Friday Feature: @AuthorTheDragon

We are pleased to introduce you all to one of the newest members of the Prose. community, Mr. Peter D'Hollander, who we have come to know as "The Dragon."

He currently lives in Mechelen, Belgium - "that small country that holds the word record on forming a government."

Working as a Technical Author, he says that he sometimes wonders where he left "the Author part." And, although he speaks fluent Dutch, he writes in English as you'll note the more work he shares with us here.

P: What is your relationship with writing and how has it evolved?

PD'H: It all started with an injury. I wasn't allowed to do sports for a couple of months and so I had some spare time on my hands. I was thirteen, so you start with doing your homework until that, too, isn't fun anymore. To keep myself busy I started to write and I never stopped since.

My relationship with writing is an intense one. I started when I was thirteen and imagined I would be writing novel after novel after novel. It quietly turned out differently and by the time I started my professional career I wrote articles for some Belgian and Dutch IT-magazines. Because I wanted to publish a book I wrote 45 IT-related non-fiction books for local publishing houses such as of which one was translated in Italian. I've been told it was quite some goal to reach because only few manage it. It probably was the 'highlight' of my own writing career so far.

I still vividly remember that day I stood in front of a class, teaching a group of adults something about computers (I no longer remember what). When I introduced myself that first day I proudly told them about my many books and one of them quietly asked me: 'did you already publish a real book?'

I didn't and so that is my next goal: publish a 'real' book. Actually, I already published a few short stories on a local website, but I'm still aiming for that book. And if possible, one in English. To be precise: a Young Adult Fantasy or Science Fiction story. That would literally make my day.

P: Briefly discuss the value that reading adds to both your personal and professional life.

PD'H: For my professional life the answer is easy: I search for the techniques used in non-fiction (and fiction) books to add them to my technical writing. My ultimate goal? To write the technical manual the Germans wrote during the Second World War for their tanks. Even the Russians loved to read them.

For my personal life: they teach me about the way other authors create characters, their world and their story. I have the tendency to write down too much, so it teaches me how to cut as well.

P: How would you describe your current literary ventures and what can we look forward to in future posts?

PD'H: I love originality. Not in the kind of stories I choose, but in the way I dress them. I often take a subject everyone has written about and then add that quirky part that makes it original. Or at least, that's what I keep telling myself. I presently wrote one short story, but I'm working on a longer one I hope to be able to publish on Prose so people can tell me what can be made better.

P: What does Prose. mean to you? What, if any, suggestions would you make that might improve or enhance your experience?

PD'H: Prose is a way to find out what I can do better. I don't really like the kind of responses that tell me how awesome my stories are (unless they explain me what they find awesome), but I rather like it when people explain me what can be made better. I take criticism for what it is: your point of view.

And I use it for what it's worth to me: what can I make better?

P: Where else can we find you and your writing?

PD'H: You can find me all over the internet in Belgium and the Netherlands. And in books as well, of course. Sadly enough, they are all in Dutch.

My website is http://computertaal.info, an IT blog (in Dutch) that has been around for ten years and counts almost 10,000 articles. However, my main goal is to help you find me in a local bookstore. Of course, I first will have to persuade a publishing house and that, my friends, is not always such an easy feat.

Still, I don't despair. One day I knock them off their feet. If not in reality, then at least in fantasy.

You can follow Peter here @AuthorTheDragon and be on the lookout for more of his work.

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This #FridayFeature blog series is designed to help you get to know your fellow community members better. Would you like to nominate someone for interview? Have a question you’re dying to ask of someone on the platform? Send us a private message here or visit our contact page to get in touch: theprose.com/p/contact.