Rome, the eternal city - a research for a series

For a long time I've been thinking of writing a series. So far, I published a trilogy, of which I cannot say I'm as satisfied as I am with the other standalone novels I've written. Nevertheless, now I finally got the right inspiration and help to start writing a long series.

As you have already guessed, it's set in one of the most beautiful locations existing. A place that's full of history and culture.

Rome, Italy's heart, the place supposed to unify the business-oriented north and the culture- and art-oriented south. A city with the difficult duty to seal two different heritages, so close, yet so different.

In this scenario, I created my main character, Maurizio Scala, Detective at the Rome State Police, and this man is how I imagined him to be:

To help me with legal matters, a skilled Italian lawyer agreed to answer my questions. I am trying to get in touch with a former Italian Police officer to double-check my story and ensure the most complete consistency with the Italian Police protocol during the investigation.

But who is Detective Maurizio Scala? He is a thirty-five-year-old detective, living in Rome's metropolitan area with his wife Anna, and their three-year-old daughter, Giovanna. The biggest challenge in his life is represented by one of the busiest roads in the whole country: the Tiburtine. Being constantly stuck in the traffic jam contributes to his constant grumpy mood.

However, there's another factor to test his nerves. His name is Leonardo Romizi, technical manager at the forensic department. They know each other since High School, and Leonardo has always enjoyed teasing Maurizio. 

From the day they met again as colleagues in the same Police Department, teasing Maurizio became Leonardo's life mission.

The release date for the first book of the series is not yet decided, as I'm still writing the conclusion and check for consistencies. I forecast it will be ready by March 2021. Meantime, I will have the chance to release another standalone between the end of this year and the beginning of the next one.

If you are intrigued by Italian culture, history, food, and people, this is a series you shouldn't miss. I will keep sharing work in progress, excerpts, facts, and curiosities about Rome and particularly about the characters.

Therefore, as usual, stay tuned, and particularly, stay safe!

Every cloud has a silver lining

These are difficult times for everybody. For some of us are even tougher as many lost their job, had to close their business or worse of all, lost dear ones.
Nevertheless, this post isn't focused on the harms, this pandemic has brought.
Today, I want to bring a glimpse of positivity, a chance to look to the future with hope.

COVID-19 didn't bring only negativity to the people on this planet, it also gave the chance to stop for a moment and think.
Well, this is something that doesn't happen often, does it?
When was the last time we had so much time at our availability to take a good look around us and think?
Now we have it, and we can reconsider what is around us, and try to fix what we see wrong.
On a personal level, we can analyze whether there has been something we left aside because we didn't have time.

We can reconnect with those people we lost on the way, we can declutter our life from those habits that stopped us, instead of helping to go on.
No better time than this to get rid of things we thought we need but were the result of a silly momentary desire.
There are so many things we can reconsider, and if not now, when?
This is the perfect time to make a good cleaning not just of things, but of relationships, habits.
It's a perfect moment for renewal.
When this state of emergency will be over, what changes do we want to bring with us? What kind of improvement in our lives and to our society we want to bring? Let's figure it out and act.
There won't be a better chance to improve what we think has gone wrong and finally make them right.
As for me, ion these few weeks, I literally emptied my house of those things I've simply accumulated. I donated most of those I don't need and reconnected with people I haven't heard for ages.
Today, being a glorious sunny day will be the time to fix the garden and prepare it for the summer.

The road to success?

For some reason, recently in my feeds are coming up with a lot of questions about this topic. How to reach success?
To be honest, I am the least to give any advice. I also think that success has so many facets and is bound to just as many factors.
The reason, I suppose, those questions are rising up mostly now, is due to the uncertain times we're going through. The pandemic has taken away all the rational thinking, replacing with an irrational, yet understandable fear.
Many of us are facing unemployment, and particularly, for freelancers, this might mean bankruptcy, hence the need to reshape a career into something new.
This is also affecting writers, as they need people to buy their books. However, with this crisis going on, people are more careful with their expenses.
So, success, how to reach it in these times?
First of all, don't get overwhelmed by fear, although I understand it is not that easy.
The best piece of advice is to keep your mind free from the fog of panic. Once you think clearly, you will be able to focus on the solution to your problems.

This is the best time to try a different approach, which is building relationships. This is the time when you create engagement that will secure your future readership. About how to do this is, once again, up to you and the kind of readership you want to build. Creating groups is another great way, but it's very tricky if you are a multigenre author. One suggestion is creating a group inglobating the most recurrent theme in your novels. Another way is creating several groups for the main genres you are writing (but this requires a lot of energies and time).
If time is not an issue, then the latter is probably the best option. Otherwise, you can hire a virtual assistant to take care of running your groups. Yet, make sure that the virtual assistant can attract the right audience to your group.
The more creative you can get, the better you will do, and remember that success coming to those who persevere and never give up. This is especially true in difficult times.
All the best to you all, and wish you all success.

Quarantine, and some side effects

We all have been doing at least some social distancing, but many of us have been forced to quarantine or prefer to stay safe and self-quarantine until the situation clears up.

As for me, since my job can be carried out also from home, my employer suggested that those who can, should stay home until further notice, cooperating through skype or telephone and working remotely connected tho the main server of the firm.
For me and for my husband, it was quite a fine solution, but we are not alone in the house.
Carolina, the human-eating rabbit, declared not to be pleased with the actual arrangements.
In her opinion, our presence disrupted two main things, her beauty sleep and her need for meditating in silence.

