The future of AI

Robot on a bench reading a book

While writing The Water Carriers, I constantly tried to imagine how AI would work in the future. I decided this experience would be highly personal and everpresent. It wouldn’t be a tool you ask questions, like today. It would be more like a companion always there to help you get the most out of life. […]

It’s dystopian

A tall dystopian apartment building in Hong Kong

Nothing says joy to me like a good dystopian novel. Well, maybe not joy, but they are fascinating—a dark future where the oppressed fight against tyranny. The first book I wrote, The Water Carriers, was meant to be dystopian, but as the plot developed, I realized I had the wrong genre. It was really post-apocalyptic […]

Pauper to Prince

Red wing on black background

Pierce Brown’s “Red Rising” is a dystopian novel set on Mars. A rigid color-based caste system divides society, and the protagonist, Darrow, is a Red. The Reds are the bottom caste suffering a harsh life below the earth’s surface, terraforming the planet in preparation for the other colors to join them. A swift series of […]

Rain is out there

Book cover of From the Orchard

While my novel hasn’t been published yet, I’m very excited to get the story out there. My company has a writing group and publishes a quarterly book of writing called From The Orchard. Kudos to Lloyd Hall, who is an amazing champion for writers and leads our writing group. This quarter’s issue focused on the […]

Pantser or Plotter?

Person holding a ship's steering wheel with one finger

The Water Carriers takes place in a near-future world that is both the same and very different from today. There are still companies and jobs. There are still laws. People still buy necessities like clothes and food, but wow, the food has changed. While writing the book, I struggled to understand why the world was […]

I could have said it better

A magnifying glass focussed on the word Grammar.

I have sent off my query letters for The Water Carriers, and now I’m waiting for the end of summer. Most agents have said they will reply in two months, or not. In the meantime, I’m going through my manuscript to see what else I can do to improve it. Well, that and getting on […]

Stuck in normalcy

Woman walking down grocery aisle with half empty shelves

A woman in Costa Mesa, California, was trapped inside her Tesla for 40 minutes. Outside, people walked around the car, but she made no effort to call for help because her car told her to stay inside. Imagine you were stuck in your car while mere feet away; people walk out of Chick-fil-A with ice-cold […]

Oryx and Crake book review

“Oryx and Crake” by Margaret Atwood explores an all-too-familiar theme today. Techno Bro builds a fantastic, successful business and then explores his philosophy on what is wrong with the world. It doesn’t end well.

Deadlines come and go

My family and I had a lot going on from November through January, with numerous holidays and birthdays to celebrate. I imagined myself sitting at my desk, listening to holiday music