From Family Secrets to Historical Fiction: Real-Life Inspiration -125

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Kristi Leonard [: 00:00:03

Welcome to Author Express. Thanks for checking us out. This is the podcast where you give us 15 minutes of your time and we give you a chance to hear the voice behind the pages and get to know some of your favorite writers in a new light. I'm one of your hosts, Kristi Leonard, owner and host of Writers in the Wild Retreats, nonfiction voiceover artist and president of WFWA. I'm excited to share with you a little about today's guest.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:00:35

Today we're chatting with Lindsay Marie Morris, an LA based journalist turned novelist whose Sicilian roots and globe trotting curiosity infuse everything she writes. After cutting her teeth in journalism at Shape magazine, Forks Over Knives and the Chicago Tribune, Lindsay leapt into historical fiction with her first book, The Last Letter From Sicily, and her brand new book, Beneath the Sicilian Stars, released yesterday. When she's not writing fiction or journalism, Lindsay presents Author Talks, leads workshops on personal storytelling and historical fiction, and interviews Italian culture and history ambassadors on her blog. We are honored to welcome Lindsay Morris. Hello.

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:01:20

Hi there.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:01:22

So great to meet you.

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:01:23

Yeah, it's so great to be here. Thank you.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:01:26

Yeah, we have a lot to talk about. I can't wait to get to talk about your book, but I want to get to know you a little bit. We like to learn a little bit about our guests by asking a simple question. It could be simple, it could not be simple. Tell me the most interesting thing about where you're from, is that Milwaukee. Did I get that right?

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:01:45

So, yeah, I'm actually originally from Milwaukee. But the thing is, I've lived in Los Angeles longer than anywhere else. And so I guess one of the most interesting things about California in general to me at this point is that while researching my first novel, The Last Letter From Sicily, I actually stumbled on a little discussed chapter of American history regarding Italians that were living in California. And as you may know, During World War II, the Italian immigrants across the United States were labeled enemy aliens. And there were about 600,000 of these. And it was because they had not yet achieved citizenship status. So the impact, however, was more severely experienced here in California. This state had the highest concentration of those affected, and it was in the form of evacuations from homes.

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:02:54

About 10,000 Italian immigrants were forced to evacuate from their homes in California alone. And many because they lived near the coast or in strategically important military areas. And so these were fishermen, shopkeepers, senior citizens, and even and families. And it was really, these are people who, for whom it had been. They'd been a part of their communities for decades, and suddenly they were Displaced because of fear and suspicion and wartime hysteria.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:03:32

Wow. Well, we are definitely gonna get into more of that when we talk about your book, but let's get to know you a little bit. So you're someone who's visited lots of places. You know, you have journalism, Chicago, Louisiana. Italy, all the places in between. But I get the sense that you carry, like, a strong connection to home, especially with your Sicilian roots. Tell us a family story or maybe a moment from your childhood that people still tell about you at gatherings.

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:04:02

I don't know if people still tell this. A gathering is necessarily. But as a child, one of the things that I was particularly known for in my family was my interest in science. And I was one of those kids that was always in the backyard looking under rocks to try to find bugs. And I would put them under the microscope. And so I was always trying to investigate different things and learn more. I, at one point wanted to be an entomologist, so.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:04:39

Yeah, well, now you're more of an anthropologist. You study people and write about them. Well, let's talk about the book because I'm. I'm excited about this book. You have one book out already, and today we're going to talk about the second book that just came out yesterday, Beneath the Sicilian Stars. Having read your book, I can say it's gorgeous. Such a great read for people who love, like, emotional depth and family mysteries and unforgettable historical details. But to help our listeners get a feel for this book, which we like to challenge our guests by asking them to give us a one sentence summary.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:05:14

So you said you had one, so let's hear it.

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:05:16

Yeah. So Beneath the Sicilian Stars traces the intertwined World War II experiences of a Sicilian family divided between California and Sicily, highlighting their resilience and rediscovered bonds amidst the injustices of internment, government restrictions, devastating bombings, and profound personal losses.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:05:45

Okay, that actually tracks. Nice job. I mean, for a historical fiction, I mean, you have to be, like, talented to pull that off. I loved how your book balances, like, the sweeping historical backdrop, but, like, there's these quiet emotional moments that feel like incredibly personal. Really made me wonder how much of your own family story filtered into the book or if it did at all. So, so much of the book explores keeping secrets and the ripple effect across generations. Was that a theme you set out to explore or did it just kind of unfold as we were writing the story?