Diary of an exasperated rabbit:

"You know what is worse? When they are taking a pause and decide that I am too cute not to be pet! Really?! Get a dog if you want someone to snuggle!

Then of course, when I slap their hands away, they seem to be offended; well, I was sleeping!
It is then quite frustrating because they know I have a soft spot:

RAISINS!
According to their (poor) judgment, I should not eat many of those. But how to resist their juiciness, sweetness, and yumminess?
Yet, they know it's a great way to bribe a snuggle out of me. What a poor rabbit has to do to get some treats. This has been the first week of their self-quarantine. I barely survived the noise and their presence, and... hold on they are speaking at the phone..."

...

"Damn! They will have at least another week of quarantine from the work. Do you know what this means? It means that I will have to stand their constant presence for another week, and Rabbit-God only knows for how long still.

I just hope there will still be raisins for sale in the shop, because there is no way I can calm my nerves, in such a stressful situation.
Oh, I just came to know that all their holiday plans have been canceled. I don't have certainly to explain to you that this means having them around even during the holidays.
Rabbit-God give me some strength!

Meantime, you keep yourself safe and if you have pets, for the grace of the Pet-Lord leave them be!

Sunshine Blogger Award Nominee

It was certainly a fantastic piece of news that brightened my morning. I received the nomination for the Sunshine Blogger Award from 
Pamela Allegretto-Franz.

I am very thankful for the nomination, as it comes from a person I admire for her talent in art as in writings.
She is a brilliant painter who can grab the essence of her subjects. Every piece of her art has a life on its own and tells a story of the artist's soul.
But what is it actually this award?

As for the Sunshine Blogger Award, it’s an award given by bloggers to other bloggers they find creative, talented and entertaining.
Generally, it’s a great way of opening yourself to the community as well as to your readers, since you need to answer 11 questions from the blogger that nominated you.
Moreover, you then write your own 11 creative questions and nominate up to 11 additional bloggers that need to do the same.

Here are the rules for the Sunshine Blogger Award!

Thank blogger(s) who nominated you for a blog post and link back to their blog.
Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
Nominate up to 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

My answers to Pamela's questions:

1. When you were young, what was your dream career? If it wasn’t to be a writer, what changed your mind?
When I was a kid I wanted to become an astronaut. I have changed my mind so many times that I cannot say. Becoming a writer has been something that arrived later on. At least, the decision of becoming a published author.
2. What makes you angry? How do you tame the lion?
When I am in a hurry, and nothing seems to work. I don't tend to suppress the lion. I let it roar because, after the big storming, which lasts for about five minutes, my brain has discharged the negativity, and the Sun can return to shine.
3. Have you ever allowed a “dream-crusher” to cloud your self-worth as a writer? How did you lift that cloud?
No, I don't really care about what people say. My father was a great teacher about never listen to what the others say.
4. What literary figure, alive or deceased, would you like to interview?
I would love to interview Dante Alighieri, but, well... Does anyone have an Ouja board?
5. Do you enjoy the editing process? If so, why? If not, why not?
No, I most definitely hate it. Mostly because I don't think I am the one who should edit my work. I do a pre-edit using Grammarly and AutoCrit, which highlight the weaker parts, and then, I send the manuscript to beta readers and editor.
6. If you could be proficient in another language, which would you choose? Why?
I am already proficient in three languages, but if I would choose another language, that would be Georgian. I find it very intriguing, and also quite challenging, having a different alphabet.
7. If you believed in reincarnation, what century might you have lived in and who were you?
I was much probably living in imperial Rome, and I would be a philosopher or free-thinker.
8. If you were a schoolteacher, what class would you teach and why?
If I were a teacher, I would be fired on the first day. I don't like teaching, and I am terrible at it.
9. Do you prefer to stay in touch with close friends via texting, messenger, email, or phone call? Why?
I prefer to meet my friends in person. I call them, but only to fix a date and time to meet.
10. What was one of your best days?
That's a difficult question as to pick one from a lifetime is not easy. It was perhaps the day we spent on the Kenyan Savannah observing the wildlife. It was the day I fell in love with Africa and the people living there.
11. How would you like to be remembered?
I would like to be remembered for the person I am, rather than for what I have achieved in my life. People who know me personally, usually remember me for being extremely direct and honest. I never tell a pretty lie, I opt always for the truth. It might hurt, but there are more benefits to an ugly truth than on a pretty lie.

The SUNSHINE BLOGGERS AWARD empowers bloggers to celebrate other bloggers who are creative and bring positivity to the blogging community. So, I nominate:

Erika M. Szabo
Denise Dianaty
Joanne Van Leerdam
Jeannie JB Richards
Aliya DalRae
Bonita Maria Gutierrez
Aryl Shanti
Maude Maureen Amato Mayes
Julia Blake
Cindy J. Smith
Lorraine Carey

Those are my questions for the nominees

1. What inspired you to start writing/blogging?
2. What is the writing process you enjoy the most?
3. What kind of writer are you a plotter or a pantser?
4. Which of your novels do you love the most?
5. Which are your goals in life?
6. If money was no object, where would you travel?
7. If the story of your latest novel was turned into a movie, who would be cast as your MC?
8. What inspires you the most?
9. What genres do you enjoy reading?
10. What are you currently fascinated by?
11. What have been your biggest writing/blogging struggles?

Something more to W(o)nder about - what about genres?

