Welcome to my Q & A today where I’m featuring the colorful fashionista, home designer and author Valentina Cirasola and her latest book – The Road To Top of The World – Short stories in the land of Puglia. This book sounds like a glorious tour and tasting of her hometown in Puglia, Italy, in her personal travelogue. And Valentina also shares a sneak peek into her upcoming release.
Meet Valentina:
I am Italian born, my native city is Bari, a beautiful place in the South-East region of Puglia, on the Adriatic Sea. I began my design career in Italy as a fashion designer and worked in my own Atelier Valentina. Growing up in Italy, often I wondered what I could have possibly found beyond that horizon I was admiring every day. The saying goes: “Be careful what you wish for, it might happen.”
Well, it did happen. One day, as an opportunity was presented to me, I left my fashion work, my family, and friends to make a giant leap over the ocean. I landed in the United States where I started a new life and a new design business all over again, without knowing a soul. It was very hard, and it didn’t come easy. At times, I even doubted myself to have done the right move, however, I am the type of person that when sets the mind on something gets it done, no excuses, and thus I went on pursuing my goals.
One of my clients suggested turning to design homes and to leave the fashion to the Italians. In the States, the majority of people don’t spend much money on fashion, but they invest in their homes and properties. She told me that and was right.
I went back to college, I was fortunate my Italian studies were fully approved, I only had to attend a few years to get certified in interior designing. That’s what I have been doing since then, which amounts to 30 years of design work between Italy and the USA. A few years ago, I also became a TV producer and added this fun activity to my design career. I am the host of my shows and produce them under my label: Valentina Design Universe.
In 2008 the country was under a heavy economic recession, it was the right moment to write that book I have always wanted to write. Up to that moment, I was writing articles for local magazines and papers, I needed to think of writing my first book. I did it and wrote five books after that and I opened up my three blog columns.
My books are non-fictional, they are practical suggestions in design, fashion, cooking, and travel. At the moment I am writing one more book in the design fields called: “Design Nature For A Colorful Home”. It will be published by Nov. 2020. I am also writing a study course for people who want to design their home by themselves without a professional designer. The course is called: ©Be Your Own Interior Designer. I enjoy writing about the subjects I know, and it doesn’t seem I will stop anytime soon.
The Road To Top Of The World is available on Amazon and Barnes&Noble. Paperback – https://tinyurl.com/y7tuyfh8 – Kindle – https://amzn.to/2H7ipGE
Blurb:
This book is a travel narrative of one trip To Puglia I organized with American friends and curious travelers willing to explore, learn, experience, taste and dream in a land they had never visited before and in a language totally foreign to them. A wheel of new emotions opened up before their eyes, they tried food didn’t even know existed, learned to cook in ancient kitchens; they learned to appreciate the nightlife, learned to live without phones, watches and technologies; copied Italian fashion, learned about traditions, rituals, country and folk celebrations; they all tried to learn local dialects and some succeeded well. Their perspective to life was forever changed.
Excerpt: The Road To Top Of The World
“The town of Gravina di Puglia has changed so much since I was a teenager going there with my parents to visit relatives. It is not as small as I recall it. Gravina of today looks like a modern town, it is vibrant, culturally different and too many cars for my taste crowding the small streets. No longer I see farmer’s tractors stockpiling grain, and flocks of sheep in the streets walking at their leisure.
We park the car near the center piazza or villa, as it was called long ago. The villa was a place where on Sundays all the young women went to show themselves off to promising young lads. The procession of women heavily and smartly adorned with the latest fashion went on for hours under the watchful eyes of relatives walking by casually, as if they found their way there by chance. Something always happened between boys and girls, giggling, laughing, or simply a small talk to study the energy or to enjoy the charisma of the other person. Just like in all the courting scenes, rejection of a bothersome lad was common if his look and talk was not quite convincing or didn’t meet the woman’s expectations. Rejection, however, was not always a real rejection in all its meaning, it was another way to prolong the pleasure of making the man waiting for a YES.
In Italian there is a saying: “se la donna si nega, l’uomo si piega” (if the woman doesn’t give herself away, the man bends to her will).
In that villa stroll, it was common for pretty girls to receive an invitation to a dancing party in someone’s home (we didn’t go to a discotheque then) or an invitation to go out for a simple walk. Thinking back, those times seem now so romantic and so innocent! Everything revolved around putting on the best behavior and the best clothes to get a good catch.
Review:
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2020
The Road to the Top of the World is a travelogue written by Valentina Cirasola, a wonderful author, designer, and artist who hails from Italy. I’ve read a few of the writer’s books in the past, but this one is special because I received a signed copy from her in the mail. Of course, it was already on my reading list… and as Tropic Storm Fay descends upon NYC today, I decided to embrace the culture of Puglia, the heart of this book. Though I’m typically a fiction reader, this one appeals to me for many reasons. Not only is Valentina a brilliant creative mind, but she brings an inspirational outlook on life through her words and pictures. It’s unusual to have a witty and knowledgeable expert who’s lived in the area and visited it as a guest once moving to the USA. Through this perfect combination, we’re lucky to experience something few others get to in their lifetime.
