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A sign in the window

This very ordinary little wooden plaque with tin triangle advertising the sale of watches played a role in saving hundreds of people’s lives in Haarlem during the Second World War. During the period of the nazi occupation of Holland, the Ten Boom family ran a safe house above their clock … Continue reading

Author : nike

Spicy birds, healthy beer, and the number 8 tram

God, I think I’m becoming a museum tragic. All of my letters home are filled with the stories I find in them, and in the conversations I rarely have the courage to strike up with strangers. I’m sure I’m boring all my long-suffering friends to death, so instead I should … Continue reading

Author : nike

Monnickendam, part the second (pics)

I really enjoyed visiting Waterland, the district that encompasses both Monnickendam, where these photographs were taken, and Broek. I’m not the first to enjoy a stroll through the area. In 1905, an Englishman by the name of Edward Verrall Lucas published a book about his visit to the Netherlands: A … Continue reading

Filed under : Mechanical Women , On Living
Author : nike

Launch date … and cover

Guess what? My latest novel, Rupetta, is about to be launched by Tartarus Press in the UK. They are hosting a launch in an old, reputedly haunted, pub in York on February 9th. The pub is called The Golden Fleece. If you can make it, I would love to see … Continue reading

Filed under : Mechanical Women , On Writing , Rupetta
Author : nike
Comments : 3 Comments

The doubtful reader

As a reader, I’m fairly hard to please. I never used to be. As a small child I would happily read cereal boxes, ticket stubs, IKEA instructions. But, these days, my tastes have changed. Lately, I’ve read some amazing books, including Lauren Groff’s Arcadia, Wade Davis’s The Wayfinders (based on … Continue reading

Filed under : On Reading , On Writing
Author : nike
Comments : 3 Comments

The Orphan King

This is the beginning of a story – the opening ‘note’ of a story about Matilda, a young girl whose life becomes entangled in the life of the orphan king, Edward VI. This story takes place during a time in English history that never quite happened. Here are some things … Continue reading

Filed under : Work in Progress
Author : nike
Comments : 5 Comments

Things to think about …

Today, I was reading Barry Lopez’s essay ‘Landscape and Narrative’ from the collection Crossing Open Ground. Lots to think about here, but two things that I want to come back to, and think about some more: A story draws on relationships in the exterior landscape and projects them onto the … Continue reading

Filed under : On Reading , On Writing
Author : nike
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