(Video) Author Interview | Jorie and Edale Lane discuss “Merchants of Milan” the first novel of the Night Flyer Trilogy!

Posted Wednesday, 26 February, 2020 by jorielov , , , 4 Comments

Video Interview banner created by Jorie in Canva using Unsplash.com photography (Creative Commons Zero).

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I have a very special *surprise!* for you,  as you may remember – I’ve been trying to bring more vlog interviews to Jorie Loves A Story. Two authors had to be rescheduled (ie. AshleyRose Sullivan & Stephen Zimmer) whilst a few others had a scheduling conflict – which is why today I am thrilled to bits to bring my second video interview to my readers! Isn’t this exciting!?

In March [2018] as I was celebrating my *5th Blogoversary* I was honoured with featuring Ms Chris whilst conversing with her about her Road Ghosts Omnibus release for her Road Ghosts series! If you missed viewing the companion post where I gave live feedback on behalf of her responses to my questions, kindly make sure you visit after you’ve enjoyed this new conversation with Ms Lane.

I have been enjoying taking this journey with you and reading your reactions after you finish listening the conversations as they evolve. Although, these are vlog interviews – I encourage you to play them as they are embedded here, whilst having the JOY of reading my in-line reactions as I initially listened to them myself – seeing where the author & I each reacted to each other as we had this ‘virtual’ fireside chat and engaged in an intrapersonal way.

If you use YouTube directly, I encourage you to leave a comment on there as well as on this post in the threads below. This way both I & the author will know your thoughts, listening to your thoughtful comments & the conversation can carry forward. Bless you if you choose to share the video or this post on your own social networks.

Now, as you know – I am rather infamous for having delightfully in-depth conversations – therefore, before you hit the PLAY button, due yourself a kind favour? Brew yourself a cuppa & find a comfy spot to sit – this next interview is happily *thirty-five!* minutes in length as I truly like to ask a few challenging questions whilst also asking questions that might spark discussion as these vlog interviews are set-up a bit differently than my traditional interviews I conduct either by email or phone.

The fact I was able to pull this together whilst my whole family was struck down by one health affliction after another is rather the most remarkable footnote on this post. I, myself have been battling through a severe cold for a week now and the migraine which chased after the cold is the numbing kind which are hard to shake. To say I am just not myself this end of February is putting it mildly but evenso, I was thankful I could put this vlog interview together for my readers and have it anchoured to the last day of the blog tour – as I was thankful I was given this opportunity to host another one of these special features for Tomorrow Comes Media.

As you listen to the vlog itself – you will start to notice I truly wanted to carry-over the style I originally developed for this series of interviews when I interviewed Ms Chris but also as a carry-over effect from the kind of conversations I regularly host during @SatBookChat – where this style originated. I like to dig into the heart of how a writer approaches their craft of writing inasmuch as how they develop the series they are writing (if they currently have one in-progress, such as Ms Lane). This allows the reader to have a more intrapersonal glimpse into the story and the direction of the series – giving you a lot of fodder to chew on as you’re listening to the vlog but also to contemplate the larger themes of the story in the historical context in which it was written.

My questions were mere talking points wherein happily Ms Lane took as inspiration to broach upon more of the character back-stories and the foundational arcs in how this series is first introduced and rooted to how we meet Florentina as she is at the centre of the story. As you watch the converstation develop you will also become more privy to the historical nuances and timelines of what is included in the background of the story and how the research Ms Lane undertook also plays a strong role in how the story was then told.

I hope you’ll enjoy your visit with me today, as you tuck into this vlog interview where the questions I asked Ms Lane were to be a rounding of enquiry about the Night Flyer Trilogy, the characters and the particulars of how she wrote this Historical Fantasy series.

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Merchants of Milan by Edale Lane

Published by: Past & Prologue Press
Available Formats: Softcover and Ebook

What I enjoyed about reading “Merchants of Milan”:

We first get to know Florentina through her reaction to the ingenious and beautifully designed clock – whose ornate design and the intricate ways in which the clock drew your eye to how it was designed showed how much she appreciated the artistry of engineering objects. Whilst it was her impression of Madelena which took her breath and held it; for she was a woman whose confidence was self reflected not just in her attire but her countenance and the ways in which she fluidly could articulate herself to others. Florentina for her sake was unable to formulate a witty response but allowed herself the chance to enjoy the randomness of their first conversation. You didn’t realise at first why this clock struck her as impressive until Maddie (Madelena) talked a bit about it and it was further revealled how it was an original design of Florentina’s father. I would imagine that parting image of seeing the clock against the tides of her own grief would have felt bittersweet; a lost remnant of his talent but one which thankfully had a place of honour.

