Karavansara

East of Constantinople, West of Shanghai


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Steve Loves Linda, a short story of the Old Timers

The Old Timers were a loose bunch of aged superheroes that I contributed to my friend’s Alex Girola’s shared universe 2 Minutes to Midnight. In a setting in which superheroes were members of government-sponsored teams or worked as part of corporations, the Old Timers were masked avengers hailing from an older, pulpier era. They remained in the sidelines and stepped in only when it was time to set the more traditional and modern superheroes straight.

I watched the Amazon Prime series The Boys, this last weekend, and then I got to talk with Alex and a few others of our old accomplices in the 2MM series. The original comic of The Boys had been one of the inspirations of our shared universe, together with The Authority, Watchmen and other revisionist comic series.
And we had lots of fun as long as it lasted.
It would be good to go back, we said.

And it turned out that each one of us had at least a story there waiting, and more stories to write.

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Getting at least the basics straight

A few months back, I was the witness of a surreal discussion among (male) writers about how to write (female) characters.
It was one of those things that REALLY make me feel like a rude mechanical that gatecrashed a party of fine intellectuals, because the guys brought up literary theory, polling the feedback of female beta readers and conducting interviews with control groups to be sure of “getting it right”, and then of course Jung’s theory of the Animus and Anima, yin and yang, Freud’s letter to his chiropractor and what else.
Real heavy stuff.

Now, I usually think about the women I have known in my life – friends and lovers, relations and acquaintances, teachers, co-workers, neighbors, strangers overheard on the train and at the supermarket.
Characters in books, films, comics.
For certain bits – like the name of certain items of clothing, current or past fashion trends, make-up and grooming, I do a spot of research.
The rest I make up.
So far nobody complained about my female characters.

But then last night, I was shown this…

And I think we need to talk.
So take a deep breath, stop laughing, and let’s talk.

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Cherish the small pleasures

… because sometimes the big pleasures are out of your league.

And having spent a whole day writing, today’s small pleasure will be to take a walk under the stars and enjoy and ice-cool lemonade (that’s called “gazzosa” hereabout – like the French “gazeuse”).

There’s a company that does special edition bottles with nose-art style ’40s pinups.

Sometimes that’s enough to feel better.


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Books for August – a list of five

My brand consultant (yeah, I’m just like the pros, see?) tells me I should do what everybody else does, and post a list of suggested books for my readers to pack as they go on vacation.
Make it a five points list, he said. People love five points lists.
And who am I to ignore my brand consultant on such matters?
So, here we go… a few books you might like to pick up for your summer reading, provided with handy Amazon link and all.
Many of these I have already mentioned, because I don’t like suggesting stuff I have not read myself.

Let’s see…

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Playing with the grown ups

I have just received the galley proofs of a book that will come out in the next weeks (I do not have an ETA) and that includes a story of mine.
Checking the galleys of an anthology is good, because while re-reading for the umpteenth time our own story is boring as hell, we get a peek at the other stories in the book too.
This is always exciting, because often we do not know who will be in the anthology, with whom we’ll be sharing these pages.

So I checked my story, and that my name was spelled correctly everywhere, and the link to this blog in my short bio was OK, and then checked my travel companions.
And among the names that I know I spotted an author I have respected and followed for years, both as a writer of fiction and non-fiction. I have his books here on my shelf, and I have tried to steal some of his tricks for years now.
And we will be in the same book.

And this is not the first time it happens – I’ve shared books with a few authors that were first of all my personal idols, my inspiration and a sort of far away myth.
“You’ll never be as good as these guys,” I said to myself.
And I still say it.
But I have proof in print that while I will never be as good as they are, at least I am good enough to be allowed in their same playing field.

I don’t know if this is “validation by association”, but it’s good for the soul.
It means I’m moving in the right direction.
Slowly, sometimes painfully, but I’m on my way.

I’ll let you know when the book is out.


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Explore the world and help the others

The title of this post sums up the sort of answer I would have given when I was, say, twelve years old, when somebody asked “what are you going to be when you grow up?” (one of the questions that have plagued kids for generations). I would not have said it in so many words, but that was the idea – I had been raised on documentaries and adventure stories, and I had this sui generis image in my mind of what a scientist would do – go out there, learn the world, help people see those wonders, teach.

I realize now that, had it been considered an option, I would probably have loved to make documentaries, or be a nature photographer.
But those were not “serious jobs”, so I focused on university, and became a paleontologist and a geologist.
I did research and teaching for a while, and then ended up in this dead village in the hills of Astigianistan, saddled with debts other people had made, and too old to do any job because hey, you’re over 45, you should be either rich or dead.

So it’s back to adventure stories – because if I can’t go out there and do it, I can at least try and inspire others to do it.
Or dream about inspiring them – most of my readers are my same age or older, and “adventure” is today something somebody set up, and you can go through it for a price, and everything’s perfectly controlled.
You don’t get to see the world but that small slice they will allow you to see.
Most places are too dangerous, or too weird, or just plain uninteresting.

It gets depressing.
And I, sitting here in this small village lost in a countryside where curiosity and youth are ills that must be cured as soon as possible… today I find some solace learning foreign languages, trying my hand at cooking exotic recipes, and paying a small amount of money to some charity – usually through things like Humbe Bundle or such.

I’m starting to feel old and useless, I need to find something new to explore.
Any ideas?