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:06:27

So it's interesting. I mean, I. It did. The secrets aspect did unfold later in the story. And I wanted to really tell this story as Something that would serve as a lens through which one could view the Sicilian experience of World War II. And so when I was building it, I created these three threads, and I wanted them to serve as essentially a braid that would stretch across the story. So intertwined within that braid, I do have elements that call me back to my roots in terms of some of the traditions and rituals. And my family came from a fishing village.

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:07:20

And so in reflecting on that, I had done a lot of research into the fishing communities. And so that's there as well as Annalisa wears a cornicello necklace. And that is a horn shaped amulet. And it's something that was gifted to me when I was a little girl. And I still wear it today. I'm not wearing it today, but I still do wear it. Yeah, yeah. And it's something that's a good luck charm, and men and women wear it.

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:07:57

And if you see somebody wearing it, you know that they're Italian.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:08:02

Oh, interesting. I like to remember that. Was there a moment when you were writing this book that kind of hit you unexpectedly hard? Like, had to stop and sit with the emotion of what you just put on the page? I feel like that could be with such an emotional book that you wrote.

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:08:19

Yeah. I mean, while I was researching, I read a number of books that were nonfiction, historical accounts based on newspaper articles and oral history of bombings in Palermo. And just to read those descriptions, the individual stories behind the stories, really hit me because it. It pulled me into that experience. And part of my research involved traveling. And I went to the World War II Museum in Catania, Sicily, the Museum of Allied Landings. And when you go there, there is a room that you sit in where you can experience what it sounds like and feels like when you're in a shelter during a bombing.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:09:20

Wow.

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:09:21

So that really helped drive it home, and it helped me illustrate some of those scenes.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:09:29

Absolutely. Wow, that must have been profound. I can imagine. Very, very cool.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:09:36

Something I found fascinating in your background is the journalism. Like, you've reported, I don't know, wellness, small business, food, travel. And yet your fiction is, like, layered, and it's got a poetic quality to it. Like, when you sit down to write fiction, what do you have to understand, unlearn from journalism? Like, are there habits that you want to hold on to and, like, things you got to get rid of?

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:10:03

It's a really great question. It's something that took some time. I, as a journalist, the research aspect comes naturally, and it really pushes me to dig deeper and to find reputable sources. But when it comes to actual writing of scenes in journalism, there's a lot of dialogue and framing, but not framing in terms of creating inner world. And so that is the piece that I had to really focus on shaping for myself and really coming to the page with a sense of how is she saying this? What is he thinking as he says this? What's really going through their mind? And when they're looking at somebody and speaking, what do they see? So those are the details that I had to really push myself to expand on.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:11:08

Oh, I can imagine. Yeah. That must have been hard to sort of, like I said, unlearn what you've been trying to do all those years. Right. We like to make sure people know how to find you. I've been on your lovely website. You have a lot of information on there. You want to share that with our listeners?

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:11:27

Sure. It's LindsayMarieMrris.com and I have a blog that's there where I cover Italian history and culture and interview people who have an Italian background or are doing things that are putting Italy in the spotlight. And I also have a newsletter there that you can subscribe to.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:11:53

Oh, wonderful. Like reader. Like a reader newsletter.

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:11:56

Yes, a reader newsletter.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:11:58

So what are you working on next?

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:12:00

So my third novel is set in a different time period in a different part of Italy. And I can't wait to share that.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:12:13

Yay. That's exciting. So we always end with the same question. We like to make sure we wrap up and we're all about reading and stories. So what book or story inspires you the most?

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:12:27

So from the beginning, what really inspired me in 2019, when I sat down and started writing the Last Letter From Sicily was Lisa Scottoline's book Eternal. And she's best known for her legal thrillers. But she took a big turn in 2021. So actually as. As I was writing the book, because it took me about five years, I came across her book and instead of a courtroom drama, she dives into a lesser known part of where World War II history. And it doesn't show up often in historical fiction. You don't really see what happens in Fascist Italy as much as Nazi Germany.

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:13:14

So it really inspired me to dig into my own heritage and explore wartime stories that have been largely overlooked.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:13:23

Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, it's amazing how much reading can inform what authors are thinking about. I don't think readers really think about that, but it really does. It plays into a lot of what you think about. Well, we are at the end of our time I don't know if you can believe it. 15 minutes goes by super fast. Thank you so much for joining us. We can't wait to see what you write next.

Lindsay Marie Morris [: 00:13:47

Thanks so much. Ciao.

Kristi Leonard [: 00:13:53

Thanks for joining us. We hope you take a second to give us stars or a review on your favorite podcasting platform. And we'll be here again next Wednesday. Follow us on Instagram at Author Express Podcast to see who's coming up next. Don't forget, keep it express, but keep it interesting.