"People are like, 'I ordered that Farm Rio dress I got served instead of your book bc I saw it more'"
Jo Piazza on spinning a story into a must-buy, multi-sensory experience; getting in touch with her witchy side; and her lush new mystery, THE SICILIAN INHERITANCE
Jo Piazza is my hero. She’s a veritable superwoman who’s written or coauthored nine (9) books, including the GMA Book Club pick WE ARE NOT LIKE THEM; created multiple fantastic podcasts (including She Wants More, Under the Influence, and Wilder); and written for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, New York Magazine, Marie Claire, Glamour and many other publications. (I have asked her, multiple times, when she sleeps, and I think the answer is she’s just better at time management than the rest of us??)
Jo’s latest novel, THE SICILIAN INHERITANCE (which came out April 2), is SO GOOD—equal parts rich historical fiction, gripping murder mystery, and a moving exploration of identity, grief, and the long shadow of the past. It made me laugh and cry and log onto Kayak to start looking up flights to Italy. Inspired by the real-life murder of Jo’s great-great-grandmother, THE SICILIAN INHERITANCE is a puzzle-box of a mystery about a life-changing trip to Sicily, a disputed inheritance, and a family secret some will kill to protect.
Jo and I chatted about eating her way through Italy in the name of research, slapping people in the face with your book cover, and the joy and terror of being an author in 2024. Check out the collection of past Words With (Author) Friends, wherein I g-chat with an author and you get to read over my shoulder, and buy Jo’s gorgeous book!
Me: Hi, Jo!!!
Jo: Hiiiiiiii
How's it going? How's the pre-pub tornado?
It's exciting and stressful and it feels like I'm diving headfirst into a dumpster fire and also maybe winning the lottery all in one day
I'm tired
That might be the most accurate description of the pre-publication period I've ever heard
We should write a book together about the publishing process and call it that
"Diving Headfirst into the Dumpster Fire"
I am literally putting fake eyelashes on as we speak for a local TV segment
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