Category Archives: Italy
Me reading Comics in Italian #ReadComicsinPublicDay
I loved reading comics in Italian when I lived in Pisa to hone my language skills.
Here I am reading comics on a skiing trip to the Italian Alps with no idea back then a terrifying experience soonafter would inspire events in my upcoming Paris WW2 novel ‘Sisters at War’.
#InternationalReadComicsInPublicDay #ReadComicsInPublicDay
Pre-order
Stay cool this weekend in Venice Italy eating gelato!
Take a tour with me to Venice’s gelato shops!
And at the end of my video, take a peek at the cover for my September ’23 release of SISTERS AT WAR!
When a girl with no confidence discovers an old Masque Shop on Mardi Gras…
Mardi Gras is here! Have plans?
Come along with me and meet a girl who didn’t have any confidence in herself (don’t I know — I’ve been there) to look for the man of her dreams!!
Until she wandered into a mysterious old mask shop in Venice and . . . well, you’ll see!
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THE OPRHANS OF BERLIN
I’ve been holding my breath for this moment… a long road… years in the making in a very personal way that made me cry as I write this.
Meet the Landau Sisters barely surviving in Nazi Germany… and Kay Alexander, the amazing debutante from Philadelphia who will stop at nothing to save them from the Nazis in 1939 Berlin…
And of course, there’s a British pilot hero to die for…
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Love Forties Fiction?
A girl from a controversial upbringing becomes a famous perfumer during the war when she comes to Paris in 1940 to escape the Gestapo. Then how she uses perfume to do her part to win the war…
THE LOST GIRL IN PARIS is on Amazon!
US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09B1QDRVW/
UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09B1QDRVW/
CA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09B1QDRVW/
Australia https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09B1QDRVW/
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The Resistance Girl
Juliana discovers her grandmamma was a famous French film star in Occupied Paris & her shocking secret…
The Princess and the Carnival Masque for Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras is here! Have plans?
Come along with me and meet a girl who didn’t have any confidence in herself (don’t I know — I’ve been there) to look for the man of her dreams!!
Until she wandered into a mysterious old mask shop in Venice and . . . well, you’ll see!
Oh, yeah, this guy for #NoodleDay
A hunk of noodles…
A Soldier’s Italian Christmas: Video Excerpt from Chapter 1 of a forbidden romance during WW 2 in war torn Italy
“A Soldier’s Italian Christmas” ***FREE today Saturday October 14, 2017*** 
O’Casey Brothers in Arms 1
December 1943
Italy
Two days before Christmas, Captain Mack O’Casey gets separated from his unit during battle. He makes a wrong turn and finds himself in a small bombed-out village called Monte D’Oro Rose. It appears to be deserted. It isn’t. A beautiful young woman is watching his every move…
Who is she? You’ll find out in this Video Excerpt from Chapter One of A Soldier’s Italian Christmas
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Excerpt from Chapter One of “A Soldier’s Italian Christmas:”
“American?” Her voice changed. “Oh, thank God,” she said in English.
Mack turned around slowly and saw a young woman holding a gun on him. She bent down and turned up the wick on the lantern sitting on the ground and light flooded the small courtyard. He didn’t breathe until he was certain she wouldn’t shoot him. Dark, beautiful eyes flecked with amber sucked the fatigue right out of him.
======================
Here is my special video excerpt with lots of photos and my voiceover. It’s 11 minutes long–I cover the first few pages of Chapter One…it was quite a challenge.
I hope you enjoy it.
A Soldier’s Italian Christmas: Excerpt from Chapter One from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
Jina
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O’Casey Brothers in Arms 1
December 1943 Italy
He is a U.S Army captain, a battle-weary soldier who has lost his faith.
She is a nun, her life dedicated to God.
Together they are going to commit an act the civilized world will not tolerate.
They are about to fall in love.
“A Soldier’s Italian Christmas“ is a holiday novella sweet romance available on Amazon Kindle
“A Soldier’s Italian Christmas” ***FREE today Saturday October 14, 2017***
A Soldier’s Italian Christmas — TY to everyone!! FREE Oct 13 and Oct 14 — Fri and Sat
A Soldier’s Italian Christmas from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
Sooo thankful to everyone who nominated my Kindle Scout book The Magic Christmas Train . . . it wasn’t chosen and I wanted to do something to say “Thank you,” so for Friday and Saturday, Oct 13 & 14, my WW II Christmas novella “A Soldier’s Italian Christmas” will be FREE!
