Torino Book Fair

May 17, 2014 | Publishing - Travel

The day after presenting at the Castelvecchio, Jan and I took an early train to Torino for the International Book Fair. Nearly half a million people flock to the convention center in Torino each year, and my publisher La Corte Editore had a large stall just around the...

Next week!

May 1, 2014 | Travel

I'm slowly allowing myself to get excited for the trip to Verona next week. I've had my head down, trying to finish projects or at least get them to a good holding place so that I can disappear for a week and just revel in the fun of travel and friends, old...

Oh, Verona!

Mar 10, 2014 | Books - Shakespeare - The Novel - Travel

Below is the letter I penned for the mayor of Verona, proposing the trip I'm making in May of this year. They responded immediately, which was a testament more to the hard work of Italian filmmaker Anna Lelario and her husband Antonio, who have spent the last year...

Vatican, Vatican’t – Blessed and Cursed

Feb 13, 2013 | Travel

Given the news of the Pope's retirement, this feels like the perfect time to share this story. You see, I have the dubious distinction of having been both thrown out of the Vatican, and also blessed by the Pope. Though not on the same day. The Vatican Incident (a...

Verona – Travel and History

Jan 31, 2013 | Shakespeare - The Novel - Travel

Walk In the Footsteps of Dante There are two terrific options when it comes to reliving history. You can either read about certain eras or actually walk in the footsteps of history's greatest figures. Thanks to David Blixt's thrilling historical...

Blessed & Cursed

Jun 20, 2012 | Travel

I have the dubious distinction of having been both thrown out of the Vatican, and blessed by the Pope. Though not on the same day.  The Vatican Incident (a good Robert Ludlum title) happened while I was on a semester abroad with Eastern Michigan University’s...