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Dario Ciriello

Goodreads Author

Born

in London, The United Kingdom

Website

http://dariospeaks.wordpress.com

Twitter

@Dario_Ciriello

Genre

Thriller, Paranormal, Travel

Influences

John LeCarre; Stephen King; Jorge Luis Borges; Roger Zelazny; CJ Cherr ...more

Member Since

February 2009

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Dario Ciriello is a professional author and editor, and the founder (2009) of Panverse Publishing.

Dario's first novel, "Sutherland's Rules", a crime caper/thriller with a shimmer of the fantastic, was published in 2013. "Free Verse and Other Stories", a collection of his short Science Fiction work, was released in June 2014.

His 2015 novel, the supernatural suspense thriller titled "Black Easter", pits love against black magic and demonic possession on a remote, idyllic Greek island. Dario is currently at work on a new thriller.

Dario's nonfiction book, "Aegean Dream", the bittersweet memoir of a year spent on the small Greek island of Skópelos (the real "Mamma Mia!" island), was an Amazon category #1 for several months in 2012. "The Fiction ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Dario Ciriello It's helpful to understand what writer's block might actually be. I think the popular image -- and that shared, unfortunately by a good many writers -…moreIt's helpful to understand what writer's block might actually be. I think the popular image -- and that shared, unfortunately by a good many writers -- is that the well of inspiration has dried up and the muse has fled. I don't think it's quite like that.

First off, a muse (which is actually the writer's subconscious) requires work on the part of the writer to nourish her or him. This work primarily takes the form of sitting down every day at the keyboard, whether or not you feel inspired, and typing something. In addition, the writer needs to be reading, getting out, exchanging ideas, experiencing life, and generally feeding their muse. If you sit around waiting to be inspired, you're likely to have a very long wait, and any inspiration that does come is likely to be short-lived.

Second, writer's block, especially with a work in progress, is a signal from the subconscious that something isn't working. I would look for this first in character and ask myself if I have all my characters squarely in focus, whether I know them all as well as I should. Since I don't plot in the abstract but rather let my characters' interactions create the plot, the problem for me is almost always one of character...because if they aren't moving and acting, the plot stops.

It's also possible that the blocked writer is simply bored with their work. This happens. In this case the answer is to write an exciting scene even if it's out of sequence, or rethink the story altogether and ask yourself if the idea will actually carry a long story.

Finally, sometimes the writer may just be overwhelmed by life. Demands of work, money concerns, family illness, all consume time and bandwidth. My advice in these cases is the same advice I give writers in every case: write daily, and first thing in the morning, before your head gets filled with junk and the world begins to make demands. Get up an hour or two earlier if you need to. Ditch evening TV for sure and go to bed earlier if you need to -- TV is just a time sink for the writer, and should be the first thing to go. Get your social media and online time under control. If you want to write badly enough, you'll make the time.

To conclude, then, I believe that writer's block comes in many forms, and each is eminently capable of a cure. But it takes effort, intelligence, and most of all determination. Writing is mostly about tenacity and will. (less)

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Dario Ciriello As is often the case, the core story and characters for Black Easter were the result of a collision of ideas.

I'd wanted for some time to write a book …moreAs is often the case, the core story and characters for Black Easter were the result of a collision of ideas.

I'd wanted for some time to write a book about classic, old-school black magic -- the nasty ritual kind, with demons and sacrifices. There's not much of that about today, and I've never been one to follow the hot trends, which is why I'm not writing about zombies or glittery vampires. I wanted to explore real evil (and real good) instead.

I'd also wanted for some while to set something in WWII and explore the mind of an officer in the Waffen-SS (the fighting arm of the Nazi Party's Schutzstaffel, essentially Hitler's elite guards). Enter standartenfuhrer (colonel) Klaus Maule, my tramumatized survivor of the Russian campaign who is given a sinecure command by friends in high places to get him quietly out of the way.

Finally, I wanted to set a dark thriller on an idyllic Greek island, a milieu I know from my own experience of living a year on the actual "Mamma Mia!" island of Skopelos, per my nonfiction memoir, Aegean Dream. The delicious contrast of evil goings-on against a bucolic or paradisiacal backdrop has always appealed to me.