Imagine a few weeks spent in Puglia, traveling through shops, gardens, homes, restaurants, museums, and so much more. Valentina takes us on a whirlwind tour of making our own foods, exploring the history of civilization in the area, and viewing art we might not see unless we went in person. I learned some wonderful tips or making my own pasta sauce differently than I already do! By incorporating her personal opinions, and those of her traveling group, we receive a well-rounded viewpoint of the trip. Sometimes I felt like I was there… others, I was marking down things I must see in a future trip. The best part of the book is the way in transports you into a new world… and while reading it, I remembered what it was like to be in Italy a few years ago.
Europeans, perhaps more specifically Italians, have grasped La Dolce Vita, and this author can bring you much closer to it. Valentina’s words and natural love for the area shines in her messages here. Life can be short. Experience it as best you can. Make your own foods. See how others live. Understand the limitations of the past and how it created the amazing gifts we have today. Someone had to discover all these things… pasta, sauce, pizza, limoncello… and here, you can come pretty close to it by sampling a few pages of her book. You’ll enjoy the author’s personality, an Americanized version of an Italian soul, one who knows exactly how to convey all that we are missing here! Part personal itinerary, part memorable journal, it will make you smile and grow hungry. Is it too early to visit Italy again?
Well, I’m thrilled to have Valentina here today and get to know a bit about her and her exciting life stories. Italy happens to be my favorite country so I am eager to be transported soon when I read it. So let’s get to know Valentina:
Do some of your own character traits or personal experiences spill into your book’s characters?
..
My books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel.
My character traits and personal experiences showed up only in one of my books, it is a travel narrative and I am the person telling the stories.
..
D.G. – I can identify, as a nonfiction writer myself.
..
What hobbies do you enjoy when not writing?
..
I have many hobbies, most of them are in the creative arts.
I love to paint unfinished furniture with raw wood or makeover used furniture.
I love to crochet very extravagant pieces, and I love to remake clothes in a new way. I am with a camera in my hands all day long because I love to take pictures of anything interesting to my eyes. I take care of my garden and grow a bit of food, something I learned only a few years ago when I moved to California.
At night, I love to watch foreign films.
..
D.G. – I can only imagine how busy you are between all your creative projects.
..
What are your writing goals for this year?
..
I am just about ready to publish another book on home design subject, which it will the 6th published book of my list. This one is about the relation between nature and the interior of our home. I am also writing a study program for those people who want to be their own interior designer and design their own home without hiring a professional designer.
..
D.G. – Wow! I suspect that will be a most hopeful book for homeowners. I know from owning a few homes, the important things I take in consideration about nature when looking for a home – especially which direction the sun glares in the hot afternoons.
..
Tell us something about yourself we’d never have guessed.
..
Cooking is one of my greatest passion. I am an autodidact in culinary arts, I have professional culinary kills, and I cook like a chef. I like to organize theme dinner parties at my home, like a Renaissance dinner I did a couple of months ago. My challenge is to find the closest ingredients to make an original dinner of a particular era. Guests receive the theme in advance, to give them time to research and be prepared to converse at the table.
One other time, I organized an October fest dinner, German style, with rivers of German beers, huge pretzels, a load of Würstel home-made by a German butcher, and much more. During the dinner each guest had to tell a curiosity of a real Bavarian beer fest, something they had personally experienced or something they learned. My dinner themes are learning, creative experiences while enjoying food of a different era or country. It keeps people from fighting about political divergent views, or other subjects that might offend someone.
It happens often in one of friends’ home. She invites people for dinner, she slaves in the kitchen for hours or days, and the guests end up fighting after a few glasses of wines as they don’t agree on anything. Imagine that….I would throw them out the door.
..
D.G. – I think that would be so much fun to go to one of your themed parties. I wish I lived closer. 🙂
..
Do you have any advice you can share for new writers?
..
Write with your own voice and style, about anything you like. There is a place for everybody in this world, there will always be people who like to read about your subjects.
..
D.G. – I wholeheartedly agree!
..
How has writing changed your life?
..
Being a writer opened many doors I could not open before. People see me in a different light and want to hear about what I have to say when I speak in public or organize book presentations, which is a more personal way of selling books than online.
..
D.G. – There’s nothing like personal presentations to connect with readers.
..
What would you still like to learn more about as an author?
..
I have not learned yet everything there is to know about being an author, however, I would like to learn to write for a theatre comedy, or a play.
..
D.G. – And the thought of screenwriting somehow appeals to me too.
..
