Style: Short Fiction, Novels

Interests: My kids, information architecture, myth, literature, B-movies

Samples:
  *  Excerpt from Ankala's Theme
  *  Star Trek short: Uncharted Waters

Writing stories is like working metal in a forge. It's hot, unglamorous work. You spend a lot of time sweating by yourself, pounding ideas into shape. You lift them from the anvil and smile when you've created something beautiful, or cringe when they're not quite right. The good ideas shine out for the world to see and the others go back into the coals to melt down and work another day. It’s a ritual. The next time you take up the hammer you're a little stronger than before, and a little more skilled.

That’s my philosophy on life, too.

I've pulled a lot of lives out of the fire, pounded on them for a while, and then put them back in to reforge. I've worked chemical assembly lines and nursed Air Force battle management systems, promoted library openings and operated the heavy equipment that dug the foundations. I’ve introduced chaos into time-hardened information systems and enforced order upon unruly new ones. I've loved, and lost, and loved again—more than once—and always kept the best and returned the worst to the flames. All that pounding leaves me with a life I'm proud to hold up to the light.

It contains two amazing children, rich memories, great friends and a remarkable woman to spend my days and nights with. It also contains enough rough edges to keep me close to the fire and adding new metal when I can.

And I intend to keep on pounding until the forge goes cold or the hammer falls from nerveless fingers.

Favorite Books

Any list of favorites is too short, and would change depending on what day you ask. Today it looks like this:

Fantasy:

• The Lord of the Rings--J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Harper Hall trilogy--Anne MaCaffrey
• Earthsea Trilogy--Ursula K. LeGuin
• The Alvin Maker series--Orson Scott Card

SciFi:

• Neuromancer--William Gibson
• Ender's Game--Orson Scott Card
• To Ride Pegasus--Anne MaCaffrey
• We--Yvgeny Zamiatin
• The Pride of Chanur--C. J. Cherryh

Horror:

• Strangers--Dean Koontz
• The Shining--Steven King

Short Fiction:

• The Machine Stops--E. M. Forster
• Nightfall--Isaac Asimov
• The Game of Cat and Dragon--Cordwainer Smith

SciFi/Fantasy Movies:

• Bladerunner
• The Star Wars Universe
• Brazil
• The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon