James Carnarvon

“Can’t see you… can’t see you…” Chris peered through his upraised hands. The dead woman was still there, standing in the shallows, reaching for him, eyes bulging in a face of pallid blue… drowning forever. Chris screwed his eyes shut. “Leave me alone!” he cried. There was no sound but for the gentle lapping of the waves at the sea-smoothed pebbles and the rustle of a faint sea breeze. Chris took a deep breath and uncovered his eyes. The woman was gone. Chris breathed a sigh o

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

This being just the first story to emerge from the Secret Author Contest 2023, I can’t wait to see what other surprises it has in store. Will the next one be a comedy, a fantasy, a coming out story, another romance? This particular story is a touching portrayal of an aspect of life that none of us want to experience but too many of us do. Like other readers, I suspect an element of personal experience on the part of the author, in which case I’m grateful to you for sharing what’s clearly a very personal story. I liked the use of the framing story to introduce a series of vignettes that played out key moments in this lifelong friendship. And the twist that the whole thing may just be a story within a story… very clever writing indeed. Not being very widely read on this site, I have no idea who the secret author is… but I think the next couple of weeks will point me to several authors who are worth investigating further.

And a film of The Summer of the Firefly wouldn’t be? I seem to recall some reviews and comments directly comparing it to such! I think I quite enjoyed Call Me By Your Name, but I am oddly unable to remember anything much about it, which I suppose may prove your point. I haven’t read the book.

I always have written visually - I compose shots in my head and choreograph dialogue with body language like stage directions. Throughout writing The Summer of the Firefly I was picturing it as a movie; it even has a soundtrack. However, nobody would really make a movie of these stories, unless it was me with a handheld camera and a load of untrained local kids as actors, shortly before I got drummed out of town for making teenage boys kiss each other in the interests of ‘art’. 😆

I have recently become very aware of that accidental repetition. It may be something to do with the way characters were added incrementally as supporting characters, usually without a lot of initial examination of their family situation. I sought to address that this time round with Cosmo and Luca (even including a heterosexual boy for once, haha).

Hello, readers! I've significantly expanded the background to my characters' names, as set out on my web site: https://jamescarnarvon.home.blog/influences-and-locations/ There may be a few new nuggets for anyone who's enough of a fan of these stories to be interested!

Thank you for each of your chapter comments, I've appreciated them all. I'm sorry for not having had the time to reply to them individually, but I can tell you've been engaged with the story and thinking critically about it. There's been much discussion about Gianni's choices at times in this story, and as the author it can be difficult to distinguish criticism of the character's actions from criticism of the writing. I don't feel this is my strongest story, and it's possible that both are somewhat at fault. However, in general, Gianni's clumsiness and naivety in dealing with Sami were intentional. I hope you enjoy The Summer of the Selfless, which is a return to more familiar territory for me, and thanks again!

Thank you! You're very generous. People talk a lot about teenage angst, and I've certainly featured my fair share of that in my stories, but it's often high emotions about quite simple questions. As an adult, Gianni is living in a more complex and nuanced world. I was wary about trying to write a more adult story, but at least the challenges of adoption and fostering is something I happen to know a little about. I didn't research the world of adoption and fostering in Italy very extensively for this story, but it seemed plausible to me that any major push to support children in care (and their families) might be directed towards Italy's own children rather than a child like Sami, an illegal immigrant who is lucky enough to have been rescued from a migrant reception centre. Gianni and Angelo are under-prepared for the whole thing, and the professional support you describe probably won't be forthcoming.

I stayed at the Villa Maria hotel in May, once, when it was unseasonably cool and windy in the evenings. Out on the panoramic dining terrace, they had Vivaldi's Spring blaring out of the loudspeakers on repeat in defiance of the weather... but it didn't change the fact that it felt like winter!

