Romance, a bit of suspense, the history of Italy, and numerous recipes
combine to create a story about love, food, and life – Italian American style.
Con Amore
“I love your writing style. I love your use of describing words and the way that
you use those words to produce a visual image in the reader's mind. In
particular, the way you described the clouds, I thought was wonderful. But I
also found that your descriptions of events [were] so full of imagery.”
~ Dolores S. ~
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Janice moved to Long Island at the age of five.
Her
father’s
family
emigrated
from
Trapani
(region
of
Sicily)
to
Brooklyn
when
he
was
eight.
Janice’s
maternal
grandfather
came to America from the Naples area, married and settled in Brooklyn.
Janice’s
childhood
memories
include
frequent
visits
to
the
three-story
brownstone
in
Brooklyn,
where
most
of
her
father’s
family
lived,
and
trips
in
the
summer
to
the
Mastic
home
of
her
maternal
grandparents.
Holidays
were
often
spent
at
the
brownstone
–
filled
with
aunts,
uncles,
and
lots
of
cousins;
and
her
grandmother
always
at
the
stove.
In
contrast,
at
the
peaceful
summer
home
in
Mastic,
Janice
enjoyed
her
grandmother’s
beautiful
flower
gardens
and
spent
time
with
her
grandfather
as
he
worked
in
the
garden,
cultivating
tomatoes,
corn,
eggplant,
and
peppers.
She
often
walked
with
him
along
the
canal
that
bordered
the
garden,
helping
him
check
the
crab
nets.
The
bounty
was
brought
by
the
bucketful
to
her
grandmother, who cooked one of Janice’s favorite meals – crabs in tomato sauce.
Janice
started
writing
Con
Amore
in
1999,
about
a
year
after
establishing
a
monthly
newsletter
for
a
local
Italian
women’s
club.
During
that
year,
she
researched
online
and
wrote
brief
articles
about
Italian
heritage.
In
appreciation,
and
to
help
with
her
research,
three
ladies
–
three
generations
of
one
family
–
presented
her
with
a
book
that
changed
her
direction
in
life,
I
talians
First:
An
A
to
Z
of
Everything
Achieved
First
by
Italians
written
by
Arturo
Barone.
That
book
opened
her
world
to her Italian heritage.
The
history
of
Italy
fascinated
Janice,
and
as
her
research
for
Con
Amore
continued,
she
realized
that
she
had
too
much
information
to
include
in
her
book.
In
2004,
she
began
writing
Tutto
Italiano
,
a
monthly
e-newsletter
about
everything
Italian.
After
completing
Con
Amore
in
2006,
Janice
founded
Thirty-One
Days
of
Italians
,
a
program
to
promote
Italian
American
Heritage
Month.
The
website
provides
resources
for
Italian
and
Italian
Americans
who
have
significantly
contributed to America.
In
2006,
Janice
also
began
writing
for
La
Gazzetta
Italiana
,
an
Italian
American
newspaper
based
in
Ohio,
but
with
a
worldwide
audience.
In
2011,
she
became
the
owner
and
director
of
the
Italian
American
Press,
a
website
that
promotes
books
primarily
written
by
authors
of
Italian
heritage
who
write
about
Italian
American
and
Italian
culture,
heritage,
and
history.
Last
year,
Janice
founded
the
Italian
American
Heritage
Project
,
providing
educational
resources
about
Italian
American
history,
heritage,
and
culture
with
a
straightforward
view.
She
recently
developed
lesson
plans
about
Christopher
Columbus’s
first
voyage
and
has
preliminary
outlines
for
several
other
lesson
plans
about
Italians
and
the
Italian
American
experience.
Janice
has
taught
business,
floral
design,
and
cooking
courses
at
a
community
college,
several
universities,
cultural
centers, and other venues. She is also a certified food safety instructor and proctor.
About Janice
About
the Author
All photographs ©2004-2006 JTM
©2023 Janice Therese Mancuso
.