Providence Office Series Book Four Available on Amazon
”Sunday Gravy”—New England speak for pasta sauce. Click here for recipe.
How do we find the private person behind the public face?
Trust and Transparency
The cost of integrity
From Provence to Providence – the rocky road to love
Thomas Dambo Trolls in Rhode Island
Behind the Book: In the Public Eye
Welcome back to Providence.
When I started writing about this city — its courthouse steps, its river light, its fierce sense of community — I never imagined how many people would fall in love with these characters right along with me.
Tony Marcarelli and Lena Caruso began their story in Provence, pedaling beside quiet water and early morning vineyards. They didn’t know it then, riding through Provence, but all roads — and hearts — were already turning toward Providence.
In this chapter of their journey, the questions are quieter but deeper:
- What does integrity look like in private moments?
- How do you protect the truth without losing yourself?
- What does love become when the adrenaline fades and the real world begins?
Tony doesn’t win by being loud; Lena doesn’t prove herself by burning bridges. They move toward stillness, toward trust, toward a life that is built one honest choice at a time.
There are long bike rides in Acadia and Sunday dinners in Cranston and Federal Hill — not because life is simple, but because joy counts and gentleness matters. Because love is often a treaty signed at a kitchen table, not a declaration shouted from the steps of a courthouse.
Thank you for walking these streets and turning these pages with me. I hope this story leaves you with a sense of peace, courage, and connection — and the reminder that truth, when tended with care, becomes its own kind of love.
Warm regards,
Margaret Manchester
Bike-and-Barge from Aigues-Mortes to Avignon, Provence, France