Thoughts and words

Origins of the Places in "Feeling the Distance."

In Feeling the Distance much of the story takes place in the Bavarian town of Oberwald and the mountains that dominate the town – Kreuzberg and the Widderstein. It is in the refuge on the Widderstein that the protagonists come face to face with their father’s past. Are these places... Read more →

Every Photo Tells a Story! Inspiration for Feeling the Distance.

Old photos have always been an inspiration to me. Who were the people in the above photos? What are they doing here? What happened to them? These questions are particularly relevant to these two pictures. Why? Because I know who some of these people were. One of the girls is... Read more →

US Novelist, Paul Auster, reveals his inspiration

US novelist, Paul Auster, talks about a childhood experience that has haunted his life and inspired his writing. http://www.bbc.com/news/av/entertainment-arts-39262307/paul-auster-on-his-single-most-important-moment Read more →

Newspaper articles about the novel "Schoenbuch Forest."

http://www.gaeubote.de/gb_10_108507288-24-_Spannende-Suche-in-einer-duesteren-Atmosphaere-.html?archiv=1 http://www.gaeubote.de/gb_134_109988720-24-_Soldatengrab-erinnert-an-Viktor-Wagners-Schicksal-.html?GBID=acc0a407cd719720d22488a43695fb7f For those German speakers out there, here are two articles from the local Herrenberg newspaper. The first, published in 2007, was written after an interview with the author. The second is an article about Viktor Wagner, his grave in the forest and what it means for local residents.... Read more →

I love the creative way writers use colour in their work. Here are some examples. It is spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bible-black, the cobblestreets silent and the hunched, courters'-and-rabbits' wood limping invisible down to the sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack, fishingboatbobbing sea. (Dylan Thomas) ...on this... Read more →

Where did the initial idea for "The Schoenbuch Forest" come from? - Part 2

After discovering the grave of Victor Wagner in The Schoenbuch Forest, I decided to investigate further. It did not take me long to discover that there was a little book already published called, "Das Soldatengrab im Schoenbuch" or "The Soldier's Grave in the Schoenbuch Forest." It seems that the vicar... Read more →

In the White Room

Here is a picture of my writing room. My wife, Tina, thinks it is a bit Spartan. Well, I do have a dictionary and a Thesaurus to hand, along with some notebooks. I usually buy my notebooks in Venice. They are beautiful leather-bound things with wonderful paper on which I... Read more →

There is a kind of mystical beauty in this poem that attracts me. There is also a kind of longing for the unattainable that I find desperately sad and, at the same time, inspirational. Though I am old with wandering Through hollow lands and hilly lands, I will find out... Read more →

Every writer needs to find inspiration in order to produce inspired writing. And sometimes, it can come from the unlikeliest sources. Read more →

Inspiration from a weekend walk along the Rhine.

On the second day of our walk through the vineyards of southern Germany we arrived in the pretty village of Guntersblum. The Villa Ilona - pictured below - a 19th century villa now falling apart, its garden overgrown and its garden statues falling over. Who was Ilona? What happened to... Read more →