Jonathan Kieran

Still pondering the idea of launching a lifetime travel journal on Substack. I’m not entirely sold on the notion, yet, though I am a writer who likes to fool myself, occasionally, into finishing new projects by “parking” bits and pieces of work in out-of-the-way spots. That way, things can take the forms of brief essays or posts without the laser focus required by the composition of a single book.

This photo was taken in the early 2010s while on holiday in the Pyrenees Mountains. The region is perhaps my favorite on earth—redolent with magic and a palpable aura of mystery around every cliffside, sparkling river, and forested valley. I was Basque-ing outdoors on this day, getting a bit of writing done while enjoying the warmth of a gentle summer atmosphere that had extended into early Autumn. The Pyrenees are known for such splendid afternoons and my accommodations were non-pareil: a dazzling old manor house called Le Chateau Claire de Lune.

Few days have ever felt more sensational than this one; a person feels alive and grateful with every fiber of one’s being in such surroundings. I suppose the smile on my face reflects that. I remember the lazy hours on the grounds of the rural chateau. I was writing a parable in a superb black leather journal I had purchased in Bordeaux. I recall thinking that the beginnings of the story had possibility but, alas, I lost the little journal somewhere along the way during my excursion.

Some tales are fated to be lost between the dangerous dance of shadow and sunlight.

Maybe I’ll go back and look for the book. It can be fun to retrace the steps of a resplendent past.

——

[ THE WEDNESDAY BOX, a dark fable by Jonathan Kieran is slated for international release May 19, 2026 ]

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