Yesterday was a good day for my stories, and for my writing in general, for a series of quite unusual reasons.

First I got an excellent review – really, really flattering – for my story The Smell of Empty Places, the cover story in the collection Dark Italy by Acheron Books.
This is particularly pleasant because, first, the praise comes from a well respected colleague, and it is always good to be praised by people in our own tribe; and second, the English version of the story is currently being considered for a reprint in a Canadian anthology – and receiving such a brilliant review makes me hope for the best. 

Next, I was mentioned in a list of Italian sword & sorcery authors, thanks to my Asteria Chronicles, and that led to a few sales for some pretty old titles. Let’s hope it fosters a return of interest in Asteria by the Italian readers, as two more stories are about to hit the Italian-language market. 
The fun bit is, the list originally did not include me (apparently I am not good enough), but it was reprinted by a blog, and the blogger decided to add my name and my work to the list (because apparently, I am good enough).
It was extremely kind on his part.
Incidentally, the fourth Asteria story went on the back-burner for a while, but I’ll make sure it gets published by Christmas, or by New Year’s Eve at the latest.

Then – and here things get pretty weird – someone sent a paperback copy of my collection of historical sketches, La Storia Fatta coi Cialtroni, to an unsuspecting recipient.
Yes, basically, this lady I do not know received a copy of a book of mine from an anonymous, and she posted about it on Facebook. The good news is, she is actually liking the book very much.
Now I can only hope the mysterious book-bomber keeps up the good work and keeps pushing my books on the unsuspecting public.
A little extreme, as a publicity stunt, but you’ll have to admit it’s pretty original. 

And finally, I got commissioned a few more articles by a high class magazine, and am now doing a bit of historical research. 

All in all, quite a good day.