There is Magic Here - Update

Annamaria on Monday

I am updating this post, which I wrote in January 2016. Back then, I was learning the history and working on a first draft of a historical mystery/thriller that takes place in my ancestral city of Siracusa in Sicily. And I was also continuing along with the Vera & Tolliver series.

By 2019, I had what I thought was a worthy draft. My then agent was happy with it, and she found two editors who were quite interested.

Then came the perfect storm: a publisher in breach of contract, a book launched without ARCs going out, my wonderful agent facing a family catastrophe, and COVID.

And so the book, eventually named La Magica, went into limbo, which turned into purgatory, which threatened to turn to hell. The difference between purgatory and hell is that hell is permanent, purgatory is temporary. my story now stands on the cusp. 

Just now, La Magica is resurfacing. I am polishing the manuscript, and it is with my agency. Hope is on the horizon.

 Here a peek at what I had to say about the story nearly 10 years ago.

Period map of the area, found, of course, in the peerless New York Public Library

What would you call it, if a thing you saw in a dream was suddenly before your eyes and real?

My work in progress, which I began at my desk in New York, takes place in Siracusa, Sicily in the late 17th century and involves the life a young widow, mother of baby son, both of whom are threatened.  I had been to Siracusa a few times before starting to imagine how the tale would unfold.  But there was no certainty that the places I imagined were plausible, much less realistic.

The tale begins with the heroine on the roof her palace across the piazza from the duomo of Siracusa. From there she can see the harbour and the the moon reflected in the water.  But did the geography of the place allow that?

Here is the reality.  It seemed completely magical that what I had imagined was exactly right:

The Piazza del Duomo, and there at the end my Marchesa's palazzo on the
left, just across from the Duomo.

The facade of the palazzo, with no buildings behind, nothing to block
my character's view of the port.

Evening view from my room--the same point of view as from the palazzo's roof.
There, barely visible in the upper center, is the new moon.  And across the water,
the other arm of land that forms the port, which you will visit with me below.

An ensuing scene takes place in the duomo itself and involves the chapel of Santa Lucia, the patron saint of the city.  A revered statue of the early Christian martyr and resident of Siracusa graces the chapel, but I had never seen it face to face.  It is ordinarily enclosed.  I didn't know that it is kept on view for a month after the saint's feast day--December 13th.  By chance, I got there just in time to see it in person.  And to discover some more grist for my imagination's mill.

Santa Lucia in her niche, open and on view just when I needed her.

A close up of the martyr, nicely gruesome for local color
in a historical thriller.

On the left of this ancient Greek column, you see the entrance
to the chapel of Santa Lucia, and behind it....

 

...the perfect hiding place for a kidnapper.  I planned the
scene without knowing how perfect the layout of the
Duomo would turn out to be.

A grave in the church floor, just where I imagined it.

The following two days in the Ortigia afforded a close look at places I had chosen from a map.

Just enough room for a man on a horse.

My main character has a wise, old grandmother who lives in a castle at the end of the other peninsula that forms the great harbour of Siracusa.  I needed a way to put my feet on the ground over there across the water.  But I was off to visit my cousins in Solarino, a small hill town overlooking Siracusa.  At another time, I will tell you in detail of the warmth and joy that has always greeted me when I visit them.  For now I will concentrate on two darlings, who like a fairy godmother and godfather gave me a fabulous view of everything I wanted to see and much more.  I did not even have to ask.  They came to greet me and offered to take me anywhere I wanted to go.

Antonello Martorana and Anna Puglisi, teachers and warmest of cousins.
For me on this trip they were magic makers.

We spent a gorgeous, spring-like day investigating a place I had seen only on maps.

In trying to imagine what my characters would be eating in December and
January, I gave them oranges, not knowing if such would have been in season.
And here in January, I saw them ripe and ready for picking.

From the coast road, the two sides of the port entrance.

I had imagined that from the south arm of the bay, one might see the Ortigia
clearly enough to pick out the buildings.  And you can!

What I did not know is that you can also see Etna.

There is an old lighthouse just at the end of south arm of the bay.

