iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Who were the men who followed the star? Magi, my new historical novel, out November 1, tells their journey through the eyes of a young Parthian Magus. Pre-order here: www.amazon.com/dp/B0HBMYZNQN

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

While writing Magi (my historical novel, out November 1), my first question about the star wasn't what it was — it was where. That sent me into Michael Molnar's The Star of Bethlehem (Rutgers, 1999). What I found reshaped a scene I'd already imagined. www.amazon.com/dp/B0HBMYZNQN

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Exploring the medieval center in #Seggiano in Tuscany Italy…

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Getting laundry done in Italy used to be a huge deal for us. Until we learned all the shortcuts. Check out today’s blog. www.marktedesco.com/blog

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

A chisel slips from an archaeologist's hand and falls through a crack in the floor. It keeps falling. That's how Magi begins: a hidden chamber at the edge of Babylon, a stone box sealed for two thousand years. Pre-order: www.amazon.com/dp/B0HBMYZNQN

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The traditional names of the Magi, seen here in a mosaic in Ravenna, originate in the 6th century. The Magi were Parthian, but these names are not. In my historical novel "Magi" (coming out in November), they carry names from their own world: Aridemus, Mithradat, Ganzabar, Bagadata. 📚

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Today we drove about 25 minutes to explore a quaint town called Roccalbegna . We knew nothing about it, we just went

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Our Magi followed what we now call the Silk Road, through oases, towns, and great cities, past merchants buying, selling, cheating, profiteering. They saw it all, and it became part of their journey. Magi, my historical novel, out this November.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I think I’m actually starting to fit into Italian life …

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I think I'm actually starting to fit into Italian life...

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Window shopping in Pienza for stuff I would never buy …

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Watch what happens when our Magi meet the high priest of Bel in Palmyra. A scene from Magi, my novel, out this November. 🏛️ #HistoricalFiction #Magi

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Italy just widened its 7% flat tax break, and dozens more southern towns now qualify. We lived part-time in Puglia, so we had to ask: would it work for us? www.marktedesco.com/blog #LivingInItaly #ItalyExpat

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Once we got into the Duomo in Siena, we were privileged to see the floor, which is uncovered until the end of October. Etched into the pavement in marble are a series of stories. Here is one.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

About an hour away from us is Siena. We haven’t been there in awhile, so we got our cafe and then drove straight there. Parked near the Duomo. And walked in.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Damascus has been a city of roses for centuries — fields stretching for miles outside its gates, a rosewater trade already ancient by the time the Magi pass through it. One of the worlds they walk into. Magi, my novel, out this November.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Spontaneous. Urgent. Talkative. Funny. Meet the next member of the Magi (my historical novel, out this November): Bagadata.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

This is the restaurant in Montechiello run by the theater of the poor. It was fantastic.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

We went to a town in Tuscany today called Montechiello. It is small but amazing.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

It began with a dream, continued with an oracle, and was revealed by the visit of others on the quest. Meet Ganzabar (Magi: A Historical Novel. Coming this November).

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The work continues. I brought a copy of my new book to the Anglican Center in Rome. I got to chat a long time with their librarian and one of the reverends who was studying there today. They were intrigued about the history behind the book and what brought me to write it.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Meet Aridemus — chief Magus to King Phraates of Parthia, and father of Mithradat, the narrator of my historical novel Magi, out this November.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Meet Aridemus — Mithradat's father, chief Magus to King Phraates of Parthia in Magi (my novel, out this November). In many ways, he's the heart of the story. Thirty years at court, advising a king who trusted almost no one. "I have earned his trust. You must earn it too. And never lose it."

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Just another evening in Rome. Life on the streets.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

The quest continues. Still in Rome. Went to this cool English bookstore in Trastevere run by two Spanish twin sisters. They’re very nice. I left them a copy of my new book, coming out on November 1. Encouraged them to carry it especially around the holiday season.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Perché l’interruttore della luce in un bagno italiano non è mai dove te lo aspetti? Nuovo post: www.marktedesco.com/it/blog

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Why is the Italian bathroom light switch never where you expect? New post: www.marktedesco.com/blog

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

The secret to getting into St Peter's in Rome on a Saturday night with hardly anybody inside....

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Meet Mithradat, narrator of Magi (my novel, out this November). Readers see the whole quest through his eyes. From the fire temples of Parthia, across the Silk Road, into a Judea in turmoil under Rome's shadow, he finds a world far bigger than he imagined — searching for the meaning of the star.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The continuing mission of placing my book in the right hands in Rome

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Few people seem to know how empty Saint Peter’s Basilica is an hour before closing. I went this evening and this is how many people were standing in front of Michelangelo’s Pietà.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Getting ready to fly to Rome tomorrow — lost count of how many times I've repacked that suitcase. Looking forward to old friends and the embrace of the city. Bringing something new too: Magi, my historical novel, hoping to meet a few people in leadership there. Wish me luck.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Before I introduce the people in Magi (my novel, out this November): there's no historical record of the Magi as individuals. Not one name survives. What exists are fragments — Parthia, Zoroastrianism, the star, the Silk Road, Judea under Herod. Next week, meet the man I built from them.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

A star appears where the astrologers say none should be. Two kings react very differently to the news. Four men leave home to find out why. That's the trailer for Magi — my historical novel out this November, told from the side of the Nativity story almost no one tells. One minute. Watch below.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

A glimpse into Magi (my historical novel, out this November) — where questioning, wonder, and fulfillment meet. A star, two kings, a journey, and an unforeseen discovery. The trailer's live at youtu.be/xKh4Tx6Pe9o

youtu.be

The Rediscovered Story of the Magi

YouTube video by Mark Tedesco

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Ten strangers, ten books, not one phone in sight. In my head, every beach looks like this. My own catalog's here if you want in on the fantasy: www.amazon.com/stores/autho... #BookSky #SlowTravel

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Packing for Rome. Magi — my historical novel, out this November — is coming with me. I've reached out to a few people in leadership positions there, hoping to meet them, present a copy of the book, and raise the idea of a presentation. Strange to send it early, before it's in stores.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

New post: the Elective Residency Visa would have let us live in Italy full-time — income requirements, the no-remote-work rule, all of it. We got close, then chose differently. www.marktedesco.com/blog

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Something that amazed me researching Magi (my novel, out this November): caravanserais — walled waypoints where caravans rested, traded, watered camels — dotted the Silk Road roughly five days apart, always near water. Small international worlds: merchants, buyers, thieves, swindlers.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Yesterday I brought Magi (my novel, out this November) to the pastor at St. Francis of Assisi in La Quinta — one stop in getting the book to local leaders: pastors, librarians, venue managers. I've also offered a holiday history talk on the world the Magi lived in.

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Mark Tedesco @authormarktedesco.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Something I didn't expect researching Magi (my novel, out this November): no caravan carried goods the whole route. At Palmyra and Damascus, caravans sold their goods, bought new ones for home, and turned back — others carried what they'd sold onward.

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