It follows Lucia Calderone, a capable but reserved Sicilian lady-in-waiting, who finds herself imprisoned in Florence's most-feared prison, Isola delle Stinche, for the crime of loving the alluring and promiscuous Anna de’ Medici, a princess, childhood friend and niece to the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
In a daring bid for freedom, Lucia devises a plan that will punish her betrayers and reunite her with the woman she loves.
Mr Belcastro says his inspiration for the historical fiction came from his appreciation for a great romance and his “obsession with the swashbuckling genre”.
“For instance, I grew up watching Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones in The Mask of Zorro, The Princess Bride, Jim Caviezel as Edmond Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo, and — of course — the various iterations of The Three Musketeers.
“These were major influences. I'm also a huge fan of Alexandre Dumas' written works, including the latter two, which were adapted into film and/or television.”
Mr Belcastro said Raven’s Masquerade was a passion project that gave him a chance to delve into a world of fencing, love and drama, and the antics that follow.
“It also gave me the opportunity to tell the tale of a same-sex relationship between two of my leads interweaving some representation amid a time period that forbade it,” he said.
Mr Belcastro wrote Raven’s Masquerade in about three months, while he was unemployed temporarily towards the end of 2023.
He released his first book, The Call of Magic, last year before revisiting Raven's Masquerade to edit it.
It was self-published by Mr Belcastro’s publishing company Anchora Press.
“With so many opportunities at a writer’s fingertips these days, and with how many novels now flood the market through traditional publishers — which are mostly authors they already know — I decided to forgo my publisher and pursue another course which has, thus far at least, borne more fruit than being traditionally published,” the author said.
“The community around self-publishing is fantastic and very supportive.”
Mr Belcastro, whose own real-life love story is currently playing out, as he and his fiancée head to the altar in just a few weeks, said he was proud of the finished product and his growth in prose and narrative structure as an author.
“I absolutely adore Raven’s Masquerade. I adored writing it, editing it, re-reading it over and over,” he said.
“Thus far, it’s certainly my favourite creation. Seeing the buzz around it through reviews and PMs on Instagram has only reinforced that feeling.
“I'm so grateful for the support received from my readers; they're amazing.”
Raven’s Masquerade is not currently slated to be a part of a series, as the author’s passion is for standalone novels and indirect sequels; however, he said the story’s protagonist, Lucia, was proving a popular character, so he was not altogether closing the door on the possibility of returning to her and the world she lives in.
While he’s taking some time off the promotional circuit to focus on his wedding and honeymoon, Mr Belcastro said he was always coming up with new ideas, affirming that writing is an addiction for him.
“This is what I love to do,” he said.
The now Melbourne-based Mr Belcastro hopes to publish his next work this year; a novel titled Fiction and Fables.
At the same time he will be editing an indirect sequel to his first published book (The Call of Magic), titled Honour Board.
Raven’s Masquerade is currently available worldwide in both paperback and e-Book formats.