Somehow -- and this happens to writers all the time -- these three ideas came together in my head, and before I knew it I was writing a dark thriller with some eight major characters starting off on two separate timelines (one in the 1930s and 1940s, one in the present day), and all coming together on a small and lovely island in the Aegean.

Black Easter was, for a variety of reasons, the hardest book I've yet written, but I had a great time doing it. I hope readers will get a thrill out of it, and feel the same cold shivers I did as the book builds towards its inevitable climax.(less)

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Dario Ciriello’s books

Average rating: 3.97 · 378 ratings · 109 reviews · 19 distinct works • Similar authors

	Aegean Dream: The true story of a year on the 'Mamma Mia' island 3.93 avg rating — 180 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Black Easter 4.17 avg rating — 46 ratings — published 2014 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sutherland's Rules 4.15 avg rating — 33 ratings — published 2013 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Fiction Writing Handbook 4.29 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2017 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Panverse One by Dario Ciriello (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Andrew Tisbert, Uncle River 3.58 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 2009 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Panverse Two by Dario Ciriello (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Alan Smale (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Amy Sterling Casil (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.13 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2010	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Eight Against Reality by Dario Ciriello (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Juliette Wade (Goodreads Author), Genevieve Williams (Goodreads Author) 3.44 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2010	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Panverse Three 2.89 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	America is Coming!: The One Apocalypse You'll Never Forget! 3.50 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2014	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Panverse Reader's Sampler 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Dario Ciriello's Blog

The Power of Internal Dialog

Internal dialog (aka interior monologue, interiority, or free indirect speech) is a narrative technique used to relate a character’s internal thoughts. Internal dialog differs from stream-of-consciousness in that it consists of formal, coherent sentences rather than the more free-form, unstructured ramble of stream-of-consciousness; the playwright’s soliloquy (Is this a dagger which I see before m

Dario is Currently Reading

Dario is currently reading

Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder

by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Goodreads Author)

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Dario has read No Mercy (Jonathan Grave #1) by John Gilstrap (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 27, 2025 07:48PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of No Mercy by John Gilstrap. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — No Mercy by John Gilstrap <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Dario rated a book it was amazing The Swimmer by Loreth Anne White (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Quotes by Dario Ciriello (?)

“For every baby lamb rescued in Farmville, a book goes unread.”
― Dario Ciriello

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“in a dinner at our house that weekend.”
― Dario Ciriello, Aegean Dream

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“I developed an instinctive understanding of it by osmosis and could tell correct usage from incorrect without being able to explain it;”
― Dario Ciriello, The Fiction Writing Handbook

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Horror Aficionados : Horror Aficionados 2017 Pages Read Challenge!!	1896	611	Jan 02, 2018 10:48PM
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Dario’s Quotes

“She looked at nice young men as if she could smell their stupidity.”
― Flannery O'Connor

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“For every baby lamb rescued in Farmville, a book goes unread.”
― Dario Ciriello

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“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
― Ernest Hemingway

tags: good, writing

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“God bless the Reference Librarians”
― James Lee Burke

tags: librarians

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“We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
― Anaïs Nin

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Dario’s Friend Comments

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message 2: by Dario

Nov 12, 2015 09:03AM

Haha no worries, Sarah :) It was something like, I came across "Father of lies" on Amazon, did a look inside, and was impressed enough to buy; I look forward to reading this one. And as a fellow author (Brit living in L.A.), I thought I'd reach out and connect with you.
Thanks for accepting my friend request, and here's wishing you every success!
Best,
Dario

Sarah wrote: "Hi Dario - I clicked on your friend request too quickly and never got to read the message you sent with it... now I can't recover it! Good to hook up anyway!
Kindest wishes, Sarah England"

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message 1: by Sarah

Nov 12, 2015 07:29AM

Hi Dario - I clicked on your friend request too quickly and never got to read the message you sent with it... now I can't recover it! Good to hook up anyway!
Kindest wishes, Sarah England

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