Who am I speaking to? To you, future reader, who stopped by out of curiosity. So, hello!
Welcome to this little corner of the web that I dedicate to my passion for words. Here, I will lift the veil on the joyful chaos of creation. I’ll share my doubts, my small victories, and the characters who haunt my nights…
Who am I?
On the cover of my book, there is only a name. But behind that name, there is a father and grandfather, a vegetarian, someone fascinated by geopolitics, law, local journalism, and everything that moves the world in the right direction, of course!
You aren’t born a writer; you become one by reading. Before I tell you about my stories, I must tell you about the ones that made me the reader, and then the author, I am today. I have read hundreds of books, developing a unique connection with each one and each author. From Shakespeare, Homer, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Flaubert, Balzac, Victor Hugo, Camus, Proust, and Molière in classical and French literature, to major global voices like Orwell, García Márquez, Kafka, Jane Austen, and Salinger. Their essential works—like Hamlet, The Odyssey, Crime and Punishment, Madame Bovary, The Stranger, 1984, One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Little Prince, and The Great Gatsby—have shaped my mind.
I love reading about anything. A book allows me to travel before I ever land in the many countries I’ve been fortunate to visit.
I have read famous authors, but also those who have written beautiful stories with an eloquent pen yet struggle to find readers in an overly demanding institutional market. Their success lies in having dared to give life to the fire that fuels them: writing.
The power of writing is twofold. It is a double-edged sword: it liberates the one who practices it and transforms the one who receives it. From the most profound intimate pleasure to the contagious impulse that can educate and move the world, every word is an act of creation and rebellion.
Writing ZOMBIE LOVER was first my escape. Then it became a way to question the nature of love and humanity, hoping to touch and make my readers think. Yes, it is a means to shift perspectives and, page by page, move the lines of the world. Thus, the most personal gesture becomes the lever for the most universal change.
You will understand that this book was born in my mind years ago. It all started when I was traveling through my native country and heard stories about zombis—dream or reality? I wondered how much truth there was in the tales of zombification, what I call invisible slavery.
The idea for my novel ZOMBIE LOVER was born from this curiosity. But it required research, visits to cities and remote corners of this country of 27,500 square kilometers, a land rich with highly historical facts. I went to meet everyone: people with their beliefs and faith, the contradictions between Christians and Voodoo adherents regarding the phenomenon of zombification, and the history of many foreigners who traveled to the country to be initiated into Voodoo.
Eric, the zombie, also has his diary. He wanted to tell his story to exist, to escape in order to breathe, to free himself to be reborn. It is the profound and contagious pleasure of creating worlds—and his own world in particular.
So, there it is. This first word is written. In the coming weeks, I will take you with me through the twists and turns of writing my next novel. I’ll share my favorite reads and perhaps even some playlists that help me find the right rhythm for a scene.
To make sure you don’t miss anything, you can subscribe to my newsletter. And most importantly, tell me in the comments: what was the first book that made you fall in love with reading?
Thank you for being here. See you very soon!
Ernst
