recognize its appeal as you were writing or has the recognition it has received surprised you?

While the novel was still a work-in-progress, I began submitting it to competitions that accepted opening chapters. The manuscript took first place in the YA category of the Windy City Romance Writers of America (RWA) Four Seasons contest and Honorable Mention in a Society of Children’s Book Writer’s and Illustrators (SCBWI) fiction contest. Those wins led to several editors and agents asking to read the entire manuscript. They all praised the quality of the writing, but they said historical novels for young adults are “a tough sell” and passed on the manuscript. Playing by Heart sat in the proverbial drawer for several years until God led me to a small press willing to take a chance on it. So the recognition hasn’t been that surprising, but it’s been all the more rewarding after so many rejections. 

Your touching novel for young readers, Rosa, Sola, is based, in part, on your own experiences in an Italian-American family.  How were you affected by revisiting those childhood memories?

I never intended to write a novel inspired by my childhood. Rosa, Sola grew out of a writing exercise from one of my teachers when I was pursuing an MFA in Writing at Vermont College. She asked me to write a short story based on an emotion from my childhood—not just any emotion, but one I could still recall and feel vividly. That led me to write the short story “Rosa’s Prayer,” which was based on the intense fear I felt at age ten when I thought my mother might die as a result of complications following my brother’s stillbirth. When the short story was critiqued in workshop, my teachers and fellow students convinced me to expand it into a novel. While doing so, I discovered I’d never truly mourned my brother’s death. I also realized I was still angry at one of my aunts for not allowing me to go to his funeral. As a result, writing some of the scenes turned out to be rather gut-wrenching. I literally sat at the keyboard with tears streaming down my face. Afterward, I had to take a nap because I was physically and emotionally exhausted. But in the end, I was so grateful for the experience. It allowed me to finally heal my childhood grief and forgive my aunt.  

What about historical fiction appeals to you most, as both a reader and a writer?

I think what appeals to me most is being immersed into a completely different time and place. As a reader, it’s a way of learning history vicariously. As both a reader and a writer, I especially enjoy learning about how the details of everyday life differed from what we have today, and about interesting people and events I hadn’t known of. So when I write historical fiction, I try to incorporate real people, events, and details as much as possible to add to the story’s authenticity.

You share your knowledge and experience in both writing and publishing with other writers through classes, speaking engagements, and your Creativity Newsletter. How important is it for authors to study both the craft and the business aspects of writing?

I believe it’s extremely important to be continually working on craft, otherwise we risk becoming stale and complacent. I’ve been teaching writing for over twenty years and I’m still learning. In fact, part of what I enjoy about teaching is how much I learn while doing so. My goals for my Creativity Newsletter include helping other writers nurture their writing and creativity and helping them see that even published authors continue to struggle and learn. Regarding the business aspects, I consider them a necessary evil if we want readers to find our work.

What writing project(s) are you working on now?

I’ve actually gone back to working on the nonfiction biography of Maria Gaetana Agnesi. I feel God is still calling me to get her story published. I’m currently studying published biographies of similar subjects and considering how I might find a new approach to telling Agnesi’s story. I’m also hoping to do school visits again, since I can also introduce young readers to both the Agnesi sisters by talking about how I fictionalized their lives for my novel Playing by Heart. Meanwhile, I continue to do freelance writing, too, to pay the bills.

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Carmela Martino is an author, speaker, and writing teacher. She wrote the middle-grade novel, Rosa, Sola (Candlewick Press), while working on her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College. The novel was a Booklist “Top Ten First Novel for Youth” and received a Catholic Press Association Book Award in the “Children’s Books” category. Her second novel, the young-adult historical romance Playing by Heart (Vinspire Publishing), took first place in the Young Adult category of the 2013 Windy City RWA Four Seasons Romance Writing Contest. Carmela’s credits for teens and tweens also include short stories and poems in magazines and anthologies. Her articles for adults have appeared in such publications as the Chicago Tribune, Catholic Parent, and multiple editions of the Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market. Carmela has taught writing workshops for children and adults since 1998, and she blogs about teaching and writing at TeachingAuthors.com.

Links:

Website: http://www.carmelamartino.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/carmelamartinoauthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/carmelamartino

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/carmelamartino

Instagram:  http://instagram.com/cmartinoauthor

Subscribe to Carmela’s Creativity Newsletter.

Read Carmela’s blog posts at TeachingAuthors.com.

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