The author, his writing and more
In my novel freely inspired by Vincent Van Gogh – Bursting with Life! – what could be more natural than to weave paintings into the tissue of the story. In the extract below, the painting is from Van Gogh himself. The colourful photo above is a part of the cover of the novel and was painted by Henri, my two-year-old grandson.… Read more
For all it’s painful consequences, Covid 19 has revealed startling things about society. One is our relationship to experts and how their discourse is used in stories people tell. It raises questions about the misuse of opinions given as facts. This untethering from ‘reality’ could have dire consequences.… Read more
Secret Paths Editions has recently collaborated in the publication of work by a new author/artist, Eric Avertin. His first comic entitled Pépette la miette is now available (in French). Click here for more details about the artist and his work.… Read more
I see the world from unusual and unexpected angles. It’s the way I am. You might say the underlying mission in my life is to depict those unaccustomed perspectives, whether it be in novels or photos or articles, such that others can experience the world differently and in being moved by what they see or hear, possibly learn from it.… Read more
En français plus bas…
As a liberal country, Switzerland is proud to bank on individual responsibility as a rampart against the spread of the COVID virus. Yet the only responsibility granted people is to follow state-advised restrictions, restrictions that, in their rigidity if not their apparent arbitrariness, are not always self-evident or effective.… Read more
Asking strange questions and looking at the world from unusual perspectives seems to be my specialty. Here’s one. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to move from being an eternal, omniscient, omnipotent entity to a single body constrained by human perceptions of space and time with a limited life span and a severely veiled understanding of the world, not to mention the pain and suffering?… Read more
I was deeply saddened to read that the high court in England has just ruled to severely curtail, if not forbid, access to puberty blockers for young people under 18 (See the article in The Guardian). This applies to GIDS at the Tavistock Institute, the sole clinic in England working with transgender children.… Read more
One of the suggestions of the author Neil Gaiman in his writing Master Class involved drawing up lists of related words close to the preoccupations of a forthcoming novel. In my experience, being someone who has an inspirational approach to writing, such word lists not only activate a rich store of vocabulary, but also give depth to the subject and nourish the narrative.… Read more
Listen to the author reading The boy who told himself stories.The beginnings of the story…
Even as a kid I used to tell myself stories. All the time. In my bed, at school, on the high street, in the library, on the bus home or the train, out on my bike roaming the countryside.… Read more
One of the fascinating things about imagining the world through the ‘eyes’ of a cloud, something I am obliged to do as I write The Cloud Catcher, is how startlingly different and alien that perspective appears to us humans and how incomprehensible we must seem to a cloud.… Read more