Even though the site is being a jerk and not letting me copy/paste from Word, I will be typing any Author's Notes from Corvo Nero here so they won't be in the way of the chapters.

Monsigor: One of the clerical ranks in which a priest may be an Abbot of a monastery

Santa Maria sopra Minerva: Italian, literally "Saint Maria over Minvera"; it is a real church in Rome and was built over a temple to Minerva

St. Mary's Cathedral: Located in Lincoln, England

Saint Nedelya: Located in Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Croidone Parish Church: Located in Croydone, London, England

Roma Termino: Located in Rome, Italy, a real train station

Basilica of Superga: Located in Torino, Italy, a real basilica on a hill outside of town

Sisters Three: This refers to the Three Fates, or the Moirae, in Greek mythology; Clotho spun the thread of life, Lachesis measured the length of the thread, and Atropos cut the thread, ending the life. Alma is a healer and can mend all wounds, but she can also effectively reverse her power and set the body to decomposing at her will, just as the Fates can toy with every person's life thread as they please, from birth, through life, to death, however long it takes for the cycle to end.

Roman Name--Modern Name, Location

Bruxella--Brussels/Bruxelles, Belgium

Lindum Colonia--Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England

Trimontium--Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Roma--Rome, Italy

Utinum--Udine, Italy

Lucca--N/A, Italy

Castra (later Augusta) Taurinorum--Torino/Turin, Italy

(Augustobona) Tricassium/Tricassae--Troyes, France

Verodunum--Verdun, France

Beda (original Celtic name)--Bitburg, Germany

Aurelianum--Orleans, France

Tolosa--Tolouse, France

Aeminium--Coimbra, Portugal

Testerep (original Dutch name)--Oostende, Belgium

Castellum apud Confluentes--Koblenz, Germany

Durocortorum--Reims, France

Luguvalium--Carlisle, England

Croidone--Croydone, London, England

Interamna--Terni, Italy

Mutina--Modena, Italy

Fovea--Foggia, Italy

Abellinum--Avellino, Italy

April 8, 2014

Goodness, it's been ages since I've been back here. I do apologize to your, my readers, who might have been waiting for Corvo Nero or my other unfinished stories to be updated. The last time I updated either of those tales, my senior year of college hadn't yet taken over my life. Once the Fall 2011/Spring 2012 year began, I was swamped with two semesters (each) of six three-credit courses, many of them studios, and I was unable to even look at my writing during that time.

Then, after I took two summer courses to finish my degree (also in 2012), after months of collecting dust, I read back through what I had written but had yet to type, and hated it, so I scrapped everything - notes, outlines, material - with the intent to pick up again with new ideas. But, that too stalled, as I was fretting over not finding a real-life job to pay back my school debts, and I've been focusing on my art to try and get commissions. I do still want to finish those stories some day, but I haven't been in the right frame of mind to do so.

So sorry, everyone! Thank you so much for hanging in there, and welcome to any new readers who have stopped by during this dry spell!

Links to my art, for those interested: