James Carnarvon

I think I may have been into one for a cookie once... 🤔

No Starbucks for miles around, I'm afraid. A near-miss with a car is the only way to go.

Gianni didn’t sleep for the rest of the night; the combination of the heat in his room and the confused thoughts that were circulating in his mind saw off any hope of rest. As the hours wore on, Gianni began to feel confined in his small den below the eaves and so, at dawn, feeling the need for fresh air, he donned his clothes from the previous day and stole out of the house without showering so as not to wake his grandparents. Pausing in the kitchen, he splashed a little water on his face i

Just to say, some of your comments have been making me laugh a bit too much!

August unfolded in a haze of hot days and warm nights. Gianni and Angelo spent many of their days together, either puttering around the town or collapsed under trees in the villa gardens, occasionally playing a few rounds of gentle football; the dusty summer heat prevented them from doing anything much more strenuous. From time to time, Gianni would cycle over to Angelo’s house – an exercise at which he was improving – and they would spend the day in Scala, but seldom without Claudia, who contin

Strong words there...! If you’re looking for a scathing critique of the church, I’m afraid you won’t find it here. How the received wisdom / orthodoxy of the church affects the attitudes of the people around Gianni, though, is important, as you have already seen.

Well, Naples claims to be the birthplace of both ice cream and pizza, which makes it an ideal sort of destination for me! 😄 Also, the colours of the toppings on the traditional Margherita pizza (tomatoes, mozzarella and herbs) are meant to represent the Italian flag. Funny the things you pick up...

Gianni’s conversation with Anna had indeed given him a lot to think about. Over dinner that evening, he regarded his grandmother quietly and watchfully, trying to square what he had learned from Anna with what he saw before him now. But, in the kindly and elderly woman who asked after his day and served up another delicious meal of pasta that night, Gianni simply couldn’t see the kind of person who would throw her daughter out on the street. Perhaps, he thought, time had brought about a change i

I almost don't know what to say. Thank you! I've never thought about it that way, but I suppose a large part of the story is a chronicle of the everyday, because it's through the everyday that most friendships develop. It was a pleasure to write. It was also cathartic to write! I first had the idea for the story in 2004 and didn't write it until 2010, so it felt very good to get it out of my head. It has been endlessly revised and tweaked since then as I have revisited it once or twice a year. It has taken a very long time to see the light of day! I've never heard of the book you mentioned, but from the title I like it already! Will have to check it out.

That balance was a challenge for me. I'm a bit obsessed with this part of Italy. Believe me, the text has been through many edits and rewrites to remove excessive/repetitive description so that the actual characters and story can shine!

It's really interesting to hear your perspective on Marina and Vittorio, and how it's been influenced by your own experience. I think in cases of estrangement there's often a fine line between pride and shame at how one has behaved. All I can say is watch this space! Your story about your father is a sad one. I guess it's the fear of rejection that keeps many of us in the closet for so long, whether or not we're right to fear it. Thank you for reading, and for sharing your thoughts.

Very helpful Cia, both by PM and here, thank you!

Marina and Gianni’s conversation of the night before wasn’t mentioned at breakfast the next morning. Instead, Gianni and his grandparents spoke of easier subjects, such as the weather, the latest news about the health complaints of Marina and Vittorio’s elderly friends and neighbours and, of course, the preparations for the forthcoming wedding. However, Marina’s assumptions about Gianni’s faith still lurked at the back of his mind, a nagging source of unease that had made sleep difficult last ni

It's really interesting to see a story with an elderly protagonist. How old is Eric - did I miss it? He's obviously quite frail. I think you captured his voice and thought processes really well. Here's a man who is set in his ways, has spent a lifetime locked into silence but who is finally struggling to break free. You have obviously also given a lot of thought to just how difficult daily life must be for someone in Eric's situation. I'm pausing after reading the first four chapters. I will be back for more. How handy for me that the story is already complete and I won't have to wait!

Hi there, Firstly, I'm very grateful to GA for providing somewhere for aspiring authors like me to share and promote our stories. It feels like a great service to the community. As a new member of the site, I totally get why my story chapters have to go through a moderation queue - it seems like a very sensible precaution. I've also worked on community web sites myself, so I've no doubt that the moderator(s) here are fitting their duties into small gaps in otherwise busy lives. As such, please don't take the following as a complaint in any way. It's just a friendly question. The first three chapters of my story were approved pretty quickly - overnight, in fact (probably because I'm in a European time zone), but the fourth chapter has been awaiting approval for most of a day, and I haven't received any messages to suggest that there is a problem with the content. I see from your FAQs that the moderation queue is typically checked once a day, so I guess I just missed the window yesterday by posting late - either that or the mod(s) didn't have the time to get through everything. Here's my dilemma: I am due to go away next weekend (I will still be able to use the site while I'm away, but I won't have access to my PC with my Word document on it), and I realised yesterday that, if I don't keep posting at a rate of one new chapter every day, the last chapter(s) of my story may be delayed by over a week. Knowing how my story plays out at the end, I think this would be... unfortunate... for my readers! So, with that in mind, here are my questions... If I still have content pending approval, is it okay to keep submitting new chapters at a rate of one per day? If we do fall behind, can I submit the last chapter(s) as a single batch, with a spread of publication dates so that they can keep being published at a rate of one a day after I have gone on holiday? EDIT: Could a third option be for me to upload the extra chapters in advance but leave them unpublished, then request publication at a rate of one a day - something I could do while I'm away? Many thanks!

I love the fact that the story is making you feel this connected to the place, thank you! It's also interesting to hear how your family came to move. I wonder if the move lived up to their expectations?

The next morning, Marina declared that the three of them were to go to Mass. The day after Gianni’s arrival had dawned fresh and cool, but Gianni, waking promptly and sticking his head out through the small creeper-lined window, could tell from the sunlight already falling on the street and the distant sound of cicadas in the trees that another hot day was in the making. It was over breakfast that Marina, who was ferreting about in the kitchen, made the announcement. Gianni, caught unawa

Thank you! I will keep posting.

“Come on, daydreamer!” Gianni tore himself away from the view to find Pietro waiting beside the car with his laden rucksack held out in one hand. Shouldering the proffered bag, Gianni fell in beside Pietro as they set off along the road. They were at a cobbled turning area lined with small trees, below which the road zigzagged off down the hillside to serve the scattered houses below. A few elderly locals, their faces weather-beaten and heavily lined, looked on with beady interest from t

Traffic flashed by as the car ploughed its way along the shimmering Autostrada. Beyond the parched embankment, past straggly shrubs weighed down with dust and oil and scatterings of litter, the tenements of Naples scrolled past with endless uniformity. Gianni pressed a hand against the window and watched numbly as the cracked and shabby buildings, with washing strung across the balconies and potted plants wilting in the July sunshine, slipped by one by one. “It’ll be okay,” the driver said,

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?