Heather Sunseri

A beautiful summer dinner with friends by the river.

A little something from yesterday’s 5-mile walk…

Racetrack changes up the jockeys and plaques each year, and yesterday I noticed that In Italian won the Jenny Wiley Stakes in 2023. Why is this special? I hear you asking.

Well, many of us pick thoroughbreds to wager on based on names, colors of the silks, or other special facts that have nothing to do with the soundness of the animal.

If you know me and my love for everything Italian, you know I would have wagered on In Italian for this race.

Also, side note that not many people know about me… I’m a direct descendant of Jenny Wiley.

My husband and I call most Friday nights “Friday Night Record Party,” something he’s been sharing with his friends on social media for years now. Collecting records became one of his favorite hobbies during Covid.

A more recent hobby of mine has been getting to know Italian wines. (My hobby is a tad more expensive. 😳)

Tonight we are enjoying a lovely Ugolforte Brunello di Montalcino 2018 while listening to a little Tom Petty.

Happy Friday!

Back home from a much needed vacation in Oregon. Despite almost constant rain, the week was incredible for forest bathing, visiting some of our favorite places, getting a lot of exercise, and for shifting mindset away from a busy winter of taxes and forward into a season of writing. I WILL finish a book this summer. A new standalone story in the Paynes Creek thriller series IS coming!

Stay tuned...

The clouds were on fire last night!!

End of the day local wine at the beach. Doesn’t get much better.

Incredible wildlife sightings on today’s walk. A mass stranding of Valella valella.

We also spotted a bald eagle, but we were too slow and too far away to capture him with our cameras.

All in all, a lovely 8-mile walk.

Looking for a new book today? Exposed in Darkness will not be free after today. Get it for free now before it's too late.

https://heathersunseri.com/novels/exposed-in-darkness/

For some retailers, it might already be too late. So hurry while you still can.

(Don't worry, though, if you're too late. The 11-hour entertainment can still be yours for less than a latte.)

I have discovered my favorite new Substack. You might remember Kirsten Powers from CNN. However, her Substack is NOT an extension of her time there. Kirsten writes about how she is healing from her time working in media, about her love of Italy, and how she is learning that the way we are living in the United States simply "is not normal" (and what we can do about it). If you clink the lick below, you can get a discount on a subscription to read all of her articles. Even if you don't purchase a paid subscription, you should check out her free articles.

Home | Substack Discover and discuss great writing with the world’s smartest readers on Substack.

I want to get better at sharing the books I'm reading in the new year. I'm starting now. The past month I started Rebecca Yarros's The Empyrean series. The first two books are out now, and I'll be preordering the next.

What made me pick it up? Well, just check out the accolades the publisher and author speak of: A #1 New York Times bestseller * Optioned for TV by Amazon Studios * Amazon Best Books of the Year, #4 * Apple Best Books of the Year 2023 * Barnes & Noble Best Fantasy Book of 2023 * NPR “Books We Love” 2023 * Audible Best Books of 2023 * Hudson Book of the Year * Google Play Best Books of 2023 * Indigo Best Books of 2023 * Waterstones Book of the Year finalist * Goodreads Choice Award, semi-finalist * Newsweek Staffers’ Favorite Books of 2023 * Paste Magazine’s Best Books of 2023

Read my review here (and be sure to follow me on BookBub):

Heather Sunseri recommends Fourth Wing Rebecca Yarros's Fourth Wing and the second book in the series, Iron Flame, have been my escape during this year's holiday season when I had a bit of downtime, in-the-car time, and doing-stuff-with-my-hands time for listening to audio books. This series was and is a hit for me. While I don't write f...

Merry Christmas! Buon Natale! 🎄💫🎁

Buon Natale! (Merry Christmas!)

I’ve been reading about Christmas traditions in Italy this morning as I have morning coffee and wait for my children to wake up. (They don’t wake as easily now that they’re adults.)

One interesting tidbit: Italians don’t traditionally fill stockings until January 6 when they celebrate La Befana.

Legend has it that the Befana was an old woman or witch who lived in a shack at the time of Jesus’s birth. She met the three wisemen the night Jesus was born, but she was embarrassed of her modest means. Later she felt guilty she wasn’t able to deliver a gift to the child of God, so she dedicated her life to delivering gifts to little children. This happens on the eve of January 5, Epiphany Eve.

Hope everyone, no matter how you celebrate, has a wonderful day!

Date night, Part 2.

Date night before Christmas! Part 1..

We enjoyed a lovely late lunch in Georgetown at today! The aroncini, the Georgetown pizza, and the Chianti Classico Reserva were incredible. After that we were gifted with the best cannolis ever! I keep finding ways to relive what I loved about Italy. Thank you !

The sky was just beautiful on tonight’s walk.

A little Montalcino Brunello for Christmas decorating tonight. Definitely getting into the Christmas spirit after doing a bit of shopping yesterday.

