Buonaguro, Gina

PERSONAL:

Born in NJ. Education: Villanova University, B.A. (magna cum laude), 1996; University of British Columbia, M.A., 1998.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Toronto, Ontario, Canada. E-mail—authors@thesidewalkartist.com.

CAREER:

Writer, editor, and educator.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Fulbright Scholar to Canada, 1996-1997.

WRITINGS:

(With Janice Kirk) The Sidewalk Artist (novel), Thomas Dunne Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Gina Buonaguro and Janice Kirk joined forces to write their first novel, The Sidewalk Artist. The story revolves around Tulia Rose, who takes a trip to Europe to think over her failed novel and her disaffected relationship with her corporate-ladder-climbing boyfriend. Once there, she encounters a sidewalk artist who is reproducing a painting of cherubs by the Renaissance painter Raphael. Although she initially resists her attraction to him, Tulia finds herself thinking of the handsome artist who strangely signs his work "Rafaello." Tulia then decides that her next book will focus on the Renaissance artist Raphael and on a mysterious woman who has influenced the modern-day Rafaello's art. While working on the project, Tulia begins having strange dreams that lead her to Venice and another encounter with the enigmatic sidewalk artist. A Kirkus Reviews contributor referred to The Sidewalk Artist as "a charming, Hollywood-ready romance that treads lightly along the edge of pure sentiment." Whitney Scott, writing in Booklist, called the book "a smooth-flowing tale of love, enchantment, and mystery." A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote: "The romantic European locales Tulia visits, including Paris, Venice and the Tuscan countryside, are dreamily described." In a review on the Wantz Upon a Time Web site, Christina Wantz Fixemer commented: "It is written with a voice so eloquent and beautiful that it will take the reader on the kind of emotional journey only elicited by true masters of the word."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 15, 2006, Whitney Scott, review of The Sidewalk Artist, p. 27.

Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2006, review of The Sidewalk Artist, p. 738.

People, December 11, 2006, Sue Corbett, review of The Sidewalk Artist, p. 55.

Publishers Weekly, October 30, 2006, review of The Sidewalk Artist, p. 39.

ONLINE

Curled Up with a Good Book,http://www.curledup.com/ (February 20, 2007), Michael Leonard, review of The Sidewalk Artist.

Gina Buonaguro Home Page,http://www.geocities.com/ginabuon (February 20, 2007).

The Sidewalk Artist Web site,http://www.thesidewalkartist.com (February 20, 2007).

Wantz upon a Time Book Reviews,http://www.wantzuponatime.com/ (August 2, 2006), Christina Wantz Fixemer, review of The Sidewalk Artist.