The Spoons That Are My Ears!

Say hello to the Pizza Demon! He may end up as a character in a future story; I don't know yet. He doesn't know either. The Pizza Demon is a purist when it comes to pizza. Some might even say he's a fanatic! Let's listen to what he has to say on this vital issue... "Don't you dare ask for a deep crust; or for sweetcorn and pineapple topping! There are only three authentic varieties of pizza: Marinara, Margherita and Margherita Extra (with more mozzarella). Nothing else is real pizza. I'm watching what you do in your own kitchens. So behave!"

Some authorities believe that the Pizza Demon is just a myth. They attribute all paranormal pizza activity to the pizzageist instead, a sort of invisible entity that throws the pizza dough around in mid air until it becomes sufficiently thin.

If the Pizza Demon does appear as a character in a story, it's unlikely it will be in the novel I am currently writing. Captains Outrageous is the story of the Faraway Brothers, triplets who travel separately around the world in the early decades of the 20th Century. This novel consists of three interlinked parts, each one devoted to a different brother. I have finished the parts dealing with Scipio Faraway and Distanto Faraway. The final part -- 'The Apedog Incident' -- is mostly set in Africa and features Neary Faraway, the strangest and unluckiest of the siblings...

I was inspired to write Captains Outrageous after finishing work on The Coandă Effect a few months ago. Writing that novella filled me with a strong desire to keep working in the 'enigmatic adventure' tradition... I note, incidentally, that a few copies of The Coandă Effect are still available for sale on the Ex Occidente website... This reminds me: Ex Occidente will probably issue my suite of Albarracín stories in May, but the title of that book will no longer be Tucked Away in Aragon. It's more likely to be Sangria in the Sangraal or maybe something else. I'll post further details as soon as I have them...

Last week I was asked to write a guest blog for the author Sam Stone. I accepted the invitation and produced a piece on The Ultimate Existentialist Horror. You probably won't agree with my candidate for that supreme title, but that's not just my fault: it's your fault as well!