It didn’t take long for both women to feel comfortable round each other and to feel as if they had met a treasure friend. They were each keeping their internal thoughts to themselves which was a bit of fodder for the reader to enjoy as their thoughts were merged together even though they hadn’t realised they were keeping their thoughts on similar territory to each other whilst in each other’s company. Both of them had an ease of comfortability which eluded to how they might be better matched together in other areas as well. For Florentina’s part, as a woman who was ready to scheme and watch her ideas take root after chasing after a goal she had in mind – it was the best outcome for her – as she not only won over the sister, but the sister’s brother who would become her employ! She had papers to prove her worth as an employable governess and as a woman who could tinker for the family – repairing what is broken wouldn’t be a challenge for her and it would allow her access to a family she had hoped to bridge herself into without too much attention placed on her reasons behind applying to them for employment. From that angle, Florentina accomplished what she wanted because on the surface of it all – she was exactly as she appeared and nothing more.

This is written within the background of 16th Century Italy – wherein Lane inserts some of the historical data behind where her characters are moving about their lives in the present timeline of her series. It was interesting in many regards, as whilst time travelling into the historic past, despite the lack of forensics and other investigative procedures, there were always rudimentary criminal processing of evidence and of investigative procedurals – however, this is the exception to that rule, where apparently in this part of Italy, nothing existed to excise a family’s right to know what happened to their loved ones who were either attacked or brutally taken prematurely from their lives. This is in effect what was launching Florentina’s mission and why she was taking great lengths to not just protect her interests but also her identity after she started to launch her plan(s).

When you get to see what Florentina has learnt from da Vinci – in regards of his flying apparatus it is truly a feast of wonder! I can tell why Florentina is happy whenever she is in flight – as it would be such a rush of joy just to take off and to feel the air beneath you but without the fear of simply dropping out of the sky! It was a true piece of craft, Lane has inserted into the story whilst at the same time, she treats you to a bit of back-history where da Vinci and Florentina shared a past and the revelations of what he was learning through his experiments. You quickly realise she was equally influenced by his curiosity of crafting new objects and new engineering marvels as much as she had been influenced by her father; both men were far ahead of themselves and it was what they had learnt through tinkering which had encouraged her own heart to chase after what inspired her own curiosity.

This first installment sets down the foundation of how Maddie and Florentina must join forces in order to seek the truth of what is happening in the shadows of Milan’s powerful houses. There is something untoward going on whilst the rest of the city is going about its business as usual. If the Night Flyer hadn’t started to make appearances and seek out truth from the shadows of night, they might not have learnt as much as they had now. It was only when they each started to question certain truths in their own lives did they start to discover the levels of deceit in their lives. The hardship of course is what to do with all the information once it is learnt? This became a bit of a battle of wills for the women as neither of them felt they would have anything to gain but vengeance and peace of mind for their actions.

The Night Flyer exists similar to Zorro – as a person for the people and the ones in their society without the voice to give light to the ills of the city. It is here where you start to see how the Night Flyer has taken on more than what they originally sought because it is too hard to bypass the needs of the people in pursuit of one man who wronged so many in his lifetime. It was a clever plotting how the Night Flyer could have a bit of duality – not only in their life when their unmasked but as a masked figure they had a certain layer of freedom and of movement that would not have been afforded to them if they hadn’t conceived of the masked identity. That in of itself spoke volumes about the greater purpose of the Night Flyer and also how hard it would be to find truer justice in this world that was severely unjust to the working class.

-quoted from my review of Merchants of Milan

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Converse on Twitter: #NightFlyerTrilogy, #SapphicFiction

as well as #HistoricalFantasy & #SpeculativeFiction 

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Listen to the 1st Video Interview between Jorie & Edale Lane:

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*LIVE* reactions from Jorie:

As soon as I started playing the video – I loved how approachable Ms Lane made this for my readers as she first introduced a bit about herself and gave them an inside look into her life. I felt it was a great way to offer a segue into the discussion and conversational bits of of the vlog!

We kicked off the conversation discussing our mutual interest in Leonardo da Vinici – especially from the concept of what he was able to create and invent during the Renaissance; at a time in History where others in his peerage were not contemplating quite the level of mathematics and science as he was himself. He was truly the epitome of a ‘renaissance’ man from the angle that he encompassed his self-learning to include not just Art, Science and Math; but also Philosophy, Religion, Aeronautics, Anatomy and everything else he was curiously intent on learning more depth about during his lifetime. I always felt he was an inspiration to other self-motivated learners and seekers of knowledge.

It was wonderful to have this mini-biography at the start of the conversation because of how much he is influencing the characters of the trilogy and how his life and/or inventions take such a central thread of influence within their lives. At the same time I loved hearing about how Ms Lane was equally inspired by da Vinci as it related to crafting her series whilst also just hearing how she used his inventions and curiosities to how cross-relate his life into Florentina’s. It gave a lovely back-story on one of the lead characters whilst also provided a way to understand the back-history of how the trilogy was originally being crafted to include da Vinci overall.

