This Maltese Writer Took Her Heart On The Road And Brought Back Enough Feels For All Of Us
Back in 2014, Denise Cassar quit her job and left Malta to travel the world. She had no idea what she was going to do when she got back, but more specifically, she had no idea whether or not she wanted to head back to a job she would only be doing just to make ends meet.
Then, it hit her. Denise had been looking for something she could do from anywhere in the world, and the answer came to her as she buckled her seatbelt on the plane journey back home – writing.
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Denise came back to Malta, packed her things and left to begin a Nomadic journey around the world
Covering her travels online, she soon found enough material to start working on her first novel.
Travel seems to be Luana’s way of escaping love. She knows love, but she also knows it hurts, so she keeps moving, yet it keeps finding her. Is it finally time for love to make her happy or will it pull her down into the grips of despair again?
That’s what the blurb of her debut, Hearts On the Road, gives away to perusing opportunists. But Hearts On the Road is more than just a story, it’s a personal recollection of events that inspired Denise while on her travels.
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The novel speaks of a man whom Denise had grown to love over the course of her journey.
When she tragically lost him to a motorbike accident, she was afraid to approach it in writing, but when she finally sat down with herself and made the peace she needed to, she realised the best way to deal with the grief was to confront it in the best way she knew possible.
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On the same line of detail, Denise hopes that anyone who comes into contact with the book feels comfort from the sense of relativity it holds within the authenticity of her somewhat fictional tale.
The story features a split in its timeline, covering a period of 15 years and stretches between five different countries; Italy, Spain, Malta, India and Nepal.
Denise began the first draft and finished it before the birth of her first child, who took to her travelling lifestyle rather well – much to Denise’s pleasure. With her touring well underway, she found it easy to fit in the writing, as Denise explains, “because I quit my corporate job with the mindful intention of going away to have the time.”
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The book was her main priority for a time. Denise would spend the first few hours of every day at her laptop and then make sure the rest of her time was dedicated to roaming around as the carefree traveller she fully intended to be.
The final edits necessary before publishing could begin were done after Denise had become a mother in a process that involved buckets of coffee whenever junior would take a nap. Denise knew that this was something she needed to have completed before she returned to Malta.
‘Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.’
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When we asked Denise what her favourite part of the whole writing process was, she told us: “Definitely the writing of the first draft – it’s the purest of it all, what comes most natural to me. Sit down, open my laptop and let the words flow. Sometimes what comes out even surprises me. Picasso once said, ‘Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.’ So I keep my discipline and it keeps being ever so generous to me.”
Denise just got back from travelling through Mexico, Cuba, Menorca and Spain and with a short stay in Venice recently she has decided that for the time being she does not see settling back on The Rock as an option.
“I love my nomadic lifestyle and so far my son is handling it well, so I don’t think I’ll stop anytime soon,” she smiled.
The novel is already receiving well so far in its release; Denise is hearing from readers that within two to three days they were gripped so tightly they’d read the book from cover to cover. She describes the experience as a “pleasant surprise” that came entirely unexpectedly. Maybe Denise hadn’t allowed herself to dream high enough, yet, here she is already being asked when the next novel drops.
And guess what: she’s already drafting it up!
Share Denise’s heartwarming story with your friends and be sure to grab a copy of the book online!
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