I told Anna and Antonello that in my story there is a castle where the lighthouse now stands.  When I was finished photographing everything in sight and waxing ecstatic about how perfect everything was, they drove me along the coast road where my characters travel--a road I imagined but did not know existed.  We continued north, beyond Siracusa, to a town called Brucoli and parked next to this: 

It is the castle of my imagination.  I had no idea there really were castles like
this in the area.  It is the same size as mine and made of the same stone.

And it occupies a position on the edge of the sea!

And has a view of Etna!!

With my soul satiated with what I had seen, we then repaired to a gorgeous
restaurant just across from the castle, where we ate a FABULOUS fish dinner,
with wonderful wine.  

Here I am, as happy as I ever was!  And grateful to have such generous and wonderful
companions with which to share my joyful day.

An Update on The (Real) Mykonos Mob

Jeff––Saturday

Eleven months ago, a brazen early morning mafia-style assassination took place a stone’s throw away from one of Athens’ chicest suburbs. The murder captivated Greece.  How could it not, for it possessed all the elements of a first-rate mystery thriller. 

Set against a background of brutal international gangs battling for power and wealth on the Greek island paradise of Mykonos, beatings of those who stood in their way (including  public servants), and an in-prison assassination silencing potential adverse testimony, it appeared that the  bold public assassination of Panagiotis Stathis––a civil engineer widely known for his involvement in Mykonos real estate projects––would trigger a long sought-after crack down on organized crime.

At the time, I wrote a blog titled, “Has the Mykonos I Warned About Come to Pass?” In it I addressed what was then publicly known.

With nearly a year having passed, I thought I’d check in on the status of the investigation and found two media articles that appear to sum up where things stand.  I have no independent knowledge of any of the reported facts, but they sure do add to the telling of the tale.

The first article appeared October 14, 2024 on the Albanian media company ZËRI’s website.  In it, ZËRI refers to “The Daily Mail” as its source for an extensive, detailed post titled, The Dark Side of Mykonos! The Murder of The Greek Topographer. I cannot vouch for its accuracy and leave it for you to decide what’s afoot.

As for where matters stand today, Ekathimerini, Greece’s newspaper of record, published an article earlier this week written by Yiannis Souliotis titled, “Murder Suspect Laundered Millions.” According to the article, the main suspect in the assassination of the surveyor had laundered more than 5 million euros over a three-year period.

Here is Ekathimerini’s update on the status of the investigation:

Investigators say more than €5 million was laundered over three years by the main suspect in the killing of Panagiotis Stathis, a well-known surveyor on the island of Mykonos. According to a detailed financial crimes report, the suspect allegedly used a network of eight shell companies to process and withdraw illicit funds.

The findings, compiled by the Financial and Economic Crime Unit (SDOE) following a judge’s order, suggest that the companies were fake, connected directly or indirectly to the suspect, and managed by figurehead owners. “These companies aim to unlawfully inject untaxed or unexplained funds into the banking system,” the SDOE report states.

Authorities say the suspect withdrew funds in phases: €290,000 in 2022, €3.8 million in 2023, and €1.3 million in 2024.

The case is linked to Stathis’ murder on July 2, 2024. Stathis, 55, was gunned down outside his company offices in Neo Psychiko, Athens, as he parked his electric BMW. The shooter, riding a scooter, fired 20 times using two Glock pistols. Stathis was a prominent figure in Mykonos, known for surveying and more recently for his real estate investments.

The homicide investigation concluded with prosecutors recommending trial for the 45-year-old suspected shooter and his 48-year-old accomplice, who allegedly helped dispose of the scooter shortly after the crime.

Police surveillance footage captured the shooter’s movements before and after the attack.

Both suspects were previously involved in the 2009 kidnapping of Greek shipping magnate Pericles Panagopoulos.

Despite extensive investigation, police have not officially identified who may have ordered the murder or their motive.

Why do I sense from the Ekathimeri article’s concluding two sentences that there are significant, nuanced thriller plot twists yet to come?

Stay tuned folks.

––Jeff

 

A Night At The Opera

"Nabucco" at the Arena di Verona.

This is my other half preparing to be sung at very loudly for hours on end. It was very hot, and rather tiring after a 2am start the previous day. We took the correct medical advice and plied ourselves with water, washed down with a beer. Or two.