This week, I am going to discuss what actually to write in your book.
Concerning me, my writing flow starts with an idea, and that can be really whatever. That idea will spark the creativity flame, and I will start to write a story coming up in my mind.
Since a writer should not have any taboos about what to write. Should he or she focus on a particular genre, or should he or she expand her experience to other genres too?
Now, to this question obviously, there is no right and wrong answer, it is all about what you will feel like to write.
If what inspires you is romance or whatever other specific genres, then go on and be blessed by the muse, which inspires you.
However, if you feel like there is more in your sleeves. If you wish to explore other genres, it shouldn't be a problem. Eventually, it can also give you the chance for a wider readership.
Yet, not everything is well under the sun, and writing a multigenre will bring you to a labyrinth in which navigating might become tricky.
In my experience, writing in more than one genre gave me the chance to expand my range of inspiration, improved my storytelling skills, and opened the world to a broader range of creative tools.
The problem comes from the same opportunity. Writing more than one genre offers you the possibility to broaden your readership. At the same time, you need to put extra effort when you create your mailing list, or you market your writing.
To overcome this, when you create an ad to add subscribers to your mailing list, you will need to target those people who are interested in all the genres you intend to write. Certainly, these won't be as many as those coming from one single genre, but they will be your best asset for your promotions and as members to your street team.
Another way is to create several pen names for each genre you want to explore. Be warned, though, this is going to be a lot of work because you will have to create and follow ads and mailing lists for two or more authors.
I am still in the experimental phase of what is going to work better, and I have noticed that there is absolutely no size fits all. One way of promoting your books will not obtain the same results as it did for other authors. My suggestion is to follow what other successful authors have done, repeat, tweak, and modify until you have the method that works for you. It's a creative job, involving passion.
Without passion, nothing is not going to work.
To all the writers, who like myself are working hard to get their place in the spotlight. Don't give up!
Have a great weekend!

Writer's life and social themes

When a writer is going to set him/herself in front of a blank screen, he might already have some ideas about the theme.
Sometimes we are inspired by a piece of news that shocked us. A crime news section, which piqued our interest because of the thoughts it generated in our souls.
Then a plot is born based on that piece of news.

There are many discussions, which appeared on my Facebook feed about what is allowed and what is not allowed in a novel.
Well, here is my point of view.
If your aim is to bring a social issue to the spotlight, because you feel it would generate thoughts, then basically everything is allowed.

Stories of violence, abuse, and similar need to be told, to raise awareness, even if we are writing a novel. The boundary that should not be crossed, in my opinion, is when the writer is no more using the story to provoke thoughts in the readers but makes it an apology to a determined act of violence.

There are many aspects in the making of a novel, and the writer often deals with his/her own demons, which will translate into different characters.
The villain of the story will have his own time to show how evil he can be, but also the reason why he is acting that way.
The duty of the writer, in my opinion, is to offer a full description of the characters, their actions, and their internal struggles. The reader will pick his/her own conclusions and will take his sides, whether the villain was rightly condemned, or was perhaps a victim him/herself.

When I wrote my novel, I tend not to censor my character. There is a reason why the villain is acting the way he/she does. None of those reasons are justified in any of my novels. The villain, and the hero, are there telling their own version of the story. I am just a transcriber of their feelings and their actions.

I generally prefer the reader to draw his own conclusions and take the story as a way to reconsider the people around us.
So, what is your opinion? Do you think there are taboos in writing a novel? Should a writer focus on lighter themes?
Concerning me, I guess my readership already knows the gloomy shades prevailing in my writings.

Nevertheless, as the weekend is here, let's just focus on rest and having fun.
See you next week!

Writer's life and the daunting doubts

Well, certainly being a writer is not the easiest career in the world. All the fancy things you might figure out in your mind about being a writer, most of the time do not have any foundation of truth.
What is true is that there is a big satisfaction the moment you are sending your novel to be published, and it gives a sense of achievement when people start to react and interact with your new release.
Nevertheless, the work required before the manuscript is ready it has nothing to do with glory and inspiration.
For me, as an indie author, it means finding the time to write, researching for the most impossible bits of information. This, to make sure that the novel has solid grounds like you know what you are talking about, which generally, is not.
We gather information on the internet, asking friends, bothering social workers. We ask the colleague's uncle's cousin's friend who, seemingly, might have some knowledge about the topic you are writing about.
We search for the best way to murder someone or the time for a certain poison to have an effect.
Many times the search is stretching for days and weeks before we can actually go on to the next paragraph.
The bright side is that we get a wide, general knowledge about random things we might never use.
Besides this, and the editing, the tweaking, the rewriting processes, there is something that curses the nights of the indie author.
That is the time when we wake up in the middle of the night, after having sent the book to be published. Just when it is too late, and the next time we will be able to make any correction to the manuscript it arrives within 72 hours.

The daunting doubt.

"Were those twenty times I have been reading it through enough?"
The little nagging voice, during your sleep, will start whispering:
"What about that sentence? Are you sure it was good enough?"
"And have you checked for this kind of consistency?"
"Did you remember to put this edit?"
"Have you uploaded the right version or the unedited one?"
At that point, the poor author has completely lost the sleep and will go checking everything spending the whole night re-reading the version uploaded.
And if you think this is going to be all, think twice. The doubt will get back as soon as the first review arrives, a few positive reviews, and your heartbeat return to the normal pace, the blood pressure is getting normal, and the little nagging voice calms down.
Then one, not so positive, review.
All hell breaks loose, and the confidence gathered crashes down.
The little nagging voice starts screaming: "TOLD YA!"
And it will start an endless process to re-re-re-read and tweak one more,
ending up into a frustrating search for perfection, which will never arrive.

