Renaissance man

Despite all its opportunities, fast pace and thriving arts scene, Hong Kong often seems to be more about ideas than action. People may talk a lot, but don't always follow through on their seemingly brilliant plans.

That's never been a problem for Duncan Jepson. A lawyer by day, Jepson balances his already busy career with a number of creative endeavours: writing books and graphic novels, making films and documentaries, editing the Asia Literary Review magazine, and running a literary agency.

The average creative type would be happy with any of those, of course. But how does a man who holds the full-time position of regional head of legal at a large asset-management company find the time?

"It all starts off with stories. As a lawyer, I'm used to writing professionally, but once you start with stories, you realise there's so much to learn," he says. "And then, every other day, you learn that there's so much more to learn and it becomes a constant process of trying and failing. You begin to judge the potency of your message and start to do things very quickly, say over the course of lunchtime or an evening, and then get back to the job."

It's a simple explanation for a very thorough, thought-out process, one that no doubt took most of his life to hone. Born and raised in Yorkshire, England, Jepson spent most of his 20s involved in manufacturing on the mainland before training as a lawyer and moving to Hong Kong. But while his career ambitions were always firmly set in his mind, Jepson's deep interest in telling stories held just as important a place.

Unlike the many book-obsessed people who dream of becoming a literary genius, Jepson never talked about wanting to write. He just started writing - first for himself, and then articles for free magazines and specialist publications related to his fields.