A few weeks ago, my editor asked me to write the W-III blog for April. She thought it would be a great opportunity to share what keeps me motivated to continue writing. I didn’t want to jot down a simple list of tropes or surface-level ideas. The question, along with the metaphorical foot tapping outside my office door, pushed me to truly reflect on what drives me.

Exactly three years ago, I published my first book, The God Protocol: Dragon, a hard science fiction thriller with multiple points of view and at least five interwoven plotlines. Most advice I came across warned that it was too ambitious for a new author. The challenges were significant, and the chances of being picked up by a traditional publisher were slim. I didn’t listen. It was the story I wanted to tell, one that had been building in my mind since 2016.

Dragon was originally intended to be a standalone novel with a twist ending. I understood the importance of plotting but didn’t feel bound by it, influenced in part by On Writing by Stephen King. During a time when my wife was undergoing medical treatments, I committed to writing 1,000 words a day. Some days it took hours, while other days it took only forty minutes. I stayed consistent and checked off each day as I went.

When I submitted the first 50 pages for a developmental edit, it was a wake-up call. The editor had warned me he would be brutally honest, and he was. What I received back looked like a high school paper covered in red ink. I could have walked away and decided it was too much work or a lost cause. Instead, I leaned in. He told me the story had potential, but the manuscript needed to be rewritten. So I rewrote it.

I approached revision in a way I never had before. I studied every comment and suggestion. I cut characters, combined storylines, and refined scenes and dialogue. I worked to understand not just what needed to change, but why. In the end, I was proud of what emerged. It remained a multi-POV, globe-spanning story with greater clarity, focus, and polish.

The God Protocol: Dragon was published in April 2023 and has since reached nearly 500 purchases and 5,000 downloads. While recognition and sales are appreciated, they are not what drive me. What truly motivates me is reader feedback and the knowledge that the story resonated.

“I have been reading SF since the late ’50s as a late teen. This story matches any of those by the masters of those times, and back to Jules Verne and others. Just wonderful and contemporary. Hope the author continues creating more engrossing and thoughtful novels or series….”
— Amazon Review

I have loved storytelling since the late 1970s, from playing Dungeons & Dragons to discovering my passion for reading in seventh grade. A great story has always had the power to transport me, placing me inside the world and alongside the characters. That is the experience I strive to create for my readers.

When someone shares that they could not put my book down, I am motivated to write more. When I receive a critical review, I am motivated to improve. Both continue to push me forward.

I have many more stories to tell, and if even a small fraction of the world’s billions of readers finds one of them, perhaps it will bring a moment of joy or escape. And who knows, maybe one day I will even receive a review from an Anunnaki or another celestial visitor.

Let’s go!