Alex Jones's Blog, page 2

Cooooool flyer for IL TRADUTTORE

Ceresio in Giallo award ceremony

Such an honor having "Il Traduttore" shortlisted for the Ceresio in Giallo prize. Congratulations to Francois Morlupi and Salani Editore, and many heartfelt thanks for a wonderful awards ceremony weekend to Ceresio in Giallo.

I Delitti del Ducato - SOLD OUT

Un mese dopo la prima stampa, il libro di racconti gialli "I Delitti del Ducato" va già alla seconda stampa... E andiamo!!!

I Delitti del Ducato - 12 autori, 12 mesi, 12 racconti

E' uscito il libro "I Delitti del Ducato", una raccolta di dodici racconti gialli ambientati intorno a Parma. Il libro include il mio racconto "Ombre Separate" con Patrick Bird di "Il Traduttore" protagonista.

Aleksandar Hemon "The Book of My Lives" Review

The Book of My Lives by Aleksandar Hemon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


More brilliance from Aleksandar Hemon, brightening darkened corners of (my) ignorance, making me laugh, making me grind my teeth, making me stop and check maps.

But the story "Aquarium" destroyed me. I mean that as a compliment.

Often, when talking about other people's tragic misfortunes, we can't find the words or we just don't know which words are adequate. We give up and say something like "I can't even imagine...." Perhaps, deep down, that's because we don't want to. But in "Aquarium" Hemen delivers the tragedy without inflection or tugging on heartstrings - the story simply "is" - and the reader can't help but relate. You are there with him and his family. Submerged in their tragedy. Though there's no happy ending, no easily-applicable moral to this story, it has, in some way, added a tiny fraction of the experience to my own life, in a way only great literature can do. Thank you, Mr. Hemon, and I'm sorry.



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Patrick Bird torna con un nuovo racconto fra i dodici racconti di "I delitti del Ducato"

I DELITTI DEL DUCATO, pubblicato da Massimo Soncini Editore, arriverà nelle librerie e online nei prossimi giorni. Ogni racconto è collegato ad un mese dell'anno.

"Ombre Separate" è il titolo del mio racconto, con Patrick Bird di "Il Traduttore" protagonista. Il Traduttore Come al solito, Patrick si caccia nei guai più strambi con ironia e filosofia.

Nell'atmosfera tesa di un nuovo ordine mondiale del prossimo futuro, arriva anche un nuovo personaggio/protagonista: Stella Buia, maresciallo del RIS di Parma.
"Ombre Separate" è ambientato nel mio mese preferito, il mese quando viene d'istinto di festeggiare l'arrivo del buio e i brividi, ovvero OTTOBRE.

I've never had writer's block, but I do have writer's cat

Nice article about me in Parma City Magazine (in italiano)

Martin Amis, why do you write?

Interviewer: Why do you write?

MA: It's an addiction to having a parallel reality. Your life trundles along, but you have this other world which you order and occupy, where anything can happen. Mere life looks very thin without this extra dimension.

What is success?

My son will be leaving for his first year of university in a couple of weeks. Heady times for him. Much philosophizing (that's an actual word!) for my wife and I. Trying to prepare him for what's to come. Of course, in one way or another, that's what we've been doing the entire time as parents, for him and his sister. Still, you look for something from heavy hitters that might stay with him. "If" by Kipling is definitely a go-to in this case, as well as "Oh, The Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss. Then there's Ralph Waldo Emerson...

What is success?
"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate the beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!"

These ideas, and even some of the phrasing, comes echoing back from both Kipling and Dr. Seuss, for sure.

Ralph Waldo Emerson