Hex

by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Colton Mathers was a life-form who had a lot in common with a marshy swamp: immune from evolution and sucking up every little mishap in its stinking depths, where it would never be forgotten.

The most fun I had writing HEX, next to Griselda and her peacock adventure, was with Robert Grim. I love Grim. His loathing observations of humanity and its dealings were a pure joy to me, because despite Grim being flawed, despite him essentially being an old grump, he is good at heart. Even when it all goes to hell, he tries to do good for the town. I love dark humor. Dutch humor is particularly dark, and a little blunt. This is tricky when a story travels beyond borders and cultures, as what’s considered funny in one place is not always the same in another. We had to adapt some of Grim’s original Dutch humor to get the message across, without making him seem like an insensitive dick. I remember my US editor asking me when she read the initial translation, “Why is he saying all these nasty things? Is the witch making him do that?” And I said, “No, he’s just having a bad day.”