The Virgins of Venice: A Conversation with Gina Buonaguro

In this episode, I am joined by Gina Buonaguro, a writer and teacher originally from New Jersey who now lives in Toronto. She is the co-author of six historical novels and the solo author of The Virgins of Venice.

In this episode, you will learn the following:

• What was it like for women in Venice during the 1500s?
• How does one go about writing historical fiction?
• What is the process of co-authoring a book?

"If you write about now, there's no effort for that, but you have to think about all the things what they're wearing, what they're eating, where they're walking around, what buildings were there at that time versus a contemporary map." - Gina Buonaguro

Episode Timestamps:

[01:25] All about writing

[02:32] Gina wrote 6 co-authored 6 books

[03:51] About her book The Virgins of Venice

[05:47] Writing with Marin Sanudo

[07:30] Where her love for Italy came from

[10:27] Co-authoring is interesting

[13:33] The controversial adaptation of Persuasion by Jane Austen

[15:40] Where her ideas come from

[17:14] Some writers will plot every point before they'll write in a very extensive outline

[18:13] To start a new novel and it feels overwhelming

[19:32] How characters change depending on the genre of the book you’re writing

[22:12] Confusion and sense of loss after writing

[24:33] About Chris Hadfield

[26:53] Writing in her motherhood era

[29:15] Stoicism, sometimes you just have to endure things

[35:34] Hardships in control

[43:11] Without challenge, you don't improve physically