Lisa Darcy on Tuscany and Tennis

Lisa Darcy, author and writing coach, has just led an amazing writers’ retreat in Tuscany. Join us to hear more about this and her latest novel, The Pact, which features sisters who are also doubles tennis champions. What could possibly go wrong in such a situation? Quite a bit as it turns out. Darcy takes us on a wild ride that is alternately victorious, heart-breaking and uplifting, and will leave you wanting the best for both sisters.

Lisa, congratulations, you’ve just run a writers’ retreat in Tuscany, Italy. I wish I could have been there. Please tell us a bit about it.

It was amazing. Tuscany. Beautiful weather. A gorgeous villa, two (sometimes) friendly cats, and a wonderful private chef, Riccardo, who was not only personable, but also accommodating with dietary needs, and served delicious and authentic Italian treats. In addition to an extensive daily writing schedule, the group was offered twice daily yoga sessions with Cally, an afternoon of sketching and painting guided by an experienced artist, and we made pasta, swam in hot springs, and enjoyed a walking tour of Siena. Perfect.

I was with ten like-minded women from all parts of the world including Egypt, Ireland, England and Australia. Cautious strangers at the beginning, we all clicked. I have made several lifelong friends. Though focussed on different genres, including journaling, poetry, memoir, creative non-fiction, and fiction, there were common throughlines with everyone’s writing such as love, revenge, coming of age and acceptance.

My goal was to provide every writer with a workable action plan to implement after leaving the retreat, and I think I achieved that. During our week together, we covered synopses, plot structure, dialogue, point of view, creating believable three-dimensional characters and much more.

The retreat was more successful than I could have envisaged, and I’m looking forward to facilitating more in the future. Thank you to hostess with the mostest, Mandi Gunsberger at Nourish Travel, for trusting me to join her on this incredible journey, and Cally Albrecht, yoga guru and villa owner at Antico Macchione. Cally, as I write this, I am mentally mastering my Garudasana (Eagle Pose).

It sounds brilliant. Now, let’s chat about your latest release, The Pact. Can you please share the blurb with us?

Sisters are for life, aren’t they?

The Pact is a gripping narrative about winning and losing, and pushing through when you have nothing left to give.

Samantha and Annie Callahan are successful doubles champions – the toast of the Olympics, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadow. But their partnership spirals out of control when Annie’s new boyfriend announces their engagement at the Australian Open.

Amidst rising anger and betrayal, Samantha does the unthinkable after a devastating Wimbledon loss.

The sisters must confront the past to take control of the present. But can Samantha and Annie both win?

The details about the professional tennis circuit feel spot on. How did you research that?

I’ve played social tennis (badly) throughout my life. My three kids all had lessons, and now that they’re adults, I think they’ll agree this was a bonding activity for the family, whereas perhaps me helping with their maths homework wasn’t so much.

So, I knew the basics of the game and some of the psychology behind it, then I read many articles about the Grand Slams and tennis competitions in general. I also read several autobiographies including Ash Barty’s My Dream Time: A Memoir of Tennis and Teamwork; Andre Agassi’s Open; and Rafa by Rafael Nadal.

Why tennis?

Sport was a good way to highlight sibling rivalry. I knew more about tennis than other sport, and it’s more visual than something like swimming. I needed a sport with teamwork, although that team was confined to two for the purposes of my story. I also wanted the sisters’ story played out on the world stage – Australia, England, the United States, Germany, etc.

The sisters have very different personalities. How did you develop their characters?

Trial and error! Samantha and Annie’s characters had to be sufficiently different that they would clash on and off the court, but also believable that they would each be other’s greatest strength and ally.

Samantha, older than Annie by two years, must work hard for every win, but her ambition carries her through. She has the mental strength and dogged determination to stay focussed and to train hard. She’s single-minded and keeps all personal relationships at arm’s length. She rules out romance altogether.

Annie has more natural talent and seems to cruise to victory, though she doesn’t have Samantha’s mental strength. She’s different to Samantha in that she wants to be cared for, loved and nurtured. Being a tennis champion isn’t Annie’s life goal, whereas it is for Samantha.

Their approaches derive from different reactions to their mother’s absence. Annie constantly seeks love and approval, while Samantha has a fear of abandonment, so she focusses on tennis to the detriment of friendships and romance. She’s afraid of getting hurt again, and the only person she trusts is Annie because she believes her sister will never betray her.

A key theme in the book is the impact of winning and losing, and the true meaning of success. Can elaborate on that?

Samantha has only one speed: Relentless training, no excuses. When she wins a tournament, instead of enjoying the moment, she’s fixated on the next match, the next win. Even when she’s beaten, she refocusses and trains harder to make up for the loss. As long as she’s awake and standing, Samantha’s mind and body is one hundred percent absorbed with tennis.

Annie complains that they never take the time to enjoy the wins and the special moments of triumphs. She wants to have fun and not be confined to a life experienced through the restricted lens of the tennis circuit.

As their opposing personal goals collide and their tennis partnership disintegrates, they’ll need to discover what it truly means to be family. Maybe it’s time to set each other free.

What’s next for Lisa Darcy?

I have a novel coming out in October that also features sisters, arguments, and the odd betrayal, but there’s no tennis action in this one. It has a Christmas theme, but I haven’t worked out the finer details, so I’d better get a wriggle on!

Thanks for the chat, Andrea. I enjoyed it immensely.

You can follow Lisa on:
Website: newauthorscollective.com/lisa-darcy
Facebook: lisa.darcy.author
X (Twitter): lisadarcyauthor
Instagram: lisadarcyauthor
Threads: @lisadarcyauthor
Tiktok: @lisadarcyauthor
Booksales link: Amazon AU

To read about Lisa’ previous novels, see these interviews:
Lisa Darcy Asks Should You Keep a Secret for Should You Keep a Secret?
Lisa Darcy on Giving a Book a Makeover for Lily’s Little Flower Shop
Lisa Darcy on Writing, Flowers and Inspiration for My Big Greek Holiday

Next time: some thoughts for authors starting out on a project, The Why, What and How of Storytelling