Michele
McPhee is the author of several best-selling books, Emmy-nominated
investigative reporter and award-winning columnist...but as she shares
in the following story, it didn't all happen overnight. Learn from her
inspiring tale and on June 22 to 27 join
her and writers like you in one of the most beautiful places in the
world, Positano, Italy - let Michele give you the tools to navigate the
publishing world like a pro. You're not alone...take the plunge!
My Positano
By Michele McPhee
His voice was as
sweet as the summer night. His hand grabbed mine and pulled me just
enough so my eyes met his. "In bocca al lupo,'' the stranger whispered
as his lips brushed my cheek.
The stranger's whisper
is one of my greatest memories of Positano, Italy, the remarkably
romantic city with so much to remember - clams in spaghetti vongole
sweet as plums, people living their lives as passionately as play
actors, views so luscious I fear a blink might make it all disappear -
it's amazing that I could recall his words at all.
Perhaps the words
stayed with me because of the splendid setting in which the phrase was
uttered. But the writer in me believes it was the translation that left
the brief encounter emblazoned in my mind.
In bocca al lupo literally means go into the mouth of the wolf.
You want me to go into the mouth of the wolf? Get my head eaten by a beast? What?
Who is the writer who used such potentially dangerous, dramatic imagery like that?
Even now every time I hear an American say "break a leg" I wince at its lack of beauty.
These are the questions that help make me a writer, an investigative journalist, a poet, an artist. It is visiting places like Positano that give me inspiration. It is the company of other writers that sparks the real magic.
I got my first book published by accident.
I was stuck in my identity as a crime reporter. Just a crime reporter.
Sure, I was
dogged, willing to go anywhere and do almost anything for a scoop, and
have built up an impressive slew of cocktail party stories like I snuck
into John Gotti's wake in Queens, New York. I got whacked by a woman
wielding a patent leather purse in London after Princess Diana's
untimely death and I posed as a mob moll with an undercover NYPD
detective targeting fight fixing in Las Vegas. I was at the scene
of the largest mass murder in our country's history: the terrorist
attack on the World Trade Center towers that killed 2,996 people and
wrote about the 343 firefighters; 23 NYPD cops and 37 Port Authority
police officers who made the ultimate sacrifice while rescuing the tens
of thousands who survived that terrible day.
But it was the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace that helped me get that acci dental book deal. I was sent to South Beach, Miami by the New York Daily News hours after Versace was killed going into his beachfront home. His blood still stained his marble steps when I arrived; his killer still on the loose. When spree killer Andrew Cunanan was finally found dead in a Miami houseboat, I interviewed the owner of a nightclub where Versace had spent his last hours. That club owner was Chris Paciello. And his name would cross my desk years later on an indictment that listed mobsters charged with racketeering, extortion, assault, and murder.
It turned out that Paciello, who had dated Madonna and Sofia Vergara of Modern family, was in fact a killer on the run from his past. My coverage
in the Daily News led to a magazine story in Maxim. That Maxim piece
got me a call from an agent. The agent asked me to write a book
proposal. I had no idea how. So I bought a book, "How To Write A Book
Proposal" and followed the directions.
To my amazement, I
got a deal. The four other crime books I have written were not as easy,
believe me, but the experiences have given me insight into the secret
world of publishing. And my Writers' Studio will reveal those secrets to
save you a lot of heartache.
So, brave fellow
writers, I urge you all to go into the mouth of the wolf...to take a
chance, invest in yourself and your inner artist, to write every day in
the most beautiful place on the planet. You can be an accidental author
too.
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Celebrating the Italian olive picking & pressing season
Autumn is almost here and we have marked our calendars for the
beautiful olive oil making season. And although the sleepy winters dim the lights
and the sea waves roll on the shores in solitude, we are preparing for the next
cycle - planting, turning the land and picking the fruits that will get us
through winter. Join our kitchen and break some bread with us as we welcome the
new season.
Zucca
Saltata ~ Slow Cooked Savory Pumpkin 
With so many reasons to celebrate there area also many ways. Each town has its own events such as a parade, concert, or firework show. Many Italians chose to leave the city all together to enjoy a big family meal al fresco in the countryside or spend a day sunbathing on the beach.
1 cup Sugar
Sure, why not? Italians do it all the time! Gelato is the perfect cool treat to break the heat. Under the scorching midday sun it's very acceptable in Italy to trade in your fork for a spoon. It's not uncommon for Italians to have 2 sometimes 3 gelatos in a day. In the evening the ritual passegiata or stroll with a cono in hand is a must. Families, couples, and friends come together in the evening to just wonder up and down the main street on their way to the gelateria. Gelato and summer go hand in hand and with less fat and calories of regular ice cream you don't have to feel bad about that second...or third scoop!
Try making your own gelato treats with our recipe below or stop by our kitchens and we can teach you how La Dolce Vita, Dessert & Pastry Making in Positano. Call us today to learn more!
If your farmer's market or garden is anything like ours - zucchini are everywhere! At the farmer's market they're piled high at every stand and in our gardens a new batch is coming in before we've had a chance to eat the first. Oh the stresses of summer!
Tanti Auguri to Melody & Nando!!! 
Delicious, light and flavorsome - the perfect soup for a healthy spring lunch.
