Why to Write in the Near Future
“The near future” sounds like a new verb tense, like the past or the pluperfect, but to me it means a writing time somewhere between five minutes and a fifty years from now. My recent novels fall in this time frame, and I’ve been asked why I like to write then.
It’s simple, really. I’m curious about where we’re going as a people. In the Vault of Dreamers series, 50 years from now, a girl from the boxcar community of fictional Doli, Arizona, the poorest zip code in the country,… Continue reading
The Keep of Ages Launch
One month from today, on Sunday, August 27th at 5:00 pm, I’ll be at the UConn Barnes & Noble Bookstore at Storrs Center, in Storrs, CT for the launch of The Keep of Ages. I can hardly believe this moment is so close! I am thrilled about this book and excited to introduce it to readers soon. In terms of how far Rosie goes as a character and how mind-bending the philosophical concepts are, The Keep of Ages is the strongest book of the Vault of Dreamers trilogy.… Continue reading
Grisly Valley Theme Park
In The Keep of Ages, a significant setting is the defunct Grisly Valley Theme Park, a park of horror lands with a castle keep in the center. Set in Miehana, CA, (the opposite of Anaheim), the park has been closed for years because of a meltdown at a nearby nuclear power plant, and now the rides, buildings, and statues are decaying as vegetation gradually takes over. Tumbleweeds catch in the old turnstiles, and armadillos sleep in the window boxes. Yet at night, odd lights and noises can be witnessed… Continue reading
Surrounded by Lives
Visiting New York always jolts me. I become super conscious of all the lives unfolding around me, and though they’re all different from mine, I feel a universality with my fellow people. After all, many of us are focusing on the same basic goals: staying alive, protecting our families, celebrating milestones, earning a living, building community, and saving the world. “Sonder” from John Koenig’s The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows captures this awareness of other lives well, and one can’t help letting the imagination wander.
When I took… Continue reading
Return to Mountain
When I recently took a break from my writing to focus on family time, I was off the couch and far more active than I usually am, and I like the feeling so much that I don’t want to lose it. Now that I’m back to writing, which keeps me inactive for hours, I’m trying to make a point of taking longer walks, closer to two miles, rather than my old strolls to meet a friend for tea a block away.
I’ve also resumed my version of Tai Chi: a… Continue reading
Happy 4th of July!
Ari & Milo, my serial novel, is now up on Wattpad! I drew illustrations to go with each chapter, and best of all, it’s free! Because of problematic themes, this novel is for mature readers age 17+.
Book Trailer for Promised