OLIVER

OLIVER (OLIVER)
year:

2015

genre:

young adult novel, 220 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

age:

15+
awards:
Gouden Lijst 2016 (Golden Frame, Best book for younth)

OLIVER is a novel about the sixteen-year old Norwegian boy Oliver Kjelsberg, two years before he will meet the Dutch Tycho Zeling - so, two years before the events descibed in my novel THE DAYS OF BLUEGRASSLOVE. 
OLIVER has great parents, it's summer holiday, he is progressing in his biggest hobby: playing football (he's a goalkeeper), and he has a best friend, Bendik, who is also his nephew. Oliver is not a talker, but does he need to be? 
Well, in this book, all of a sudden his parent's marriage collapses, and within a day some more things happen that make the world seem a whole lot different than Oliver and Bendik always had believed. How do these two boys cope with the scope of events that they are forced to face?

- This book is meant to be read separately. But it could also be seen as a prequel to THE DAYS OF BLUEGRASSLOVE and, in a way, as a sequel to OUR THIRD BODY.
THE DAYS OF BLUEGRASSLOVE slightly deals with 'love',  OUR THIRD BODY with 'friendships' and OLIVER with 'family'. But that's just an indication.

- Together with this book an updated version of the 15-year old THE DAYS OF BLUEGRASSLOVE was released.

CHATBOX

CHATBOX
year:

2006

genre:

poetry, young adult, 48 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

age:

15+
rights sold:
English (USA) (A midsummer night's press) (selection of the poems, together with a selection of poems of my book QUOTATION MARKS)

As I wrote the novel OUR THIRD BODY, something extraordinary happened: I started writing poetry with somebody else's hand - with Tycho Zelings hand, the 19 years old main character of that novel. A separate volume was published, containing his/mine poems about the angers and joys of young people living in a big city, and, most of all, poems about love and the fire that goes with it.

- Some of the poems are available in German, translated by Rolf Erdorf.

OUR THIRD BODY

ONS DERDE LICHAAM (OUR THIRD BODY)
year:

2006

genre:

young adult novel, 304 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

age:

15+
awards:
Gouden Zoen 2007 (Golden Kiss Award, best book for youth)
foreign editions:
German (Carlsen), French (Thierry Magnier)

OUR THIRD BODY is the second book about the Dutch Tycho Zeling and his Norwegian love Oliver Kjelsberg, after they had met in THE DAYS OF BLUEGRASSLOVE. But it's half a year later, and they haven't talked to eachother. Tycho moves out of his parent's place, starts a writing training and meets the flamboyant Vonda, who soon becomes his best friend. She is a singer, and together with the third person living in their student's home, dancer Moritz, they enroll in giant adventures: that of the participation (for Vonda) in the Eurovision Song Contest, but especially the needs and requirements, the faithfulness and the betrayal that all can be part of a friendship under pressure. And how about Oliver? Is Tycho still in his mind - like Oliver is in his?

- This book follows THE DAYS OF BLUEGRASSLOVE (but can be read separately) and comes with the poetry volume CHATBOX (poetry written by Tycho). In 2015 a third novel about these main characters was published (a prequel, called OLIVER).
- The song 'Our third body', part of the book, was recorded! Singer Renée van Wegberg and composer Edwin Schimscheimer teamed up. The song can be listened to below.

THE DAYS OF BLUEGRASSLOVE

Cover of the third edition

DE DAGEN VAN DE BLUEGRASSLIEFDE (THE DAYS OF BLUEGRASSLOVE)
year:

1999

genre:

young adult novel, 148 p.

publisher:

Querido, Amsterdam

age:

15+
awards:
Gouden Zoen 2000 (Golden Kiss Award, best book for youth)
foreign editions:
German (Carlsen)
Latvian (Liels un Mazs)
English (USA, Levine Querido)

Cover of the second edition

My first young adult novel, and still in print! It's an intense lovestory - between Tycho (18) from Holland and Oliver (18) from Norway. They meet in a youth camp in the USA and fall in love. The book is all about experiencing your first life-changing love-affair (in this case: between two boys), and trying to find your way in this new reality.

Second German cover

- The Dutch Translation Fund made a special on this book - here.
- A proof translation in English is available.
- There were two German editions. First it was published under the title SPRING WENN DU DICH TRAUST, later it was re-issued as DIE TAGE DER BLUEGRASSLIEBE.
- In 2006 I wrote a folllow-up to this book, ONS DERDE LICHAAM (OUR THIRD BODY), and in 2015 a prequel was published, OLIVER.