If I Could Be Angel...

I was speaking at a book club meeting and one of the ladies said, “Sometimes I wish I was Michelangela Maratinzano from the Just Call MeAngel series.”

Another woman gasped, “Why would you want to be in the mafia?”

“I don’t want to be IN the mafia,” the woman explained, “I want to RUN a mob family.”  Needless to say, the room grew quiet as she continued.  “Just once I’d like to be in complete control, have all the hot Italian men I want, whenever I want, eat authentic Italian food, never worry about money, and have a ton of big men with big guns protecting me.”  She raised her eyebrows and made what I call a ‘yummy’ face.

There were varied reactions throughout the group… most quite comical.  But the topic got me thinking, and made me realize that there’s a part of me that’s living out a fantasy on the pages of the Angel books too.

Let’s face it, Angel is young, attractive and thrust into a position of power unlike any woman in the mafia world has ever held.  She’s strong, daring and conflicted, to which I think we can all relate on some level. 

Now, I adore my husband and children and wouldn’t want to go back to that single lifestyle; however, I think I probably live out a sexual fantasy every time Angel engages in romantic encounters with Tony and Andrew.  I’ve certainly modeled those characters after men I would find interesting and alluring; and in my single days, wouldn’t have turned down a romp in the hay with either of them.  J

Power.  Money.  Romance.  Great food.  There are definitely advantages to being Angel, but the downside is that she lives in a violent world, where life has less value than loyalty.  Can Angel change the way the mafia has always been run?  I don’t know, but she’s hell-bent on trying, and if I’m honest I have to admire her courage.

Would I want to be Angel for a day?  Well…. maybe for a couple of hours…just long enough to spend some quality time with Tony and Andrew, to eat some of Olga’s homemade Cannoli and to have a late night conversation with Giovanni.  Oh, and shooting the handheld Uzi one time wouldn’t be so bad either…. but only at a target, not a person.  

The truth is.... each time I write an Angel book I lose myself in her world and I enjoy every minute of it.  ~