It takes place around the same time — Dec 1943 when the Allies were pushing north in Italy . . . when an American captain makes a wrong turn and ends up in a bombed out village . . . and meets a beautiful nun.
Art stolen by the Nazis figures predominately in my romance novella “A Soldier’s Italian Christmas.”
Sister Angelina discovers what the Nazis are up to and risks her life to save the art treasures. Here she is in the Monastery of Monte D’Oro Rose.
© Induka11 | Dreamstime.com
Sister Angelina and Capt. Mack O’Casey are spying on the brutal Nazi major in this scene through a peephole from their hiding place:
Excerpt:
The library was filled with drunken Nazis.
Angelina focused on the outrageous behavior of the German officer with the pretty brunette on his lap. Ines. “Oh, my Lord…” she whispered, and then blessed herself. Major von Arx sat at the long table where the monks prayed, running his fingers up and down the girl’s shiny, smooth stockings. Silk. Ines let out a breathy sigh when he parted her thighs and his hand dove under her skirt.
Embarrassed, the young nun looked away from the spy hole.
Oh, the shame. What would the captain think if he saw her watching them?
“What is it, Sister?”
“Nothing but the devil at play,” she said, her cheeks flaming.
“Your words intrigue me.” The captain put his eye to the peephole and smirked. “Are you certain he doesn’t know we’re watching him?”
“Yes, but we must be careful he doesn’t see us. The peephole was hidden by priceless Renaissance paintings,” she said, wishing she’d never brought him here. “Until the Nazi major stole them.”
“Stole them?”
“Yes. The German officer ordered his guards to remove the paintings and ready them for transport. For the Fuehrer, he said. Two days ago, I hid in the tower and watched his men leave through the narrow passage and head down the mountain with mules packed with wooden crates.”
“Men died trying to climb these mountains, Sister,” said the captain, not trying to hide the raw edge to his voice. “Good men. Brave men. The mud, the stench of death all around us, but we kept going. For what? So this Nazi bastard could steal from the Church?”
His eyes glowed a vibrant blue more intense than a cloudless sky. Angelina felt deep into her bones here was a man of faith who could be trusted. A man who stirred her soul with the desire to feel his strong arms around her. Sweet yearnings to feel skin against skin that tore her apart. Especially at night when her small cell was dark and her cotton chemise stuck to her body drenched in sweat, feelings she didn’t understand tormenting her. The captain brought those feelings to the surface.
He was dangerous to her.
Dear God, why must you lead me into temptation?
“We must return to the orphanage so you can rest before it’s time for you to leave,” she said. It saddened her to send him on his way, but she must. “I will lead you through the secret passage down the mountain. From there you can take the road north to Rome. I will see to it Marcello brings you the abbot’s finest wine to take with you on your journey.”
“Do you think God would approve?” he said with a grin.
“Yes, though He doesn’t always approve of what I’ve done.”
“Are you telling me the sweet angel before me is not what she seems?”
Angelina blinked. Had he guessed her secret?
===============
What is Angelina’s secret? Find out in A Soldier’s Italian Christmas.”
Coming up on Saturday: an extended video excerpt from Chapter One of A Soldier’s Italian Christmas.”
My Military Heroes: from the Civil War to Afghanistan for Veterans Day
Military heroes…we women love them.
And let’s not forget our female veterans.
So on this Veterans Day, I salute the heroes in my stories who serve our country:
A female soldier, a Southern belle and spy, a mother fighting the Nazis, a World War 2 soldier in Italy, and a returning vet honoring his best buddy’s last wish.
Civil War: LOVE ME FOREVER
Women Soldiers in the Civil War from “Love Me Forever” from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
Southern Belle and Spy: Excerpt from LOVE ME FOREVER from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
Pre-World War 2: Nazi Germany
The Berlin Diary of Lady Eve Marlowe: Else’s Story from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
World War 2:
A Soldier’s Italian Christmas: Excerpt from Chapter One from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
Afghanistan:
I haven’t made a video yet for “The Christmas Piano Tree,” so here’s the story:
What’s Christmas without a tree?