I had to smile – when Ms Lane starts to talk about the ‘setting’ of where she filmed the interview. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with where she filmed this video and I definitely understood with her schedule and the limitations that would place on her shooting locations for the vlog itself would make this feel more ‘one on one’ as if she were sitting across from us. I personally felt it fit with the context of the conversation and the discussion-based enquiries I was making about the trilogy – you’ll have to let me know in the comments if you agree?

I love when I unexpectedly reveal something from a forthcoming installment of a series! I hadn’t meant to do that this time round – except apparently by the time I asked my fourth question – pertaining to the team dynamic evolving between Florentia and Madelena I effectively was pushing ahead. Thankfully Ms Lane humoured me and talked a bit about this – how they drew together and how there was a certain strength about their relationship which helped them form a united front. I felt it was a great contrast to understand both women – to see how they were each approaching where we find them in the series but also what self-motivated them in their own individual actions.

I hadn’t realised what inspired the revolving cross-bow! Though I admit, I never saw the film its referenced to being from – however, hearing about the back-history of how these particular items were being created and designed was most fascinating – as it redirects back to da Vinci himself! I had known that the concept of flight in the series was directly related to da Vinci – as there were too many key references to something he could have envisioned to design himself and this I also felt was plausible due to Florentina’s tutelage with da Vinci. Hearing how Lane put those ideas together and what inspired the innovation of the Renaissance gave it even more cadence of relatability to the story’s arc.

When we started to discuss Criminology and the pursuit of Crime Detection and Investigation as it pertains to the story/series – I might have forgotten to say, I was referencing one of the sections of the novel wherein I mentioned that it was more the norm for deaths to be ruled as natural causes vs what it might have been ruled in Renaissance Milan (outside of the story). I blame the cold for a few shortcomings and missteps in this interview – as there was a second question which I think I misconveyed rather than how I wanted it to be said which is coming up after this section. I do love learning more about the back-histories of criminal investigation practices due to the fact my favourite genres to read and watch are Mysteries and Thrillers; with a keen interest on police procedurals.

Where I took a bit of a right turn though in the conversation is when I was asking about how Ms Lane built the relationship between Florentina and Maddie – I hadn’t meant for it to sound like I didn’t think it was an organic relationship. I guess, I was just curious what inspired her to bring these two characters together in a romantic connection and how she wrote their slow burning romance. As their romance is one which grows slowly and naturally over the time we see them developing their friendship – as they each had their own reasons to ‘hold back’ a bit before they could confirm their mutual interest. (again, I blame this cold for lack of clarity in explaining myself)

I was thankful for more information about one aspect of the novel – wherein part of the novel is centred round Humanism. I remember studying this in the past but my memory about it was a bit foggy (partially due to time and the other half was the cold!) about the key components of the concept behind Humanism. I also knew it should relate back to the genesis of art, science and discovery during the Renaissance – as it was such a powerful era in so many ways. As you listen to Ms Lane talk about how all the creatives of this era and the world within Italy – you definitely feel the fire of inspiration about why these creative individuals felt they had the freedom to not just create but to create in order to innovate.

I was thrilled finding out I tapped into one of the Ms Lane’s inspirations for creating the reason for why Daniella was the person who would broach the topic of cosmetics and dyes used to the benefit of beauty but with the full harm of effecting the persons and their health who used the products. It is a hot topic still today and I was thankful this was inclusive of the story as it pertained to the characters and to the role of cosmetics in their lives; I felt Ms Lane gave a great overview of what specifically was intrusive to human affliction and their health issues against why they felt they ‘had to use’ these in order to appease their lovers and husbands.

I hadn’t realised how humbling it would be to listen to the inspiration behind Florentina’s reactions as the Night Flyer as it cross-related to living in a middle class family and the differences in family dynamics and individual growth opportunities. It was a topic I could personally relate to myself – except for one difference, my eyes were opened earlier due to my friendships and interactions with my classmates where I understood early-on how some of my classmates were not as safe in their homes as I was in mine. On the level of the inequality of opportunity for art, music and cultural events was something that struck me hard because of how I felt those were things I felt despite the rest of our differences these were things we all claim as being available to us. So in some ways, I do understand how difficult it is to realise how you’ve grown and how you were raised is a stark contrast of how others are raised, too.

This next section was one of my favourites of the vlog – because it talks about the back-history of the middle class within the Reniassance era of Italy. It showed the strength of the women during this period of time where if you were bourne into certain stations of class structures you were given more opportunities than others. It also had me thinking about Abigail Adams and about how even during the Revolutionary War era of America – there were instances of how some women found small windows of opportunities that were not the norm for women. I have loved learning about the literary and philosophical salons throughout history as it shows how positive it was at one time to be intellectually curious without the stigma this sometimes still carries today if your inquisitive and are a girl.