This, my dear friends, is the glamorous life of a writer, or better of an indie author.
With all the best intentions to spend a relaxing weekend, I wish you a great one.
Paula

Quote of the day - Life and motivation

Every day I stumble into something worth sharing with those who have the patience to follow me. The world is full of inspirational quotes, and we read at them, understanding their depth and simplicity.
So here is one:

Life happens every second, and quotes like this one might feel overwhelming. Creating a whole life worth watching at the end of your days is a challenge, and perhaps this is not even what it's supposed to be.

Life is made of idle moments where you take a pause to think, to admire what you have around, what you have achieved and to dream what would you like to do next.

Moments that live for themselves and don't include doing something special. Yet, they make us feel good, and if they can put a smile on our faces, they are fully worth it.

There will be endless times of working on a longer schedule, feeling: "I'm not paid enough to take this shit."

Yet, there will be those times when you do something to be proud of for the years to come.

If you see this as a whole, the life flashing in front of your eyes might be something even boring to see. Moreover, when we look at our past, we might still find something we might have done differently.

For this reason, if one day, my life flashes in front of my eyes the only words I want to be able to describe it would be: "Carpe Diem."

Create something for the future, but don't forget that your life is happening now, and you need to enjoy it at this moment. Don't get too stressed at how it will look like, once you're old or once you will have to look back at what you've done (you will always watch it with a too critical eye).

I guess that the best show worth watching at that time is that you lived your life enjoying every second of it.

You might have not saved the world, or you might not have been a superhero. But you have lived your life, you enjoyed what it brought and built something even only for yourself.

Nobody should ever get too stressed about becoming someone special, we all are in our different ways without trying too hard or trying to be someone else.

Make your day worth living.

Have a great weekend you all!

Change of hat for the Wandering Writer

It's that wonderful time again when the Wandering Writer turns into the Marketing Writer.
Just like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I am going to transform myself, to give you some updated and fresh news.

First of all, I have now a new website.
It had been a lot of work, money and time spent tweaking the way I think it is best. Eventually, this is not even the final version, and with time, it will be improved and updated more frequently. Nevertheless, if you want to drop by and give some hints and suggestions, I would be more than grateful.

CHECK THE NEW WEBSITE

Every week I will change the header's picture updating a Quote of the week.

About the trilogy, I have bundled recently into a box set,  I would like to make some remarks. The novella Deadly Deception - Prelude, has been tweaked one more time and edited. Also, the other books have gone through a screening to fix some minor/medium issues with the dialogues. I must say that those reviews which were not so positive gave me a lot to think and gave me the chance to improve and see my novels with the eyes of those readers. Not being an English native speaker is challenging, but on the other hand, I need to tell those stories I kept in my heart, and that's mostly the reason why I published them.

About my next release I have sent it to my editor, and I plan to have it published by next month. The date is still to be decided also based on my ARC team's schedule.
But stay tuned and keep an eye on my Facebook page/blog/website for the news, as soon I will start releasing some sneak peeks and the cover.

So for this time, I guess it is all, but don't hesitate and contact me for whatever question. I am (almost) always open. LOL

Have a great weekend!

It's a new year!

It is for a few years that there is this way of saying "New year, New me."
I have no idea why people should change themselves or whether it is even possible to make drastic changes in the span of one night when to develop the one you are now it took a life.

Regardless of this detail, I am not so much into this fashion, and you will have to deal with the old me, I suppose. Well, old me certainly but with new adventures, new travels, experiences, books, and whatever this new year will be able to bring.
Travelwise, the new year brought some bad news, and my husband and I are trying to figure out a solution for it. The problem is that in December, taking advantage of a discounted deal, we decided to purchase the flight to Egypt and Iraq, via Jordan.
I presume all of you have heard, even by mention, the diplomatic problems caused by the american airstrike at the Bagdad airport. Luckily for us, we are not US citizens, and Finland has neither any affiliation with NATO, so this should make, at least, the granting of the visa easier. Nevertheless, concerns seem reasonable and more than justified in this case.

I know, you might wonder: why in the world we decided to reach Bagdad? Well, the reason, as usual, is to gather knowledge from the direct sources. Iraq has a very interesting heritage and hosts many beautiful historical sites worth the visit, and the risk. The ruins of Babylon are my main target, together with other least known places around. I aim to get inside the culture, history, and possibly to stay alive.
This is not our first journey to conflict areas. So far, the most dangerous place we visited was the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, with a bit of planning and updated information, we had one of our greatest experiences so far. Sierra Leone was another dangerous place, and it really touched my heart in a way I didn't think possible.
I hope we will be able to reach it. The departure is scheduled for May, so four months from now.
Let's keep the fingers crossed.
Concerning my writing career, I am now at the learning point, and I am following an intensive course on advertising. This should not take me too away from the writing process, but it might slow down my social presence. I will try and do my best to be present but time might not be on my side.
Despite this, I plan to be at least punctual with the monthly blog and every news that I need to share.

Preparing for Christmas and for the new year

So, I am not yet sure but this might be the last bog until next year.
As the end of the year approaches, it is time to think about celebrating Christmas with the family and dear ones. This is the best chance to recall all the blessings we have received this year, the achievements that made us smile and the disappointments that made us almost drop everything.
Life is made of all of these, and they represent the balance of a lifetime.
As for me, I have to say that I have been blessed with many achievements, which were interrupted by some other failures and disappointments.
There have been many times when I thought I could have just step back, because I could not take it, and the difficulties, at that time they seemed to be insurmountable.
However, it also returned to my mind that most of my achievements came after disappointments and went through failures.
So, my proposition for the next year is not to give up on the difficulties that will certainly appear on my path.
That is also what I wish to everybody: finding the way not to give up, continue, and try to improve starting from the first failure.
A bad result means only that you need to recalibrate your shot, and not that you need to quit everything.