Hi, all! In case you've lost track of time, or in case you lost two complete years when we were all locked down due to a rampant and vicious virus... it's been more than ten years since I published my first novel, Mindspeak, a science fiction story written for teens.

Click the link below and read more about what writing and publishing that novel has meant to me over the years, and what the Carnegie Center means to me now.

GoodGiving Challenge When I first published Mindspeak, a science fiction novel for teens, more than ten years ago, I was introduced to a whole community of authors, writers, and readers who love the written word. The most meaningful feedback I got was from teens who would approach me and tell me how they hardly ever rea...

You should have seen the size of this Florentine steak before it was chopped up and "cooked."

Read the latest Substack newsletter for additional stories and photos centered around the food in Florence, Italy. (For those planning to visit Florence, I provide a few links and suggestions for where to eat, and where NOT to eat.)

https://heathersunseri.substack.com/p/florence-italy-what-and-where-we

I'm working on an article about our trip to Florence. I might have to write a completely separate post on just food, because, well... apparently we ate a few things worth taking pictures of. I'd say sorry in advance, except I'm not.

Take this rabbit and pancetta club sandwich for example. This was the appetizer at our favorite restaurant in Florence. Yes, we have a favorite restaurant now. Except, actually... we now have three favorite restaurants in Florence.

Wait til you see the main course...

Good morning! Let's see if we can get a thread going on Substack today!

We're talking holiday meals and traditions over there, and I really want to know some of your favorite foods and traditions.

Let's talk family gatherings Hey, y’all! As you await the next newsletter with details of my recent trip to Italy (Next, we’re headed to Florence!), let’s discuss our holida…

It was a beautiful day when we visited Venice, but these photos of Venice we took at the end of October do not do the crowds of people we witnessed in this historic city justice. I honestly thought that by traveling in what many call the "shoulder season" that we would be rewarded with smaller crowds. This was absolutely not the case. Read my unpopular opinions about this extraordinary city in my latest Substack.

https://heathersunseri.substack.com/publish/post/138777262

Just signed up for Italian classes at , and thought I’d share some of the beauty that is this building, Gratz Park, and downtown Lexington.

https://heathersunseri.substack.com/p/italy-a-mini-pilgrimage-through-the

We're back in the states. Woke up well before the crack of dawn thanks to my body being on Europe/England time, but also exhausted thanks to only a few hours of sleep. Jet lag is no joke. But I'm so excited to start sorting through pictures and share some of the details of our trip.

Click the link above for my thoughts on Bologna (and for more photos). Mike and I are HUGE walkers, as many of you know, and we will definitely miss the many, many miles of porticoes that cover the sidewalks in this beautiful Italian city.

Next up? Venice. Watch the Substack this Saturday for the next leg of our trip. Subscribe here: https://heathersunseri.substack.com

Because many of you have asked, I will also be putting together a detail of our itinerary with a list of every Italian town we visited.

During our first twenty-four or so hours in Bologna, Mike and I explored The Portico di San Luca, ate the tagliatelle and ragú that Bologna is known for, and got to know this beautiful city bathed in terra cotta. Read my latest Substack post to learn more about our adventures and to see even more photos.

https://heathersunseri.substack.com/p/italy-a-mini-pilgrimage-through-the

More articles and adventures are coming… Bologna was only the beginning.

Mike and I are at the very end of our near-three-week adventure through Italy. We have learned so much about the Italian culture, Tuscan wines, and where we can’t wait to return in this beautiful country. And the food? Words can’t describe.

As you can imagine, with a three week span of time, everything didn’t go perfectly, but it wasn’t too far off.

Current status: enjoying a lovely Sicilian bianco with a tray of Italian meats and cheeses, the Mediterranean in the background. A lovely aperitivo for our last full day in Italy.

I plan to detail our itinerary and the many things we did in Italy across several articles on my Substack. I have so many thoughts about Italy and about travel in general. Be sure to subscribe to receive those posts.

https://open.substack.com/pub/heathersunseri?r=b6sfx&utm_medium=ios

Seeing The Verve Pipe (and Brian Vander Ark) and Toad the Wet Sprocket in concert recently got me thinking…

Singing along to Jimmy Buffet, having a glass of wine, and listening to the cicadas.

I was able to see Jimmy Buffet in concert twice. Once with my dad on Hilton Head Island, SC. And a second time with my husband at Riverbend in Cincinnati.

RIP Jimmy Buffet.

I feel we sometimes lose sight of some of our deepest desires while life happens around us. A year ago, I posted on Substack about my desire to set off on a pilgrimage—the Camino de Santiago being my top choice at the time. I’ve researched possible paths, purchased equipment, trained, yet I’ve not quite booked the trip. Even now, one year later, this goal weighs on me. Hangs out in the back of my mind—in the periphery of life. Read the entire article:
https://open.substack.com/pub/heathersunseri/p/the-camino-de-santiago-or-the-via?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webI