The author, his writing and 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
The third book of The Boy & Girl Saga, We Girls, has just been released and is available in ebook format. Links to information about the book, to read sample chapters and to buy your copy can be found here.… Read more
I am currently re-editing the first two books of the Boy & Girl Saga with a view to publishing the third book. When I mention editing, I am not talking about ensuring grammatical accuracy or correct spelling.… Read more
… the manipulation of reality using words and images till reality is no longer anchored to anything but the will of the powerful …
In an excellent little book H.G. Frankfurt writes about bullshit (1). The concept is particularly pertinent at the current moment although the word may be misleading as it is regularly misused.… Read more
On the eve of the official UK departure from the European Union, I am filled with profound sadness. I don’t share the opinion of those who think the debate will magically go away. It will never disappear. There are fundamental tenets involved in the adhesion to Europe that we must continue to defend.… Read more