Interview with Wilma Pressich, Author of The Venetian Mystery

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write The Venetian Mystery?

Venice and human behaviour are the main inspirations for my book. People from one country might find the behaviour of another amusing, irritating or attractive. The Venetians were certainly endearing with their philosophies and their musical language devoid of the letter ‘l’. When asking for a gondola, the echo would be ‘gondoa’ which tourists would find both puzzling and amusing. As I could not express the musicality, I found a different kind of sonority, music itself: Vivaldi relives and is joined by the haunting notes of jazz, mingling past sounds with present ones. When walking through Venice one feels its history pulsating with the flow of the canal, it seems to speak to you with each step you take through its intricate alleyways… its splendid piazzas and the breathtaking palazzi. As I wrote the Venetian Mystery, the characters seemed to beckon me and come to life awaiting to tell their stories themselves, involving me with the diversity of their tales. There were the rich, and the not so rich, fighting to be heard. I portrayed them as they presented themselves and gave them all a voice.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of The Venetian Mystery, what would they be?

For Hamlet I would pick the “Misa Criolla (Creole Mass)” with Andean instruments, composed by Ariel Ramirez and sung by Jose Carreras. For Lu I’d pick “Queen of the Night” by Mozart, interpreted by Meryl Streep, in which she portrays a singer who couldn’t sing in the film Florence Foster Jenkins. As said above, Vivaldi and Jazz permeates throughout the narrative while Viola fantasizes about singing the Blues for Vivaldi, observing his reactions at the novelty.

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

Elena Ferrante’s The Neapolitan Quartet, comprising ‘My Brilliant Friend,’, and serialized on SBS in Italian; also ‘Dear Life’, a compendium of short stories by the Noble Prize winner Alice Munro.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

The above. I am an avid reader of French and English classics, modern fiction, thrillers and anything to do with new information such as theoretical science.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

The finale in which all protagonists gather for a concert where Hamlet conducts a Teutonic piece. I enjoyed describing the hustle and bustle of an important gathering, feelings, gossip, gowns, above all music.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

Observing behaviour and mannerism of common people, taking notes, jotting down ideas in the dark – when they come.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

Do no harm.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

That life is amusing – most of the time.

Wilma Pressich is the author of the new book The Venetian Mystery

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