About
Mary Saracino is the author of The Singing of Swans, a novel published by Pearlsong Press in October 2006. A native of Seneca Falls, NY who lived in Denver, CO for 12 years, she currently resides in Lafayette, CO. In addition to her work as a writer, Mary teaches creative writing classes and workshops on the Divine Feminine.
She is the author of three other books (Voices of the Soft-Bellied Warrior, Finding Grace, and No Matter What, all published by Spinsters Ink), and has studied the Divine Feminine as an independent scholar for 30 years.
Her essays and fiction have been published in the anthologies Writing by Italian Canadian and Italian American Women (published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Gina Valle, Ed.), She Is Everywhere (iUniverse, Lucia Chiavola Birnbaum, Ed.), Don't Tell Mama! The Penguin Book of Italian American Writing (Penguin Books, Regina Barreca, Ed.), The Milk of Almonds: Italian American Women Write About Food and Culture (The Feminist Press, Edvige Giunta & Louise DeSalvo, Eds.), Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul
Her honors and awards include: 2007 Lamdba Literary Awards finalist for The Singing of Swans (Pearlsong Press 2006);2008 Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses, nomination for her poem, "No Country for Old Women"; Third place award in the 2008, 1st Annual Italian/American Citizen Journalist Digital Witness Contest, for "No Parlo Italiano"; 2007 Fall/Winter Glass Woman Prize for "VIcky's Secret"; 2005 & 1999 Writer's Residency Awards, Norcroft: A Writing Retreat for Women; the 2000 Salvator & Margaret Bonomo Memorial Prize for Literature (co-winner) for "Valentino, Puglia, & Seneca Falls," a personal narrative published in the summer 2000 issue of Italian Americana; the 1999 Colorado Authors' League "Top Hand Award" (Adult Fiction Mainstream/Literary) for Finding Grace; 1999 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Finalist (Children/Young Adult category) for Finding Grace; 1994 Minnesota Book Award finalist (Fiction category), No Matter What; and participation in the 1991-1992 Loft Mentor Series program (fiction category).
She is a member of PEN America and the Colorado Authors League. She is a former member of the National Writers Union and the American Italian Historical Association.
Story Behind The Book
The novel was inspired by a trip author Mary Saracino took to Sardinia in 2004 as part of a Dark Mother Study tour led by Lucia Chiavola Birnbaum. We visited ancient ruins left by the island's earliest inhabitants, archeological museums that contained countless cultural and material artifacts, and Catholic churches in which the Black Madonna was venerated. Mary was deeply moved by the island's prehistoric memory of a time when the Divine Female, whom the Sardinians call La Dea Madre (God the Mother) was venerated. She was also struck by the culture's matrifocal sensibility and the ways in which members of the island's earliest communities would come together to collectively resolve issues. Mary is grateful to Norcroft, a writing retreat center for women (now defunct) for the gift of time and space and creative support. The first drafts of many of this novel's chapters were written there, in her writing room by the shores of Lake Superior.
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Reviews
<p align="center"><strong><em> "Heretics: A Love Story</em></strong> belongs in the highest echelon of classic literary fiction insofar as it educates and enlightens while entertaining the reader....<strong>Mary Saracino</strong> combines acute psychological acumen with extensive knowledge of history to create a novel that will engross your mind, grip your heart and inspire your soul."</p> <p align="center"><strong>Sandra Shwayder Sanchez</strong><br /> author of <strong><em>The Secret of a Long Journey</em></strong></p> <p align="center"><strong><em>"Heretics: A Love Story</em></strong> reminds me of <strong>Grazia DeLedda's</strong> <em><strong>Canne al Vento</strong>,</em> a book by the Sardinian Nobel Prize winner who first brought the Barbagia to the world's attention in 1926. The stellar aspect of Saracino's novel is that she incorporates all the Afrocentrist research that is no longer able to be suppressed. This is an enormous enterprise to which this novel makes a great contribution because it is so well-written. Saracino has managed to put into a compelling story what she learned firsthand when she traveled to Sardinia in 2004—and she has supported that with a mountain of research! Her psychological acuity makes the characters come alive. This novel is the best attempt that comes to mind of weaving together both scholarship and story writing."</p> <p align="center"><strong>Lucia Chiavola Birnbaum, Ph.D.</strong><br /> Professor Emerita, The California Institute of Integral Studies<br /> author of <strong><em>The Future Has an Ancient Heart: Legacy of Caring, Sharing, Healing and Vision from the Primordial African Mediterranean to Occupy Everywhere</em></strong> <br /> & <strong><em>Dark Mother: African Origins & Godmothers</em></strong></p>