Stefano Castelvetri's Blog, page 36

'Universo Incompleto' has a cover (and it's not the one I liked the most)

Here it is. Or rather, that's the draft.

This is the cover for
Special mention for the cover proposed by Fabio: I think it has good potential. Maybe should I retrieve it in the future?

Now I can say it. My first preference was n.5, the one with the head of the robot. I believed in it, but it's the one that took fewer votes. It seems it was not quite inspirational. Ouch.

That's all, I sincerely thank all the participants. See you when the novel is going to be published. In the meantime, why not subscribe to the OddlyGeeks newsletter? It's a nice way to to know when the novel gets out.

Bye!

Zero copies sold. A call to independent authors.

I would like to make a call to all independent authors.

Yes. You know. Those self publishing dudes trying to sell shit through Amazon.

I am a reader constantly looking for new and interesting stuff. In my wandering through virtual shelves in search of the next great novel I find everything from trash to masterpiece.

Often, more and more often, I am faced with writing that saddens me. The clones. The obvious imitations. The literature 'by the manual'. The boring literature. How to recognize this stuff? It is well written, well edited, follows all the rules of standard narrative. It closely follows the manual of the good writer. It doesn't, in fact, break not even a rule of that manual. But when I read the first few chapters, it reminds me only stuff being read in the past. It doesn't sound anything new. Synapses are there, waiting, ready to turn on some connection that never comes.

Why this writing saddens me? Because I see a wasted potential. Because I realize that beyond those words there is an author who might be able to turn on some synapse and he does not. Because he chose the easy road. Because he chose the manual.

Dear independent author. You have a starting position that is wonderful. It is called 'Zero Copies Sold'.

Behind you, there are these zero copies. Fantastic. You can't do worse. You can not, actually, do worse. In front of you there are no publishers, no marketing, no agents. There is no one who will make pressure to how and what you have to write. Clear field.

In front of you there is a blank sheet of paper and, just beyond that paper, there are readers.

Wow!

In the midst of those readers, hidden in the third row, I am too. - Dare! - I try to scream.

You dare! Throw away the manual of the perfect writer! You have on your side a platform that is revolutionizing the rules of literature. Many of these rules come from limitations that are no more. Don't stick too much to the manual, except for making me read your work. Change gender. Change style. Change everything you'd like to change. It can be done, there is no one that will not allow it.

The best-selling authors can't do what you can do. Maybe they have more talent, more resources, but are also limited by fans expecting something familiar and a publisher who has to sell. The best-selling authors can not experiment nor dare too much. You, in a position from which you can't do worse, you can dare. Do not imitate too much the best-selling authors. Be more adventurous. You can, you have on your side of the Zero Copies Sold.

Please. Really. My synapses ask for it.

Crescia, how good!

 
I somewhat betray my region when I admit that between Piadina and Crescia, I far prefer the latter.

What can I do? The Crescia is more tasty and crunchy, very appetizing and filling. Try it with sausage and verdure cotte (that is herbs in pan), but also with grilled vegetables and cured meats of all kinds.

Where you can find it? Between Marche and Umbria, where there are (like Piadina in Emilia Romagna) different recipes depending on each town. 

In doubt, you should try them all. 

Worst scene - Edge of tomorrow

Edge of tomorrow is an honest science fiction film without peaks of genius, although it can be watched without too much suffering.

Too bad for the finale. If you forget the last few minutes of the film (those after the last temporal reset), which ruin a story that had ​​sense and pathos, then the whole film regains some point.

And with this we have checked the 'worst scene' stuff.

Now let's turn to Emily Blunt, really believable in the role of Rita Vrataski, a legendary heroine in the war against the Mimic.


Blunt, if you saw her in some interview, it's pretty nice and far from the typical star attitudes. But she seems always so gentle, inoffensive. In a nutshell, she wouldn't fit in a movie like this. Instead, she proved I was wrong.



Beautiful and charismatic. Elegant, self-confident and deadly in hi-tech armours battle in a film in which all other soldiers (Cruise included) seem to go around as they had shit in their trousers. Blunt holds up the scene ten times better than Cruise. It is not hard to believe that Rita Vrataski was responsible for the first victory of the humans on Mimics. Just a shame that she does not appear more.

Shopping in Hyperspace - SciFi thoughts

From the very first moment she saw the ad on MaxiNetwork, Cecilia decided that she would have stolen that spaceship.
It was so cute.
But above all, it was the only technology which could help to fulfill her greatest dream: the ultimate shopping session.

