A member of the Marcus Beach community, Antonia Giglio is looking forward to July at the cottage, and sharing her book, The Scent of Lilacs, with readers.
Copies of her book are at Masters Book Store in Haliburton, and the independent book store has offered Giglio two booksigning events: July 25 and Aug. 12, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Giglio said she self-published the work of fiction on Sept. 27, 2002. She describes it as a psychological thriller.
In an interview, the full-time Oakville resident said she and husband of nearly 53 years, Joe, found the shores of Lake Kashagawigamog about the time her children were starting their own families.
She joked that in the summer, there isn’t much time to write as the cottage fills with hungry children and grandchildren, cooking and trips to the grocery store, but there is sometimes time to read.
While living in Mississauga, her two sons finished university and “magically” turned into men, married, and had children. As they moved on, so did she and Joe. In 2010, they built a home in Oakville, where they could be in a village atmosphere, close to town.
At about the same time, she decided to pull back from their family business and find other avenues of interest. One was volunteering with the May Court Club of Oakville and the other, honing her creative writing skills.
“In a class exercise, we were asked to pick out three random prompts. Mine were: you loathe the man you married; you receive a small package; and you meet someone from your past. I was intrigued by the plot and character possibilities and let my passion for writing take over.”
She said she spent many years researching, writing, and editing, “to make the story shine.” To bring the novel to a conclusion, she self-published with the Canadian company, FriesenPress.
Her protagonist is Marla, a redhead with a fragile psyche, who realizes her husband is not the man she thought he was.
“Add a narcissistic mother with the voice of a diva, an overprotective cop father, long-kept secrets, and you whip up a recipe for drama – one that involves deception, crime, and possible murder. Marla must find the strength and resilience to regain her freedom,” Giglio says of the plot.
She added The Scent of Lilacs is a humaninterest story within a complicated family structure that explores how and why some people can easily manipulate others.
She said it also begs some questions, such as, “do you really know your partner?” and, “are the choices you make ones you can live with?”
The author added it’s never too late to follow your passion, whether writing, or another hobby.
“Find the passion that’s always been inside you and just… get started, one step at a time. Someone suggested dropping the words “I can’t” and inserting “How can I?” That kind of positive thinking makes all the difference.”
The Scent of Lilacs is available online at FriesenPress, Amazon, Indigo and all the major e-Book platforms, as well as limited copies at Masters.