This year I was supposed to publish three novels, but things went a bit on my way, and I could not make it on time for the third one. Nevertheless, I could take more time to review the next novel and older novels, plan the next year's marketing, goals, and consider/planning the box set for the trilogy Deadly Deception.
I have also started to check up my new website and I'm considering making some changes in the layout, which will make it easier to navigate.
I will keep you updated when it's ready.

With this in mind, and also waiting for the next travel adventures that are waiting for me next year, I am going to leave you.
I wish you all the best for this end of the year, and for a brilliant success for the next year, regardless of the goals, you will set up.

Night fell on Earth

It's nine o'clock in the morning, the sun hasn't yet risen. It's the darkest month of the year here in Finland.
Even though Helsinki is located in the south of the country, there is just a small chance to even see the sun. This because at half-past two in the afternoon the sun will start to set, giving space to a long night.

For an outsider, this might seem like something cool, but I can assure you that there is nothing cool once you start living here, and northern winter starts to be your normality.
To begin with, the simple biology that we need sunlight to live should tell you that surviving in a place where for a long period you won't see the sun, is strongly affecting your mood.
People in winter are less talkative, feel depressed, and constantly tired.
At the moment, we have five hours of light, and no snow to give any sort of joy to our souls. Nature is just dark, damp, and cold.
The sky is covered by a thick curtain of clouds, and it really doesn't make any difference whether it is completely dark or just dark grey.

 

Nevertheless, if you move to the city center, particularly now that we are reaching the Christmas period, the lights and the decorations for the incoming festivity, give a good reason to feel hopeful and improve the general mood.

We are just missing the snow...

Well, the recent years have brought a slight change in the seasonal plan of the Finns, living in Helsinki, and we are not having a decent amount of snow until the second week of January. This means that we need to clench our teeth, brace ourselves, hold onto each other for another month before having two main important things: more light, and more snow.

One important happening, people still follow, is the crowning of Lucy.

One week before the winter solstice, in Finland, there one event historically tied to Swedish culture: the day of St. Lucy. 

St. Lucy is celebrated as a “beacon of brightness” in the darkest time of the year. The first records of St. Lucy's celebrations in Finland are from 1898, and the first large celebrations came in 1930, a couple of years after its popularization in Sweden. Every year, in the Helsinki Cathedral, a girl is going to be crowned.

She bears a crown of candles to fight the darkness, and will walk as a bearer of the light for the streets of Helsinki:

 

She comes to remind us that within one week the days will start once again to get longer, and this means walking toward the spring. You might consider this a bit funny, but in this period, every second added to the length of the day is a great step toward the season when the sun will shine for most of the time.

With my heart full of hope, but still tired as hell, and slightly moody, I wish you all a fantastic weekend!

It's a magical world!

Today I am going to tell you about one of my passions besides writing: photography.

I believe there is a very close connection between all forms of art. In my case, the three things that go hand in hand are writing, traveling, and photography.

How do they relate to each other? Well, writing needs inspiration right? What better inspiration than visiting new places, experiencing cultures, meeting people, reading other countries' newspapers.

Photography offers inspiration. This one helps me to think outside the box, see the world from different perspectives, and clear my mind whenever I feel stuck with a page or chapter.

Here, the weather started to be quite unstable. It began with a chilling period, when we had the first snow, to the time we are now with temperatures that raised far above the seasonal average.

Despite this, during this winter, I was lucky enough to have a camera with me right when I needed it and could get some interesting shots that helped me going through the last few weeks.

Due to stress at work, I couldn't proceed with my writing, so I just got out and took a walk in the forest.

What I found was really stunning, and I spent most of the time taking shots of those crystals. 

The perfect harmony between the white of the snow, ice, and the blue of the sky (believe me, it's quite rare) was extremely inspiring. I could have spent the whole day there.

 And that was exactly what I did. Not caring about the temperature, I stayed the whole day out, to take pictures, and admire the sceneries.

I also got the chance to take a shot of a hawk, who was taking a rest on a tree, checking the food situation on his territory.

Undeniably, days and walks like this give a lot of inspiration, besides offering the chance to unwind from the stress of everyday life. 

With those images, I greet you for this weekend and wish you a great day.

As we get into the cold season.

So, what's next?
As we entered the month of October, every business in town started to theme the windows and shops with Halloween themed decoration. Also, those countries where Halloween is not celebrated and means another day on the calendar weren't missing this big chance to get some extra sale. After all, every excuse is good to sell one additional item, isn't it?
And now that we are already past the day, and we should just give more time to think about our daily life, returning to what is like without the expectation of another holiday, we seem to enter the new phase, the Christmas, interrupted by Thanksgiving day.
For Businesses, this is the most hectic time of the year because never like between October and January, they have to change their advertisement targeting.
Authors are not different, and meanwhile, we are writing our next masterpiece, we are dressing our covers and banners with themes, from the spooky to the festive, from the Christmasy to the New Year.
It's a big load of a job to get the right creatives to get something enticing and new to get a piece of the Holiday shopper's attention.

I make no difference, and as a matter of fact, I am going to do my best to finish my next novel, which seems to get longer and longer as it goes on. My longest book was my debut novel with 143k words, but I am afraid that, in this case, I will have to go over that limit.
At the same time, I am also looking around for new ideas on the creative side for promotions and banners.