Valentina has another new and soon to be released book –Design Nature For A Colorful Home, and she’s sharing a bit of sneak peek:
..
“If you pick up a camera and take a picture of anything that strikes your eyes, it doesn’t have to be a real object, or something with a meaning, just study that picture you took and you will see the reason why you immortalized that “something”. One day, I took a photo of a succulent plant in my garden, not
because it was particularly beautiful, but because I was attracted by the yellow decorative butterfly light inside the pot and by the yellow ceramic piece outside the pot. This told me I was craving “Yellow Vibrations”
Going to the grocery shop, taking pictures of the flower bouquets in the store, and forgetting to buy food is not something common people do. The sight of beautiful flowers with attractive colors and the well-arranged bouquets were, every time I was at a food store, a higher distraction than the need to bring back groceries.
I have chosen to talk about nature and the relations to colors for home interiors because nature is our best friend and companion, she always gives us the pleasure of beauty, harmony and peace. This book focuses on how to take advantage of nature’s colors and turn them in doable solutions.
The home has a spirit that will love you if you create an inspiring, healthy, vibrant home for the body, mind and spirit. Everyone will feel comfortable in a home conceived in such a manner and love will grow. Shall we start from the colors of flowers?”
..
..
Connect with Valentina:
..
..
Social Links:
..
..
©DGKaye2020
DGKayewriter.com 
Hi Debby, I loved meeting Valentina here and reading about her amazing life. I was fascinated to read how she has so many creative pursuits. Toni x
LikeLike
Hi Toni. Thanks for visiting. Yes, Valentina’s life is quite colorful, I enjoyed learning about all her creative projects too. So inspiring. ❤
LikeLike
A delightful interview with Valentina, Debby. I love her colourful posts. I remember her post about that dinner party and I have borrowed her idea for my mother’s birthday party tomorrow and we are having a 60’s themed party.
LikeLike
Oh wow Robbie, that sounds fantastic. I’m sure Valentina will be delighted to hear her post inspired your party idea. Happy bell bottoms, peace and love! 🙂 x
LikeLike
Hi Robbie, I am happy you will use the idea of a theme dinner for your mom’s party. You will have fun. Thanks for the visit.
LikeLike
Fabulous and love the dinner parties.. we did a James Bond themed party in Spain and people turned up dressed to kill… and with guns! All legal but we did check to make sure they were empty! There are some interesting photos but would probably lead to problems if I posted them lol. Love the cover of the new book Valentina and when up on Amazon I will of course add to your others in the Cafe… will share the post on Sunday…♥♥
LikeLike
Sal, never a dull moment with you when it comes to entertaining. Real guns at the party, lol. You know I need photos! 🙂 Thanks for your always generous sharing. ❤ ❤
LikeLike
Hi Sally, your James Bond theme dinner sounds very interesting, I will do one when Covid will finally leave us alone. Thanks for offering to share my new book in your Cafe’ and thanks for the visit, much appreciate it.
LikeLike
It’s been a pleasure to meet Valentina. She’s a very colourful character in many ways, and her books sound very inspiring. Her themed dinners also sound fantastic. Thanks, Debby and would luck to your wonderful guest.
LikeLike
Thanks Olga. Colorful is the perfect word for Valentina. I am looking forward to reading one of her books soon and will be sure to review. ❤
LikeLike
Hi Olga, I am happy to bring colorful energy to people’s life. Thanks for the visit.
LikeLike
Hi Debby – gosh Valentina is a ‘tour de force’ – how interesting … and I’d love to read some of her books sometime … but I particularly love the themed cooking idea. Excellent guest – thank you … stay safe and have good weekends – Hilary
LikeLike
Hi Hilary. So glad you enjoyed learning about Valentina and some of her great ideas! Thank you. ❤
LikeLike
Hi Hilary, I like to experience life in the good and bad that it brings and not all my ideas came through. The ideas I was able to realize made me a happy camper. Thanks for the visit.
LikeLike
I enjoyed this interview, Debby. Going back to “the watchful eyes of relatives” – this reminds me of the scene in The Godfather when Michael is courting his first wife and a long trail of aunts and cousins are behind them as they walk along together. Innocent times, probably all gone now!
LikeLike
Sooooo true Stevie. LOL. Glad you enjoyed the post and learning about Valentina and her work. 🙂 xx
LikeLike
Hi Stevie, somehow, that scene in The Godfather fits me too. I had all my family’s eyes on me waiting to see what I was going to do in life. Thanks for the visit.
LikeLike
Hi Toni, let’s say that at a young age, I argued a lot with my parents who wanted me to become a government worker and I wanted a creative life. I can say I succeeded. Thanks for the visit.
LikeLike
Hi Debby, I am honored to be featured on your site today. These days, the Internet is helping us to get to know each other and it doesn’t feel we are keeping the social distance much. I appreciate you very much and again, thanks for having me.
