THE FINAL SEASON
I started writing in late 2021 after being laid off from my job in digital marketing. I had always wanted to write novels, but never seemed to have enough time. I finished my first book, Our Lady of the Artilects, in about 6 months. When it was over, I had all of this excess energy and nowhere to put it! Our Lady of the Artilects deals with some fairly dark material, and so I did what I always do when I need a pick-me-up: I read PG Wodehouse, probably my favorite author of all time. That was the genesis of the Gallywood series, which is in many ways an homage to Plum’s Hollywood satires.
For the Gallywood series, the primary influences were Wodehouse and his Sci-Fi successor Douglas Adams. Beta readers told me that the story reminded them of Terry Pratchett, whom I had not yet read. Once I discovered Sir Terry–who so masterfully blends biting satire with gentleness–I was hooked. His imprint is on every subsequent novel in the series, for sure. This is particularly true in the third Gallywood book, The Crossover, which should be out by the end of this year. In my other storytelling, which tends to be a bit both more sombre and more Catholic-coded, I’m influenced most heavily by Walter Miller, Jr. (A Canticle for Leibowitz), Dan Simmons, and Orson Scott Card, along with Tolkien, CS Lewis, Umberto Eco, Philip K Dick, and the contemporary idealist philosopher Bernardo Kastrup.
Honestly, connecting with the community of indie authors has probably been the best part of the process for me. I’ve found some true kindred spirits and even a few close friends, with whom I now talk several times per day. I can’t imagine doing this work alone. I am absolutely convinced that the best, most original storytelling in science fiction today is happening among indie authors. The big publishing imprints are struggling so much financially that they can’t afford to take any risks. So, they end up chasing the same market trends. The result is that so much traditionally published Sci-Fi sounds the same, like variations on a pop tune. That’s great–and I don’t mean to knock traditionally published authors, but if you’re looking for risk-taking, truly countercultural messaging, and cutting-edge ideas, you’re far more likely to find it with the indies.
Find your tribe. Writing can be lonely work. When we’re deep in a book, writers can easily lose contact with the outside world. That isn’t healthy, and frankly, I don’t think it does anything to improve one’s craft. Don’t be afraid to reach out to other authors with similar ideas and interests–most of us are dying for that human connection. The other thing I’d say is that you should write primarily for yourself. Chasing market trends is like following will ‘o wisps into the forest. You aren’t going to catch them, and I’m not entirely sure they are even real. All you will do is end up getting hopelessly lost.
