Thoughts and words

Using music to evoke the past in "The Poor Singer of an Empty Day."

Music is very often associated with people and/or places from the past, whether we like it or not. The soundtrack of our lives - those songs or other pieces of music that will forever be associated with certain events and people that influenced us. Writers can use this phenomenon, too.... Read more →

Inspiration from personal experiences - The Poor Singer of an Empty day

I get the impression that many people believe writers write about themselves. I cannot say whether this is true or not. All I can say is my novels are not about me! Why should anyone be interested in the author? However, I can say that I use some of my... Read more →

Nostalgia as inspiration

At least 3 of my novels have been partly inspired by nostalgia. “The Poor Singer of an Empty Day” came to life while I was living in Herrenberg, Germany. One morning I woke up feeling nostalgic for England and, in particular, for my childhood – hence the dedication and the... Read more →

Inspiration from the newspapers: remembrance and learning from the past.

I found the photo below, and the article to which the photo was attached, in the Sonntags Zeitung - 5 November 2017. The Sonntag's Zeitung is a weekly evangelical publication, and it appears in our postbox every Friday. Several of its articles have grabbed for my attention because the stories... Read more →

The importance of theme.

The theme of a novel is the heart of the story and will have a universal human appeal. Your theme must not only appeal to the reader, it should animate and inspire you if you are to spend so much time working with it. Examples of themes in my own... Read more →

Nostalgia 4: favourite novels that deal with nostalgia

There are many novels dealing with the theme of nostalgia. What are your favourites? You are very welcome to put your contributions in the commentary box! My own list would include: The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani - concerning the lives of Italian Jews in the northern Italian... Read more →

Nostalgia 3: nostalgia and the past in "The Poor Singer of an Empty Day."

It is 1998 and Julian Everett has arrived in England after a 30-year absence. He is walking on the cliffs of Dover when he sees the face of a girl he once knew on the front page of a newspaper. He had stopped to wonder at the ships that steamed... Read more →

Nostalgia 2: Be careful - nostalgia bites!

There is little doubt that nostalgia can be a useful spark for writing a book. Evidence is the market for memoirs and books that deal with the twenties or with WW2. But if readers are looking for a better place than the present, they need to watch out! Was the... Read more →

The Power of Nostalgia

At least 3 of my novels have been partly inspired by nostalgia. “The Poor Singer of an Empty Day” came to life while I was living in Herrenberg. One morning I woke up feeling nostalgic for England and, in particular, for my childhood – hence the dedication and the fact... Read more →

Thoughts and words

Where do authors get their ideas? What inspires them to spend all that time writing a novel that, perhaps, only a few people will read? These questions – and some suggested answers – will be my subject in this blog. I’ll share the source of many of my ideas and... Read more →