Ken Reah talks about being an artist and writing his first novel in his 80s. As a painter and sculptor, I have learned over many years to use what I see. When I walk the dog in the park, or when I'm walking through the city, I see relationships among colours, spaces and shapes that have the potential to become art. I do this with everything in my life - for example, that drawing of my wife from the early days of our relationship. It's sometimes said that everyone has a novel inside them. There would be more truth in this idea if it were said that everyone has, as an unavoidable by-product of being alive, enough experience to provide material for a novel. I suppose I used this material, but instead of paint, I used words. But even though it comes from my experience, Edge of Arcadia is a novel not an autobiography. This is not to say in parts it may not come close to real life: some events, some scenarios, some characters. For instance there is a scene where Aidan rescues an old lady's dog from a raging river: something very like this happened though in reality the dog was mine. As for the rest, that's for me to know, and you to find out.
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