James Carnarvon

Yes, Italian names can be confusing! 'Nicola' is another great example of a boys' name in disguise. I've been pulling late night writing shifts for two months straight and, as a result, my next full-length story is now drafted and I am currently editing it. You can expect the first chapter to drop fairly soon. Thank you for reading and commenting!

I hope so. I guess this is when we'll see whether I can really pull off another story as ambitious as 'The Summer of the Firefly', with all of the different characters and threads to develop (and no, I don't just mean a re-tread of the same story). I have so little free time these days...!

I've been thinking hard about these characters this week and I can confirm, now, that Toto and Michele will return in a bigger, brighter tale... but it will probably take several months. Be seeing you!

It's fun that you should choose to bring that up. I've been assuming that a lot of people will probably read his name as "Michel", even though it's not correct (let's be kind and use the male French form rather than the female one!). Some Italian names can be tricky if you don't know the language. I probably chose a particularly difficult one for my first story. Gianni: Jan-nee Michele: Mi-ke-le, as you say Claudia: Clou-dee-a Chiara: Kee-ar-a In Italian, you usually hear every letter separately, which makes the language crisper and easier to follow than French or Spanish, but there are exceptions, mostly around the combination of the letters C or G with I or E. In contrast with English, here the I or E is used to soften C or G (turning them into the English CH or J) whereas the H is used to retain the hard C or G sound. I actually think Italian is a very beautiful language, and it comes with so much lovely emphasis that it's difficult not to start gesticulating like an Italian when you speak it! I know enough Italian to get by on a holiday - I can order a meal, ask for directions and exchange small talk. My greatest challenge to date has been sustaining a conversation with a taxi driver on and off for over an hour (in transit from Naples airport to Ravello, as it happens). I also tried to read Harry Potter e la pietra filosofale once. I didn't get very far...

A recurring issue with my writing with these stories is that the main point of view character of each story tends not to have very strong personality traits or quirks of their own - but that's probably because I'm always working so hard to help the reader identify with them and put the reader in their heads, so to speak, defining the character by their thoughts and feelings rather than their interests and behaviours. I'm glad it seems to be working!

Thank you very much for your thoughts (and to everyone else who has commented)! I felt, even as I was writing this, that it would be good to know a bit more about these 'mean kids' and why they are the way they are. If I had been writing a novel, I might have explored it: it's a constraint of the short story format, perhaps, that there isn't time, or that it would over-complicate the story to explore these supporting characters in more detail. I imagine Enzo to be a product of a broken and/or abusive home with strong homophobic persuasions. Filippo is a coward; Antonio is a self-hating and predatory individual using homophobia as cover. But, in the end, this is Michele's story, not theirs. While I completed The Summer of the Firefly satisfied that the story was finished, I wouldn't rule out returning to Toto and Michele's story at some point. However, I have no immediate plans to do so. For now, I'll leave it to you all to imagine what the future may hold for them!

The morning of the expedition dawned with a few scattered clouds in the sky. For once, Michele had slept like a log, catching up after the previous wakeful night. Michele dressed for hot weather. If they really were going to hike to the old watchtower, he felt he should be prepared. He opted for his thinnest white t-shirt and a lightweight pair of pale khaki shorts. Somehow, Michele didn’t think his mother would approve of him going to a remote and dangerous site with some of the meane

Toto is howling at the moon up on Monte Brusara. No wonder poor Michele can't find him!

Michele awoke the next morning feeling less than rested. Still badly troubled by the day’s events, he had tossed and turned in his bed as he tried to get to sleep. His familiar old bedroom had seemed unusually airless and stifling, and he had stripped down to just his underpants as he tried to cool down. Eventually he had passed out on his back, and that was how he awoke now, staring at the ceiling. One thing had become clear to Michele during those long midnight hours: he really missed Tot

Michele believes he is shielding Toto by going along with Enzo's scheme, allowing Enzo and his friends to focus their attentions on him. As far as the mountainous landscape and the ever-present sound of the cicadas go, they are truly wonderful things if you're having a nice time... but quite unconcerned with human woes, and would offer little comfort if your life were on a downward spiral.

