Archive for March, 2010

Please note that I am in the process of switching agents. I will provide all the details in due course. In the meantime, please address all rights enquiries directly to me.

When Sonata for Miriam was published in Sweden, Swedish composer Alexander Ekroth-Baginski was commissioned to write a short excerpt to be used for the audio edition of the book. This was so wonderfully perceptive and beautiful that he was commissioned to complete what is the adagio from the Sonata for Miriam that the main character in the novel writes for his daughter Miriam. It is my hope that Alexander will have the opportunity to complete the entire sonata.

The adagio was later recorded in Auckland, New Zealand, with Lara Hall playing the violin and Mikhail Tablis piano.

Listen to the music here: Sonata for Miriam

Writing is mostly a very lonely activity (not sure if activity is the right word in my case). So, when suddenly a ray of light enters the dark space where I exist it brings great joy. And a moment of light. Today, paralysed in front of my computer waiting for words that just would not emerge, I googled myself. The ultimate egocentric frivolity, I suppose. I happened to land on a German review of my second novel, Die Nacht tägt deinen Namen. And suddenly there was light. Beautifully written, it expressed such profound sympathy and understanding of my intentions that I felt like crying.

Read the review here (in German): Die Nach trägt deinen Namen

A friend recently reminded me of a quote by French author and philosopher Albert Camus:

Au milieu de l‘hiver, j‘ai découvert en moi un invincible été – In the midst of winter, I have discovered that I carry inside me an invincible summer.

I have often felt the opposite, perhaps especially so this long, hot and humid summer. But it is drawing to it’s end. There is a sharp crispness in the air in the morning and the sun rises with me. It feels like a relief. That invincible innner summer is all I need.