Heads up August 2023

Finally published my oldest manuscript in my native language Dutch. The idea for this novel ‘Stroomopwaarts’ (Upstream) came to me as a young man. I only started writing this in 2000. Still my debut was in 2005 with the semi-autobiographical ‘Vuile Was’ (Dirty Laundry). At that time I didn’t feel Upstream was ready. Confidence only came after a lot of re-writes and alterations. Now the story is what I intended it to be. The next years Inutilia publishers will publish a selection of my works. About six novels and three volumes of short stories.

I also do keep a sort of a logbook or scrapbook. I started doing this in 2018. It’s a mishmash of daily events, memories, writing experiments, researches, philosophies and brain waves. The aim is to write as honest as possible, expressing uncensored feelings. Which means publishing would be a sure way to get murdered. So whilst still being alive I keep writing. By now my logbook is one and a half million words and certainly half of that isn’t worth publishing. I think. But that all might change when my writing gets an audience. So up to now I just keep adding regular entries and trust a future editor will have to decide what to do with this work after my death.

In the mean time I hope to see all my novels and short stories published whilst I’m still alive.

New Web Site: Inutilia/Dick Holzhaus

I have quit creating concepts for business, product and communications. From now on I’ll be focussing on my writing and publications. Until my novels will be translated the website will be in Dutch. In the Inutilia section there are summaries of all ten novels Inutilia intends to publish. The function of this new site is to inform and not to interact.

This ‘Whatadick’ blog will bring news in English, not a problem for any Dutch person. I am still thinking about this blog and other ways to promote my publications. I liked doing this recent amateur style interview together with my wife. But you can’t go on with that forever. I could make video’s and pod-casts about writing and reading. I read a lot and do write some sort of critique about most of them. Anyway, I’m thinking about a plan and a concept for each medium.

The new website should be found through different searches but the URL is new: https://www.dickholzhaus.nl

(In Dutch) Videointerview over het ontstaan van de avonturenroman Stroomopwaarts door Dick Holzhaus.

When I get around to it I will add English subtitles.

Heads-up May 2022

The lack of creative activity for the past two years or so was caused by too much actual work. I’m still very busy with the business of my wife, but also made a start with preparing 11 manuscripts for publication. Finally found a group of writers and publishing enthusiasts, inspiring me to start my very own publishing house; Inutilia. Writer Machteld Stilting will be acting as my editor. I expect the process to be slow but secure. We start with editing my fiction novel ‘Upstream,’ and then the first part of a semi-autobiographic series of five very special dairies. Soon as there is anything concrete to show, I will post a link.

Helena’s Ascension

I loved her.

My dearest Asya

A memory of full moon rides with my Arabian thoroughbred mare Asya, some twenty years ago by now. Riding without gear at night requires absolute trust, the horse has better night vision so, in fact, she took me out on these rides. One of Asya’s idiosyncrasies was her interest in deer, she liked to observe them, sometimes for minutes, like they were distant cousins. Arabian thoroughbreds spoil you for life, I would never want to own another breed of horse after my five years with Asya. Having owned nervous powerhouses before, who I dearly loved too but had to fight for everything, experiencing the combination of fierceness and intelligence of Asya was an eye-opener. Whilst her performance under the saddle looked like she was about to explode, I could control her with my fingertips and ‘seat.’ Asya brought things to me, tried to understand me, and when she did, gave it without holding back. A very special mare, I couldn’t risk bringing her to Thailand, she was booked for transport but I was tipped off by the transporter that a Thai person had shown a keen interest when Asya was in quarantaine and knew that she was at that time the number two Arabian mare in the world. In his experience this interest might result in the horse disappearing upon arrival in Thailand. So she stayed with her original breeder and gave birth to two foals before she died. According to contract one of the foals was mine, but I didn’t recognise Asya in her daughter so I gave her to the breeding station. What is left are the memories of this most extraordinary bond Asya and I had. Just look at that face.

Love Always Wins Project

Early 2018 Gabriel Morais invited me to represent Holland for the Love Always Wins project. The idea was to give one artist from every country in the world a page to interpret the theme in a style which represented his/her country. These pictures would/will be a book against racism and xenophobia, profits would go to refugees and the first example is to be presented to Mr. D. Trump.  I didn’t have much confidence in that latter part of the plan but Gabriel Morais does have unique projects to his name, like putting up Christmas trees in a large South American city so the general public could put presents for the homeless under them. Now that is nice, so I made this painting for him and have been waiting ever since for the crowdfunding of the book to become successful. I hope Gabriel will still pull it off and find a better first destination for the book (I’d sooner give it to the Pope). Anyway, a one year wait is too long without any solid information so I break the embargo and publish my work.

The tombstone reads: ‘Liefde Wint Altijd’ (Love always wins). My idea was that the love of some people does survive. After reading ‘Notes from the house of the dead’ by Fyodor Dostoyevski I felt his love for humanity reached beyond the grave. So I put that idea in a very Dutch setting in the style of the old Dutch Masters and with one of our famous tulips hovering above a watery grave.

My dear friend Lukas

Lukas was a dear friend during my 10 years in Chiang Mai Thailand. Even though being intelligent and rational he believed this dimension is an experiment by aliens. Whilst his alter ego’s in different dimensions led much better lives. This conviction led to many wine fuelled discussions in his Wine Bar Darling. My argument that the aliens must be pretty bored by now after having seen human history repeat itself so many times was always followed by concluding I was a romantic who didn’t want to see things as they clearly are. After his Thai partner Daeng died, Lukas returned to Switzerland and within one year died himself of a mysterious infection. Still, nothing but dear memories of this friend.

My best friend Floor

Over thirty years of friendship also means a lot of nice things to remember, still took me some time before I could paint this.

Beach Cabins Neural Network Style.

#10 and final illustration in the second series with the Ugliest City in the Netherlands as subject.