raindrop-on-a-spiderweb

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Victor Prezio

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Hey,

So I just finished ragnatela and I know you already anwsered this, but is there REALLY no chance for a sequel?

I'd love to see Leo and Patience interact again, continuing their game of cat and mouse. I SWEAR if you'd publish it, I'd even buy a copy. I loved your writing and I loved how flawed you made these characters, but still made me care for them.

I've also been wondering if Leo will ever forgive Patience, for murdering Andrea. It reminded me a bit of the scene where he's talking to his Mother's portrait and tells her he has forgiven her.

Could he forgive Patience as well and could this even further fuel his obsession with her, because it's again something she has in common with his mother?

I'm afraid there isn't a chance for a sequel, although I would love to write that too. But endings are endings. There are a lot of stories that become series, and subsequently peter out in quality. I had ideas, but they were all inferior to the ending I had in mind – Ragnatela ended the way I thought it would in 2016.

I think there is a chance of all that you say; the continuing cat and mouse game; the promise of Leonardo's grudge following her across the alleys, cities and deserts of the world. Leonardo will still be young when he is released from prison, and he has a single minded grudge towards her. But it's not my place or time to write.

That's a fascinating idea and genuinely an aspect of Patience and Vittoria's parallel that hasn't been explored. Just as he sees his mother as who she is as an adult, perhaps as an older man and after a long chase, he might think similar of her – but Leonardo has that deep Sicilian vendetta in his heart, as much as he wishes he didn't. You can't run forever, Patience. You must realize that I will always find you. I will always take you back. Whatever you do is futile. What you've done your whole life is futile. Who knows?

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Average conversation between Patience and Leonardo 😂

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Cover for Diablo Manor by Dorothy Daniels

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hi! i loved yeller feller and was delighted to see it was inspired by a real-life event (or multiple). i read that the moundsville riot (assuming it was the 1973 one?) was a big source of inspiration. i cannot seem to find a lot of information about it, could you give me some pointers/recommendations? i am very curious about the way you took inspiration for the characters as well :) thanks!

Hiya! Glad to see you're interested! The #1 way to learn about the Moundsville riot is, of course, to tour the old prison, which is an amazing experience, as a lot of the old prison guards give tours there.

I'm having trouble finding whether it was the 1973 or 1986 prison riot, as Google results seem to conflate them and both were purportedly started by desire for better living conditions. I believe it is the 1986 riot. Several guards were taken hostage and an inmate was brutally dismembered in the cafeteria, in which his heart was ripped out.

The part about the Warden is based on former WV governor and Moundsville Warden Arch Moore. Jesse is based on riot leader Danny Lehman, both short, cunning men with German last names. This newspaper article is the best and fullest record I can find:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/pittsburgh-post-gazette-jan-1-1986-moun/36885798/?locale=en-CA

https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/03/us/2-dead-at-west-virginia-prison-inmates-agree-to-yield-after-riot.html

https://www.nytimes.com/1973/03/22/archives/west-virginia-jail-revolt-ends-hostages-safe-no-threats-on-my-life.html

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/244188701/danny-lee-lehman

https://law.justia.com/cases/west-virginia/supreme-court/1985/16571-5.html

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YTQyNMFscws

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-herald-moundsville-riot-inma/158063292/

The New Mexico State Prison riot (in which a nurse narrowly escaped when the riot started, inspiration for Rhoda who wasn't so lucky) is a much more well-documented event; I recommend the book Devil's Butcher Shop, as well as this documentary.

https://youtu.be/3M-hPpuAqwQ?si=ybkH-8dxQIpoQoKm

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The hotel room, 2018 - by Esperanza Velmock, Spanish

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Was there a specific moment when you realized Ragnatela was becoming a big deal and was incredibly popular amongst people? And when you first started, did you think it would get so popular and well-loved?

I think it was around the Sicily arc that I noticed a leap in engagement. But it really became popular, I think, after it ended. It's really sweet of you to call it incredibly popular and loved :)

I think everyone has a dim hope that your writing will "make it big" so to speak, but I didn't really expect it to happen. I just liked writing and found it to be an outlet, but was so delighted that people happened to like my writing as well!

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How do you write your stories? Just curious about your process!

I usually just become obsessed with a certain setting/time period. Wild West, Southern Gothic, 1950s, 70s, 80s. Each of these settings have details and storylines particularly suited to twisting and making a storyline out of. I tend to focus quite a lot on nonfiction sources for my stories; if there's any recommendation I can leave it is that. Read books and primary sources.

I keep a vague outline in my head; writing down anything but details and scenes muddles me. A heavy dose of alcohol makes the words flow very easy lol. Ragnatela was entirely written under the influence of Signor Franzia, which probably explains the more befuddling plot twists.

I usually write in huge spurts, but I need to be in the mood for it. Things are recalibrated now because of my drastic change in life circumstances; so we'll have to see what my new writing process will be.

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Patience.jpg

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Yeller Feller

A jaded prison nurse must come to rely on a man she hates and fears in the midst of a deadly prison riot.

***

I was planning on publishing this professionally, but I never got around to it. I suppose I still just don't like the idea of publishing for money. I hope you like it! It's certainly been a long time in coming.

A lot of the history here is based on the Moundsville Prison Riot; if you've read about it you can probably tell who some of the characters are based on, and of course the general architecture (Moundsville is closed but we still have USP Hazelton to fulfill our ultra-violent prison needs!).

