James Carnarvon - Stories

After a tragic accident brings his old life in London to an end, shy teenager Gianni is sent to live with his estranged grandparents in the beautiful surroundings of Italy’s Amalfi Coast.

There, he meets the irrepressible Angelo, who promises to show him his world and, as the long, hot summer days unfold, slowly helps Gianni to heal.

Gianni’s new life in the sun brings him friendship of a kind that he has never known and, with it, important discoveries about himself. But what will the future hold when the summer of the firefly comes to an end?

A light-hearted novella in seven short chapters.

Sixteen-year-old Reza thinks he knows it all until his parents drag him away on a summer holiday to Ravello on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, where a chance encounter by the hotel pool proves to be an education…

Two boys meet on a stony Welsh shore, united by a common burden: they can both see ghosts.

A novel in twelve chapters.

Summer again. Thirteen-year-old Daniele Ferrero reaches out to Marco, a lonely and vulnerable boy who has lost his only friends. Meanwhile, teenage couple Toto and Michele take stock of their future, and Gianni and Angelo suffer a loss.

There’s trouble in paradise for all concerned. What truths will be revealed when darkness falls?

Toto is sixteen and in love with his best friend. Michele doesn’t seem to mind, but he never seems to have felt the same way.

It’s the end of the school year, and Toto is looking forward to spending a long, languid summer together, exploring the hills around their home town of Ravello, but the arrival of new friends brings unexpected twists and turns in their lives.

Follow Toto and Michele through a summer of decision as they face tough choices about their future.

A novel in fifteen chapters.

Fourteen-year-old Daniele Ferrero and his best friend Giacomo are finally finishing middle school. As they embark on the endless summer holidays amidst the mountains and olive groves of Italy’s Amalfi Coast, they begin to grow closer. But will Giacomo prove worthy of Daniele’s affections?

Meanwhile, Daniele’s other best friend Marco is waiting in the wings, and he suspects that Giacomo’s motives are anything but selfless.

A novel in twelve chapters.

It’s springtime in the Italian mountain town of Ravello, and the community is just starting to wake up for the new tourist season. But something isn’t quite right: businesses are being attacked, and the police are nowhere to be seen.

Into the midst of all this comes twelve-year-old Daniele Ferrero, a kind and gentle boy who dreams of being a hero but really just wants a friend his own age. One night, when he follows a boy he sort of likes, he gets caught up in a dangerous game that will test his faith in humanity.

A short story in four chapters set on the mountainous Italian coast. Seven years after ‘The Summer of the Firefly’, another teen struggles with his identity following a bust-up with his father and his best friend.

A short novel in ten chapters.

As Ravello slumbers under the grey skies of winter, Gianni and Angelo try to come to terms with looking after their new foster son Sami. Gianni is trying his best, but Sami seems more attached to two local boys who took care of him in the summer.

Meanwhile, teenager Marco’s carefully controlled home life unravels when his father uncovers a truth he has been trying desperately to conceal.

A novel in twelve chapters.

Summer 2020, and the inhabitants of the Italian mountain town of Ravello are making up for lost time after three months stuck at home. Families are celebrating being reunited at last, and the appetite for romance has never been higher.

However, two teenage boys are navigating this unusual summer alone. Cosmo, a lost soul, and Marco, a recently found soul, find their lives entwined by the fact that everybody seems to have a boyfriend except them. Both of them have experienced pain and neglect in the past; but can they both overcome it to find fulfilment in the present?