Pandora (“all-gifted” or “all-giving”), famous in pop culture for opening the “box” of troubles she can never close, has long captured imagination. The conception of Pandora’s jar as Pandora’s box dates to the Renaissance, and has since become the iconic…
I think I first heard about this SPFBO finalist via the Grimdark Readers and Writers Facebook page, the premise catching my eye. A cosmic horror story set in the midst of the Opium Wars. Yes, please, don’t mind if I…
The term “shaman” comes from the Tungusic and most appropriately applies to mediums and healers within the Evenki culture (found in modern Russia). Nevertheless, lacking a more generalized term for such practitioners of animistic worldviews, anthropologists use the term as…
After two and a half months in Albania, we had cause to head back to the Western Hemisphere. Based on the timing of certain external factors, we decided to make a stopover in Mexico on our way back to Florida.…
We spent two and a half months staying in Tirana, Albania. During that time, we decided to take a day trip to North Macedonia, given that it was in easy driving distance. We hired the same guide who had taken…
Tirana In early January the Larkin family traveled to Tirana, Albania, where we’ve been for almost two months. This Balkan nation had the advantage of being open to travelers on US passports (unlike most of Europe), having low covid cases,…
Edinburgh Sometime around the first century AD, the local Scots in Edinburgh built a fort upon a hill to defend against Romans. It worked, and if you’ve seen how steep the hill is, you’d not be surprised. Later, a full…
In early 2018, I attended a writer’s conference just outside London. As that was our first to the UK, we decided to take the chance to visit some iconic locations across England for research and personal edification. Naturally, London itself…
In 2016, we traveled to Europe to research two of my planned series, one inspired by Rome, and one by Greece. After our time in Italy, and brief hiccup getting to Greece, we arrived in Athens. Naturally, for my interest…
In 2016 we planned a research trip to two countries: Italy and Greece. Rome Our flight landed in Rome, which for me, was the #1 location I wanted to see for this trip. While crowds left the city congested, it…