(no, you won't find it on Amazon)

Experiences of self publishing #1 - an unexpected help

This is the first of a series of posts in which I recall the experience of self publishing linked to the publication of the novel 8.23 volte l'anno.

This experiment immediately started to bring me lessons and interesting data. Maybe is a bit early to share complete data, but it's time to start writing about first experiences, impressions and hints of color.

So, let's begin with the first surprise. 

An unexpected help
Prepare your book, read it, read it again, correct it. You think it's ready. Quite ready, anyway. Publish it. At this point you expect, you imagine having to fight with other authors. Fighting like crazy to get the attention of two readers. Readers who are, in your imagination, enjoying a sort of mud wrestling.

Take a deep breath and think - Ok, let's do it for the knowledge. In the mud. -

And here comes the first surprise.

The first help. Spontaneous, unexpected.

The first to lend a hand are the very people with whom I believed to have crossed the blades. The other authors. The help is made up of little constructive criticisms, error reports, tips and links to my work. And small, but heavy, encouragement.

Not really mud wrestling.

Here are my heartfelt thanks to all the 'colleagues' of this new world. Especially those most talented and expert who didn't want to keep for them important tips and tricks.

The first lesson is: the community of independent authors is made up of beautiful people, and the competition is relative. There is room for everyone and, after all, they are all very aware of the fact that if the self publishing market offers something good, everyone takes advantage of it.

Cooperation instead of competition. That's nice. Yes, because the battle, the real one, is fought somewhere else. And we'll talk about it in future posts.

Science fiction kittens - Kittens vs Daleks

Some self-proclaimed web guru says that kittens, in short, make audience. And let the kittens be. But not any kittens. Science fiction kittens. So, for the topic 'kittens and science fiction', that's what happens when you put Daleks against kittens. Or kittens into Daleks.

A good sandwitch with northern flavor

Here is a sandwitch of northern flavors because, you know, Italian food is not only tomatoes, olive oil and pasta.

This is time for a Brettljause, an afternoon northern snack. My sandwitch is made with homemade black bread, speck and crescenza.

Black bread is made with rye flour, barley flour, oat flour, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds. It is a typical bread from the Sudtirol region, since rye flour seems to be more resistant to cold weather.

Even speck comes from Sudtirol, a region in which it's more likely to hear people speaking in German than Italian. Speck is a smoked crude ham. It is very aromatic, with intense flavor. I like it very much.

Crescenza is an Italian soft cheese with very short aging. It is produced with whole cow's milk, and comes from Lombardy and Tuscany regions. It adds freshness and softness.

Overall, this sandwich is very strong and caloric, suitable for cold and gray winter afternoons. I think it would have been ideal with a stout beer, but unfortunately I didn't have one at home.

Anyway, buon appetito !

P.A.W.S. (Prime Alien Watch Squad) on Kickstarter

Why backing P.A.W.S. (Top Watch Alien Squad) ?

Because it is a fun strategy game, suitable for children, with a very cute and cartoonish look, and because the idea of ​​driving the prettiest team for containment of alien invasions, consisting of bears, tigers and turtles, is particularly attractive.

There are still 22 days to the end of the campaign on Kickstarter. Can it make it ?

Zenzerello !

After a dinner a little challenging, I realized with horror that my escort of Zenzerello is now gone. Too bad. The bottle behaved with honour for more than a year, providing solace in the hours after good (but tough) eating.

What is Zenzerello ? A ginger liquor, homemade. Not too strong, tastes fresh and spicy at the same time. Excellent as a digestive. I made the first bottle as an experiment. But now that it's gone, I can repeat it.

How to make Zenzerello ?

Here are the ingredients for a bottle (about 1lt of liquor).

About 100g of fresh ginger, the most beautiful you can find.
1/2 lt of alcohol for liquors.
1/2 kg of sugar.
1/2 lt of water.

The preparation requires patience, but it's not difficult. You have to peel and cut into slices fresh ginger, toss it into a large jar with alcohol, then forget it on a closed shelf for at least three weeks.

If you have not really forgotten it, after three weeks, you may complete the process. Prepare in a saucepan, over low heat, a syrup with water and sugar. When the syrup has cooled down you'll be almost at the end of the trip: filter alcohol and mix it with the syrup. Pour it into a bottle, put to rest a few days and enjoy this liquor with original taste.