Yvonne Rogers, author of Adelina shares 10 things that her readers should know about her.
Yvonne Rogers
I started writing Adelina in 1987 when one day, out of the blue, my mother told me she was my great-grandmother. For a while Adelina became my greatest passion and I spent every free minute writing and researching her life. Then I had to put her aside for several years due to personal problems, but recently I came across my old typewritten manuscript and thought, “Why not?” So I rewrote the story on my computer and here she is.
I have lived most of my life in Italy; I studied Italian in Florence as a young girl and fell completely under the spell of this magical city, never to leave until a few years ago when I came to Umbria.
My hobby is painting and I have recently started art lessons with the maestro James Brown-Muir in a nearby Umbrian town, where about 10 of us have a weekly class. Great fun.
I have four cats, Maya, Tom, Stella and Squeak, all rescued from dangerous situations.
My two daughters, Arianna and Sarah, are my greatest fans…Arianna has lived in America for years and Sarah lives near Florence.
I have had two Italian husbands and am now living with my wonderfully patient English partner John.
For many years I ran a little export business from Florence, first working with the States and then with Japan, exporting Italian fashions, knits, bags, furniture and home accessories, you name it, I exported it! They were exhausting but extremely interesting times.
I write in the mornings on my computer. But I loved typewriters from the moment I put my fingers on the keys. My first one was a beautiful old Underwood circa 1930 which my father found on a heap of rubbish. There is something about filling a blank page with print that I find infinitely satisfying. My typing teacher was a Chinese lady in Singapore and I was a 60 wpm girl!
I have always been hopeless at maths.
To relax I listen to old, romantic songs from the sixties and seventies. And sometimes opera too, of course.
Adelina is the biography of opera star Adelina Patti and is now available to purchase.