James Carnarvon

There will be some additional light shone on the Dani/Giaco/Laura situation shortly.

@Summerabbacat I may have fallen back on the cicadas too much this time. It’s hard to keep painting the picture of Ravello over and over again. To me the cicadas are a shorthand for a lot of what I love about the place in the summer, hence their recurrence in my descriptions.

Nailed it!

Sometimes things must be broken before they can be rebuilt anew.

I'm glad you're not just seeing Giaco as a "bad penny", but are seeing more shades to his character. Also, I like your thinker/doer comparison - very well put, I think. The truth about Giaco's motivations and whether he's a worthy friend / crush for Dani is an important part of this story. Thanks for reading!

“No, I’ve hardly seen them.” It was a couple of days later. Daniele and Emilia were sitting in the square, passing the time on a sunny Wednesday morning. The cicadas scraped in the pine trees above their heads, but the stone bench they sat on was still cool in the shade. All around them there was a quiet buzz of conversation: the morning coffee trade was in full swing. “So, what do they do all day?” Daniele asked. Emilia shrugged. “I don’t know! Laura goes out after breakfast, and

I can’t believe you just compared me to Brontë and Austen! Edit: maybe ‘intense emotional availability’ is an exaggeration in relation to Angelo, but there is an emotional connection that goes much deeper than the fun and games and superficial attraction. When events get serious, the playful exterior falls away to be replaced by something much more heart-to-heart. Or, at least, that was the intention!

Thank you once again - you're very kind! This actually does surprise me, though. For me, Angelo is - and always has been - the one character in the series who can match Dani for empathy. There are scenes in both Dani the Hero and (still to come in) this story where he turns the tables and reads Dani's mind, so to speak, instead of the other way round. Where Angelo does differ from Dani is that he tends to conceal his emotional intelligence behind pranks and jokes. He won Gianni's heart in the first place through his sense of fun combined with his intense emotional availability/interest. Angelo is also the character I have always been most nervous about coming back to, because that balance is so difficult to strike. I always worry that I can never recapture the 'magic' with the character that I achieved in The Summer of the Firefly.

I'm loving your comments, @travlbug, getting to the heart of things on many fronts. I'm glad you liked the ice cream scene! You took it just the way I intended it. Also, that's a good perspective on the scene with Assunta and Filippo. Would I...? 😉

Every second day, around 3PM British Summer Time (GMT +1), if I keep to my schedule. That way, it lasts for longer and gives everyone time to keep up. Also, I tend to post the final two chapters of these things on consecutive days.

It’s been very interesting to see how you’ve all reacted to the kiss, and how you’ve interpreted it different ways. Hope springs eternal, I guess! I’m looking forward to sharing chapter 3 with you, because I think it really helps to get the story going.

You're right. Dani may have emotional depth, but he still has the wisdom of a twelve-year-old! Antonio isn't just scum. He's craven scum!

Ah, give the poor kid a break. 😆 More from Marco soon, I promise. In the meantime, in response to all the comments above - yes, there is heartbreak for poor Dani here! We'll have to see whether those of you who still hold out hope are right to do so. In my own comments on my last story, I expressed a desire to give all my old main characters a bit more development if I came back to write a sixth story. I felt they stalled slightly in Dani the Hero with the mystery/adventure storyline coming to the fore. Gianni's storyline here is a realisation of that intention. Thanks for reading.

I'm so glad to see you back on board with this story, travlbug, and your comments are as insightful as ever. Between this and Lanterns in the Dark, you're in for a veritable feast of Dani, Giacomo et al. I hope you find it to your liking! Thank you for reading. 😊

The next day, Daniele and his friends gathered for lunch at one of the bars in the square. In the city, Daniele supposed, the waiters might have baulked at serving four unaccompanied thirteen-year-olds. In Ravello, however, everybody knew who your parents were if you were local. Daniele was a kind boy by nature but, overnight, he had struggled with the first stirrings of jealousy over Laura’s obvious interest in his best friend. He couldn’t deny that he felt it, but he was determined to mas

Can I just say, it's great to have you back on board. You have a way with words yourself - I often feel taller after reading your comments! I had a slight worry that my opening paragraph strayed towards the pretentious, so I'm glad you liked it! This is actually the first time I have done a second novel-length story with the same point-of-view character. When I created Dani, I never expected to take him this far, but he even charmed me (how conceited is that? 😆). Also, with Dani the Hero being a slightly more plot-driven story, perhaps, the time felt right to delve a bit deeper into his character relationships. In this story, Dani continues the painful journey of growing up. You'll have to forgive me if I torture the poor boy a bit this time. You weren't the only person to say as much (in personal messages as well as chapter comments). Marco's journey was definitely unfinished. The comments I received definitely helped to push me to write this, so please do take some of the credit. You'll be pleased to know that Marco will be a big part of this story - in due course! I hope I don't disappoint. 😊 Hahaha - love it!

I also wondered whether the little boy is Damien. In fact, I wondered before he appeared if the two plots were going to reconnect in that way. Although that would depend on an extraordinary coincidence, I look forward to finding out.

Okay, I found that scene in the woods somewhere between gross and funny, but I loved the way you dealt with the fallout. I was very happy with this a great perspective from Justin: ‘No, babe, it’s the disguise that’s collapsing. The real Danny is coming out, literally. And he’ll be better for it, believe me. We’ve all been there.’ I was equally disappointed by the reaction from Danny's father. I hope he learns the error of his ways.

Yes, those darned pesky girls! It's almost an affront here on GA when a major character threatens to have a heterosexual relationship, isn't it? 😄 On a (possibly) unrelated note, I hope you won't all hate me for what happens in the next chapter!

I happened upon this story while randomly scrolling through the activity of someone who had ‘liked’ one of mine. So far I’m loving the English country atmosphere and the potential exploration of the class system.

It's probably the most famous spot on the coast, and it draws a proportionate number of visitors. The boat ride from Amalfi is fun, but whenever I've gone there it's been horribly crowded and (seemingly) even hotter than the rest of the coast. The streets and spaces are incredibly cramped and can't cope with the number of people who visit them. It's also incredibly steep, and everyone gets funnelled up this one narrow passageway because the alternative routes are hard to find and don't have much going on. I suspect it's one of those places that is at its best, by far, in the evening after the day visitors have gone. The same can probably be said for Capri town, but at least there's a bit more space there!

Thank you @drsawzall! I always enjoy it when you quote your favourite lines. Did you have to include a picture of Positano, though? I've never really had a good day there! 😝

Thank you so much. And those are all excellent questions!

Thank you! It's great to have you back on board.

Welcome back to the Amalfi Coast! Chapter 2 will drop in a couple of days.