What a weirdo! All of a sudden, he’s doing all these creative things, all over the place! Music, writing, YouTube…”Is he alright?” some might ask.

Yes, don’t worry, I’m fine. It’s just that I’m more myself than I’ve ever allowed myself to be. I suppose when you reach a certain age, you can’t be bothered to play a role anymore.

Let’s be clear, I don’t mean by this that I’m now “liberated” from the “shackles” of my faith. If anything, I’m strengthening my faith more now than before, trying to reconnect with Malachi 3:10. If you know, you know.

But coming back to what I said at the outset, this ‘sudden’ shift isn’t so sudden after all.  Truth is, I’ve always been a music fanatic. 

A long time coming

Exhibit A: my toddler years. I was basically the family DJ, spinning tunes on the stereo every morning to rouse the household. Okay, maybe “rouse” is a strong word.  It was more like rude awakening (Rud awakening? You know, because my name… Ah forget it!)  They weren’t exactly adoring fans, more like hostages to my antics 😅.

I’ve been making music on and off ever since, for a more willing audience 😋

Here I am in 2007:

And again in 2012 (watch until the end when I work the crowd!):

And in 2015:

Exhibit B: what about stories? Well, as a toddler, I used to invent long narratives on the spot for sweets at the boulangerie!

Then, of course, life tried to beat it out of me… but as they say in French, “chasser le naturel, il revient au galop” –  suppress something natural and it will return with a vengeance.

I had to learn to express, not repress. It took a while, with resistance both from without and within to contend with. I started and abandoned no fewer than three novels and one short story since 1995.

But in the end, I had to try harder. What else was there? To be full of regrets for not having developed and shared my gifts with those who might appreciate them? To never experience the joy of spreading a few smiles, firing a few neurons, changing a few perspectives?

Truth be told, I probably would have resigned myself to a life of staying “safe” and conforming to expectations. I’ve been there many times, all but given up.

What keeps me going is YOU, dear reader. Knowing that someone out there is open-minded enough to check out what I’m up to and supports me in their own way.

I appreciate you!

Even more to come

I’m working on several projects at once (well, you know me, I can’t help it!), and I’m pleased to say that I’m making good progress.

As we speak the collection of my short stories is being finalised and will hopefully be available on Amazon before the year is out. Edit: I’ve done it! Here it is, also here!

One of my projects is that debut novel! I’m pretty sure this will take me a year, so I’ll probably make more music while I work on that… and probably other projects will spring up out of nowhere. They tend to, so stay tuned!

Reflect, Redefine, Rise!

PS: Thanks again for your support. You are very much needed and appreciated 🙏

(*) Remixing Michael Jackson’s “Smooth criminal” with my real government name, Ruddy (pronounce Rue – Dee)😁