14 October 2018
by Davide Mana Leave a comment

Sunday afternoon on the Nile

Having taken the afternoon off to read something, I was pleased to discover that not only the cars in the race are quite noisy, but all the neighborhood dogs feel compelled to bark their hearts out at each passing vehicle.
I therefore changed my plans, took out my headphones, and watched the first episode of Joanna Lumley’s Nile, a 2010 series of documentaries in which the British actress followed the Nile to its source.

w purdey1

Now British TV has this thing about celebrities traveling the world – and I enjoyed in the past the Michael Palin globetrotting adventures. Of course I’ve been a fan of Lumley ever since she was Purdey in The New Avengers – adolescent crush and all that.
And this trip along the Nile looked just like my sort of thing. Continue reading →

11 October 2018
by Davide Mana Leave a comment

Hope & Glory – some music

I just found this online and I am absolutely delighted – this is the sort of thing I had in mind when designing Hope & Glory, and it’s good to feel like we got the zeitgeist right.

Check this video out, enjoy the music, and then consider the option of supporting the artist (yes, for a change I am pushing someone else’s Patreon)

11 October 2018
by Davide Mana 2 Comments

Karavansara Free Library: Robert Byron

A few days back I asked for opinions about the contents of this blog. I have been asked to do more posts about games, and about travelers and explorers.
And I say, why not?

So here’s a post about a writer and world-traveler I discovered during my second year in university, and he remains a favorite of mine. His books have contributed to fuel my interest for the Silk Road and the adventures and experiences of travelers in the years between the two Wars.
And you can get his books for free, so I think I’ll give you a brief introduction, and then let you enjoy the guy’s writing. Continue reading →

10 October 2018
by Davide Mana 2 Comments

Karavansara Free Library: The Well of the Unicorn

I’m writing a story.
Big deal, you say.
But no, wait, because it’s interesting.
The story is set in some unnamed American town, somewhere in 1948 or maybe 1949. As the story opens, the main character works as a reader for an old lady who’s losing her sight. My character spends three afternoons every week in the old lady’s parlor, reading her aloud from a book.
What book?
The_Well_of_the_Unicorn Now, the book is not essential in the story. It’s just a prop, something my character can cling to as the events in her life suddenly start twisting in a whole new direction.
A hardback, then.
A good solid hardback she’ll be able to clutch to her chest like it’s an armor in that single scene right at the beginning.

And so I did a quick check.
I just needed a hardback published in 1948.
And Fletcher Pratt’s The Well of the Unicorn was published in that year.
Bingo.
There is something good, for me, about a young woman reading aloud from The Well of the Unicorn, and then embarking on a life-changing adventure. Continue reading →