LikeLike
Hi Valentina. Thank you. I’m delighted to have you here today and to introduce you to my readers and my readers to you. And you can say that again. I know for myself, my online connections have been a comfort and company. Good luck with your newest book. ❤
LikeLike
Thanks, Debby, the new book is almost ready and after I will take a bit of rest for the holidays.
LikeLike
Well deserved! 🙂
LikeLike
So nice to meet Valentina here, Debby, and learn something about her writing, creativity, and books. Congrats on the coming release!
LikeLike
Thank you Diana. ❤
LikeLike
Thank you Diana, It is nice to meet you as well. Thanks for the visit.
LikeLike
Wow, one busy lady. The themed dinner parties sound like an amazing experience. If guests started arguing after a few drinks–regardless of what they argued about–I’d toss them out, too. They can do that on their own time. Good luck with your book.
LikeLike
Thanks Diana. Those dinner parties are appealing to many. Maybe especially appealing as our no contact with life of the living continues lol 🙂
LikeLike
Lovely to learn more about Valentina what a sparkling, colourful life she leads…Themed dinner parties sound a great idea…Great interview Hugs xx
LikeLike
Thanks Carol. I think those themed dinner parties sparked a lot of interest here. Glad you enjoyed. ❤
LikeLike
Hi Diane, to me is very uncaring to have dinner at a friend’s home and fight at the dinner table with other guests about something they don’t agree with. Thanks for the good wishes and the visit.
LikeLike
There is so much to like about Valentina’s approach to life. From her profile photo, so bright, to her topics of fashion and interior design, I know I’d feel at home with her books, six so far!
I especially resonated with her views on writing: Write with your own voice and style, about anything you like. There is a place for everybody in this world, there will always be people who like to read about your subjects.
Write on, Valentina! I loved our trip to Italy and the Italian approach to enjoying life with abandon! Thanks, Debby for featuring her this week. oxo
LikeLike
So glad you enjoyed meeting Valentina Marian. I agree too, there will always be people who appreciate a colorful escape in a beautiful book. ❤
LikeLike
A peek into a different life. I’m intrigued. Thanks for such an interesting interview.
LikeLike
Thanks Jacqui 🙂
LikeLike
It is a pleasure to meet Valentina, a multi-dimensional personality. I love her advice of writing with ‘your own voice and style,’ her books must be as interesting as her life! Thanks for introducing us to a wonderful person Deb.
LikeLike
So glad you enjoyed the dynamic Valentina in this Q and A Balroop. She brings color to all her creative endeavors. 🙂 x
LikeLike
Thanks so much for sharing this interview Sally ❤
LikeLike
A very different and interesting excursion here, DG! Might have been up or alley 10 years ago when we designing our own dream home. No expectation of much change from the home built 8 years ago–at least for another ten years. By then, we’ll be too old for redesign. LOL. It’s all set for aging in place, by intention.
LikeLike
LOL good to hear you guys seemed to plan well ahead in your construction. 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you for another great interview, Debby! Very appreciated to get this information about artist, born from where our western culture origins. OK, Nero, Caligula and some other Romanians were not barely legal, in their work;-). But i love Italy so much, and will try to read the book asap. Best wishes, Michael.
LikeLike
Hi Michael. Thanks so much for popping over. And I’m with you on those Roman Emporers, lol 🙂 Hugs x
LikeLike
Valentina’s idea of inviting guests for dinner with a theme attached is a great idea.
The colors of Nature are truly inspiring. It’s fall where I am and the leaves on the trees are stunning, bright yellow – “yellow vibrations”.
An enjoyable read. Thanks, Debby. ❤
LikeLike
Thanks Carol. Yes, our leaves too have gone to yellow from the vibrant flaming oranges and reds. Hugs ❤
LikeLike
Thanks for introducing us to Valentina, Debby. I enjoyed the interview and your responses to her answers.
LikeLike
Thanks so much Norah. Happy to introduce the colorful Valentina. 🙂
LikeLike
This was exciting to read! Loved the review and the interview.
LikeLike
Thanks so much Jennie ❤
LikeLike
Valentina sure has had a full life and is still an incredibly busy bee! How brave of her to have made the “plunge” moving across the Atlantic Ocean to an entirely different country, with a different language, culture, and… wait a minute… I sense some parallels there. 🙂 Great interview, ladies!
LikeLike
LOLLLLLL I was chuckling as I was reading thinking, hmm, didn’t you do that? Lol, thanks Liesbet. 🙂 xx
LikeLike
Fab interview Debby! Brave woman to leave her familiar home to a strange land–love that, esp because she’s a GIRL! 🙂 We need stories like that to encourage other women to follow their intuition.
LikeLike
Absolutely Kate, very empowering. 🙂 x
LikeLike