It is with great pleasure that we welcome award-winning Italian writer Francesca Noto! Once again, Luna has acquired English World Rights from Astro Edizioni, the same Italian press that gave us Daniele Azara.
Francesca writes Teen Fantasy Romance, and it's her successful novel Sons of Storm that will be translated and published with us. Sons of Storm represents a first for Luna, in more than one way: it's our first Fantasy romance and also our first male romance.
Francesca Noto is a journalist, editor and book translator who has had a passion for writing since she was a young girl. She also has a PhD in Archaeology from Rome University “Tor Vergata”. She is the author of three urban fantasy novels, published in Italy by Astro Edizioni, winning the International Montefiore Award in 2016 with the first of them, Il segno della tempesta.
Her interests range from Norse mythology to medieval swords and fencing, from horse riding (with a young painted mare named Rain) and martial arts to roleplaying games and narrative video games, without forgetting a sheer passion for books of all kinds, especially fantasy, science fiction, and horror. She lives in Rome with her husband Marco, her two daughters Mila and Giorgia, and two crazy chinchillas.
About the book:
Sons of Storm is an urban fantasy novel, based on Norse mythology, about the difficult transition from adolescence to adulthood and the ties of a deep friendship, developing into male romance, between two very different boys. Nathaniel is a shy seventeen-year old guy raised between New York and Florida, with a stunning case of heterochromia, a prophecy to fulfill, and an unusual and loving family around him which he fears disappointing with his lack of hereditary special powers; Winter is a lonely nineteen-year old albino boy, raised without a family and as mad at the world as he is street-smart. When they meet, under the most unlikely of circumstances, and get stuck in a wild and ancient world, they will need all their strength, powers, and the special bond developing between them, to survive and find a way back to our reality. Forced to face harsh fights, hard decisions, and devastating revelations, they will share a common fate and fight a war greater than themselves, to finally find out what it means to be Sons of Storm.
We asked Francesca to tell us more about the story:
"The two main characters of Sons of Storm started telling me their story back in 2016. At the time, I was translating a beautiful horror novel by Poppy Z. Brite into Italian. I was so in love with her lyrical, powerful style of writing, and the way she managed to describe a passionate and delicate male romance in the most terrifying and weird context. I think she inspired me very much in the creation of my story: I felt I needed to enter the minds and hearts of my two characters, and understand their deepest reasons, to give them true life.
Nathaniel and Winter are teenagers on the verge of adulthood, forced by circumstances to grow up fast and make hard decisions to survive and find the answers they seek. Their journey home becomes a deeper quest from boy to man, and their bond oversteps friendship, teaching them the meaning of true love, despite everything and everyone.
In the end, Sons of Storm is not just a fantasy adventure: it’s a tale about diversity, finding your true self and the sheer importance of cherishing the time we have been given."
We'll be cracking on with the translation then! You can follow our progress in the monthly newsletter.
Once again, Benvenuta, Francesca!