It's Sauce, Not Gravy

About This Episode

J.A. Marz is a healthcare marketing strategist turned novelist whose Tuscany-set fiction has struck a chord with readers who love Italy as much as he does. His debut novella, Ciao, Amore Mio — The Tale of Gabby and Gio, follows a restless travel writer who arrives in Italy chasing stories and finds something far more personal at a family-owned agriturismo called La Terre Felice.

The sequel, It's Sauce, Not Gravy!, debuted as a #1 Amazon Hot New Release in Tuscany Travel and digs deeper into memory, mystery, and what it means to fight for a place that feels like home. Mike, co-host Laura Nozicka, and John talk about the pull of Italy, career pivots from boardrooms to bookshops, the great sauce-vs-gravy debate, and why the best stories are rooted in a sense of place.

Key Takeaways

1. Write what you know — and what you love. John combined his three passions — Italy, golf, and writing — into a single story. He had the first and last chapters in his head for 10 years before the middle finally came together.
2. Italy is a feeling, not just a destination. The slower pace, fresh food, family-first culture, and sense of La Dolce Vita offer something Americans rarely experience at home. John tried to put readers in that feeling, not just describe the scenery.
3. Childhood memories are creative gold. John wove real family moments — his grandfather calling him "Prince of Wales," Sunday dinners, his grandmother's cooking — into the fabric of both novellas, giving the fiction an authentic emotional core.
4. The marketing of books is harder than writing them. Coming from healthcare marketing, John expected the promotional side to be familiar territory. Instead, he found that getting traction for a creative work is "10 times harder than marketing healthcare."
5. The sauce-vs-gravy debate is real — and it makes a great title. John chose It's Sauce, Not Gravy! knowing it would spark conversation in Italian-American circles. For his family, it was always sauce, meat or no meat.
6. The sequel deepens the story's themes. While the first book centers on love, loss, and family, It's Sauce, Not Gravy! explores legacy, connectivity, and the tension between wandering and finding home.
7. Book three is on the way. Set more heavily in Rome, it will lean into the city's art history — Michelangelo, Bernini, Caravaggio — and a more mature version of Gio. Expected in 2027.