About the Author

Welcome to the official website of Christopher (Chris) Deliso.

Thanks for visiting the website. These curated pages provide a detailed overview of my projects, past, present and future, and opportunities for cooperation.

About the Author

I’m an experienced and imaginative writer of fiction and non-fiction, taking my insight and inspiration from travels, education and research both practical and learned. Originally from the US, half of my life has been spent in different European countries. My academic specialization was Byzantine Studies (MPhil, University of Oxford, 1999).

Current Work Priorities into 2025

Since 2021, my goal has been to write and publish a multi-volume series of philosophically-informed detective fiction, the Detective Grigoris project. The perhaps quixotic goal was to write something not only of quality, but even new; considering this is my first foray into the genre, satisfying even one of these goals might seem overly optimistic.

However, I’ve always been optimistic. The second draft of the first novel was complete on 8 June 2024, weighing in at an industry-defying 259,000 words. Whether a publisher or literary agent will be enticed by the  possibility of a mixed-genre epic like this is the question for 2025.

Beside the first novel, I’ve prepared the structure and plot for five following novels, and several short stories and/or chapters in these projected volumes. I’m happy to report that the first of these Detective Grigoris stories will be published in January 2025. More news soon.

How I’ve Worked and Some Publishing Markets

I’ve always worked as an independent contractor, on a diversity of media and research projects, in both a short- and long-term capacity, for companies both small and very large. For some examples, I co-authored over 20 Lonely Planet travel guides (back when BBC Worldwide owned the famous travel brand), and served for 13 years as the Economist Intelligence Unit’s politics analyst in Skopje. During two separate periods, I contributed geostrategic and security analyses to IHS Jane’s, and contributed widely to newspapers, websites and magazines around the world on journalistic, analytic, cultural and travel topics.

I have also published several monographs over the years, in the areas of current events/security and culture/history, for the US publishers Praeger Security International and Greenwood (both of which have been acquired by Bloomsbury Academic of the UK).

From 2004, for 16 years, I also took on an (accidental) leadership role in online journalistic coverage of the Southeast European region, by opening and directing the former Balkanalysis.com website. Working with a team of expert voluntary contributors from around the region, I established solid reporting and analysis, in one of the first online portals devoted to independent analysis of the region.

My Favorite Topics and Ideas to Explore

At heart, I am a writer and writing has always been my main interest. I enjoy working in communications, research and analysis, exploring subjects and territories in the world. The easiest and often most interesting approach for me is via history. My first tendency is often to think of the historiography of any given situation or subject as the right way forward in explaining or resolving a mystery.

I’ve always enjoyed studying philosophy, because it is difficult but sometimes possible to understand. In fact, my MPhil thesis was on 15th-century Byzantine philosopher Georgios Gemistos Plethon’s Peri Eimarmeis (On Fate), a treatise from his Nomoi (Book of Laws). I remain most interested in ideas like fate and free will, causality, epistemology and philosophies of language.

Indeed, my attempts to study foreign languages and live among foreign linguistic environments has not failed to influence either my writing or awareness of writing and communications strategies generally. Although I’m acquainted with Greek and to some extent the Macedonian, Bulgarian and Serbian languages, I only know English. Still, should I have enough time left when the scheduled works are done, of course, I may try to invent my own language, just for the joy of writing in it.

Future Possible Projects

As computer technology becomes ever-more pervasive in daily life, I grow increasingly fond of the old days and ways. Anyway I have long wanted to work with print magazine and book production, in a way that allows writers, artists, researchers and book producers to  work together on really unique, beautiful and worthwhile creations. This is a potentially difficult and expensive business, but there might be a niche at some point.

Otherwise, I will be happy to publish in the existing format books of short stories, a novella or two, my detective-fiction series, and perhaps some more non-fiction. But in all cases, the goal of producing something of quality and ideally, something new and different, rmain essential.