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Okay all, Mia Ferrari has a lot to celebrate this month. First and foremost, her creator, multi-genre novelist, Sylvia Massara, has unleashed her smartass, wise-talking, older-chick, wannabe investigator protagonist out into the digital world of publishing earlier this month. To celebrate, Sylvia then took over as Mia's alter-ego and went off to our country's capital city, Canberra, to catch the Renaissance Exhibition that is out here for a limited time, all the way from Bergamo, Italy.

Mia Ferrari and friend, Marie Giovenco, both super-cool chicks (pictured right) went off on a propeller plane (of all things) and flew from Sydney to Canberra, just a 30-minute flight, to go back to their roots and see some hot paintings by some hot Renaissance artists (not stolen hot, but hot as in fantastic). Poor Marie (pictured to the left of Sylvia) wasn't sure whether to call her friend Sylvia or Mia. So she made the best of it and didn't call her by name; she simply enjoyed the day! 

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In raptures over paintings from Raphael, Botticelli, Perugino, and others, the girls loved this one, painted by Giovanni Bellini, circa 1488. It felt so wonderful standing in front of something that was so perfect and which was painted some 524 years ago. With her love of Renaissance, both Sylvia and Mia were in raptures; and so was friend, Marie :-)

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And here is another to wet your appetite; this one by Lorenzo Lotto. Ah, la bella Italia ... What more can I say? We're all about talent, pasta, Vespas and Ferraris!

The day was great. The month was great, as Mia Ferrari was unleashed, but what was even greater was that Sylvia's novel had her first review by none other that the queen of mystery/suspense from Florida, author Darcia Helle.

Sylvia was terrified when she asked Darcia to be brutal, and this is what Darcia came back with:

"Mia Ferrari is a fun and adventurous woman in her late forties. In this first  book in the series, she leads us through a tangled web as she plods along in her  quest for answers.

I really enjoyed Mia's character, as well as her  supporting cast. At times this book made me laugh. Other times I'd find myself  nodding in understanding. The pace is quick, the mystery a bit of a whodunit  that allows readers to figure things out along with Mia."

I immediately wrote back and told Darcia that getting this kind of review from her, an author I highly esteem, is like getting a blessing from the Pope. LOL. Thank God, we're not living in the Renaissance period now though; for if I'd said something like this in the 1500s I would have been burned at the stake for being a heretic!

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She's smart, sexy, sassy and a wise-ass. She loves pizza, younger men and Ferrari cars. She can't resist solving mysteries, and undoubtedly gets herself into trouble. She's in her late 40s, but hey, that's the new 30s, right?