Thoughts and words

Racism, nationalism, the far right

There seems to be nothing new about nationalism, racism and prejudice regarding minorities. Here is part of an article I wrote and published in 1994 after a 3-week stay in The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The frightening thing is that I could have written it yesterday and about many... Read more →

Because it was you

It is summer 1990, and novelist, Tommy Mostyn, decides to spend his last holiday in Verona, Italy. He sees his visit as a reassessment of a time in which he experienced true happiness through first love. Or did he? Tommy needs to know whether his memory is accurate and not... Read more →

Is a good cover really important?

The new cover for my novella "Because it was you" actually gives potential readers an idea as to what the story is about. This cover replaces an old stock cover from Amazon. The old cover was on the novella for one year. I will report back on any changes in... Read more →

Inspiration from film - Sci-Fi or reality?

"The Day the Earth caught Fire." Is this a headline in a newspaper? The title of a book? No, it is a film that will burn itself onto your memory. But, joking aside, is this film based on fact or on fiction? The purpose of this short piece is to... Read more →

Inspiration from ageing and love

So - why am I writing a piece about love? Partly because Marcela, a Columbian lady friend living down the road from me, inspired me to read about love from a South American point of view and how this point of view was very different from that experienced by an... Read more →

Inspiration from the news - 2

We already know that the titles of newspaper articles are designed to make us read the article headlined but these headlines can stir the imagination, create amusement, anger and enough curiosity to read on. In short, newspaper article can inspire writers to write novels. Here is a selection of titles... Read more →

Inspiration from cultural difference

Does it matter which part of the world a writer comes from? Would I have appreciated "Pedro Paramo" more had I read it in a dark and dingy hotel in Mexico? Would I have understood Marquez's masterpiece, "Love in the Time of Cholera," had I been on holiday in Columbia?... Read more →