Karavansara

East of Constantinople, West of Shanghai


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Book Day

Today is the international book day, or so I am told – good internet practices require a blog post about the joy of books. The book that changed your life, the first book you read, the book you hate, the book you are reading right now…
And yet, it’s not like we never talk about books hereabouts.

Today, on the other hand, I was discussing with a friend and she asked me Why?
More specifically: Why do you write?
And it turns out that when you write, at least part of the reason has to do with why you read – and why other people read. So it fits perfectly the book day theme. And the answer to the question is not so simple.

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Weird Western, First Draft

My weird western story is done, in first draft: two sessions, about four hours, 1600 words – which is fine, considering the call is for stories between 1000 and 5000. This call was different than usual, because it asked for a story to fit a pre-existing setting – it came with a set of characters, a place, a bit of background.
It’s hard, but I like working this way, once in a while – it’s a good exercise, it’s good for discipline.
Also, considering the proposed rate of payment, I needed to make it fast, or it would become anti-economic.
I guess I did it.

Now I’ll let it rest for the night, and have a go at it tomorrow morning – a little editing, and an extra 200/300 words because there is a point I know needs some expanding for both structural and narrative reasons. I’ll add a scene, and balance the story. Add some flavor too.
Maybe 150 words to cut, also.
And I’ll need to find it a title.

And then it’s off to the editor, and fingers crossed.
It’s not my usual kind of story, but it has potential.
All I can do is wait and see.
But it’s been a good day, despite the rough dinner and the day-long wind and rain.


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Kim Newman on Drachenfels

Curiously enough in the last two nights I suffered from a ferocious attack of insomnia, and so I grabbed the first book on my bedside table and started reading. The book is The Vampire Genevieve omnibus, by Kim Newman writing as Jack Yeovil, to me still the best RPG tie-in book aver, and a great example of horror/sword & sorcery crossover.
The first novel in the omnibus is, of course, Drachenfels.

And here is a lengthy interview with Kim Newman about the novel, and what he was intending to do when he wrote it – the influences, the twists and everything else.
Quite interesting.


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Easter

Today is Easter, the day in which everybody and their sister, in the neighborhood, suddenly remember they own a lawn-mower – and if they don’t they come and ring your door to borrow yours.
But apart from the insufferable racket, it was a quiet day.

I did not do much writing (as it usually happens when I am going through a Phil Rickman novel), but I was able to create a new folder and stuffed some research material and a TXT outline in it. Once again it’s the sort of project I’d love to do straight away, but right now I’m too spent and tired to try. There will be time – let’s leave the ideas time to sediment.

One of the stories I was writing sort of died when I found out the magazine I was aiming for only accepts stories from Canadian citizens and residents.
But I got another call – this time for a weird western.
I hope to be able to work on it this coming week.
I like weird westerns, and it would be a good opportunity.

Apart from this, it’s been a very easy, overcast day.
My neighbors mowed their lawns.
All of them. Repeatedly.


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Odds and Ends #15

The 15th Odds and Ends has just been posted to my Patrons, just in time for Easter. This week: a great post-cyberpunk thriller for 99 cents (in Italian!), a stack of science books for real cheap, a whole world dominated by birds, a collection of Hobbit recipes, an article about the late Gene Wolfe and a short movie about the end of the world.
Because it’s good to be my patrons.


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Tudor Ghosts (or maybe worse)

There is no doubt Phil Rickman is currently my favorite horror/thriller author, a title he shares with Peter Straub. I like his language and his style of storytelling, his settings and his characters, his ability in mixing tradition and modernity. His The Man in the Moss is one of my favorite horrors (and I will have to re-read it one of these nights) and I normally keep a few Rickman books in one of my emergency boxes, and when the moon is high and the nights are cold, I happily go looking for one of his chillers.

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Easter Weekend

It’s the Easter Weekend, that here in my country will be followed by the Republic Day – a long week of minimal activity. The plan was to settle down and start writing my next novel, but today I was so poorly I wasted most of the afternoon laying in bed and looking at the ceiling. Not a good start.

On the plus side, I have a few nice books to read, the pantry is reasonably full and with a modicum of twists and turns I’ll be able to pay my bills in time again this month. It’s all good and fine.

I will probably postpone work on the novel, but I have stories in the making. One of them is called “On the Black Ley”, and another is “Wolf’s Paw” – both are working titles and both are pretty sucky as working titles go, but hey, one has to start somewhere.
These are very short stories I am writing on speck – with a little luck and a little work, I should be able to have the first drafts ready by Monday morning, and then I’ll revise and send them to prospect publishers.
There’s also a flash fiction I really need to write, but the idea is not solid enough yet. But I’ll do it.
Because that’s how this writing business goes at the moment.