Going on this way, I am afraid I am missing my favorite activity, which is observing nature and its changes during this season.
This fast-moving forward from one holiday to the other seems wanting us to speed up our time. Although, this would be rather the time we stop to think about the year that is about to end. Just like in every moment of our lives, we shouldn't be forced to switch from one season to the other in such a hurry.

It seems like the only thing important is not just to have fun during the holiday but to get prepared for the next one as soon as this one is approaching.

But do you know what?
This is my plan, I am going to spend the whole weekend almost freezing outside and risking to catch the flu, by taking pictures of the natural environment around me.
I am taking a break from writing and just spend my time outside, far from the city, far from the businesses, and far from civilization.

I am going to enjoy the calm and the natural routine of a quiet life, without stressing and hurries.
How are you going to spend your weekend?
Whatever you do, make it special!

It's birthday week

It has been three years since the day when, for the first time in my life, I have pressed the 'publish' button on what it was back in the days CreateSpace of Amazon.
It was for my novel "A Tale of a Rough Diamond."
For this milestone and birthday, I have set up a deal, and from the rest of the month, my debut novel is going to be priced 0.99 $ ONLY ON KOBO!:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-tale-of-a-rough-diamond

The reason why I hadn't put the sale on Amazon is that the book is not inserted in Kindle Unlimited, so I cannot set a limited time deal.

If you haven't had the chance to read it, I am going to explain the reason why you should not miss this deal.
About the story:
At first, it is a tale of a dysfunctional wealthy family. From the outside, everything seems as perfect as in a fairy tale, and even for the main character, Stephan, who finds himself dealing with a careless mother and a jealous brother, things seem to go almost fine, until all hell breaks loose, and due to his restless nature, he will find himself framed in a crime and going to jail .
Everything seems lost, and Stephan will have to fight not only for his own life but for the justice he deserves.
It is a tale of deception, and indeed not everything or anyone is the one it seems to be.
Every character has his/her own purpose, and whether from the outside, they might seem to act in a despicable way; for some of them, it is a mean to cope with unspeakable traumas.
It is a tale that gives the chance to look deeper into the soul of people before judging them.

If you want to know more, here are a couple of excerpts featuring the hero and the villain:

The Villain:
Roger looked at his hands. They were shaking – that nervous shake he’d learned to recognize and deal with a long time ago. His head felt as if it were going to explode, so strong was the pain he felt.
He reached for the cabinet, where he kept the first-aid kit and took a couple of analgesic pills. He knew they wouldn’t really help, but he took them anyway.
He was expecting two guests, both very important. The first one didn’t worry him at all, as he knew he could easily be dealt with.
The second one, however, was on a totally different level. The success or failure of all he had built so far was at stake – his firm, his career, his wealth, and his own life. That was the reason for the restless state of his mind, that made his hands shake and his head ache.
He looked anxiously at the clock. There was still time, but it seemed as his heart had a different perception of time, and it started to race in his chest. He took a couple of deep breaths and went to sit in the armchair behind his desk.

He made himself comfortable, sinking into the soft leather, and closed his eyes to regain some calm. He thought about what the deal of the game was, and how the success of both the meetings was to be achieved. Success was not an option.

The Hero:
Stephan waited in the darkness, feeling nervous and excited at the same time. Every time he was at that exact spot, waiting for the car of Reece stopping by or for Jonas to whistle him about his arrival, he felt the adrenaline rush, foretasting another adventure with his mates.
A couple of whistles, and he understood his friend arrived, just in time, before that restlessness on the background of his turmoil, would have overwhelmed the excitement and he would have ran away, scared like a child.
“It was about time, where is Reece?” asked Stephan.
“He is waiting in the car a couple of blocks away from here, there was a cop car parked there,” he said, pointing the entrance of a shop.
Jonas walked fast and barely exchanged a single word with him, like he generally used to do.
Stephan didn’t say anything either, but his behavior made him more nervous than he already was.
“Come on guys, we don’t have the whole night,” said Reece impatiently.
“What’s the matter with you tonight, it seems like we’re going to rob the Central Bank in the middle of the day,” said Stephan.
“Shut the fuck up, kid. We are not going to a party,” hissed Reece as he drove as fast as he could to their target.
Stephan could tell, when Reece had been drinking, and knew that he could become quite dangerous; therefore he sat down on the backseat of the car and remained silent as Reece ordered.
As they arrived in front of their target, Reece remained still for a moment, like he was hesitating and was almost ready to give up everything. “Fuck that!” he mumbled.
“Come on let’s go!” Reece added as he got out of the car.
“OK, kiddo, do your trick,” Jonas whispered.
It was a matter of a couple of minutes and the door opened, then a few seconds, and the alarm was put to sleep.
“Jeeha!!” Jonas exulted as they all got inside the house.

The small group of friends dispersed to the different rooms of the house, looking for something to rob that could give them some small wealth.

I hope you will give it a chance, and that you will give me your impressions/feedbacks about it.
If I grabbed your attention, and you want to know more about me and future deals, you might want to consider joining my Newsletter.
I do send news, fun facts, bonus material, and exclusive deals, to my subscribers once a month, and whenever something new happens, like when I am delivering ARCs, for example.
Here is the link to join:
http://eepurl.com/dny4RL

That will be all, and as usual, I wish you a great weekend.

Paula

Fall has arrived, what does it mean?

