Mia Famiglia
Updated: Apr 10, 2020
Fun and funny customs and traditions that find their way into my books
“How you doin’?”
This question, complete with a small head nod is the norm in my family and could even be considered a term of endearment. I’m Italian-American. I’m a romance author. Oftentimes these worlds collide as I can’t but help weave the customs and traditions from my family into my stories...and boy do I have stories.
To quote Morgan Freeman (not the Morgan Freeman; rather, Morgan Freeman (aka Kate McKinnon from The Spy Who Dumped Me), “Everybody loves my parents. They’re magic.” My parents host Sunday dinner for a handful or an army. It doesn’t matter how many people show up, there’s seemingly always enough food.
As for Sunday dinners—whether in the summer when we’re enjoying perfect Colorado evenings on the patio eating and (spiritedly) talking, or in the winter when 20+ of us (literally) gather around the massive fireplace my pops built to watch football or hockey (or both)—my parents are the cornerstone of sharing their love, joy and fellowship with family, friends and strangers alike.
“Everybody loves my parents. They’re magic.”
Life isn’t perfect, this I know. As my mystery day job has shown me, the world can be downright wicked, but being able to create a place in my books where people can count on each other, family means something, and there’s always a happily ever after with some steam in between, life doesn’t get much better than that.
Do you have family traditions like Sunday dinner? How about an assembly line of family members that make homemade tamales? Share them in the comment section. I'd love to hear them!
Teaser: Wait until you read an upcoming blog about our Night of Pain Christmas tradition! (It's not what you think, but it does involve the police hot on our heels at the Cheesecake Factory.)
