What next?

How to read my latest book

Fable.

After taking a long hiatus from writing, I returned to the artform shortly before my 30th birthday. I came equipped with a simple question and a simple goal: if I had to condense all of the things I had learned into one book and pack them into a story that anyone could read, how would I do it?

So I wrote it.

Can I read it?

Short answer: yes. Contact me and I'll send you a copy, free of charge. I don't have the time or the desire to dance with literary agents: if you want to read it now, you can.

Having had various pieces published over many years — only for the places that published them to close down — I realised that taking control of your own work (hence this website) is far more important than trying to please someone you've never met, won't meet, and don't care about. I simply do not care about literary agents: I care about readers. I care about people who want answers. I care about people who want to learn. And that's who Fable is for: people who want a taste of classic literature, with its focus on the deepest themes — death, God, doubt, suicide, love, purpose, dreams, and language itself — written in a modern style.

What's it about?

The book I wrote is called Fable. It's a philosophical novel, it's a psychologically rich fairytale, it's a guide to walking through a psychological crisis, and it's a powerful story.

I wrote the first draft in about a month and a half, and then worked through several drafts over the following months. In the end, there are at least three or four different versions of the book: each version of the book is wildly different, with different conclusions, different openings, and different structures. In rewriting the book, I ended up writing about three times the material. The end result, whichever version you read, is unlike anything else you'll read.

Fable's unique goals

My goal in writing the book was to write something that achieved several things. While I now have new goals, and new ambitions, I believe I acheived all of them. My goals were:

• Write something in simple English that anyone could read.


• Explore the most profound issues possibles: how to get through a psychological crisis.


• Take a man through the worst possible event and show, in true detail, what it's like to live through, facing suicide, and coming through the other side.


• Deep, interconnected references to the entire works of Shakespeare and the Bible, and other classic philosophical texts.


• Provide multiple layers, to reward multiple read-throughs.


• Stir your emotions, answer your questions, and guide you through a true journey: a place to turn when you need help.

What next?

Fable was a book written for everyone — and the language I used reflected that. Next time, I'm writing for a different audience.

As you can tell, I'm used to writing a lot. My attention now, with regards to writing, is a new set of goals: writing something that properly reflects what I've learned. I spent a long time writing foolish things, however potently; now I make sure that whatever I write reflects the truth, and guides whoever reads it to a better place.