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I am usually a very fast writer, but this book took me six years to write. From the inception of The Haze’s idea on a chance trip to Singapore in 2013, to the project’s completion in 2019, six full years of writing, revision, research, and high flights of fantasy—had passed.

 

I had to study Chinese literature, dive into the rich history of the Malay Archipelago, vet my own memories of the Arab Spring; and not only keep various day jobs, finish two university degrees, migrate from one country to another then to a third; but also stay sane.

 

And finish this book.

 

Which I didn't manage to do until I'd settled in a quiet and peaceful town in Southern Ontario. Something about the cool breeze in midsummer, the way squirrels consistently targeted my car, a volunteer experience at a homeless shelter--something about all this somehow helped me finish this crazy espionage novel about a CIA agent struggling to know his wife better during a shady operation in Southeast Asia.

 

And finally it was here. The Haze. It tumbled out into our world exactly as I’d envisioned it six years ago: a child of adventure, mystique, copious research, and simplicity.

 

I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did writing it.

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Cheers,

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Burnaby Hawkes