Templar Knights | Karavansara

So, as you are reading this I am rushing to finish two jobs to hit the deadline, and then I’ll be gearing up for my NENaNoWriMo thing: writing a novella whose tag-line is “Like Dan Brown but lowbrow”.
A story about the secret of the Templar Knights, set here in Nizza Monferrato, jewel of Astigianistan, smack in the middle of the UNESCO Heritage site of the Langhe & Monferrato vineyards.

The Jewel of Astigianistan

To get in the mood (and to break away from a month spent writing eight hours a say, seven days a week) yesterday I took a long and pleasant trip to the town of Saliceto, once a Templar chapter house, now a cheerful and quiet country place. Continue reading →

November is crawling nearer, and soon the blogs and socials will blossom with news about NaNoWriMo – people posting their wordcounts, their progresses, their pains and their triumphs.
It’s ok, I guess.
I never took part in NaNoWriMo, because when I was a serious university researcher (you are allowed to laugh), writing was a leisure activity and I liked to keep it like that. And now that I’m a penny-less out-of-work researcher trying to pay the mortgage and eat once a day with my writing, my writing is at NaNoWriMo levels (and beyond) already, and it’s been like that since May.

la-et-jc-spoilers-from-the-nanowrimo-guide-no-001

BUT…
There’s one secondary, backburner-style project that has been on my mind in the last few weeks, and that will be my own personal Not Exactly NaNoWriMo for 2016. Continue reading →