Meet Reese
Reese Balducci is a literary and historical fiction writer whose work explores themes of perseverance, longing, and the quiet heroism of everyday life. A lifelong admirer of rich, character-driven storytelling, Reese draws inspiration from his family’s deep Italian roots and a personal passion for history, particularly the immigrant experience in the United States.
His debut work, Letters from the Olive Tree, a #1 New Release on Amazon, is a poignant exploration of love, sacrifice, and resilience set against the sweeping backdrop of early twentieth-century Tuscany and the American South. With a style praised for its lyrical prose and emotional depth, Reese seeks to illuminate the overlooked corners of history through intimate, human stories.
As a dual citizen, Reese lives in Tennessee and Tuscany, surrounded by the landscapes and histories that continue to shape his work. When not writing, he enjoys traveling, reading widely across genres, and spending time with his family.
Letters from the Olive Tree by Reese Balducci
#1 New Release on Amazon
Letters from the Olive Tree is a literary historical fiction short story set in the early twentieth century. Giovanni Olivi, the second son of a proud but impoverished Tuscan farming family, is bound by tradition and cut off from inheritance. He leaves behind the only life he’s known and the woman he loves, Ersilia Innocenti, in search of opportunity in America, promising to make a life abroad and one day send for her.
What follows is a transatlantic journey of grueling labor, crushing poverty, and bitter desolation for Giovanni, testing the couple’s steadfast love. Told through vivid prose and the letters they exchange, Giovanni’s story unfolds in sweat, sorrow, and relentless hope as he faces the ultimate test of his promise to Ersilia beneath the olive tree.
Letters from the Olive Tree is a lyrical, emotionally resonant story about what it means to belong, in place and person. It is a timeless meditation on land, love, and the courage to keep building when everything seems lost.
Until Tuscany Remembers by Reese Balducci
Coming Soon to Amazon
Present-day Tuscany: Fleeing a demanding career and a failed relationship in New York, Alex Olivi returns to her ancestral home in Tuscany, seeking solace in the land she loves. There, she reconnects with Matteo Rossi, her childhood friend, who is now a rugged, devoted single father. Their smoldering youthful attraction rekindles as they are thrust together in a desperate bid to save the struggling estate, as it sinks under the weight of financial crisis.
1944 Tuscany: In the heart of Tuscany, the iron fist of brutal Nazi occupation tightens its grip, casting a pall of fear and uncertainity over the once idylic landscape. Yet, amidst this oppressive darkness, a flicker of defiance ignites within Adalgisa Olivi. Driven by an unwavering sense of compassion and a fierce resolve, she makes a perilous choice to join La Resistenza, the Italian resistance. In the face of unimaginable danger, Adalgisa bravely opens her family’s land as a clandestine refuge for wounded freedom fighters, risking everything to provide them sanctuary in a world consumed by war.
Across the expanse of time, the echoes of wartime bravery and sacrifice ripple through the generations. Can an act of honor, born in the crucible of conflict, create a lifeline for a family teetering on the edge of losing everything they hold dear? The Olivi family legacy staggers on the brink of collapse, Until Tuscany Remembers.