Kristen Delaney can’t afford a Christmas tree this year, but she doesn’t want to disappoint her little girl Rachel. The six-year old already lost her daddy in Afghanistan. To cheer her up, Kristen hires a homeless vet to play Santa at the private school where she works. Little does she know it was no accident the hunky Santa showed up in Kissing Creek just in time for Christmas Eve.
Sgt. Jared Milano promised Scott Delaney he’d take care of his wife and little girl. He also shared with him a secret that would change Kristen’s life, a secret about her Aunt Gertrude and an old piano, but the IED blast blew away part of his memory.
Jared fights his growing desire for Kristen as he struggles to regain his past and overcome the PTSD haunting him. Kristen is lonely and not ready to fall in love again, but she can’t take her eyes off him. Doesn’t want to. When he’s accused of a crime, she refuses to believe he’s guilty and invites the handsome soldier to spend Christmas Eve with them.
When a sudden snowstorm turns deadly and Rachel goes missing, Jared must use all his skills to find her and prove to Kristen he’s guilty only of falling in love with her.
“The Christmas Piano Tree” is the story of a pretty young war widow who re-discovers the magic of the holiday season with the help of a homeless vet and an old piano.
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Thank you to all our veterans for your service!
~Jina
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If you love Civil War romance and time travel and TWO hunky military heroes, check out my Kindle Scout winner:
She wore gray.
He wore blue.
But their love defied the boundaries of war.
And time.
1943 Italy and Art Stolen by the Nazis: Excerpt from “A Soldier’s Italian Christmas” for #Christmas Day
A Soldier’s Italian Christmas: Excerpt from Chapter One from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
Merry Christmas!! Art is a big part of my life — so it’s no wonder I wrote about stolen art. Here’s a favorite post from A Soldier’s Italian Christmas.
Sister Angelina discovers what the Nazis are up to in my story and risks her life to save the art treasures. Here she is in the Monastery of Monte D’Oro Rose.
© Induka11 | Dreamstime.com
A Soldier’s Italian Christmas deals with art stolen by the Nazis.
Sister Angelina and Capt. Mack O’Casey are spying on the brutal Nazi major in this scene through a peephole from their hiding place:
Excerpt:
The library was filled with drunken Nazis.
Angelina focused on the outrageous behavior of the German officer with the pretty brunette on his lap. Ines. “Oh, my Lord…” she whispered, and then blessed herself. Major von Arx sat at the long table where the monks prayed, running his fingers up and down the girl’s shiny, smooth stockings. Silk. Ines let out a breathy sigh when he parted her thighs and his hand dove under her skirt.
Embarrassed, the young nun looked away from the spy hole.
Oh, the shame. What would the captain think if he saw her watching them?
“What is it, Sister?”
“Nothing but the devil at play,” she said, her cheeks flaming.
“Your words intrigue me.” The captain put his eye to the peephole and smirked. “Are you certain he doesn’t know we’re watching him?”
“Yes, but we must be careful he doesn’t see us. The peephole was hidden by priceless Renaissance paintings,” she said, wishing she’d never brought him here. “Until the Nazi major stole them.”
“Stole them?”
“Yes. The German officer ordered his guards to remove the paintings and ready them for transport. For the Fuehrer, he said. Two days ago, I hid in the tower and watched his men leave through the narrow passage and head down the mountain with mules packed with wooden crates.”
“Men died trying to climb these mountains, Sister,” said the captain, not trying to hide the raw edge to his voice. “Good men. Brave men. The mud, the stench of death all around us, but we kept going. For what? So this Nazi bastard could steal from the Church?”
His eyes glowed a vibrant blue more intense than a cloudless sky. Angelina felt deep into her bones here was a man of faith who could be trusted. A man who stirred her soul with the desire to feel his strong arms around her. Sweet yearnings to feel skin against skin that tore her apart. Especially at night when her small cell was dark and her cotton chemise stuck to her body drenched in sweat, feelings she didn’t understand tormenting her. The captain brought those feelings to the surface.
He was dangerous to her.
Dear God, why must you lead me into temptation?
“We must return to the orphanage so you can rest before it’s time for you to leave,” she said. It saddened her to send him on his way, but she must. “I will lead you through the secret passage down the mountain. From there you can take the road north to Rome. I will see to it Marcello brings you the abbot’s finest wine to take with you on your journey.”
