There’s a lot of pushback around the use of AI these days. Many have boarded the “F*cking make me” train, which feels like a shame to me. The wheel revolutionized transportation, trade, and engineering. The printing press democratized access to knowledge. The internet connected billions of people instantly across the globe. AI is a tool—perhaps […]
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Rituals that Shape Worlds
Rituals fascinate me. They’re the glue that binds a culture, the rhythm that gives meaning to ordinary days, and the stage where myth and memory meet. In “When the Earth Forgets”, Ortog undergoes the Rite of Green Iron. Statues filled with burning coals are placed on his body, testing his endurance and his ability to […]
Why Funny is Serious Work
Writing humor is a challenge. At least for me, it is. Not because jokes are difficult to come up with. My daughter and I have been riffing on LotR humor for months now. My favorite so far: “Why did Samwise prefer Rosie Cotton over Éowyn? Because she’s Shire.” Well, it works better when spoken. Which […]
My Montana Junket
A few months ago, I joined twelve of my workmates on a trip to Great Falls, Montana. I was transformed, but in ways that surprised me three months later. When we first arrived at Great Falls International, we saw Air National Guard hangars adjacent to commercial runways, and it felt surreal compared to my Los […]
The Living Ship of Theseus
Something I like exploring in my stories is themes of identity. How we see ourselves, how others see us, what changes as we grow, and what stays the same. My favorite character to write across all three books of Starship & Sorcery has been Nimbus. Nimbus starts as an AI medical nanobot collective, gains sentience, […]
Physics and the Fantastic
Magic is the most wonderful form of “unobtanium.” It allows anything to happen, regardless of energy requirements, differences in mass and density, and subverts all requirements for fuel. Strong and weak forces? Out the window! And that’s part of what makes it so wonderful to read about. Good stories featuring magic have good systems in […]
Behind the Prophecy
A prophecy features prominently in books 1 and 2 of Starships & Sorcery. The English translation (from the elvish star language of Einumín) goes like this: “While Olkaipa reigns a thousand years,“Rook’s wonder shines through swindled spheres.“What was shall fall to darkest blade,“Until from two, two rivers flow.“At the hour of truth all shall know,“The […]