You offer great insights into the issues that are driving Sami and his behaviour towards Gianni. I'm an adoptive parent myself; thankfully, my son had less difficulty attaching to a new family than some other fostered or adopted children I've known. It was refreshing to write a story set in winter and it challenged me to describe Ravello in different terms. For it to always be summer in my stories feels lazy after a while. Dani the Hero was set in the spring; I guess I just need to set a story in the autumn, now, to complete my cycle of the seasons. Could be interesting!

I always aim to immerse the reader! As to the sprouts - well, that's just a bit of fun. 😁

Welcome back! There's plenty more material for you to enjoy between this story and the next one, The Summer of the Selfless, which I have only recently finished publishing. It was a good writing experiment to return to Gianni and Angelo and write for an adult perspective for once. I wasn't 100% happy with the results, but I think there are still some good moments. So, yes - an adult perspective this time, but, as you'll see, Gianni still has some of the naivety of a young man and caring for Sami will no doubt be a steep learning curve. Thank you for your thoughtful comment.

I'm glad you finally managed to read this, @Summerabbacat! Yes, the title was a fun question to ask at the beginning of this story. It was obviously meant to lead readers towards Dani or Marco. Instead, who'd have expected that the one character to behave selflessly throughout the story would be Giacomo? Because, I'd argue that - once the question of his sincerity is resolved - actually, he doesn't put a foot wrong in this story, particularly in his respect for Dani's boundaries and his willingness to go at Dani's pace in the question of them becoming a couple in the first place. Perhaps it was Dani who convinced you about him, in chapter 14, when he crosses the line and decides he believes in Giacomo completely. I commented at the beginning of that this story was "Giaco's moment". In fact, settling the questions over his character was really the focus of the whole thing. The filename for my original Word document is simply "R9 Giaco". And, yes, I was totally teasing you all with the possibility of his death during that chat between Dani and Elena, hehe. I guess I listened to the devil on my shoulder instead of the angel. 😈 I'll see you around, I'm sure, if I am ever inspired to write any more of these tales. Thank you for your support. Also thanks to the other commenters on this chapter that I have yet to acknowledge - I appreciate all of your reactions!

Oh, there is so very much more to come for young Dani. I’m glad you’re enjoying my stories. Making steady progress! I’m wearing a pastel pink tie-dye t-shirt myself right now, haha.

Thank you for this insightful comment. "I love you" clearly means something to them both, but I'd agree that it pertains to the platonic side of their relationship as well as the nascent sexual side. They are young, and after their brief 'explorations' in ch.7/8 Dani did signal a desire to pull back a little to a less intimate physical relationship. Furthermore, Giaco agreed - neither of them are really ready to take the next step. ...however, Dani chose friendship over 'love' at the end of Lanterns in the Dark, and this story won't end in exactly the same way. If I were starting from scratch with this story, I probably would have made the characters a little older. However, my characters had several stories' growth behind them already. I wanted to address and resolve the love triangle without keeping them in a holding pattern forever. In the process, I've done my best to be sensitive to their age. Yes, Dani and Giaco had an important moment together on top of the mountain but, as you'll see, this story isn't really about a sexual relationship at all.

That's a great idea. Everybody should write their own version.

I don't think I'd like that story. I have a very ambivalent relationship with mussels and clams, even though I've eaten them several times in Italy. Maybe I should write The Summer of the Shelving. It sounds fascinating.

Thank you! Haha - even after the taxi arrived, I might have been messing with y'all just a little when I wrote this: Well, as @drpaladin said... of course he will! Thank you! Are you the same Tristan who has been e-mailing me? If so, it's great to see you're finally on here! 😊 It was a pleasure to write it, really, although it felt like a proper marathon with the slightly increased length. I need to take time out from writing GA stories now to return to my efforts at writing children's fiction, but there's a good chance I'll be back if I have a good enough idea. Hey, he's Dani the Hero, and don't you forget it! Thank you again for the compressed reading of my entire back catalogue so that you could get the best out of this story (!) and all your fun and insightful comments along the way. 14 isn't typically the most relatable age, but I guess my characters have a little extra sympathy in the way they're written. Teen attitude doesn't interest me all that much - but the dramatic potential of that weird developmental stage between innocence and maturity does. I have to admit that Ravello isn't a cheap place to visit if you do it well. A week there last year cost me a fortune...! This author accepts no responsibility for any physiological phenomena that might occur as a result of reading his stories. 😅 I hope Dani redeemed himself in your eyes after his wobble in ch.10/11! Thanks - everyone - for following me through this story for almost a whole month. I'm sure there are a couple more comments still to come: thanks in advance for any thoughts, they are all appreciated. Without you guys there would be no Ravello series - just The Summer of the Firefly, sitting on its own!

