Suggested reading (on a theme that often pops up on my blogs) courtesy of my friend Angelo Benuzzi.

I just learned of the passing of British author Tanith Lee.
This was shattering news – I an a great fan of her writings, and The Birthgrave was one of the first books I read in English.
Some of her novels – Don’t Bite the Sun/Drinking Sapphire Wine, Volkhavaar, the Paradys sequence… but I could mention many others – stand very high in my favorites lists, and her style was always a source of wonder and frustration – because I’ll never write like that.

Lee was a master storyteller, often breaking the boundaries between genres, and defied categorization.
Her catalog is full of extraordinary stories, beautifully told.

This is really a chunk of my life that goes away.
I am very sad.

16 May 2015
by Davide Mana Leave a comment

Recharging the batteries

I’m tired.
I spent these last three months writing, about 5 hours a day every day on the average – without weekends or any other relief.
Mind you, I’m not complaining¹ – if there’s something I’d like to do, is increase my output, which means hitting the 8-hours-a-day mark, and the no-less-than-5000-words-per-day mark.
Let’s say I’m working on it.

The problem is, sometimes we need to recharge the batteries. Continue reading →

12 May 2015
by Davide Mana Leave a comment

Glen Orbik

I just found out about the passing of American artist Glen Orbik, one of the giants in pulp-style illustration of the age.
I discovered his work through the covers of the Hard Case Crime paperbacks, and was love at first sight.
His paintings summed up everything I love about the genre.
He was 52.

RIP: Glen Orbik

I will have to work on this list, courtesy of ProBlogger

52 Types of Blog Posts that Are Proven to Work

27 April 2015
by Davide Mana 2 Comments

A new MOOC and journaling

Today I took the first lesson in a new MOOC I’ve joined – the Futurelearn Start Writing Fiction MOOC presented by the Open University.

I like the idea of learning more about what’s fast becoming my everyday job – and joining an online course is both entertaining and a good way to put some order in the jumble of skills I’ve taught myself through the years. Continue reading →