As this vlog concludes – you are given a small preview of the sequel and second installment of the trilogy! I felt it was a fitting way to end the vlog and to bring everything back to centre!

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About Edale Lane

Edale Lane

Edale Lane is the author of an award winning 2019 debut novel, Heart of Sherwood. She is the alter-ego of author Melodie Romeo, (Vlad a Novel, Terror in Time, and others) who founded Past and Prologue Press. Both identities are qualified to write historical fiction by virtue of an MA in History and 24 years spent as a teacher, along with skill and dedication in regard to research. She is a successful author who also currently drives a tractor-trailer across the United States. A native of Vicksburg, MS, Edale (or Melodie as the case may be) is also a musician who loves animals, gardening, and nature.

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Thank you for reading this post & spending time with Ms Lane & I as we discuss the world within the Night Flyer Trilogy. I hope parts of this interview have encouraged you to seek out this story or the series. Again, I hope you will take the time to leave comments for Ms Lane & myself in the threads below this post and/or underneath this vlog interview on YouTube directly!

I hope you’ve enjoyed listening to the interview!

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This blog tour is courtesy of:

 Tomorrow Comes Media Logo badge provided by Tomorrow Comes Media.Thank you, Ms Lane for helping me bring my second vlog interview to my blog!

Follow the rest of the blog tour

for wicked insightful reviews & more guest features:

Merchants of Milan blog tour banner provided by Tomorrow Comes Media and is used with permission.Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

NOTE: Similar to blog tours wherein I feature book reviews, book spotlights (with or without extracts), book announcements (or Cover Reveals) – I may elect to feature an author, editor, narrator, publisher or other creative person connected to the book, audiobook, Indie film project or otherwise creative publishing medium being featured wherein the supplemental content on my blog is never compensated monetarily nor am I ever obligated to feature this kind of content. I provide (98.5%) of all questions and guest topics regularly featured on Jorie Loves A Story. I receive direct responses back to those enquiries by publicists, literary agents, authors, blog tour companies, etc of whom I am working with to bring these supplemental features and showcases to my blog. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them: I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers. Whenever there is a conflict of connection I do disclose those connections per post and disclose the connection as it applies.

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{SOURCES: Book Cover of “Merchants of Milan” and synopsis as well as the author photograph of Edale Lane, author biography, blog tour badge, TCM Host badge were provided by TCM (Tomorrow Comes Media) and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets are inserted due to codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Video Interview Banner using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by JESHOOTS.COM and the Comment Box Banners.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2020.

I’m a social reader | I tweet as I read

About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

read more >> | Visit my Story Vault of Book Reviews | Policies & Review Requests | Contact Jorie

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Posted Wednesday, 26 February, 2020 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Fantasy Fiction, Historical Fiction, Indie Author, Speculative Fiction, Tomorrow Comes Media, Video (vlog) Author Interview




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4 responses to “(Video) Author Interview | Jorie and Edale Lane discuss “Merchants of Milan” the first novel of the Night Flyer Trilogy!

    • Hallo, Hallo Ms Romeo,

      Ooh did I ever!! This is one of the few times I’ve been able to host a vlog interview with an author and I was super grateful you responded so wonderfully to my questions! I found the video wicked entertaining and layered with insight into the series and characters of the trilogy! Even my parents loved listening to your responses as I played it for them as much as I enjoyed going through it a few times myself in order to write this lovely post. Looking back – it has been such an incredible year – as I was able to both discover your trilogy, read the first two installments, celebrate it with 2x interviews and a guest post – all leading into featuring the trilogy during my latest Top Ten Tuesday – wherein I am hoping copies will be donated to the library my post is helping to raise awareness of — I love seeing the serendipity in our lives and this surely applies to your stories and the ways in which they alighted in my life this year!!

      I’m receiving messages from readers who are adding the books to their TBR Lists and that delights me to no end!!

      Sorry I didn’t respond straightaway – my responses this year have been a bit hit/miss with comments on my blog. I seem to get distracted by life and its tides; tonight I decided to sit and spend time with my visitors whilst streaming music via Spotify. A way to unwind and have a bit of ‘me time’ in the process.

    • Hallo, Hallo Lisa!!

      :) Ooh wicked lovely, you’ve found the convo!! When I saw you were tweeting about the review, I wanted to ensure you found this as I had a feeling you’d love it – adds the perfect anchour to the review because of how much detail Ms Lane went into about how she crafted the series arc and built her characters’ journeys.

      I was truly #blessed this week – with this double showcase for Ms Lane and the interview I ran today (Saturday) for Ms Jones; two remarkable women who are writing History Fantasy from f/f perspectives – I am thankful you’ve enjoyed following my bookish discoveries this week!

      Also – I am hopeful I can keep bringing these vlog interviews to Jorie Loves A Story! Your feedback meant the world to me!

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