Monthly Archives: May 2013

A Warning to Other Travellers

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Frank

I arrived in London early this morning and had half an hour to kill, so wandered through to St Pancras to my favourite café, Le Pain Quotidien, where I was delighted to find a couple of familiar faces. Suzie was … Continue reading →

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The Naming of Women

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Frank

Observations and experiences like these are depressingly common, but I stumbled across two today. The first was Kristen Cashore talking about why she has chosen to no longer interact via social media (FAQ: Why don’t you allow comments on your … Continue reading →

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The Road to Poenari

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Frank

Visiting Castle Bran the other day was fun, but as any vampire enthusiast knows the real Dracula’s castle is Poenari. A series of posts by Manning Leonard Krull in 2006 (see My Visit to Castle Poenari) has a detailed description … Continue reading →

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Antisymmetric

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Frank

Sweet symmetry of form What’s yours is mine We stand reflected Arms entwined Or lie rotated It’s so divine Antisymmetric In sixty nine

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The Black Church, The Naked Lady and The Sphinx

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Frank

Stayed the night in Braşov and had a look round in the morning. There’s a big church called ‘The Black Church’ because the stonework is very dark. A short distance away, it is possible to take a cable car from … Continue reading →

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Holiday Snaps – Castles Peleş and Bran

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Frank

Travelled from Bucharest by train to Sinaia. The journey was flat and largely uninteresting most of the way – although I slept for most of it – until we reached the mountains and the track coiled up alongside a river, … Continue reading →

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Blood Glamour

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Frank

Sonia Cardini’s Blood Glamour, published 2012 (possibly earlier), is an Italian novel with an English translation available. The English isn’t perfect, but it’s easy to read and understand. It even adds a certain ‘authentic’ charm (‘authentic’ in the same way … Continue reading →

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Romanian Bloodsuckers…

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Frank

… don’t live in castles. They drive taxis and prey on ignorant foreigners.

Posted in Idle Chit-Chat, Vampires | 5 Comments

Possessed

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Frank

My name is Jenny, and I belong to Mistress Suzie and Mistress Cleo. I remember the day I agreed to that. I don’t remember getting the tattoos – well, I do, but it felt like a dream, a nightmare, maybe, … Continue reading →

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The Vampire

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Frank

This weekend I’m heading off to Romania for some vampire hunting. To celebrate my humanity, while I still can, I’m making my fantasy novella about the vampire Hrana free for the next five days (22-26 May, 2013). Here’s an excerpt… … Continue reading →

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