Well, if we think about Fall in the general idea of the term, it just means the start of a very depressing season, which is winter.
Yet, there is more, and there are as many meanings as there are human beings on this planet. We all have different feelings towards it.
For some people, it means the starting of the spring with blooming colors, the green of the grass, and flowers.
For others, it means getting cozy in front of a fireplace, or wrapped into a warm blanket on the couch reading a book, or watching the snow falling.
What I mean with different meanings, is the memories we carry inside our souls, those that give a real feeling when we simply spell the word fall.
I have had the chance to live the Fall season in three different wonderful countries. Italy, Germany, and Finland. I have been visiting many places, but those meant for me the everyday life for a specified period. Italy for 28 years, Germany for 4 years and Finland for 15 years.
Each place gave me different feelings, and all of them, I am treasuring in my heart.
Italy has the taste of my childhood. Of the times before the Internet, mobile phones, computers. Most of them convey to one single place, or to be precise to one single item, the iron cast wood burning stove of my grandmother.
Every fall, we would have gathered the whole family to help my grandmother to store the wood she ordered to be delivered at home. The truck arrived and unloaded the pile of chopped wood in front of her house. There, we would have spent one whole day to bring them in the wood storage that was on the entrance of her home, a large room placed at the entrance divided from the rest of the house. Since she didn't have any other heating system in her house other than two iron cast stove and another wood burning heater.

That meant a huge amount of chopped wood to be stored for the winter.
Another tradition was roasting the chestnuts on that stove, and that was something that still brings me a broad smile on my face. Our family, when still my grandmother was alive, was almost always gathered in her house.

The years I have spent in Germany meant the starting for the preparation for the Christmas market. Some cities have their traditional Christmas market already in November. Therefore, October was a time when we started thinking about where to go for the Christmas Market.

At that time, I was studying at university. That meant that December I would have spent the time back at home in Italy, and we wouldn't have the time to visit them all, or at least not together.
In Europe, we do not celebrate Halloween. We do have the celebration for all saint's day. This means going to visit the graveyards, (although this is something we do regularly, for that day we bring special flowers and candle lights). Some people go to church in honor of the dead people, but that would be all the celebrations. Some fairs are organized last for the two-three weeks between October and November, but nothing spook-related.
Since I started to live in Finland, Fall means mostly the amazingly beautiful colors with which nature gives a good night, before being immersed in the long darkness of the winter. People get together in the cafeterias waiting for the snow, which gives the impression of more light to shine in our lives.

Finland, like most of the other Nordic countries, waits for winter, only for one reason, winter sports, which includes a lot of snow, hot chocolates, crowded cinemas, getting together with the family, and wait for the Spring.
One day, I hope I will be able to experience my everyday life in the southern hemisphere. There, I will get used to waiting for the Summer in October and for the Winter in June... How crazy that might sound!
I wish you a great weekend and a spooktacular Fall.

Something I have learned.

I know that this is not the end of the year, and we are a bit in advance for the New Year's resolution, let alone consideration about this year.

The fact is that October 2019 marks the anniversary of my career as an author.

In October 2016, just three years ago, at this precise moment, I was finalizing the preparations for publishing my debut novel.

I was quite excited about it, and I considered one of the biggest leaps in my life.

Indeed, there have been many leaps I had done. From the day I decided to leave my country to study abroad, to the time when I moved away to another country, following the promise of a job. Then, to the decision that it was perhaps about the time when I published my novel too.

Little I knew at that time about the things I needed to take into account, and it was not just the question of putting something on the internet. It was a question of building my brand, growing my name, and being part of a growing community of writers, whether seasoned or newbies like myself.

I have found an incredible and supportive community ready to give all sorts of advice to bring my novel to the eyes of the readers.

I had many doubts, and some I still have. Something was clear to me since the beginning, I wasn't interested in having a contract with any publishing company, not big nor small. I understood since the beginning that this meant two main things: sharing a cake that might be not big enough and have no words on the creative process. 

In some cases, this would have meant also restricting my say in what and how I wanted to write.

I am a rebel by nature, and I have never accepted people telling me what to do or how to do things unless it was me asking for advice.

I have read many comments of people bashing indie-authors. They claimed that since they are not represented by any publishing houses, they are not worth the attention of a readership. For what I saw, the quality and content can be equally missing in both indie and traditionally published. (I have in mind a few examples, but I am not going to list any of them here).

One big lesson was to build a community, and I have found out that by sharing more than "buy my books," I could grow my list of followers. Those might or might not buy my books, but the more they are, the more I get visibility.

Hence, social media is not really a place where I sell something, but it is a place where I build something, namely connections and brand.

The biggest lesson, anyway, arrived this year after a series of lectures about different kinds of ads. I have tried AMS and BookBub ads, and although I still have a lot to learn, I got results.

I started to study, really taking time to go through all the material I have accumulated and classified 'for later review.'

Well, I guess this is the time when I finally start to review the accumulated material. That is something else I have learned, which is trying not to procrastinate excessively. Nowadays, life is hectic, and we have thousands of things to think about and to do. Nevertheless, I want to try and find the time for my growth as an indie author.

It might take time, but determination can perform miracles.

Will I be able to honor my propositions?

We will see, and I will keep updated. I will also update any progress, whether this could help someone in the same situation.

For now, I just wish you all a great weekend, and stay tuned for next week's blog!

Doha, you can't even imagine it.

