Karavansara

12 March 2014
by Davide Mana Leave a comment

Five (more) Companions for a Night Out

… but let’s play the meme game “out for a wild night with five imaginary friends” in a slightly different manner, now.

What if I were to select five historical characters, five real persons, that is, to share my table at the restaurant, my box at the theater, and later a nightcap in my favorite night-spot?

Obviously, the catalogue of fascinating historical characters is sohuge and varied, that picking any five is a feat for the foolish, but let’s consider a smaller subset.

This is, after all, karavansara, where adventure and fiction meet and intermingle… so, what about a night out with five of those 20th century scholars-adventurers I love so much?

Let’s see… Continue reading →

11 March 2014
by Davide Mana Leave a comment

Everything about the French Foreign Legion

A very quick post to poit out to all interested parties the wonderful blog Mon Legionnaire.
Maintained by a gentleman going by the name of Jack Wagner, the blog is dedicated to “The classic French Foreign Legion in Wargaming, Literature, Pictures and History”.
And it is just great.
I can only say I am awed by the sheer quality and richness of it- a veritable treasure-trove of narrative, history and other wonders.

Mon Legionnaire is a priceless resource for writers, gamers and anyone out there looking for some fun reads or off-the-beaten-track literature.

Be sure to check it out.

10 March 2014
by Davide Mana Leave a comment

Five Companions for a Night Out

A few days back my friend Clare, over at the Scribblings blog, revived an old meme we did quite a while back.

The idea is – you are going for a wild night out.
What five literary characters are you taking along?

And I thought – why not?
Let’s do it again – but let’s tweak the rules a little bit, this time.
This is, after all, the Karavansara blog – we do adventure, the pulps, and the mysteries of the East.
Or something.
So…

I’m going for a wild night out?
What pulp/adventure characters will be my companions? Continue reading →

9 March 2014
by Davide Mana Leave a comment

I Love Paris (when it sizzles)

Georgia Gibbs

OK, last bit of my Parisian week – I Love Paris (when it sizzles) is a song by Cole Porter, published in 1953. It was part of the musical Can Can.
The song inspired the title of the Hepburn-Holden movie and… ehm, my Parisian pinboard.

Through the years this song has been performed by a number of artists, most famously by Ella Fitzgerald, in 1956.
But there’s also a Les Baxter version out there!

What follows, anyway, is the Georgia Gibbs version from 1953, in a strangely dark and rough arrangement.

Enjoy!

8 March 2014
by Davide Mana Leave a comment

Paris, when it sizzles

Cover of Paris When It Sizzles

Paris, when it sizzles is the title of a movie featuring William Holden and Audrey Hepburn.
Weird sort of comedy, very strange development history, confused and yet fascinating.
Sort of meta-fiction way before anything even marginally meta-whatnot ever happened in movies.

Anyway, the title comes from a Cole Porter song (more details tomorrow), and it’s also the title of the pinboard I built to collect photo references, about Paris in the ’50s and ’60s, for my writing projects.

And here it is…
Some of the pictures are absolutely gorgeous.

7 March 2014
by Davide Mana Leave a comment

Writing Prompt – Belleville, 1958

An American in Paris?

As I said, I’m collecting photographical references for my next short story.
And this one is exactly what I was looking for.
Not that I knew I was looking for it before I found it.

5 March 2014
by Davide Mana Leave a comment

Working on a new story

I am proud to announce that one of my stories, A Spider with Barbed-Wire Legs, will be part of the rewards for the backers of the Kickstarter for the Dennis Detwiller collection of short stories Tales from Failed Anatomies, to be released by Arc Dream Publishing.

My story was set as a stretch goal for the target of 20.000 dolalrs – a target achieved a few hours ago.

It will be excellent to be part of such a great project, and to see my story released side by side with the works of many authors I respect and admire.

My story is going to be a horror/espionage number, and is set in Paris in the ’50s (but it does include some Orientalist elements).

Right now, I’m doing some background research on the time and place, to spice-up my tale.
As usual, I’ll collect a cartload of photo references.
Might as well start a Pinboard on Pinterest… I’d call it “Paris, When it Sizzles“.

In the meantime, there’s still 6 days to go and many interesting rewards to be unlocked by financing the Kickstarter.
Check it out.