Paul Damien was born in India and earned a PhD in Mathematics from Imperial College, London. He began his academic and writing career at Duke University. He then moved to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where he was tenured. The thrill from doing giddy mathematics resulted in a long hiatus from writing, but not before he had published one novel, Death at C Minor, re-released as Nannerl’s Symphony (2013). Even during this fiction writing withdrawal, he felt compelled to find time to publish a humorous exposé of self-help pundits in Help! Debunking the Outrageous Claims of Self-Help Gurus (2008).
In addition to having lived on three continents, at universities he had the convenient advantage of exploring the world while attending conferences that provided silage for several books including his new, as yet unpublished, thrillers, The Gershwin Cutter, Dead Words and The Better Club.
Says Damien, “It wasn’t my intention to take such a long break from fiction. Academic research interfered in a good way, for it demanded disciplined thinking and cogent communication,” while adding, “it is tyrannical people get pigeon-holed into specializations. In this age of somatic multi-tasking why shouldn’t we multi-idea?” He continues, “Could you imagine what Newton or Richard Feynman would have done with smart phones? But I guess there’s already an app for that.”
Damien is finishing two more crime novels: The King Within—Karza, and The King Within—Moksha.
“The pleasure of creating an interesting read is its own reward; if, subsequently, even one other individual ponders life differently than before, writing is time well-spent. The desire to re-release my thriller as an e-book in 2013 was sparked by an anonymous review of Death at C Minor at the Barnes and Noble website that I stumbled upon recently. Thank you, mysterious reader!”
It is quite remarkable that this is Paul Damien’s first novel. This is an intellectual novel that makes you think and keeps you turning pages. There are twists and turns, there are beautiful debates about the world we live in, there are discussions of fine wine and classical music…..and oh yea, there is quite the murder mystery. I highly recommend this novel. Paul Damien, please write more!!!
An avid swimmer and a skilled martial artist, Damien is currently on the faculty at the University of Texas in Austin. When he’s not working or sipping a martini, you can find him jogging on Austin’s Shoal Creek Trail with his Alsatian, Raja.