The next morning dawned a crystal blue. Michele rose early, slipped on a pair of flip-flops and stepped out onto the sun terrace wearing just the t-shirt and underpants he had slept in. He stretched in the fresh morning air. It was refreshingly cool for the moment, and Michele relished the feeling of it on his bare arms and legs, but he knew it wouldn’t stay that way for long. All was quiet apart from the occasional putter of a scooter along the road beneath him. The morning sun was already

Confession time... I wasn’t originally planning to write two stories. However, at an early stage, as I planned out this ending, it became clear that Michele’s side of the story had to be told, and I had an idea for it that wouldn’t go away. Way to double my workload... 😅

I think it’s a fair comment that Toto is not hugely developed as a character, particularly in the first part of the story. Partly it’s because of the short story format (not much time for exposition) and partly it’s because of the way the story starts with an explosive moment and focuses on the immediate crisis in the present. Backstory has to emerge more gradually - if it comes out at all. Anyway, I’m glad you enjoying it. It’s good to have you back!

I'm glad - although I can't promise this one will be 'fun'!

Michele was having a perfectly normal day until his best friend turned round and kissed him. It was the hottest part of the day. Michele and his friend Toto, both fourteen, were passing the time playing videogames in Toto’s small, cool bedroom in the apartment above Toto’s father’s shop. The fierce sun of an Italian summer beat down on the narrow shopping street that threaded through the heart of the small mountain town of Ravello. Toto had been Michele’s best friend for as long as he

A short story in four chapters set on the mountainous Italian coast. Michele’s life spirals after a misplaced kiss from his best friend.

I don't think they eat a lot of porridge in Italy. I could offer you a lemon croissant, a crusty roll with some ham and cheese, an apricot pastry, a breakfast sponge cake or maybe a nice bowl of fresh fruit?

Thanks all! So, you'd like to know what happened to Michele, would you...?

They rose once the morning sun was streaming through the fabric of their tents. After taking breakfast together, they struck the camp and began the hike along the ridge to the path back down the hill. Angelo was due to return to the construction site, while Gianni had arranged the morning off work to run some errands. Angelo made a phone call as they descended the steep earthen path, and this time it was Anna who came to meet them. They didn’t have to wait for long at the top of the road be

Thank you so much! Yes, it’s difficult to bring new readers to older stories once the initial reactions have died down. I hoped that ‘Toto’ would send a few new readers this way. I remain proud of this story overall, although some parts of it make me cringe a little. It took many years and several revisions before I felt brave enough to release it! However, I still go through it again myself about once a year because I love to be transported back to those Italian locations. Ravello is a real place that has inspired many artists over the years - I guess I just caught a bit of that inspiration myself. The final chapter probably had the fewest revisions from its original draft. It’s pretty melodramatic stuff, but I worked very hard to hard to set this ending up and earn it. Thank you for reading, and sorry about the shattered heart! 🙂

Regarding the 'almost magical setting'... I'm tempted to erase the 'almost'. I do really love the place, and writing stories set there allows me to immerse myself in my own memories of time spent there - at a time when I can't actually be there in person! That said, I've dialled the elaborate descriptions down quite a bit this time. I've done all that before (Firefly), and anyway this is a character who has always lived here - he is much less likely to be impressed by the scenery than someone who is experiencing it for the first time.

The next morning, Toto was slow to rise. He had lain awake in his temporary bed for a while, the morning light streaming in once again through the slats in the shutters, listening wearily to the sounds of the household waking around him. Now he wandered through to the living area, where Gianni and Angelo were talking quietly at the table. Ennio was sitting in his usual spot on the back of the sofa, insistently licking his left flank. Toto approached the cat first, extending an arm in greeti

Thanks. It's only a short story this time - but I might have a little extra surprise up my sleeve for later on!

Toto woke to the sound of feet passing in the hallway, and for a moment he didn’t know where he was, but then he heard male voices coming from the living room. Of course. He was lying on the sofa bed that Gianni and Angelo had made up for him in the small spare room that doubled as their office and studio. The early morning sun was already streaming through the slats in the shuttered window. Toto slid out of bed and wandered to the window, pulling back the shutters from the large

Oh, I would have suggested reading that first! But it's okay. 'Firefly' should work just fine as a prequel after the fact. Thanks for reading!