Karavansara

East of Constantinople, West of Shanghai

Category Archives: Writing


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Finding a giant monster

boy-throwing-baseball-c1930s-h-armstrong-robertsclassicstockI am about to pitch a new story to one of my long-suffering publishers.
I’m probably working on too many different projects at the same, but when a good idea and an opening appears, I like to jump at it. I can do without sleep for a few days, but not without a steady income – and as a freelance writer of genre fiction, this means writing a lot, and selling as much as possible.

And actually, I am currently working on three separate pitches, that will hit different publishers in the next few days…

  • One for a surreal fantasy story, put together upon request by a fine Italian publisher. I should call this an”urban fantasy”, because the setting is a city in the modern day, but my story does not share any of the basic elements today associated with Urban Fantasy – no teenage Goth girls in love with angels, no tattooed badass biker chicks hunting vampires, no witches bickering.
  • One for a collaboration, a very fun fantasy project we’ll pitch to both Italian and English-language publishers.
  • And one for a big monster novel.

And talking about big monsters… Continue reading →


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A story of the non-wanker kind

I just submitted a story for the 20th anniversary issue of Inferno!, the Black Library magazine covering Warhammer 40.000.
After my post yesterday a WH40K-playing friend of mine pointed out to me the open call for the magazine. It was sort of, OK, mister so-superior-to-this-stuff, let’s see if you’re so hot.

The submission requested a one paragraph pitch and a 500-words scene.
I checked the deadline – April the 10th.
And I thought, why not?
The worse that could happen is, I might get a rejection slip and lose two hours of my life. I can live with that. So I wrote a positively non-wanker story set in the WH40K universe, and sent it along. Let’s see what happens.

Screenshot from 2018-04-06 01-53-47


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Bastet

bastetBeloved Bastet, mistress of happiness and bounty, twin of the Sun God, slay the evil that afflicts our minds as you slay the serpent Apep. With your graceful stealth anticipate the moves of all who perpetrate cruelties and stay their hands against the children of light. Grant us the joy of song and dance, and ever watch over us in the lonely places in which we must walk.
– Ancient Egyptian Prayer to the Goddess Bastet

[the things one finds researching the next episode of AMARNA]


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Meet Garr the Cunning

unnamedThis post was published three days ago for my Patrons, who got to see it first.
They also got a full preview of the first scene of the forthcoming 12.000-words story I’m writing, and that they will get for free.
It’s good to be a Patron of mine.
Just saying.

I have been working on the 12.000-words “caveman fantasy” story I have promised my patrons as a celebration for reaching the 100-bucks-per-month tier.
As I usually do, I planned this story as a first in a series. I grew up on series and serial fiction, and I like exploring and expanding my characters and my worlds. So there. And once I started, it’s been a highly educative experience.
So, here is a preview AND a look at my process – hoping you are interested.

Let’s start with the learning side. Continue reading →


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Like a male author would

Now here’s a challenge.
A true challenge.
There’s this big hue and cry out on the web because a guy was caught bragging about how realistic his female characters are, and they actually suck big time. Not the first time we see sucky female characters written by male writers, alas.

fdc3f0889baa37ab7373a92670a95952--pulp-mill-liliSo now there’s this social media thing doing the rounds

‘Describe Yourself Like a Male Author Would’

And seriously, it’s pretty fun.
I usually cringe at the sort of female characters that haunt (or should I say infest?) the current catalog of inept fantasy and testosterone-loaded spy thrillers by terminally adolescent male writers. Because while I can accept certain clichés in books from decades past – and indeed love those McGinnis covers and all that, it’s sort of part of the period charm of such books, if you do not take it as a lifestyle suggestion…
While I accept it, I was saying, I find it hard to swallow in contemporary works – because we are supposed to be more enlightened, nowadays.
Continue reading →


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AMARNA, episode 3

Amarna preview smallBoy was this a close call!
But in the end, the March episode of AMARNA is available in epub, mobi and PDF formats, through Gumroad.

My Patron supporters will get their copy – or a discount code – in a few minutes, and in the next 36 hours (hopefully) the ebook will also be available on Amazon.
But boy was this a close call!

Now, on to other projects.