I'll reply to comments properly later. In the meantime, to coincide with the completion of this story, I've revised and massively expanded the gallery of Ravello photos on my author page. I wish I'd had a little more time to refine the captions, but I wanted to share it with you while it's still "current". So, if you'd like to see some more of the real Ravello, click here: https://jamescarnarvon.home.blog/gallery/ I haven't updated the rest of the site to link to this yet, so I guess you could call it a brief GA exclusive...

Thank you so much! Dani kept Giaco's imminent return to himself. I thought, after everything they'd been through together, I could allow him to put himself first for once.

It's up... knock yourselves out...

All other concerns driven from his mind, Daniele fell upon his stricken friend, shaking him by the shoulders. “Giaco!” he sobbed. “Giaco, wake up!” The other boy gave no response; he just lay there, his life blood continuing to soak into his t-shirt. Desperately, Daniele pressed his nearest hand to the wound, trying to stem the bleeding. Somewhere, far away from Daniele’s perception, many pairs of running feet; the female voice again, commanding someone to “Freeze!”. He was deaf t

Actually, it should just be another 15-20 minutes...

@Summerabbacat, there's plenty for me to get my teeth into in your comment! In truth, I haven't introduced him with any specific future storyline in mind. It does, however, give me additional options to consider or, at least, potential avenues for future inspiration. I recently mentioned in a PM to another reader that Cosmo or Marco would be the most obvious characters to explore further, although if I did actually threaten to put Marco front and centre as the main character of a future story I fear you might have a heart attack... 😅 Similes and metaphors are literary constructs that "proper" writers are supposed to use extensively. I tend to write more simply and directly, describing things literally in the nicest way I can think of, but it's nice to take a different approach now and then. Maybe such things have more power when they're used sparingly. Sorry to hear about the side effects. 😰 Does this mean Giaco finally proved himself to you, because he's seen to stand for something? If I'd known it would be that easy to win you over, I'd have done it sooner. 😆 More seriously, this line could be interpreted as a writer using their characters to make a little speech, but I see it differently. Giaco has seen how Dani has thrived with the full support of his parents, he's seen how Marco has suffered without that support and he's also had cause to question his own feelings and identity. This actually would matter to him. It's a question of whether there's anything left to explore. Let's imagine, for a moment, that everything ends well: Giaco survives, and he and Dani end up together. What do I do next? I don't want to write a story about their intimate exploits. I suppose I could explore their experience at high school as a same-sex couple, but would I find that interesting enough? Do I put contrived obstacles in their path so I can have them break up and reunite once again...? (for comparison: Toto and Michele in Lanterns in the Dark, the weakest storyline in that book in my honest opinion.) No, there has to be a reason, something that brings changes into their lives. Giaco's father suddenly reappears, for example. Not impossible, but highly unlikely. For The Star in my Eye, I was able to return to Gianni and Angelo because a great deal of time had passed and there was a major new aspect of their life to explore. ...in other words, inspiration needs to strike before I can do anything. Giaco got caught in the crossfire, so in a way it doesn't matter. I can confirm that Giacomo got shot from the front, so it was a police bullet that hit him, but I imagine the villains opened fire first. Oh, and... Call me old-fashioned, but... you've really got to cease this endless PSB decadence. 🤣 (At least, that's my impression. Honestly, a man could get arrested.)