Tales from a Bruised Mind

I can’t stop writing. I’m not exactly sure why that is, but I think I am severely addicted. I guess there are worse things in life to be addicted to, worse habits and worse ways to spend a lot of your time.

When I penned my first book, writing was therapy; a way for me to de-stress and reevaluate what was happening in my life and my brain. It was a way of putting things to rest at last and a way of me letting go of the past and all the bad shit that went down. It was like a really long massage; it felt calming, peaceful and oddly relaxing, but for an extended period of time. It took me years to write and fully grasp what I was dealing with.

Mental health is very complex and is case by case, so you’ll understand what I mean when I say it takes YEARS to grasp your illness.

In the last couple of years, writing became not just therapy, but also an escape from the big real world.

I had never been hugely into fiction writing. To be honest, I never thought I was any good at it. And the reality is that I’m still learning. Writers are always, always learning. I feel that writing is a skill that takes a lifetime. When I’m 80 years old and looking back at what I’ve written in 2024, I’m sure I’ll laugh and take a swig of my scotch on the rocks.

Anyway, in 2022, my first year living in Sydney, I decided to branch out and create something completely unique and deeply fiction based. I came up with the idea of my second book, Paradise, Where Are You?, almost immediately, and wrote it with a great deal of passion in just a few months. I was incredibly driven by the story and the characters. I was absolutely hooked.

But then the good ideas just continued. Enter, then, my third book, which is still untitled at this early stage. But here’s a quick synopsis (without any spoilers, obviously!).

A little bit of background about my upcoming fiction novel

The book is told by the perspective of a music journalist following a band through their years of stardom, success but ultimately also tragedy. The book focuses on key themes of mateship, of coming of age, of endurance through the pain that is life from time to time and also the clear theme of creativity in all of its forms.

I was deeply inspired after I watched a fascinating documentary about the life of George Martin, the acclaimed record producer, who came to fame as the producer of The Beatles. Martin decided that he wanted to create a unique recording studio environment, so he built a studio on a remote tropical island. The island in fact was called Montserrat and was located in the Caribbean.

Martin invited many famous acts to record there, including the likes of Elton John, The Police, The Rolling Stones and more. It all went well until the island’s volcano decided to erupt, ending the studio sessions once and for all.

Now, my book aims to take some inspiration from this, but it has unique characters, bands and has a very, very different ending.

Here’s a sneak peak in dot point form of my book and what it will involve:

• The book is set in the early 2000s in a variety of locations, including Los Angeles, California, Brisbane, Australia and London, England.
• The book is about an Australian trio of talented young musicians who form a band by the name of Sonic Revolver. It’s a rock band, but with 1980’s pop influence. Think a mix between The Police and The 1975, for example
• The story is told from the perspective of a Rolling Stone music journalist who is tasked to write the book about the history of the band, it’s successes and it’s failures
• And, most importantly, the journalist travels with Sonic Revolver to an island where they aim to record their highly anticipated next album.
• The rest is secret!

I hope that with enough time, I will finish the book by the end of 2024 to be released to the public early in 2025.

Fingers crossed.

I’ll write updates as I get closer, but for now, there is a lot of writing to do.

Love,

Zak