Introduction by Melissa Amster
I met Lisa Montanaro online when she started following CLC a while back. I've always known her to be kind, friendly, and someone with great book recommendations. So when I found out that she had written a book and that it would be published soon, I couldn't wait to learn more about it and get my hands on a copy! Everything We Thought Was True sounds really interesting and I'm excited to read it in the near future. I had a great time interviewing Lisa for CLC and I hope you will enjoy her answers as much as I do. Lisa has one ebook of her debut novel to share with a lucky reader!
Lisa Montanaro is part no-nonsense Italian American New Yorker and part sunny Californian. She has a unique background as a performer, teacher of deaf students, lawyer, coach, speaker, and author. Everything We Thought Was True is her debut novel. Lisa is also the author of The Ultimate Life Organizer, published by Peter Pauper Press.
She serves as webinar host for the Women's Fiction Writers Association and is a member of its diversity & inclusion committee. She is also the facilitator of the Retro COLAGE group for adult children of LGBTQ parents. When not writing, Lisa enjoys cycling and hiking with her veterinarian husband, tending to her garden, and chasing after her rescue dogs. Lisa has enjoyed living snow-free since 2012 in Northern California, where she's made it her mission to sample the wines of the region.
A secret that forever shapes a family…
New York, 1983: When an argument erupts during dinner and Teresa Antinori, a typically docile wife and mother, hurls plates filled with pasta e piselli at her husband, Frank - the future of their Italian American family is changed forever. Frank has found a safe harbor with Teresa, but longs to truly be himself, while Teresa struggles with the startling discovery that her husband is gay and living a lie.
Los Angeles 2015: Thirty-two years later, their daughter Lena is still picking up the pieces. When her father calls with unexpected news, it throws her right back into her least favorite place - the past. Lena is torn between supporting her father and her enduring loyalty to her mother, who once demanded secrecy at all costs.
Told in alternating points of view - Frank and Teresa in the past, and Lena in the present - Everything We Thought Was True is the story of a family trying to reconcile their past, understand the secret at the heart of the family’s rupture, and embrace the future. Brimming with love and loss, heartache and hope, this multigenerational family drama weaves a tapestry of identity, healing, and forgiveness.
"A masterfully written 'love is love' story told during a time when freedom came with rules. Everything We Thought Was True is a love story but also a story of fear and disbelief. Everyone pays a price in this family that loses almost everything before they find not only themselves, but each other. A story of secrets, lies, triumph, and joy by a debut author who bears watching."
~ Barbara Conrey, USA Today bestselling author of Nowhere Near Goodbye and My Secret to Keep
"Lisa Montanaro's carefully drawn characters are our neighbors—they are us—and they demonstrate a path to face and overcome the types of challenges that threaten to tear us apart. Refreshingly empathetic and self-reflective, Everything We Thought Was True is a novel of family and forgiveness perfect for our time."
~ Jennifer Klepper, USA Today bestselling author of Unbroken Threads and The Last Road Trip
In one sentence, what was the road to publishing like for you?
It’s been a long and winding road, but an exciting one—started drafting in 2016, submitted to publishers in 2022, got my publishing deal in 2023, and am now releasing in January 2025.
How is Lena similar to or different from you?
On paper, the protagonist, Lena, and I share multiple identities: Italian American, married, native New Yorkers who moved to California (her to the LA area, me to the Davis area), lawyers (although I left the practice of law many years ago), and are the child of an LGBTQ+ parent. Yet, we are very different in many other ways. Lena is someone who hasn’t fully processed her emotions. She’s living in the aftermath of her family's secrets and decisions and hasn’t dealt with her childhood trauma. The characters in my novel are all trying to live their lives while the world and the truth are encroaching.
Many families have secrets that shape future generations. I hope readers resonate with what it’s like for a person and family to suffer emotional trauma or loss, and how it affects their lives.
If Everything We Thought Was True was made into a movie, who would you cast in the leading roles?
I love this question, especially because I’m a theater performer, and I love film adaptations of books. For Lena, I would cast Linda Cardellini, and for her husband Kevin, I would cast Justin Hartley (who ironically played the character of Kevin on This Is Us!). For Frank in the past story, I would cast Milo Ventimiglia. For Teresa, I’ve racked my brain researching who would play her and come up short, so I would hold auditions. ☺ I have a feeling I’d cast an unknown actress who would capture that Italian American look and the empathy of the character. Readers have said that Teresa is the heart of the story. If any readers can think of the perfect match for Teresa, please let me know!
What is the last book you read that you would recommend?
The Things We Leave Unfinished by Rebecca Yarros. It left me with such a book hangover! This was my first book by Rebecca Yarros, but it won't be my last. I loved this dual timeline novel, with one story set in present day, and the other during WWII. There was so much to weave together, and the author did it beautifully. There's a story within a story—one of the characters is an author and unearths letters from the past. Meanwhile, the reader is experiencing what is happening in those letters through the characters in the past. Very cool! There's love, romance (with some surprisingly hot sex in both the past and present stories), heartbreak, history, and surprise. I cried some tears of sadness and happiness while reading this one.
If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it?
Marisa Tomei comes to mind immediately. She captures my physical look, is Italian American (we are paesana with ancestors from the same areas of Italy!), and I respect her work as an actress. Plus, I stood behind her on the red carpet for a movie premiere in New York City years ago and she seemed like a lovely person.
If we were to visit you, what are some places you would take us to see?
California Wine Country for sure. I’ve made it my mission to sample the wines of the region since relocating to Northern California from New York in 2012. Other favorite spots are Lake Berryessa and the charming town of Winters, Sea Ranch and Point Reyes on the gorgeous Pacific Coast, Mount Shasta and Yosemite for their stunning natural beauty, Muir Woods for the majestic redwoods, and Lake Tahoe, which is one of the most stunning places in the world.
Thanks to Lisa for chatting with us and for sharing her book with our readers.
How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.
Giveaway ends February 4th at midnight EST.
Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us.
Listen to this book on Speechify!
2 comments:
Yes, several good friends.
My sweet cousin ...and there is not one thing that I would change about him!!!
Post a Comment