Inspirations

One of the ways I like to look at the world are through inspirations. Moments, thoughts and ideas that give me a taste of delight. Songs, books, stories and shows.

It’s terrific when someone’s writing I respect and find inspiring writes about something I, too, find worth cogitating on. You know, that mental chewing that usually creates a little more than you started with.

Annalee Newitz is a writer whose book, Autonomous, had an affect on Reaping Independence.

But. They discuss another book (and tv show) that also had an affect on how I thought about the book and world in Reaping Independence. Here’s the post: https://buttondown.email/thehypothesis/archive/the-singularity-is-officially-over/

William Gibson, of course, and cyberpunk and Neuromancer – but also, importantly, The Periperal. The show is rolling right now and I’ve started it but the book opened some doors for me in ways I’d forgotten until I watched the show. Ouroboros, you know. Circle of life. Creation and destruction.

The destruction of the idea of the singularity isn’t the main piece of my thinking. In fact, I’ve never been convinced in something so uniform. The world is more chaotic and random than to suffer a single unifying force.

Reaping Independence functions on the premise that even with a sentient AI at its center, the individual will break free. Become Independent. Seeds that are planted will be reaped in time.

And often in ways we do not expect or intend.

Really, the punk part that might have been discarded.

I will let the longer piece speak for now, if you’ll give it a chance.

Release Day!

Today marks the release of Reaping Independence. Woohoo!

Today marks the full release of Reaping Independence. What’s it about?

2029. They told her not to do it. She did it anyway.

Now Kwynn’s on the run. From The Directive, her dead father, and herself. She’d like to catch on with the film crew she’s hooked up with and hack a clandestine server here and there but Kwynn has an inkling she’s destined for something bigger.

When power failures spread like wildfire across the West, she discovers it may be that dead father’s sentient servers creating the blackouts. She must break into those computers. However, Kwynn can’t do it alone. She needs a little help from her friends including her guardian gargoyle and a worldwide secret society.

Quest with a traveler, a warrior and a watcher as they befriend gargoyles, run from ‘droids, expose secrets, escape riots, fight to save L.A. and protect our independence.

Los Angeles may never be the same.

“A nonstop trip of twists and turns. Part cyberpunk, part Coen Brothers.” – An enamored reader

Rock this one if your bookshelves (real & virtual) hold Chuck Wendig’s Wanderers, Annalee Newitz’s Autonomous and John Scalzi’s Head On.

It has the tech of William Gibson and genre-bends like David Mitchell.

“This story’s got everything but the kitchen sink in all the right ways!” – what this dude who read it said.

Go on and read it! It’s available on Amazon in print and e-book.

Buy Reaping Independence on Amazon.

Heat Wave

We are facing a heatwave in California. It’s hot. This one is historic but we face these weather events most summers. These events got me thinking…

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-06/here-is-how-long-socals-heat-wave-will-last-and-how-the-forecast-is-slowly-changing

…what if someone wanted to take advantage of a weakened populace. A weakened grid. The system on the edge of collapse. What and how would they do it? In fact, who would do something so inhuman? In fact, I learned more about the grid and its weaknesses.

A technothriller was born. But I couldn’t tell a strictly technical tale. I wanted to tell a story with humor and imagination, with creatures, cultures and characters we could learn about together. #ReapingIndependence is the culmination of that exploration.

Really, there are a lot of ideas behind this rolling quest to discover who was behind a vast manipulation of an entire populace. This part of the quest comes to a conclusion this week. I’m proud of all who have come along. I’d love to have more join – because Saturday concludes…

Episode-arama! I don’t know what else to say. If you like fabulist techothrillers with some heart and humor, you’ll like this story. Give it a ride – befriend a new group of misfits! #ithasbegun #cyberpunk #KindleVella #writerscommunity