James Carnarvon

Aww, poor Dani! You are holding him to a high standard. Patrizia already feels bad about how much of the time Dani arrives home to an empty house and has to fend for himself... so I'm sure she's glad to have the chance to cook for him now and then. Oh, and 'just can't get you out of my head' - a late edit, not entirely accidental. 😉

So, Dani and Giaco have got to a place probably nobody expected… Next we will deal with the consequences!

It was morning again. Awaking from pleasant dreams, Daniele’s blue eyes fluttered slowly open, and he found a pair of dark eyes looking back at him in the half-light cast by the sun through the cracks in the shutters. “Buongiorno,” Giacomo whispered. “G… Giaco?” Daniele mumbled. “What’s up?” “I was watching you sleeping, that’s all. You looked so peaceful. At one point you were even smiling.” “L-last night…” Daniele ventured uncertainly. Giacomo shook his head. “Don

Well done for clocking the ‘threat’ at an early stage and following it through. I’m not sure everybody did. More on that to follow shortly. You’re also smart to notice that Antonio wasn’t there… Did Enzo try to take Dani’s money…? It’s funny for me, looking back at some of the key scenes in chapters 2-4 as you comment on them. Dani comes across as incredibly young, which of course was the intention. He’s been on such an extraordinary journey in subsequent stories that it just seems so strange!

Oh, these are very early days for Daniele! Still, I'm glad you like him. When did he become 'Dani' for you? I suppose it's from the title of the next story, unless you've seen my sketches or something.

Said blond boy is now a fan favourite (I think!). Definitely one to watch! As to pronunciations: da-vi-day mi-kay-lay

Ohhh that stings. Those carefully constructed character arcs! 😆 I hope the rest of the story unfolds for you in a more linear fashion!

Thank you! The fall will continue to haunt Michele in the next story, in more ways than one. When I say "bigger, brighter tale" I partly mean in tone. Toto and Michele were my first primary writing after a long hiatus. They have the drama, but came out kinda serious. In the next one, Together We Can Fly, I made a converted effort to weave in more humour throughout the story - but don't worry, the character drama is also some of the most nuanced yet!

I might surprise you.

I reckon you know the answer to that now you've read both short stories. I've never done this myself, but reading the two short stories together as alternating chapters would make all the little crossovers between them crystal clear! It was quite a fun exercise in planning and plotting. (For example, in Toto ch.3 Ennio the cat is 'insistently licking his left flank' because Enzo stung him there in Michele ch.2.) Haha, I like writing about the summer, when the weather is beautiful and the characters have maximum freedom! But later stories also explore the spring and even the winter. Not the autumn yet, for some reason.

Thanks. Yeah, choosing a different point of view character was a very handy way out of the sequel trap, and also allowed me to take a character on a similar journey but in a different context. When I wrote this, it was only meant to be a single short story (although it quickly became two). I certainly had no intention of endlessly continuing the series. Once again, the reception I got here was just too good!

I would say it surprised me too... except, of course, that I planned this. Still, it was with a slight sense of disbelief that I found myself actually writing it. I said at the beginning that this story might twist and turn in ways readers would not expect! I'm not sure crossing the Rubicon would be quite such a big deal if there was a handy bridge that also allowed you to cross back. 🤔 More words to soothe my troubled brow. Thank you!

It’s all there on the Spotify playlist I embedded, but I don’t know how well the embedded widget works if you don’t have an account.

No. Thank you for that lovely comment! I meant what I said about sequels, but, hey… I’m up to Ravello Series #9 now, and most of them are novels! I put the eventual continuation of the series entirely down to the great welcome and reception this story had here. I guess maybe Gianni running away was enough to make Marina realise she was in danger of repeating the mistakes of her past. Plus, Gianni did mention to her in ch.11 that he had spoken to Father Stefano and that he had supported him, which probably gave her pause for thought - along with the reactions of everyone else who joined the search. Not being a person of great faith myself, I can’t attest to whether she may have looked at it through the lens you just suggested, but she may well have done. Enjoy the other stories! There’s a seven year gap after this one, but then the rest follow each other in fairly short order.

