Strolling La rambla in Barcelona
If you’re visiting Barcelona, chances are you’ll be strolling down La rambla at least once during your stay. This busy, tree-lined, central thoroughway leading to the sea is filled with all day and late into the night. The name comes from the Arabic word ramla, meaning the dried-up river bed. In the 13th century, a…
Read MoreOnce written, a book no longer needs it author – Elena Ferrante
In an era of relentless social media, around the clock tweets, Facebook pages, Goodreads fans, and endless promotion required to sell books, most authors might balk at these words. And yet this sentiment of a seemingly bygone era are the words of the contemporary Italian author Elena Ferrante in a 7 November 2014 interview in Io…
Read MoreExploring HafenCity and the Hamburg Dungeon
Last week I wrote about getting a sense of what life was like for a turn of the 20th century sailor by visiting Hamburg’s Rickmer Rickmers. If you’re exploring the northern German city of Hamburg, it makes sense to also explore the ‘new’ district nearby – HafenCity. Construction on this so-called ‘city within a city’…
Read MoreHappy National Short Story Week 2014!
There’s a week each year in November when I happily become British. That’s because the UK has a great tradition called National Short Story Week. As a reader and writer of short stories, I think we should all adopt this excellent effort and make it International Short Story Week. This year’s celebration falls next week,…
Read MoreAdmire Hamburg’s Harbor from aboard the Rickmer Rickmers
On a visit to the northern German city of Hamburg, a great way to admire the Hamburg port – one of the world’s largest – is to climb aboard the 19th century sailing ship, the Rickmer Rickmers. The Rickmer Rickmers was built in Bremen, in 1896. The three-masted sailing ship is 97 meters (318 feet)…
Read MoreMy short story, Gender Equality, is now online
I’m pleased to announce that my short story, Gender Equality, has been included in the latest edition of Digital Papercut and is now available online. In my story, Francesca has left her native Naples to work in an international organization in Brussels. Recently promoted to a director position, Francesca feels the pressure of espousing progressive…
Read MoreAdmiring Skopje’s Ottoman bridge
I love Ottoman architecture in general, but I especially enjoy admiring Ottoman bridges. Maybe I’m even somewhat of an Ottoman Bridge groupie. I’ve already written about the Ottoman bridge, Stari most, in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina and even wrote a short story where it plays a small role. I’ve written about the Ottoman Goat Bridge and the Princip Bridge,…
Read MoreAre you participating in NaNoWriMo 2014?
It’s that time of year again. Writers around the world are gearing up for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and taking on the challenge to write 50,000-word the manuscript during the month of November. Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? But if you break it down over the 30 days, it actually means committing yourself to writing under…
Read More2019 European Culture capitals – Matera and Plovdiv
Two European cities or towns are selected by the European Commission each year to serve as European culture capitals. Two cities I’ve visited and enjoyed have just been named as 2019’s culture capitals. The first is the beautiful Bulgarian city of Plovdiv, the first ever European culture capital in Bulgaria. I already posted about this…
Read MoreMy short story, Abandoned Towers, is now online
I’m pleased to announce that my short story, Abandoned Towers, is now available at Digital Papercut Literary Journal. If you’d like to read the story online, click here. My story tells the story of a difficult homecoming. Serena fled her small town in Abruzzo years ago, and has carved out a life for herself as a…
Read More