Saturday's Interview | Lorraine. Serena Giuliano, novelist: "I can't explain my success!"

In this Metz café, where she doesn't usually go, the owner recognizes her: "I love what you write! I'm lucky to have you in Metz." Having become a successful novelist, Serena Giuliano no longer goes unnoticed.

Your seventh novel, Villa Gloria, tells the story of a week spent in a guesthouse in Puglia. Why this choice?

I wanted a closed-door setting, to have a location as the main character, and Italy. I wanted a familial and intimate feel. A guesthouse was an obvious choice. I love staying there. Especially in Italy, where we interact a lot with the locals. It's the best way to visit a region. They're like little cocoons. And it was nice to imagine all these characters with whom I could spend a week's vacation.

Would you like to run a guesthouse?

I wouldn't have the patience! It's more of a thing for my husband, who's a cook. I'd love to sit in a corner there, just to observe.

Why Puglia, a region you hadn't mentioned before?

Until now, I've talked a lot about Campania, which is my region. The previous one was at Lake Como. But I've been on vacation to Puglia twice and I loved it. This region is rich in things to visit, see, and eat . It's an idyllic setting, which people really like. And I wanted to return to the South.

You often write your novels in Italy. Is that the case for this one?

I wrote a small part of it there, in a place that resembles a guesthouse. But then I wrote three-quarters of it in Metz, at the Hotel La Citadelle, cut off from everything. I even had meals delivered to my room. In my daily life, I can't write fast enough. And since I always write at the last minute, with stress as my driving force, I had to isolate myself for a week.

How do you write?

I have a starting point, and I write the rest instinctively, without any idea of ​​the ending. For my character Carla, who takes a vow of silence, I had no idea why at first. I just go with the flow, and everything happens naturally. It's both very stressful and magical.

Where does your gallery of characters come from?

Aside from Gregorio, the inveterate grumbler, who comes from real events reported by friends whose vacations were ruined by this type of character, the others imposed themselves on my imagination. For the first time, I took on Bianca and Valentina as important characters. I wanted to give my readers some news of them. The others allow me to evoke subjects close to my heart, like the mysterious couple to talk about the family crisis of midlife. I also wanted a dysfunctional but beautiful mother-daughter bond. Hence Gloria and Iris, who run the bed and breakfast.

Which of these characters are you most like?

Gloria has no filter, doesn't care about other people's judgment. She's very free. I admire her frankness. Unfortunately, I haven't reached that level yet. And I also have her daughter's psychorigid side. There's a little bit of me in these two characters .

Why always Italy?

I don't forbid myself anything, but if I changed, I'd get yelled at by my readers (Laughs)! It's the country that inspires me the most. But it's also very selfish. I write to find my home country. I can't see myself going anywhere else, but nothing is impossible. I talk about Lorraine in my first novel, the most personal. There's always a link with France in my novels. I had a heroine from Nancy. But that makes me travel less! I need to go somewhere else when I write.

How do you experience your success?

It's pretty awesome! There are more and more people at book signings and book fairs . Villa Gloria is having the best start of all my novels with 15,000 sales in the first month. All novels and formats combined, it's estimated that I've surpassed the million reader mark. I can't explain it. It seems crazy to me!

Do you still struggle to realize yourself as a novelist?

As soon as I can dodge the subject, I do! Writing is intimate. I don't necessarily want to go further. I'm very proud of what I do, but maybe it's shyness. It's a very solitary profession. When you step out of your bubble, it's unsettling.

Paradoxically, you tell a lot about yourself on social media...

Everything I say there is very controlled. I can turn it off whenever I want. I had a community before writing and it helped me with my first novel . It's a work showcase. I don't want to just use it as a promotional tool, so I tell anecdotes, my struggles as a mother of two children. It's an exercise I like. It's been a part of me for over ten years.

You've been releasing one novel a year since 2019. When's the next one?

The next one, I have the idea. I think about it every day. It's maturing. I'll write it in the fall for a March release. Since I started late, I have plenty of ideas in stock.