Transcription of the video “What is The Imagination Thief?”

(This video is also on Vimeo and YouTube.)

[…] here’s the New York novel, called The Imagination Thief.

It’s about a web of secrets, triggered by a deliberate stealing and copying of people’s imaginations and memories. It’s about the magic that can be conjured up by images of people, in imagination or on film. And the split between beauty and happiness in the world. And the allure of various kinds of power.

Beyond the plot, it celebrates some of the more extreme possibilities of human imagination and personality, and explores the many kinds of beauty living in people’s minds. Some of these characters’ minds burn dark as well as bright, but all have elements of mystery. And that’s why a few of their beauties are written more richly and densely than most of us could quickly take in or explain; otherwise, I probably wouldn’t be doing justice to their complexity. Same with how this book is filmed and recorded here: rather than being clear for us to absorb or explain, these images and sounds should wash and flicker through, making a sense that’s as oblique as the sense our imaginations make, nudging us sometimes to let go of understanding and just go along for the ride…

All these characters were created out of my love for them, even the ones I don’t especially like. I’m not sure, but I think the whole tale may suggest that one way of rising above the bad stuff is for each of us to really use and exercise our creative imagination, however we can, because this tends to help the good stuff happen. The plot was fun to write, but you can also just dip and dive through the whole thing—and wherever you may dive into it, The Imagination Thief will shimmer right back at you with love and poison, I promise.

Other introductory videos may be seen in the Vimeo album “Rohan Quine—introductory videos”:

And in the YouTube playlist “Rohan Quine—introductory videos”.

Buy The Imagination Thief by Rohan Quine in paperback or ebook format.