(Story idea by the formidable Ann Clark; four printed pages. If you’re new to these tales, here are the preface and introduction.) THERE IS A MOMENT IN AN out-of-control situation when its utter wrongness becomes agonizingly apparent – and it’s…
Category: Writing
My own serious stuff; the craft itself; those who inspire me in it; the art of reading.
I AM A FANTASY WRITER; that is to say, I fantasize about people reading my writings.”
–Your author, in a truth-pensive mood
A Prosatio Silban Amuse-Bouche: Utensils
“ALMOST AS MUCH THOUGHT AND effort goes into the choosing of eating implements as for the selection of food for which they are meant,” said Prosatio Silban, reaching for the sea salt container next to his fatberry-oil stove. “Silver, gold,…
Prosatio Silban and the Twice-Cooked Eggs
(Two-and-a-half printed pages. If you’re new to these tales, here are the preface and introduction.) ONE OF THE NICER THINGS about traveling in a buopoth-drawn galleywagon down a smooth dirt road is the slow pleasure of the unfolding scenery. Prosatio…
Prosatio Silban and the Escorter of the Dead
(Two printed pages. If you’re new to these tales, here are the preface and introduction.) FROM HIS GALLEYWAGON AT THE edge of epicurean Pormaris’ busy South Market, Prosatio Silban could see the dockside funeral pyres at their greedy task. It…
Face Value (A Prosatio Silban Tale)
(Six printed pages. If you’re new to these tales, here are the preface and introduction.) PARTLY, IT HAD TO DO with the eyebrows. In order to pass as a mercenary cook within the Three Cities and Thousand Villages of the…
Caveat Bibitor (A Prosatio Silban Tale)
(Four printed pages. If you’re new to these tales, here are the preface and introduction. Enjoy.) IT WAS A COMMON ENOUGH skillet: two-thirds of a cubit across, three finger-breadths deep, of simple cast iron with a carved maplewood handle. The…
Passing Notes (A Prosatio Silban Tale)
(Ten-and-a-half printed pages; the longest Prosatio Silban tale so far, and though it’s the third I’ve written, it’s actually the first one in narrative order. If you’re new to these, here are the (much shorter) preface and introduction. Enjoy.) IT…
Prosatio Silban and the Lost Foundling
(With much, much help from the indefatigable Ann Clark; five printed pages. If you’re new to these tales, here are the preface and introduction.) WAKING UP TO A BABY’S cry can be a normal thing for some people – but…
Prosatio Silban and the Vanishing Point
(Five printed pages, and a sequel of sorts. If you’re new to these tales, here are the preface and introduction.) IT WAS THE MOST IMPROBABLE of places to meet someone from his past, but Prosatio Silban was accustomed to the…
Prosatio Silban and the Elevator Pitch
“A SELF-DEFROCKED HOLYMAN TRAVELS a fantastic landscape, giving aid and comfort while eking out a meager but honest living as a mercenary cook.” (Intrigued? See here, O Patient Reader…)
Prosatio Silban and the Double Reflection
(Two printed pages; with posthumous thanks [and apologies] to Idries Shah. If you’re new to these tales, here are the preface and introduction. Enjoy.) IT WASN’T UNTIL THE CHEESE course that Prosatio Silban realized that his clients weren’t silk merchants…