I’m a native of nowhere, I’ve written all over the world
When I was growing up, my homes kept moving—from Holland to the USA, Indonesia, Italy, the UK, Germany, and back again
– lifelong migrant and expatriate,
currently commute between The Hague, City of Peace and Justice, and Germany
my books
Latest book, along came a war – (invasion of Ukraine, through a global, civilian lens), published by Mad Bear Books
Features photos by brilliant Kyiv-based photographer Bohdana Bun
Profits go to the Come Back Alive foundation, to support Ukrainian defence efforts
Get the book here.and if you like it, please leave a review!
My previous book of poems, Sicilian Haiku—Migrant Shadows, also published by Mad Bear Books
All profits go to refugees and those who help them (via SOS Mediterranee).
Please buy it here – and also leave a review and show support for refugees if you have a moment to spare – it’ll be greatly appreciated!
More about Sicilian Haiku here.
My first novel, Honour, was first published in 2012.
It’s a comic thriller about how people in diverse cultures—east, west, multi and between—are driven and damaged by different conceptions of right living and honour. It did quite well in the bestseller lists and was generously perhaps optimistically described as “an instant classic” (more kind words about it below). Get the book here.
reviews
– Honour
Gillian Carey: “Ambitious, gripping, compelling, horrifying.”
James W. Wood: “Sharp, stylish, masterful – a pleasure on every page.”
Scarlett Ong: “Intelligent, shocking, darkly funny, Honour is where love meets terror. Warm, compassionate, satirical and sharp, this page-turner will turn on lovers of intelligent literary thrillers and the films of Tarantino and the Coen brothers… But in its wit and intelligence it is closer to Spark, Proust and Nabokov.”
Mohammed Qayyum: “Dangerously addictive work of wit, art, and wisdom.”
work in progress
I tend to work on loads of multiple projects in parallel: alongside my activist poetry, I’m working on an extended series of multi-genre books, The Dark Gospel, of which Sicilian Haiku—Migrant Voices is the first. The next—another novel, The Trashman—will be published soon.
I’m also working on several extended sequences of poems: Stories of Ō, archipelagoes (memories of Java) as well as a book of Meditations by Philippe de Saint Maurice.
legacy day job—global communications
I am now Director General of the Omm Organisation
I spent a lot of my previous career working in global strategic communications, helping to build brands and organisations like Magnum, Allianz, Ariel and Canon.
It was great and I built a really successful agency that won a lot of business, employing lots of people…
but after a while, I wanted to “give something back”.
Switched to working with non-profits like the International Baccalaureate (education for a better world) and sustainable agri-tech start- and scale-ups like FieldBee. I still occasionally support such efforts as an independent consultant.
translation
I started a translation of Wellen (Waves), a pioneering Impressionistic masterpiece by Eduard von Keyserling (a distant kinsman), another work in progress, It was being published in irregular installments by Mad Bear Books. but I’ve put the work on hold for now, depressed by the thought that AI could knock off a sort of acceptable version in seconds.