I'm starting a new housesit that will run at least until December in a little hillside village in the Apennines, about midway between Rome and Naples. A very old-fashioned Italian house, more or less dug into the hill, overlooking an intermontane plateau of olive trees and farm fields. It's the birthplace of Thomas Aquinas.

It took us three days to drive down from Brittany, in heat that touched 40 degrees C at times, and with no air-conditioning in the car. And people think authors have a soft life. Well, of course we do, but we can still pretend to hardship.

Back on the internet, I've found blogged reviews of the first two volumes of my urban fantasy series, To Hell and Back from Angry Robot Books. The blogger is Rocky Sunico, who describes himself as a gay Filipino geek who picked up the trilogy months ago and got around to it only lately. Which is fine; I'd sooner be read later than never.

The reviews are positive and comprehensive. If you've been looking at the series on Amazon and wondering if you'd like it, I think Rocky's take on it will tell you whether or not it will delight you. If you ask me, of course, I'll swear that you'll love it, and you ought to get extra copies for your friends and colleagues. I'm told they make excellent Christmas and birthday gifts. Besides, it would be nice to see the trilogy earn out its advance.

Links to the reviews: http://www.geeky-guide.com/2015/06/bo...

http://www.geeky-guide.com/2015/07/bo...