The Author

I was named after the song by French singer Gilbert Becaud, Nathalie. (Is one’s life determined by his or her name? I think about this sometimes).

Against Ecuadorian tradition I have only one name, I am not catholic or baptized, I have no Quiteño accent because my parents grew up in the coast, and every other day I’m asked by people on the street where I’m from. “I´m Ecuadorian”, I tell them in the most Ecuadorian dialect I can find. They don’t believe me, but then again, sometimes I don’t believe it myself. I give no real importance to nationalities, though culturally they do tend to determine how people act and live. One thing is certain though, I was born and I live in a very beautiful country, and cannot detach myself from the fact that I grew up here.

I tell you (beloved reader) these things because I myself like to know a bit about the writer’s background. Doesn’t that say a lot about a person’s writing? Even if I told you everything about me, which of course I won’t do, you still wouldn’t be able to know me completely. Aren’t we all an enigma? One’s own world is too big (I hope), too secret, a labyrinth of thoughts and feelings. A writer merely gives you a glimpse, even through fiction, about his or her inner world.

I live and work on music, coffee, mountains and all things beautiful. I look for beauty in all that surrounds me: people I know, people I don’t, the truth in words and eyes, homes big and small, cities and cultures (my own and those where I am a total stranger) languages, flowers dead and alive, nature in all its shapes, exuberance and aridity, smiles in people’s faces when I walk down the street, subtle smells, rain and stormy days, spaces and contrasts, conversations, kindness… Beauty is everywhere.

I aspire to be a writer someday. I don’t think I am one yet despite all my scribbling. It requires a certain discipline I still lack, among other attributes. I aspire to be an authentic a writer as I can be. It’s my everyday struggle, being absolutely true to myself. Absolutes are ridiculous and impossible, but one can only try and hope. I’ve also found it’s very easy to deceive oneself. Everything around us seems to drive us towards that.

Anyway, and without further ado, I hope you enjoy what I share here, as much as I enjoy writing it.

Photo by: Patrick Clayton