Melissa Rea - Author

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What is Love, Really?

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bee and flowerThat is a question that fascinates us all. Does it happen when a little chubby imp shoots you with arrow? Probably not. It can be defined as a strong feeling we have for one another. We think love comes in many flavors. There is love between mother and child. There is love for friends and even love of one’s football team, but it is romantic love that sparks the most interest. Is romantic love is the deep-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach longing that fuels the work of so many writers? Or can it be two octogenarians holding hands on a park bench? This question is one that fascinates me as well.

In Histoire de Ma Vie, Giacomo Casanova talks of love endlessly.  He seems never to separate the intense feeling from physical longing. Love and sex were the same to him. I read and reread his words trying to find evidence that he had any concept of platonic love. He did stop writing his memoir at the age of 49, but always his brand of love involved a desire to consummate his love. Today we speak of romantic feelings as having two parts. We use the word love to express the emotional component and sex as the word for the purely physical. To Casanova he only knew he felt love. No separation into distinct parts, just love. In Conjuring Casanova, Monsieur Casanova is horrified when he discovers that, Lizzy, a modern woman, separates his most sacred of pursuits into into two parts. Was he so wrong or are we? In the end does it matter?

Casanova

 

 

What’s In Name?…Conjuring Casanova.

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The perfect beach read...frothy yet satisfying like a good ice cream soda
The perfect beach read…frothy yet satisfying like a good ice cream soda

If your are going to borrow, borrow from the best, I always say. TodayI borrow The Bard’s wit to shed light on the title of my book, Conjuring Casanova. Obviously, I love alliteration, but my title has two meanings. In Conjuring Casanova, Lizzy Hillman, frazzled and lonely ER doc, conjures Giacomo Casanova from 1774 to 2016. I  conjure him by using the words from his memoir, Histore de Ma Vie.  He didn’t write about the internet, Food TV, or White Castle sliders, of course, which he discovered in 2016, albeit fictionally. In 3700 words he did discuss nearly every other aspect of 18th century life. It seemed important to me in this age where women still struggle with equality, to introduce modern women to a man who believed women were the superior sex….in 1774!  I wanted to represent him fairly using his words.

He was far from perfect. His reputation as a womanizer is all most people know of him. There was much more to this famous libertine. I wanted to conjure him for my readers as faithfully as possible. In, Conjuring Casanova, Casanova is still Casanova even in 2016. He sleeps with Lizzy’s friends, manages to get shot asking for directions, and never gives up trying to seduce his hostess.  Doesn’t that sound like smart, sexy fun?

Beach Read Season Is Here!

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Beach Read_edited-1 (2)Summer is here! The cold dark days are gone for a few sweet months and let’s celebrate. It’s time to sit on the beach, on your deck, or in any sunny spotgondolasportrait and take advantage of the long days to read fun books.  Why not dig your toes into the sand with ER doc Lizzy Hillman as she conjures Giacomo Casanova from 1774 to 2016. Travel to romantic Paris and breathtaking Venice from the comfort of your very own beach chair, even if it’s in your living room. Why not slather on the sunscreen and get to know an 18th century libertine in Conjuring Casanova.

“This is the perfect beach read! A likeable heroine, witty banter, romance and sex. In addition to well-researched historical background about the real Cassanova. Frothy yet satisfying, like a good ice cream soda.” Amazon Customer

The Inspiration of Undies

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Le-Lever-deFanchonNicolasBernardLépicié-1773I know readers are curious souls and I thought you might want to share the thoughts that went through my head and led me to write Conjuring Casanova.  I was writing a three-book romance series which someday may see the light of publishing. It takes place in  1760 and if one is going to have romance in the eighteenth century, some understanding of the women’s underwear of that time is a must.

Giacomo Casanova

I worked the internet and found, “No better recordings of the ins an outs of daily life in the eighteenth century can be found than in the pages of Giacomo Casanova’s memoir, Histoire de Ma Vie.” I ordered one volume; there are twelve. In the pages I discovered this crazy-for-life,  hilariously honest and gifted writer sharing forty-nine years of his everyday life. The other eleven volumes quickly filled my shelves.

I knew nothing about the man. His rep was certainly not attractive. He knew plenty about ladies undies back in the day. He was the quintessential womanizer. How could I like him so much through his words? Yet every time I read his words I felt like “my friend” was talking to me. A friend who just happened to be an eighteenth-century libertine.

bee and flowerOne day as I held my friend’s book on my lap, devouring his words, I asked myself a simple question: What would I think of him if he was here today? Et voilà, Conjuring Casanova was born. The picture, a not-so-subtle reference to a man who spent his life in the unending pursuit of the flower of womanhood. As it happens, “Melissa” means honey bee, so how could I resist this pretty picture?

Casanova and Prince — Fallen Soldiers in the Army of Love

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Prince[1]portrait It was Stevie Wonder in an interview with Anderson Cooper who called Prince “a member of the army of love.” Prince Rogers Nelson has been gone a short time and there is certainly a little less love in the world because of his death. Giacomo Casanova and Prince were both men of great passion and love and had many more things in common than anyone might guess. Both men contributed major works in their fields, Prince in music and Casanova in literature. A deep and genuine love of women certainly tied them together across the centuries with a timeless bond. Casanova details his “love” in Histoire de Ma Vie and Prince in his many songs celebrating his sensuality.

Prince always surrounded himself with beautiful woman. “Tell Me How U Want 2 B  Done,”  the name of a Prince song, so passionately demonstrates his desire to please his ladies. Casanova spent  much of his time pleasing too as he colorfully details in his memoir. Like Casanova, Prince chose women with talent as well as beauty. Prince did his best to promote the talent of female artists, often highlighting them in his shows to further their careers. Casanova was always concerned that none of his lovers end up worse for having loved him. He bankrupted his cloth business providing housing for factory workers who became his mistresses. His wanted to ensure the women he cared for had decent places to live and necessary furnishings—a kindness not uncommon for an elite man in the 18th century.

I think Prince would have appreciated Casanova’s clothes too. Casanova was not much of a music fan but went to the opera often just to see and be seen. The after opera gambling and gathering—a high point of the era, was really the point of Casanova’s evenings. He was much more interested in which dancer or lady in the next box would be having a late supper with him. Both men led lives steeped in carnal pleasures and creative passion, and I loved them both for their brilliant work. It makes me smile to think I can still  listen to “Little Red Corvette” and read Histoire de Ma Vie. I feel their passion, and honor these great and talented souls who held deep respect for the women in their lives. No longer with us, for every note and every word, we can return their love with our appreciation.

How would Casanova have reacted to the women of Prince’s time?  Wondering just that thought brought me to write Conjuring Casanova. How would an eighteenth-century libertine who lived for pleasure make his way  in this graceless modern age? What would he think of our technology in the era of sexting and hookups? Would he find the women of 2016 very different from those of his time? To imagine that I needed to write a book. In it, ER Doctor Elizabeth Hillman helps Casanova deal with these questions and more when she conjures him to our 21st century. Now I know the answer to my burning question. How much fun could that be?

Would You Play Cards With Casanova?

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the card game paintingGiacomo Casanova had a taste for games of chance and often tried to make a living from gambling. Faro was his favorite. It was a card game much like modern Mini Baccarat. As a man, your chance in a game with Casanova would be equal, as he never cheated and often lost. As a lady, however, you would always win. He couldn’t bear to take your money. But how would he play “the poker of the stripping” in 2016?

In Conjuring Casanova ER doc and modern woman, Elizabeth Hillman learns how far the game can go when she leaves her friends with the great seducer and returns to find…a 21st century party going on. Imagine that?! Get the details, pre-order now!