Let this story be a farewell to West Virginia. I was driven away and I'm not sure when and if I can come home again. I started this before it happened and I finished it after I left, and reading it makes me bitter and homesick. Goodbye Mountain Mama.

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Doe Eyes and Shirley in Romania. I really liked this scene as not only it gave me so much nostalgia but it made me like Doe Eyes so much more.

@raindrop-on-a-spiderweb you really know how to make your fictional men deeply flawed and sweet at the same time.

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Hey there , I would like to ask you how you are doing and if everything is OK? I have been following your stories for a while ( I discovered Appointment in Samarra a year ago) I usually like to read about very evil characters and disturbing scenarios but in your case , your stories seem to have a hint of tender sweetness , expecially when you describe those morally wrong men that do horrible things, there is so much life and warmth in them.

I have been going through a hard time in life and for some reason your storytelling has brought me confort and happiness and I would like to say thank you for this.

On a weird note , I'm not sure if you have heard of the Luigi Mangione case , just a fun thing , he reminds me a little of how you described Salvatore.

I speak both Italian and Romanian so if you ever need help in your writing I'll be happy to assist you in case you need to double check languages, I'm also an artist and I would love to portray some scenes in your stories ( I have seen some people do it and it's so nice to see your stories coming to life with people 's interpretation)

Hope all is well 🌟

Answering both of these at once if that's ok!

1st Question:

Thank you so so much. It really warms my heart that you thought to check up on me! I appreciate finding this message when I checked my tumblr after a while.

I hope your hard times are getting better. Sometimes we kind of need to lose ourselves in fiction to forget -- or at least acknowledge that things could be way worse. When you say "tender sweetness" it made me ponder for a bit. I always try to make the characters "people", no matter how awful they are. I'm really glad that you think so ♡

It's been stressful and I have had practically no time to write :( one of my tooth caps fell out and the dentist basically slapped it back with superglue so it fell out again, I've been trying to ignore it. Running off from my life starting anew in a different state with only a suitcase is tough, and dealing with employment, immigration and all that takes up most of my time. It will settle down and I'll get back to writing. Promise I'll upload Yeller Feller next.

Your first illustration left me speechless!!! OMG. You have an insane amount of talent. I just can't stop looking at it, the storyboarding, the action, the style, the details. Your drawing style is so unique and reminds me of a snapshot from an actual movie; it fits Samarra especially just so well. I just love how unique it is. I'm really looking forward if you decide to illustrate any other scenes!

Haha, there is a resemblance isn't there? Hatchet faced Southern Italian phenotype with black hair and prominent eyebrows.

Thank you so much for your offer! It's a shame Ragnatela is completely and the Romanian arc in Samarra just ended. I might still appreciate your help though! Just let me know if I got anything wrong lol 😅

2nd question:

I'm don't think health care insurance was a big issue in 1959 lol. However, their character archetypes are very squarely from the early half of the last century -- you might be able to deduce what you can from that, or not. Patience is a straight-edge, toe-the-line, my-country-right-or-wrong traditionalist. Salvatore is squarely working class with an affinity towards labor movements, but is also extremely old-fashioned if not heinously bigoted from the modern perspective.

Leonardo is a snake. He is a sociopath who will always flip to whatever point of view benefits him. He has very few beliefs or morals at all, and he certainly wouldn't let them inform his political actions.

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Can I ask you why you like to write non-con? I’m guilty of this myself and I don’t really know why

A lot of women like doing this. I don't know why we do; I suppose it might be biological. I look at my ancestry results sometimes and there's a sliver that could have only gotten there by one way--if you want to, you can trace your mitochondrial DNA to the extinction of its counterpart Y chromosome in nearly every human being. What happened to the Corded Ware happened to the Guarani. Although this seems like it's playing into sterotypes, I think there is something to be said about the historicity of women being "spoils" that has sunk into our DNA.

I also think that women handle the darker aspects of human life better; and that seeps into our art. We're able to flip the rock over and look at the darkened, rotting bottom because we have been subject to it, fear it, and live with it as a fact of life that no man ever has any conception of. For the same reason we are also the primary ones employed in medical settings, and why we are drawn to true crime. Darkness in the female psyche manifests in different ways than the darkness in the male psyche.

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Would Leonardo still have carried out the attack on Flora if Patience had been there at the time?

Definitely not. His whole plan when it came to that was to devastate her -- which is why the fact that Patrience had been gone was one of the lynchpins, as it effected her immensely and made her feel crippling guilt. Leonardo is nothing if not someone who understands the ramifications of psychological torture and manipulation instead of brute force, and he takes great pleasure in making her fall into self-hatred and doubt.

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Hello. I was just wondering if you have any plans on revealing more about the men in appointment in samarra? I too have fallen in love with the characters and is dying to know more about them.

Yes I do! We're only 3 (counting the short epilogue) chapters away from the end, and their identities/backstories are revealed in the next to last chapter. Finishing AIS is on the agenda, it's SO close to being finished :(

There have been some hints as to their backgrounds and historical arenas dropped through the story; for example, when Fox lapses into his first language. When Doe Eyes drops a very heavy hint in Chapter 27. Blondie's backstory is obvious as a former Rhodesian soldier. They are all people whose details and mannerisms speak more than words. But Conna knows their files and we'll be cut in before the story ends.