Marcus of Umbria: What an Italian Dog Taught an American Girl about Love… a memoir by Justine van der Leun

This time of year we’re all looking for something lite and cool, to drink, to eat, and to read, yes read. It’s 95˚ outside who wants The Brother Karamazov by the pool?!?

Enter Justine, an unfulfilled New York writer who decides to chuck it all and take a chance on life and love with her summer fling, a handsome gardener, from Collelungo, Italy, a small village of about 200. Justine impulsively gives up her New York way of life, and heads for the Umbrian hills.

Things don’t go exactly as planned and through a series of cultural misunderstandings, language barriers, and her general inability to adapt to village life, the relationship between Justine and Emanuele (the handsome Italian gardener) looks doomed, virtually, from the beginning, (we’re not giving away any plot twists here; they tell us that much in the cover notes).

Justine the perennial outcast, and cocked-eyed optimist, does ultimately find her Italian soul mate but it comes in the unexpected form of Marcus, a female (she named her before she knew) English pointer, she rescues from less than humane conditions provided by her boyfriends brother Ettore, another Italian country boy.

As one relationship withers and fades, another flourishes and grows!!!

The HorN Pets humans and hounds want to thank Justine for sharing her tale; it’s not only a beautiful love story, and a great summer read. Marcus of Umbria the notion that love can come in many shapes and sizes, doesn’t have to walk on two legs, and may not have thumbs.

To all the animal lovers within the sound of my blog, grab a cool beverage, this haute book, and spend some quality time in the Italian countryside with your fur baby this summer.

To read an excerpt or buy this book visit Amazon.com

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