SOME PEOPLE WILL GO TO any lengths for a good story. Prosatio Silban fetched down his scrapbook form the shelf in his sleeping berth, opened it to the middle, and whistled. Fourteen lovingly steamed and pasted labels, he thought with…
Category: Writing
My own serious stuff; the craft itself; those who inspire me in it; the art of reading.
This is a Print Shop
Crossroads of civilization. Refuge of all the arts against the ravages of time. Armory of fearless truth against whispering rumor. Incessant trumpet of trade. From this place words may fly abroad not to perish as waves of sound, but fixed in time. Not corrupted by hurrying hand but verified in proof.
Friend, you stand on sacred ground: This is a print shop.”
— Beatrice Warde
Appropriate Salute (A Prosatio Silban Amuse-Bouche)
“WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TOAST?” asked the friendly inebriate supporting himself on the bar at Pelvhi’s Chopping-House. “I have several,” replied Prosatio Silban with some delicacy, given the circumstance. “There is stone-rye with blackberry preserves, or sourdough with yak-butter, or…
Prosatio Silban and the Ambitious Intern
ONE OF THE BEST WAYS to learn what you know is to teach it to someone else – and sometimes, to yourself. Prosatio Silban swore under his breath and pondered what to do next. His latest intern convinced him that…
Prosatio Silban and the First Principle
IN EVERY PROFESSIONAL’S LIFE, THERE comes a point where they must choose between correctness and accommodation. Prosatio Silban heaved a deep sigh, one of many such that morning. The primary concern of every cook is to make the customers happy,…
Prosatio Silban and the Good Death
“SO ANSWER ME THIS QUESTION: what exactly is a ‘good death?’” That compelling query hung in the smoky air inside Pelvhi’s Chopping-House while the conversationalists – Prosatio Silban; Primea Ultar, private chef to a wealthy Pormaris wine-merchant; the famed waiter…
Next (A Prosatio Silban Amuse Bouche)
“I’VE BEEN MEANING TO ASK you – what exactly is the Pure City of the Uulian afterlife?” The question was posed to Prosatio Silban one day by an old friend hailing from the distant Pastori-lands. As the query was both…
Prosatio Silban and the Success Victim
AS THE TALL MAN TOTTERED toward Prosatio Silban’s galleywagon, which that afternoon was set up in the market at the sprawling village of Longshadow, the Cook For Any Price was about to stow his tables-and-chairs. After one look at the…
Prosatio Silban and the Speedy Feasts
IN THE WRONG HANDS, EVEN a small dose of thwarted authority could grow into a voracious lust for revenge. Our tale begins one night at Pelvhi’s Chopping-House, where everyone who was anyone in the Pormaris hospitality-world repaired after-hours for commiseration…
Prosatio Silban and the Integrated Pests
(Story idea, with thanks, by Ann Clark.) SOME TROUBLES ARE ONLY small – if not in importance, then at least of stature. Whistling a tuneless melody, Prosatio Silban bustled about inside his galleywagon in anticipation of a healthy Pormaris breakfast-crowd.…
Our Hero Returns!
IT’S BACK TO THE EXILIC Lands for our dauntless and resourceful holyman-turned-mercenary-cook, where he seeks rewards both profitable and profound in a world unlike any you’ve ever visited. The forty-five new stories in More Commonwell Tales pick up where Across…
Prosatio Silban and the Recipe Thief
SOME SECRETS ARE NOT MEANT to be shared – at least, not without consequences. Prosatio Silban closed his eyes and inhaled the clean salt air of cosmopolitan Soharis-on-the-Rimless-Sea. I never tire of this city, he thought. Its ridiculously fresh seafood,…