In Depth

Back in 2023, when the manuscript of Thomia had been completed but publication was still very much in doubt, my friend Mathi K. Parthipan of Explore Sri Lanka sent a very capable journalist, Jennifer Paldano Goonewardane to interview me for the magazine. The result was ‘Unveiling the Thomian Story Afresh,' which was published in the November issue of ESL and republished on this blog. The article gave Thomia a much-needed boost at a time when publicity for the book was still almost nonexistent.

In early March, around the time Thomia was launched, ESL got back in touch with a request for an in-depth interview about my motivation for writing the book, how I set about research, and so on. So Jennifer and I met again, over iced coffee and pastries at the Dutch Burgher Union. The food turned out to be necessary, because the interview went on for almost three hours, with a couple of interruptions from Thomia customers wanting to get their copies signed. The topics we covered ranged from historical and general to deeply personal and I found myself wondering, afterwards, whether I’d said too much on certain subjects. When the interview was finally printed, however, I had lost those qualms.

The interview appears in this month’s issue of Explore Sri Lanka. I’ve held back for a few weeks to allow the magazine to be distributed before republishing it here in the Thomia Journal. It offers a full and remarkably insightful account of how I cam to write the book and how it came to be the kind of book it is, and it leaves me – frankly – with nothing left over to say about Thomia if and when I ever come to publish my memoirs.

Meanwhile, I’m happy to report that Thomia itself continues to sell well. We’re reaching the point where anyone who means to buy a copy had better place their order soon if they wish to be sure of one. To order, go to https://www.thomia.com/hhy, email me at gallebuck@yahoo.co.uk or send a WhatsApp message to +94777323226 and we’ll send you an invoice with clear instructions on how to make payment.