I write literary fiction that twists the beauty and the pain of the human experience into tight strands of storytelling. Inspired by actual events, my stories probe the deeper, if inconvenient, truths about the human psyche and modern society, and illuminate our endless quest for freedom and fulfillment. The impermanent but powerful experiences I have lived, and those recounted to me by others, have shaped my personal as well as literary worldview.
This is the new dramatic realism in which I work: a literary mirror of our times and our psyche that romanticizes and enthralls as boldly as it demystifies and lays bare the inevitable truths of human existence, defying yet engaging our human desires, our egos, our fears. In fact, one needs the other: no pain can teach us without flaunting its beauty; no beauty can impress without pricking us with its thorns.
My more experimental work interweaves these raw observations of human nature and the multifaceted realities in which we live with the inherent eloquence of verbal expression, the innate poetry of language and rhythm. This is my signature literary style, for which I’ve coined the term metaphormosis—the process by which one metaphor transitions or blends into another. I have written two works in this style so far: Confession and the upcoming The Visionary.
It is my passionate and firm conviction that literature should and must once again play a critical role in life and society, as it has throughout human history. This is what drives me, what powers and inspires every word I write. Stories, not weapons, have carried our dreams and our fears, our accomplishments and our failures, from one generation to the next. We are naturally wired for stories, and the kinds of stories a culture or society tells reflect the most profound truths about its soul. Today, we live in one of the most challenging yet thrilling times in human history—a time richer than ever in stories and the capacity to tell and share them. Yet, ironically, we hear lots of talk about novels and other forms of literature dying due to the attention-fragmenting effects of media technologies and the impacts of price wars within the industry.
I hold every confidence that literature will continue to capture our imagination, engage our hearts and minds, and drive us to advance and evolve as a collective of societies and cultures. But that is up to us, the writers and the artists of the world—to create great stories regardless of the platform or format, and to teach our children to live their lives to the fullest so that they, too, may create their own unforgettable stories.