Celebrating a Literary Win: “Dreaming Sophia” and the Magic of Italy
Sophia and I Are Celebrating—Cin Cin! Grazie!
I am beyond thrilled to announce that Dreaming Sophia has been awarded First Place in the 2018 Reader Views Literary Awards for Adult Fiction!
Sophia and I couldn’t be happier or more proud. It’s incredibly rewarding to know that the story of a daydreaming artist—her love for Italy, its language, and its vibrant culture—has resonated with so many readers.
A heartfelt thank you to the judges and to everyone who has traveled to Florence with Sophia, discovering along the way that dreams really can become reality.
Grazie di cuore for being part of this journey—here’s to many more dreams coming true!
Reader Views writes:
Author Melissa Muldoon presents spellbinding artistic expression in her delightful story, “Dreaming Sophia.”
Not your typical Italian romantic adventure, “Dreaming Sophia” is a wonderful multifaceted story that pushes through several genres, with layers and layers of exquisite entertainment. The story interweaves the experiences of a young girl as she overcomes significant loss and learns to love again, a historical peek into the lives of notable Italian dignitaries, and wonderful lessons and insight into all the splendor of Italy’s culture, language, art, and magical countryside. Basically, it’s a coming-of-age story, a romantic drama, action and adventure tale, travel guide, history text, artist book, and fantasy novel all rolled into one – phew!
I enjoyed this story immensely and was taken with the author’s creativity. Her love and passion for all things Italian exude from every single page. I quite imagine her to be just like her leading lady. She writes with an undeniably distinctive flair, and the seemingly effortless ability to draw readers into her world. The development of her characters is flawless. It was fun to watch Sophia grow and come into her own as the story progressed; she is truly an appealing protagonist that will squeeze her way into the hearts of readers. I fell in love with Sophia’s supporting cast of characters as well and found the way the author wrote the Italian personalities into the story to be unique and quite refreshing. And – I know it’s cliché to say that the author writes in such a way that I felt like I was right there, but here goes – the author writes in such a way that I felt like I was right there in the story with Sophia!
I highly recommend “Dreaming Sophia” by Melissa Muldoon. It’s a fantastic read with an appeal that will captivate and take you on a journey you won’t soon forget.
Read the novel that was inspired by Sophia Loren!
Dreaming Sophia
Dreaming Sophia is a magical look into Italy, language, art, and culture. It is a story about turning dreams into reality and learning to walk the fine line between fact and fantasy. When tragedy strikes, Sophia finds herself alone in the world, without direction and fearful of loving again. With only her vivid imagination to guide her, she begins a journey that will take her from the vineyards in Sonoma, California to a grad school in Philadelphia and, eventually, to Italy: Florence, Lucca, Rome, Verona, Venice, and Val d’Orcia. Through dreamlike encounters, Sophia meets Italian personalities—princes, poets, duchesses, artists, and film stars— who give her advice to help put her life back together. Following a path that takes her from grief to joy, she discovers the source of her creativity and learns to love again, turning her dreams into reality.
