folio

For about five years now, I’ve spent a lot of my time writing about… erm… writing. Writing about writing, with nothing to show for it.

For a while, somewhere back towards the end of 2021, I thought I would pursue those dreams of being a published writer once more. But, as you will have seen, all my crushing writer’s doubt and anxiety put paid to that. I’m very much an amateur, I ultimately concluded, too unskilled to join that realm.

What to do with all of that writing then? To completely abandon it? To throw it all in the bin? To file it away in archives, for none to ever read? All these thoughts crossed my mind. But from somewhere, deep down, a very timid voice whispered, “Put it on your website.” And when I dismissed it: “Be brave for once in your life.”

That was about three weeks ago now. Since then, I’ve been working on something new. It’s time for a change, I realised. To do things differently. To rejig everything around a new idea. To create my own micropublishing platform, right here. To set that writing free, reconciling myself as I have to it never seeing the light of day any other way.

So here we are: I’ve begun putting my novels, stories and collections online for others to read as they please. Some of them, I’ve restricted access to members only. Others, can be perused freely.

Under stories, you will find my complete novel Satya (revised 2021) and not-so-complete draft Seeking the one (penned that winter). Under collections, you’ll find various selected posts, grouped together into folios of their own. As before, my blog — those copious footnotes of mine — remains open and unrestricted for all, except for a few sensitive posts here and there.

All of the above is quite a momentous decision for me, as longterm readers witness to my perennial anxiety will attest. It’s an experiment I may well live to regret, with no guarantee I will not backtrack in weeks to come, reverting to form. Still, at this very moment, this is what I present before you.

Membership is free and completely optional. If you’re not interested in my longer writing, no worries at all. Just browse as you always have. Finally, a note for previous subscribers: I’m afraid you’ll need to resubscribe as in undertaking all of the work above, I may have cut you adrift.

So, in short, read if you please. And, if not, that’s no loss to either me or ye.