So, here, we were ready to board once again to return back home after our journey. We could not leave Nigeria without anything that made me wonder.
We just passed the check-in and passport control when we reached the gate. However, there we had to go through another security check before entering the plane, which sometimes happens when the flight company does not trust the local screening completely.
I arrived at the counter, and the woman there started to open my carry-on baggage for prohibited items. Everything followed the routine when suddenly she glanced at me: "Do you have anything for me?"
In the beginning, I wasn't sure what she meant, or whether she was just joking, so I just replied that I didn't have anything.
She looked a bit disappointed and seriously: "aren't you, my friend?"
At that point I just thought you gotta be kidding me, bribing at the safety check at the airport? Really?
"No, I am not your friend," I replied firmly.
She checked thoroughly and sent me to the body scan, "well you can scan whatever you want, I am not going to get robbed this way."
Of course, this didn't cause anything more than just a delay to my boarding, but the least I can accept in this world is people trying to rob me.
This was just a little incident and didn't really mean any trouble. Yet it raised a few considerations about what is considered legit and what it is not from the personnel at the airport.

So here we were leaving Nigeria to reach our first stop of seven hours in Doha. The flight went smoothly, and at five o'clock in the morning, we reached the International airport in Doha.
Now the first impression:
You certainly are familiar with the heatwave that hits you when you open the oven to check on your food. The same heatwave hit us as we stepped out the plane. The engine was off, so it wasn't because of it. It was like entering a giant oven at 240 Celsius, barely breathable humid and hot.
I thought I knew about the heat after having experienced the Afar desert in Ethiopia... No, this was more... In Ethiopia at least it wasn't that humid, although the temperatures were much higher than in Doha (around 50 Celsius).
It was only five o'clock in the morning, and the temperatures reached already 30 Celsius!!
We reached the well air-conditioned inside the terminal with our great relief.
The first idea was that perhaps we could have had a tour of the city, but thinking twice we could also take a hotel room, have a shower, a good meal and maybe a tour of the city, before returning to the airport.
That was the best idea possible, and we had a hotel arranged within a couple of minutes. The efficiency of the country reflects on the way the general organization of the services.

Now I need to make a small introduction to Qatar. This little State of about 11.000 square kilometers is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. The funny thing is that 88% of the population are expats working there, the rest 12% is Qatari.
I cannot figure out yet a good reason to move and live in such an over, where, going for a walk is totally restricted to the night or early morning.
We tried to have a walk, and our stubbornness found an empty city, where only cars were moving around.

If you have followed the Olympics that is now going on in Doha, you might have heard horrifying stories about the heat, well, let me tell you, they are not exaggerating at all. That place is not fit for humans. Just like the Sahara desert, it is made for very specialized animals.
At least THIS human doesn't consider it as a place for herself. Although I crave the summer and the hot, there is a limit to it. My limit has been abundantly tested in Doha.
So glad to have returned home, where I am free to go wherever I want without fear of dying dehydrated LOL
I wish you, as usual, a great weekend. If you live in similar desertic countries, believe me, you have all my respect and sympathy.

Togo and the Voodoo heritage

After our stay in Benin, it was finally arrived the time to reach the next destination, Togo.
This was a place where we could find most of the answer to my questions about Voodoo. Together with that, I collected some material for a novel I am planning to write.

Undoubtedly voodoo, as a religion, was born in Benin, Yet, although it is still one of the main religions practiced in the country, it seemed more widespread in Togo. Perhaps it is because people in Benin seemed reticent in talking about it, or because it has been challenging to get any contact there. Whatever the reason is, in Togo, people seemed keener to talk about it and explain to us a little bit of the religious practices.
The first thing is that Voodoo is wrongly associated with black magic or with evil forces. This is absolutely a myth that needs to be debunked. Voodoo is about healing and evoking the spirits for good purposes. Whether for healing disease, ask for the end of a long period of drought, to maintain peace inside the family, the spirits and the Gods are summoned for good practices.
Voodoo is a way of life for many people in Togo and Benin. It consists of about 100 divinities, which essence governs the Earth governing the forces of nature and human society.
The divine creator is called Mawu and is a female being. It is believed to be an elderly woman who is gentle and forgiving. She owns all the other gods.
An interesting part of this journey was the visit to the Marché des Féticheurs in the Akodessawa district in Lome. It is said to be the largest fetish market in the world. Perhaps just because there aren't many competitors, a visitor might find it not as big as they figured out in their mind. Nevertheless there people find all the necessary for worshipping and also ingredients for traditional medicine.
According to what they told us, the dead animals in the market were found in the forest already dead. Some others were farm animals who have been used for the sacrifice (and then eaten with the community). Considering the relatively small amount of corpses that are allowed to dry, I might also think that this is not far from the truth.
Just like I always say, when traveling to other countries, and particularly when getting in touch with different heritages and religious practices, we need to unlearn and forget from where we come from. This allows us to look at them with fresh eyes.
Asking questions to get a more in-depth insight into the cultural heritage will help to understand.
So are you ready for a full immersion into the culture of Voodoo?
Good, follow me...

This young man was a practicing priest. Not everyone can become a priest, This is something that is transmitted through the family. Therefore only the sons of the priest can become one day priests themselves.

Now to the question, that might come to your mind, "did you buy anything?" The answer is, "Yes, I did, but mostly it included wooden masks and other artifacts."

Lome has lovely beaches, which could have great potential for tourism. Yet, they are not really well kept, and most of the places seemed to be something to avoid rather than something to enjoy. 

Nevertheless, the restaurants on the beach offer a great variety of food and I have to say, absolutely delicious. I just indulged myself in their local fish specialties, and I could not get really enough. It was a real pity knowing that we needed to leave the country after a few days. I would have remained just for the food for much longer.

I hope I didn't creep you out with this cultural insight. As for me, I felt extremely inspired for the novel I've started to write.

I wish you a great weekend!