Karavansara

East of Constantinople, West of Shanghai


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Radio Karavansara #5: Work in progress

Yesterday I shared a few photos from the documentation phase of my current work in progress – and I said I was also patching together a sort of soundtrack, as I usually do when writing my major projects.
And considering today’s been a good day, I was able to take two hours off around lunchtime (who needs to eat anyway) to put together a proper soundtrack as an episode of Radio Karavansara…

As the book will be set in New York’s Greenwich Village in the early ’50s (unless the publisher asks me to move it to San Francisco in the 60s, of course, or whatever), this is mostly classic jazz, with a few modern things thrown in for variety.
But this reflects the mood of the story I have in mind, and also the personality of a few of the characters.
I hope you’ll like it.


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Learning how to do a better podcast

I’ve just been through the first unit of an online course I will be following in the next weeks, about digital audio storytelling and voice technologies – basically about how to tell stories using a podcast.
This is quite interesting, both because it will hopefully give me some new idea to improve Paura & Delirio, and because as a writer any new insight on the subject of storytelling is a welcome addition to my toolbox.

The course is hosted by the Knight’s Center for Journalism in the Americas, and it’s not the first of their online courses I take.
Indeed, I have now a nice portfolio of journalism courses in my CV.

This course is both useful and fun, and meeting my fellow students was a humbling experience – here in Italy we are still in the caves, when podcasts are concerned, and discovering the variety and quality of the work other people out there are doing – usually people much younger than me – had a sobering effect.

But after all, when you are in the wilderness, you have ample opportunities – unless of course you are in a wilderness because they are so impervious to change your opportunities are dead before they are born.


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Off to the South China Seas

… well, almost.
Starting tomorrow, I’ll be working on the translation of my friend Shanmei’s Murder on the Giava, en route to China, a historical mystery based on the real life adventures and letters of Shanmei’s grand-grandfather.
We’re talking a short novel, a classic murder mystery, with a side of exoticism and a small chaser of espionage, set in the Far East during the Belle Epoque, and based on real events.

I am very happy to be working on this book, because it’s really up my alley in every possible sense.
I also hope to convince the author to put in an appendix with a few extras just for the English-language market. Because it would be good to sell it in cartloads, considering there is a second volume coming.

Watch this space for news.


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Translations, monitors, contracts and a long walk

It’s been a long rainy day. I started this morning working on a translation (a screenplay for an animation series), then had to go and dig out an old monitor from storage when my brother’s monitor died, then finally got the counter-signed contract I had been waiting for … now the wait for the advance to arrive (and it will be never too soon … we need to buy a new monitor).

So, all in all, it’s been a busy day, waiting for tonight when we’ll start playing my new campaign.
Also, our regional governor decided we need a curfew, so no circulation between 11 pm and 5 am – and so our plans for a last dinner at Casablanca’s with our friends fizzed.

BUT, despite all that’s been going on, I was still able to catch a movie, and the good news is, you can watch it too, on Youtube.
Here is the trailer…

I watched it at lunch break, and it was a beautiful – if sometimes dramatic – experience.

More things tomorrow.
Now I’m off to dinner, and then to polishing my dice…


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Radio Karavansara # 4: Aeon Trinity

In about 24 hours I will start a new roleplaying campaign, playing online a game of Trinity – the science fiction RPG originally published in 1997 by White Wolf as Aeon. The game was just re-issued with a new engine as part of the Trinity Continuum by Onyx Path, but we’ll be playing the old ruleset and universe.

And as I have always done with Trinity, I’ve been sketching the campaign while listen to some music – and so I decided to prepare a sort of soundtrack, and put it up on Mixcloud.
Will my players (and my readers) appreciate it?
I do not know.
In case you are interested, it’s here…

And now, off to draw some pre-rolled characters.