SABINA: A Novel Set in the Italian Renaissance

Tuscany, 1477: Impoverished and lacking a dowry, Sabina's father forces her to marry Tommaso, a rich Florentine merchant several years her senior. Her secret lover, Marco, is jealous and angry that she is going along with her father’s plan rather than resisting it, especially given the fact that she is rebellious and sharp-tongued. Sabina's life changes drastically when she moves to exciting Florence, where the new humanistic movement is at its artistic peak. Thanks to her husband’s social status, she eventually befriends the powerful and intriguing Lorenzo de’ Medici and begins to frequent the dazzling Medici court, where she not only meets talented artists, but also Massimo, whose charms and good looks are hard to resist. When her husband suddenly dies during the Pazzi Conspiracy, she is free to give in to her passion. Sabina and Massimo fall madly in love, but he has a dark secret and her joy is cruelly cut short one day when he mysteriously disappears leaving behind only a brief note...

Believing that she has lost Massimo forever, Sabina agrees to a marriage that takes her far from her beloved Italy and puts her in danger. She flees for her life and seeks Medici protection. She also discovers the disturbing truth about Massimo and concocts an elaborate plan to free him from peril. Meanwhile, the vindicative Marco has never forgotten the pain and humiliation of Sabina's rejection and he does the unthinkable in an attempt to ruin her happiness forever.

Three generations of Rossi women: Sabina, her daughter, Anne, and her granddaughter, Stefania, span the most incredible period of Florentine history. From the lavish lifestyle of the Renaissance, to the fanatical rule of Savonarola, and finally the strategic restoration of Medici power via Grand Duke Cosimo I, this fascinating and carefully researched novel will leave you breathless and wanting more.

About the author: C. De Melo obtained an Art History degree from the University of Massachusetts and has spent several years researching and writing in Florence, Italy.

Tuscany, 1477: Impoverished and lacking a dowry, Sabina's father forces her to marry Tommaso, a rich Florentine merchant several years her senior. Her secret lover, Marco, is jealous and angry that she is going along with her father’s plan rather than resisting it, especially given the fact that she is rebellious and sharp-tongued. Sabina's life changes drastically when she moves to exciting Florence, where the new humanistic movement is at its artistic peak. Thanks to her husband’s social status, she eventually befriends the powerful and intriguing Lorenzo de’ Medici and begins to frequent the dazzling Medici court, where she not only meets talented artists, but also Massimo, whose charms and good looks are hard to resist. When her husband suddenly dies during the Pazzi Conspiracy, she is free to give in to her passion. Sabina and Massimo fall madly in love, but he has a dark secret and her joy is cruelly cut short one day when he mysteriously disappears leaving behind only a brief note...

Believing that she has lost Massimo forever, Sabina agrees to a marriage that takes her far from her beloved Italy and puts her in danger. She flees for her life and seeks Medici protection. She also discovers the disturbing truth about Massimo and concocts an elaborate plan to free him from peril. Meanwhile, the vindicative Marco has never forgotten the pain and humiliation of Sabina's rejection and he does the unthinkable in an attempt to ruin her happiness forever.

Three generations of Rossi women: Sabina, her daughter, Anne, and her granddaughter, Stefania, span the most incredible period of Florentine history. From the lavish lifestyle of the Renaissance, to the fanatical rule of Savonarola, and finally the strategic restoration of Medici power via Grand Duke Cosimo I, this fascinating and carefully researched novel will leave you breathless and wanting more.

About the author: C. De Melo obtained an Art History degree from the University of Massachusetts and has spent several years researching and writing in Florence, Italy.

St Helens Corporation 263 (JDJ263K) a 44-seat Marshall bodied AEC Swift, loading outside the Townhall in Corporation Street, St Helens in the mid ‘70s. The bus was one of a batch of nine (260-268) of these buses delivered to St Helens in the early months of 1972 . Today, this area is now pedestrianised; buses operate from a dedicated bus station situated further along Corporation Street,

Colchester Corporation 43 OVX43D in the Bus Station , taken in Mis 1960s before Car Park was built over the Bus Station ! ( Car Park now demolished !!) Leyland PD2A / 30 Massey body.

Now that the threat of war has passed, Sabina Kane is ready to focus on the future. Her relationship with Adam Lazarus is getting stronger and she's helping her sister, Maisie, overcome the trauma of her captivity in New Orleans. Even Giguhl is managing to stay out of trouble thanks to the arrival of Pussy Willow and his new roller derby team. But as much as Sabina wants to feel hopeful about the future, part of her doesn't believe that peace is possible.

Her suspicions are confirmed when a string of sadistic murders threatens to stall treaty negotiations between the mages and the vampires. Sabina pitches in to find the killer, but her investigation soon leads her down dark paths that have her questioning everyone she thought she could trust. And the closer she gets to the killer, the more Sabina begins to suspect this is one foe she may not be able to kill.