(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…
Category: Writing
My own serious stuff; the craft itself; those who inspire me in it; the art of reading.
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…
Elevator Pitch: The Cook For Any Price
“A SELF-DEFROCKED HOLYMAN WANDERS A fantastic landscape, eking out a meager but honest living as a mercenary cook.” (Intrigued?)
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…
Herd Instinct (A Prosatio Silban Tale)
(Story idea by the redoubtable Ann Clark; two-and-a-half printed pages. If you’re new to these tales, here are the preface and introduction.) IF SOMEONE YOU LOVE BEGINS to act strangely, you could do one of two things: ignore the situation…
Don’t let the plot get in the way of the story.”
— Anon.
Prosatio Silban and the Ignoble Noble
THE THREE CITIES AND THOUSAND Villages of the Uulian Commonwell are home to a more disparate population than you are ever likely to meet. But sometimes, the more disparate are also the more desperate – and likewise, the more pitiable.…
Holy Trap (A Prosatio Silban Tale)
(Five-and-a-half printed pages. If you’re new to these tales, here are the preface and introduction.) THERE IS A SAYING ABOUT the religious life: that it’s only for the broken in spirit, heart, and/or mind. That was one small reason why…
Prosatio Silban and the Uninvited Guest
(Three printed pages. If you’re new to these tales, here are the preface and introduction. Enjoy.) THE RHYTHMIC RAPPING OF STEEL on wood filled Prosatio Silban’s cozy galleywagon with the sharp tang of garlic, and he marveled – not for…
20 Observations on Newspaper Reporting
ALTHOUGH THEY RELY ON THEM, few people say they actually trust the news media. (I call it “Ross’ Paradox.”) Everybody has a story. And many want to share it. Newswriting is a form of reality-creation, wherein readers trust you to…
Prosatio Silban and the Final Kindness
(Two printed pages. If you’re new to these tales, here are the preface and introduction. Enjoy.) OF THE NUMBERLESS CREATURES INHABITING the Exilic Lands, none are perhaps so quaint as the lumbering buopoth – and though no two descriptions agree…