Being posh, we had a Merc taxi drive us, and only us, from where we were staying on Lake Garda to Verona. It wasn't supposed to be that way but the others had all pulled out. 

We had the taxi and the guide to ourselves. They had to wait seven hours until we were ready to be driven home.

The magnificent 2500 year old amphitheatre. It's the biggest outdoor music venue in the world. Just the walk through Verona was electric, with VIP cars, red carpets, TV crews, the rich and famous.

(We were told to go round the back.)

The British know how to queue. We are very good at it.

Some others- not so much.

The stage.  There was a TV crew, a very thin woman and a handsome man doing pieces to camera, the sound man creeping sideways as the cameraman walked backwards--making sure nobody tripped over anything. Walking backwards is a talent of cameramen,  and soccer referees.

A patient had told me to take a cushion or buy a special cushion. They had suffered a severe attack of haemorrhoids after sitting on the stone seats for 4 hours.

We had proper seats, and had our jackets to sit on. 

Awaiting the VVVIPs.

We had read about Nabucco. There were two songs I could hum.

Here's what Wikipedia says...

 ""Nabucco," composed by Giuseppe Verdi, tells the dramatic story of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and the plight of the Israelites during their captivity. It's an Italian opera in four acts that  premiered in 1842. "

We had read the plot. Got a bit confused.

Dave Magayna and Sue Werber, stalwarts of the MIE firmament, had both said 'get a handle on it'. (I paraphrase)

So I drew pictures, acted it out by interpretive dance and recited it to the dog.

We did our homework.

Israelites, slaves etc.

It started with a spaceship.

This young lady came out 15, 10 and 5 minutes before kick off.

She banged her gong in a very elaborate way.

And got a huge round of applause.

The gates opened at 7. The opera started at 9.30.

It was over thirty degrees, not a breath of air.

Things got going when the spacemen arrived.

                                       

We got this bit.

Lots of people. Not goodies or baddies.

Seriously though,  the electronic stage was marvellous but it was noisy. There was a huge cast, over 200 I think.  

The whole spectacle with neon lights flashing off and on, on the costumes. The spaceship.

The main characters were dressed traditionally. Enkhbatyn Amartüvshin, the Mongolian baritone played the title character at this performance.

What a voice!

The singing was incredible, the emotion and the power of it all.

The main character grappling with the deceit of his step daughter, the fact that love will conquer all.

The spacemen surrounding the slaves.

At the end the two kidney shapes rotated and moved forming a globe, a sign of union and happily, a sign of the peace to come.

The real world news on that day was not so good.

I've seen Don Giovanni (he fell through the bed at the end). Tosca. The one where the woman shouts 'I am revenged' after killing the sons of the man who killed her daughter ( I think... they say that crime writers have got dark minds.). La Boheme - a glove would have warmed her hand up. Plus Madame Butterfly and La Traviata.  I've enjoyed all of them in different ways, but for sheer spectacle, Nabucco, in that setting,  was really something else.

Interestingly, many of the folk in the posh seats, left after the first act.
The guide asked my other half if he enjoyed it. He said that he did, but he wasn't sure who won in the end.




 

Reflections on DTLA

 Wendall - every other Thursday

As with my last post,  I want to show everyone a different side of Los Angeles than they're showing on the news, so here are a few photos I've taken downtown.

 It's a stunner.

The twin Wells Fargo flatiron buildings.

From the rooftop bar at Perch.

One of the many views from rooms in the Bonaventure Hotel.

 

 

And another one at the BV.

The view from Hill Street.

View from Drago Centro.

Looking up from Drago Centro.

Statues at night.

Inside the Bradbury Building on Broadway.

The hallway in The Biltmore.

The Biltmore's Rendezvous Court at Christmas.

Looking toward the Central Library and the California Club.

The rooftop stairs at the Oviatt Building.

Looking the other direction from the roof.

 

The deco hallway at the Oviatt.

Walking down Figueroa.

Inside the lobby at the Bonaventure.

Looking up from Nick and Stef's.

Looking towards the Water Plaza.

Looking back at the Bonaventure through a Calder.

I hope some of these images might replace the ones of bullet-proof vests. Take care of yourselves out there.

 -- Wendall