“Do you think God would approve?” he said with a grin.
“Yes, though He doesn’t always approve of what I’ve done.”
“Are you telling me the sweet angel before me is not what she seems?”
Angelina blinked. Had he guessed her secret?
===============
What is Angelina’s secret? Find out in A Soldier’s Italian Christmas, available on Amazon Kindle and Amazon UnLimited.
Video excerpt from Chapter One of A Soldier’s Italian Christmas.” I used beautiful photos from www.Dreamstime.com to put it together with my voiceover and music by Kevin MacLeod www.incompetech.com
Cover Design by Ramona Lockwood
www.coversbyramona.blogspot.com
http://www.romancenovelcovers.com/
A Soldier’s Italian Christmas: “The girl was a beauty,” but the soldier didn’t know she was a nun…
My holiday novella, A Soldier’s 
Italian Christmas is the story of a soldier and a nun who discover forbidden love in war torn Italy during the winter of 1943.
“A Soldier’s Italian Christmas” is truly a story of the heart.
I lived in Italy and always enjoyed the spirit of Christmas and the Nativity scene…it’s a time when the chocolate flows like wine. The holiday spirit is everywhere…but I’ll never forget when I took a busload of soldiers to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve in an ancient church in Pisa. We had mugs of hot chocolate and cookies I baked and boy, was it cold! That moment was one of many that inspired my story. I never forgot the spiritual joy of seeing these men (many of them combat veterans) rediscover their faith in that medieval church with its high ceilings and hard wooden pews. A coming home for some, a new beginning for others.
My story is about one such soldier who lost his faith in a different war when the Nazis fought hard to keep the Allies from reaching Rome. Captain Mack O’Casey makes a wrong turn and finds himself in a small bombed-out village where he meets a beautiful young nun, Sister Angelina…their story will break your heart when they realize they’re falling in love but that love can never be…there’s also a mystery (I love archaeology so this is no surprise) about the lost Cross of Saint Cecelia and the brutal Nazi major who will stop at nothing to get it.
But most of all, it’s a love story about two people who come together on this holiest of holidays and how faith helps them overcome their greatest fears. Mack and Sister Angelina take us back to a time when the whole world held its breath as these brave men fought for freedom. And a soldier and a nun dared to fall in love…
A Soldier’s Italian Christmas from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
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A Soldier’s Italian Christmas (O’Casey Brothers in Arms 1)
In this excerpt, Capt. Mack O’Casey doesn’t know the woman dressed in men’s clothes holding a gun on him is a nun:
He nodded to his sergeant to cover him. His heart pounded in his ears. It never got easy staring the enemy in the eye, but it didn’t do any damn good to stand out here waiting to be picked off like wild turkeys. He kicked the door open and did a clean sweep of the courtyard when a cold chill stopped him.
He froze. Someone had a gun aimed at his back. His instinct never failed.
“Don’t move,” said a low, sultry voice in Italian. “I know how to use this.”
For chrissakes, a female.
“We mean you no harm,” Mack said in English, hoping to gain her confidence. She couldn’t see him in the dark. “We’re Americans, not Germans.”
“American?” Her voice changed. “Oh, thank God,” she said in English.
Mack turned around slowly and saw a young woman holding a gun on him. She bent down and turned up the wick on the lantern sitting on the ground and light flooded the small courtyard. He didn’t breathe until he was certain she wouldn’t shoot him. Dark, beautiful eyes flecked with amber sucked the fatigue right out of him. Flashing with a wildness that surprised him, she never flinched. Looking him over with intense scrutiny, she waved the lantern up and down his body. Over his boots, his uniform, the silver bars on his shoulders, and then his face. Her eyes locked with his, her lips parted. Full lips rendered her face with an exotic aura that held him transfixed. The girl was a beauty. Creamy complexion with a straight nose tipped at a perfect angle, expressive dark brows crossed in thought. She clenched her jaw, but her gaze never wavered. An absolute show of power on her part. It was clear she was relieved to see him, but she didn’t trust him.
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A Soldier’s Italian Christmas (O’Casey Brothers in Arms 1) is available on Amazon for Kindle!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
~Jina
Once upon a story... 