55 Comments

So fun to learn a bit more about you Nathan! And no, this won’t be your last interview. You’re on my list.😉 And I think I’ll have to revisit the cat question.

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🤗

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Happened to come across this Nathan.

A nice surprise! You know I always enjoy your writing. And tell you so.

“Magic and writing have felt like two separate domains of my life.”

Oh, I beg to differ . I think

unbeknownst to you, the magical ‘sense’ in your brain, most definitely comes across in your writing. A certain quality that enhances your writing style. Magic, weaving in and around your words.

Thank you Andrei.

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Aw, you're the best, Lor, thanks!

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Thank you for being here, Lor.

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A fantastic interview! Thoughtful questions, insightful answers!

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Loved doing it! And more are coming. Would love to interview you before the year is done, by the way.

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You are so sweet :'). I would be honored!

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I liked very much the interview! The fact of finding what gives you true value and a sense of being at peace is very important in these days. Thank you to let us know such good people in your interviews 😊

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Sara! I always look forward to your comments! Thanks so much for checking out the interview.

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Thanks so much for reading, Sara. 🤗

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“Not to burn out, haha. That’s my main plan. I have a strange relationship with my actual work sometimes most of the time, and I know it can be harmful to my creative side.”

Ditto. So ditto.

You’re awesome Nathan!

Andrei, fun interview!

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Thanks, Brian!

No, no, *you're* awesome 😉🤗

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Thank you for being here, Brian!

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Thanks you Nathan and Andrei for this interview, it’s fantastic to have words from a writer we’ve admired on the hows and whys! Your love and gift of magic seeps into your stories Nathan… perhaps you don’t practice the physical as you’d like but in the lyrical… truly, we’ll just wow!

Burn out? It’s a risk we all seem to be taking here, in between life and family and jobs, let’s hope it’s a small one and the skirting around is easier than we think!

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Thanks for reading, Susie. It’s always interesting to see what lurks behind the eyes of our favorite writers. I really had a lot of fun interviewing Nathan.

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Agreed, I’ve always been a lover of behind the scenes! Thanks again for the interview Andrei!

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More coming, so stay tuned!

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Thanks for taking the time to come over and have a read, Susie. Much appreciated, as are your very kind words.

I too hope that such can be easily skirted :)

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Nathan! I'm also planning to attempt to not burn out this year! Wishing you all the luck in the world with that 🫠 loved hearing a little more about how you're juggling the all things. Very much looking forward to more Brae ☄️

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Thank you for reading, Chloe! It’s an honor.

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Thanks Chloe. I have the hose at the ready, putting out all the daily spot-fires ;)

May there be a collective lack of burn-out!

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Nathan, I had no idea you were a magician! It all makes sense now. 🪄

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😉

Well, hobbyist these days. I worked semi-professionally back during my PhD (even nearly quit to pursue it full time).

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That's wild. I'm intrigued.

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I sort of lament over it in one of my early posts here, if you're curious: https://slake.substack.com/p/everythings-eventual

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As I said, a magician in more ways than one! Thanks for checking out the interview, Ben!

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Wonderful questions and fascinating answers! Two Murakami references? 😉 Not surprised by that. What a wonderful way to reflect on your work as a writer and and to consider its place in your life as well, Nathan.

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Glad you enjoyed, Kathleen! I was really looking forward to a peek behind the curtain of this one’s mind.

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Thanks for reading, Kate.

(Andrei: pssst, you should interview Kate ;))

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Noted!

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I enjoyed this interview so much! Great job both of you! So warming, simple and full of the joy of writing and being on this creative path. I'm inspired!

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Thank you for reading, Claudia! I had a lot of fun doing this with Nathan!

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Thanks Claudia! If inspiration was seeded, then that's a win!

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Enjoyed this! Where's the audio version? :)

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Oh damn yeah that would have been great!

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next time!

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Hmmm, that would have been a great idea!

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and the video! 😅

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This was so enjoyable from start to finish. Thanks for facilitating, Andrei. I like that your questions are tailor-made. And Nathan, I’m not familiar with your work but will certainly be checking it out! Which Murakami book do you recommend starting with?

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Thanks Erika, that's lovely to hear.

I could talk Murakami all day 😄

My recommendation would be to start where I was recommended to start: the short story collection After The Quake. It gives you a flavour for the varied themes and style of Murakami. Some serious stories, some more whacky, but all are very short.

If those pique your interest then this is where I'd go next:

*The Wind Up Bird Chronicle (perhaps his most famous work. It's a strange, strange tale of a missing cat, a well, a whole load of other bizarre stuff)

*for something more serious, try Norwegian Wood (a love story, quite tragic)

*for my absolute favourite, the sprawling 1Q84. I wish I could wipe my memory of this book and read it again for the first time

*for something equally strange, Kafka On The Shore.

He has lots of other short story collections, too.

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I second Norwegian Wood and Wind-Up Bird. Two of my favourite ever novels. Sputnik Sweetheart is also a cool, psychedelic little tale. I haven’t read 1Q84 yet, and I enjoyed Killing Commendatore more than Kafka. But all told, Murakami is a stellar writer.

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Killing Commendatore was great, too. How I long for another big book to be released. I hope the translated new one is inbound soon.

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Hmm, I don’t know of it. Is it a big book? Murakami big books are the best.

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Amazing, thank you for such a thoughtful response! Will be saving this to come back to.

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Thanks for reading, Erika! I always do this when I interview people. It takes a lot of research, but I feel it’s ultimately more rewarding, for interviewer, interviewee, and audience.

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Thanks both. Interesting and enjoyable interview.

I got the feeling Nathan was a cat man. Bonus.

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Cat men are best men.

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Thanks ;) You felt correctly, hehe.

Appreciate you reading.

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Thanks guys, I thoroughly enjoyed reading through this. Looking forward to reading more from both of you! P.S. Nathan, you two make a beautiful couple, cheers to supportive significant others!

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Aw, thanks Peter. That pic was from the absolute best time we had travelling around Europe in 2022 (some may recognise the Swiss alps) and it's the landscape that holds the true beauty.

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Thanks for checking it out, man!

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Thank you Andrei and Nathan. This was a very enjoyable interview. I felt I was there, listening in !

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So glad you enjoyed it, Maureen. More coming!

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Thanks for reading, Maureen!

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