Works
Beneath the Sicilian Stars
A family divided by war… a promise forged beneath the Sicilian stars.
1941, Pittsburg, California. Seventeen-year-old Annalisa Aiello huddles around the radio with her family when a special announcement shatters her world: Pearl Harbor has been bombed—where her brother is stationed on the USS Arizona. After the United States declares war, Annalisa watches in horror as her father, a Sicilian fisherman, is arrested as an "enemy alien." Grappling with grief and harsh wartime restrictions, Annalisa is forced to undertake an unexpected journey across the country to find her father and uncover the sacrifices of the past.
Meanwhile, in war-torn Sicily, her cousin Alberto navigates bombing raids as ancient fishing traditions crumble around him. But the forces tearing this family apart began decades earlier with a desperate choice made on a Sicilian shore—a secret pact sealed beneath the stars that promised a brighter future across the sea.
As Annalisa searches for her father and Alberto seeks his place in a changing world, they both discover that even in the darkest times, hope for a better future can endure.
From California's internment camps to Sicily's bombed villages, Beneath the Sicilian Stars follows one family's fight for survival, identity, and hope during World War II. Perfect for readers of Kelly Rimmer, Rhys Bowen, and Angela Petch.
The Last Letter from Sicily
"My dearest Gaetano, if this letter reaches you, know that my heart remains under the Sicilian stars where we made our promise..."
Sicily, 1939. Seventeen-year-old Concetta has just received life-changing news: her family is leaving their sun-drenched Sicilian village and moving to America. Desperate to stay with her secret love, Gaetano—a fisherman's son her father would never accept—Concetta spends one last night with him beneath a blanket of stars. There, among the citrus-scented air and cricket song, he hands her a leaving gift: a fountain pen, with a promise to keep their love alive through letters—and return to one another one day.
In America, Concetta refuses to let go of her dream of returning to Sicily, even as she struggles to navigate a strange new world of factory work and prejudice. Her letters to Gaetano become her lifeline, each one carrying fragments of her heart across the ocean. But when Italy declares war on the United States, Gaetano's letters suddenly stop. As Concetta faces pressure to let go of her past and accept her new American life, she yearns to discover Gaetano's fate—even if it means crossing a war-torn ocean to find him.
From the terraced hills of Sicily to the brewing tensions of wartime America, this richly woven tale of forbidden love and impossible choices will break your heart and put it back together again. Perfect for fans of Kelly Rimmer, Rhys Bowen, and Angela Petch, The Last Letter from Sicily asks just how far you would go to keep a promise.