Hello from Giovanni

Do you have a nickname?

Well the short version of Giovanni is Gio, which in English sounds like Joe. An old friend of mine used to call me Jove, which was cool. Or you can call me Zeus, it's fine, really.

What do you like to read?

1800 classics, fantasy, old fashioned weird tales (and new weird), tales of magic, folklore, myths, scientific books about the brain. A lot of historical non-fiction lately, with some biographies of writers (I like Chesterton's). Some non-fiction about Taoism and Buddhism. Graphic novels also.

What kind of stories do you write?

My short stories are closer to the European weird tale. My longer works are a bit more adventurous and less self conscious than my short stories (god-knows-why).

How would you describe your personality?

I donno, eerie-going? I am what evolved from a shy/introvert teenager with a taste for the flamboyant and the theatrical. So what does that make me, flamboyantly shy?

 What would you do this summer if you hadn't been accepted to Clarion?

Begin to write a novel, walk at least 100 km, continuing to write the aforementioned novel.

Who will miss you most while you're in San Diego (cats, kids, partner, boss, coworkers)?

My geraniums? Or the Sweaty Hand Under My Bed, possibly.

Have you participated in an intensive writing workshop before?

Yep, the Binger in Amsterdam, for screenwriting (I used to screenwrite; nasty habit). Quite simply it was one of the best times of my life. Exquisite people and superb enthusiasm, which is kind of what I expect here.

What scares you most about Clarion?

That given that I am now in my forties when I talk the other students will all sit around me, chin on their fists, and ask me how was life before Twitter.

*Addendum: also, I'm not a mother-tongue English writer. I will be slower and make more mistakes than anyone in the course, and even then, the result might not look great. I am not pinning my self down, it's just the brutal truth. That scares me, a bit.

What do you do to relax or for recreation?

Do I relax? (I actually read: what do you do for procreation... ah well.) That would be reading. Did I mention walking? Just in case: walking.

What 1-2 essential things will you bring to Clarion besides your laptop, watergun, and espresso maker?

My intolerance to lactose and my well-known gloom. No, ok, a wheel of parmesan cheese the size of Arkhansas and the whole italian cuisine. 

What is your ideal career?

Writing. Actually no: walking. And when I stop, writing.

What else do you want us to know about you?

My Italian accent is not cute, please don't try to convince me otherwise unless you want to get into a fist-fight in the first five minutes of our acquaintance.

Oh, this one below is not me, it's just a picture of me.