About the Author

Roald Verdwahl (1977) is the pen name of Dutch writer, artist and educationalist. His work combines adventure, humour, philosophy and symbolism in stories where curiosity and wonder take centre stage. Larger themes are woven together with everyday situations and light-hearted humour.
With The Colour Village Trilogy (2026 – his first real finished work as a writer) he has created the symbolic world of Colour Village. There Tom, his new friends and the eccentric inventor Ben who lives at the edge of town, explore questions of identity, division and connection through play and adventure. Featuring short chapters, concise paragraphs, lively dialogue and richly expressive illustrations, the trilogy invites readers aged ten and above—as well as adults—to look at themselves and the world around them through a new pair of glasses.

Writing process
The writing process behind the trilogy was quite remarkable. After twenty-four years of developing its themes, ideas and symbolic framework, the entire story seemed to unfold almost by itself during an intensive five-week period of writing. Each sentence appeared to contain the seed of the next, allowing the narrative to grow in a way that felt both natural and surprising. It was an extraordinary creative experience. Afterwards, I used AI tools (ChatGPT) as a translation and editorial assistant while preparing the trilogy in British English for submission to publishers and literary agents abroad.