Do you remember the first story you ever wrote? 

A bloody murder story! Actually blood and gore was ubiquitous in my early work…When I turned 15, I wrote my first novel about a band of thugs in the wilds of Colombia. I’ve moved on since…

What is your writing process? 

Filling notepads with random observations. It can take up to two years before a fully-formed idea is born. Then I plunge into a first draft, writing at top speed to “catch” in words the film that I see in my mind’s eye. After that, at least another year of revision upon revision is required, tough work! Anyone who thinks that writing is easy is vastly mistaken. But I would never want to do anything else, I love it!

Describe your desk 

A mess!

Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?

I grew up in many different countries: Sweden, Egypt, France, Russia, Colombia, New York where I arrived when I was 17. I stayed in America until I was 30, all the formative years, a crucial time that shaped my tastes and values. Result? A very cosmopolitan approach to life and writing, a world citizen!

What’s the story behind your latest book? 

Living through my own retirement inspired me to write “Crimson Clouds”. This said, the book is in no way autobiographical. I’m not a man (!) and my marriage is not on the rocks, thank God, even though, like Robert I paint and my paintings, like his, are figurative and lovers of Contemporary Art would find them painfully academic exactly as Robert’s wife does…