We chat with author Sabrina Fedel about All Roads Lead To Rome, which sees the daughter of a diplomat fake date a Scottish celebrity in Italy, she soon finds herself living her own Roman Holiday until the feelings get real and the paparazzi’s knives come out.
Hi Sabrina! When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I have always loved reading, and when I was little, I loved to write stories. As I grew up, I mostly gave up writing as something that wasn’t possible as a career. But I kept getting drawn back to writing, first professionally and then to fiction and poetry. Writing is my happy place, and it has, in many ways, saved me, allowing me to escape into other words when this one has been too difficult.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Golden Treasury of Caroline and Her Friends, by Pierre Probst, although I was also a big fan of Go Dog Go by P.D. Eastman.
- The one that made you want to become an author: All the early Nancy Drew books.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy.
Your latest novel, All Roads Lead to Rome, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Rome, fake dating, social expectations, royalty.
What can readers expect?
A fun romp through Rome’s quirkiest sights while falling in love, but also some serious discussion of how society treats those who love someone with substance use disorder.
Where did the inspiration for All Roads Lead to Rome come from?
I love Italy, so I’ve wanted to write a story set there for a long time, and the themes are close to my heart. And who doesn’t love Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday?
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I really enjoyed discovering some of the beauties of Italy, like the statute of Cupid and Psyche by Antonio Canova. I loved writing that scene. I also really enjoyed writing the character of Andrew, but I honestly enjoyed all of it.
What’s next for you?
After some book launches, next up will be All Paths Lead to Paris, coming from Delacorte Romance the summer of 2025, in which a fashion vlogger who is fake dating her best friend, a famous musician, begins to wonder if she wants to even be famous when she meets an “ordinary” guy who complicates her already complicated life.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
I just finished The Lamplighter by Crystal J. Bell, and it was very spooky and dark, which isn’t usually my kind of reading, but it was very engrossing. Now I’m reading Beneath the Wide Silk Sky by Emily Inouye Huey, which is a YA historical fiction about the Japanese internments during WWII, and it’s very beautiful and interesting. And I’m looking forward to my pre-order of Hearts Overboard by Becky Dean!
