Major epiphany

Drinking my tea and sitting next to a bookcase in my house (all the rooms in my house are stacked with books!) I picked up a little notebook that was wedged between bigger volumes. Dwarfed by the other tomes, its battered red spine caught my attention and I hooked it out. The little journal was my companion over thirty years ago when I was travelling around, doing casual work, as a free spirit.
My experiences developed, many years later, into The Twisted Vine. My story had similar bones but in detail was very different to Roxanne\’s. I met no Armand le Clairs amongst the vineyards but I was escaping from a destructive relationship and met many wonderful people.
One of these, perhaps the most important to me, was a girl upon whom I based Yvane in The Twisted Vine. She too was disabled by Thalidomide damage in one arm and was just as fiery and beautiful as Yvane. I had forgotten her name and called her Yvane on  a whim.
This morning as I flicked through the yellowed pages of my tiny address book, I found one address written in a hand other than my own. In neat block capitals was the name of my Italian friend, the girl I had shared a barn/come bedroom, many laughs, songs and soul-to-soul exchanges into the night in our pigeon French/Italian/English private lingo. Her name? Leone Ivana.
I would love to connect with Leone again. She lives in Genoa, Italy – or did. She has been an inspiration to me all my life and was a much nicer and more generous, mature character than the Yvane in The Twisted Vine.
So, Leone, if you are reading this, by some crazy chance, let\’s meet up and rekindle that wonderful, all too transient, connection.