Another great question! I’ve always been a bit reluctant to work cellphones into my writing as the instant communication they offer undercuts a lot of dramatic potential. So yeah, there’s a slight lack of realism in how soon some of my characters do or don’t get phones. I liked the idea of a place that’s a bit lost in time where entertainment is simpler and lower tech. Anna is seen to use a mobile phone in this story but she’s the only one who is. Marina and Vittorio don’t even have a landline. Gianni has an iPod at the beginning but discards it in a vaguely symbolic act. This story is set in 2008, but that’s a bit of a retcon. In its most basic form it was originally conceived in 2004, as I recall. Perhaps phones weren’t quite so widespread among young people then. Thank you for your kind words. Whatever you might feel about the much commented-on wedding scene, I think the story does build to a strong finish.

That was what you took from this? 🤣

You are on the mark yourself! I'm glad the emotions feel real and relatable (apologies for any painful flashbacks). When I'm editing these Ravello stories, I'm always asking myself the same question: Am I making clear enough how my main character is feeling?

Yes! A lot of readers have described Giaco as confused but, as of this moment, I think he's starting to break free...

Thanks, guys. Your reactions give me some reassurance. You know I'm very wary of including scenes of a sexual nature in my stories (unlike many authors here, haha). Yes, that Giaco could revert to someone like Laura is one of Dani's big fears, so to have him turn her down in front of him was a dynamite moment. It's worth pointing out that, although Dani has been kissed several times before, this is the first time he's done the kissing... and, despite my worries about the latter part of this chapter, Giaco's immediate reaction to that is one of my favourite character moments I've ever written. If I was going to bring Laura back, I was very keen to give her a meaningful role to play besides 'generic love rival'! Instead, she's now a confidante and accidental matchmaker... but she still loves shopping. Yes - Giaco is definitely the 'leader' in that respect, although I made sure to incorporate the notion of consent into the scene. One more thing... I like the steps metaphor, but I'm vaguely troubled by the use of the word 'climb'. 🤣

Welcome back! You've been quiet for a few days. I hope you enjoyed the chapters in between this one and your last comment and you didn't accidentally miss them out or something. 😅 For how long can Dani continue to run? Now, even he seems to realise that he needs to stop sometime.

You’re probably thinking Dani and Giaco have moved way too fast. Well, you wouldn’t necessarily be wrong in that assessment. Writing the last scene of this chapter stressed me out (and had countless rewrites)! Like a parent, I’ve always felt very protective towards Dani as an innocent sort of character, so to have him, of all people, end up in this sort of situation was a massive and vaguely traumatic deal. These two are still young, so to have the scene play as too romantic or passionate would have been out of character and creepy. Still, I felt that this was an important point in the development of the story and its characters. The experience I ended up trying to give them was tentative, exciting, embarrassing and scary with a sense of some fairly major lines being crossed. There will be consequences. The slightly unsettling thing is that, in Italy, it would be legal for them to do much more than this. The age of consent is 14, with a near age exception covering relationships between 13/14-year-olds. Anyway, Dani’s officially in over his head now…

Daniele was dreaming. He was back at the Fontana Carosa with Giacomo, standing in front of the little shrine, surrounded by peace and nature and golden sunlight. The other boy was drawing closer and, yes, they were really going to kiss again! He wondered if it would feel as good as it had the first time… …but suddenly he was standing on the lower path, looking up helplessly as Giacomo leaned in to kiss Laura instead… “Wait!” he cried in dismay, but the other boy took no notice; he

In some ways it pains me to see your mistrust of Giacomo, but if you're sharing Dani's doubts it also means I've written this part of the story correctly. Yeah, the 'little mouse' will return, but here at the end of Act Two this is very much Dani and Giaco's story. Only a couple of hours until Chapter 7 drops. I've been nervous about that one. 😨

The fact that I didn’t even know that just makes it all the more brilliant!

I've been sketching again...