Every story begins as a whisper—an idea tugging at the edge of your thoughts until it’s no longer content to be quiet. That was certainly the case with Hey, Roomie!—though “whisper” might be too soft a word for the way this book barged into my brain. The idea came early. The timing? Complicated. Hey, Roomie! was actually intended to be my second published novel, following Duality. I was already deep into the writing process when…
Posts published in April 2025
There’s a moment in every story when a character stops being words on a page and starts breathing. You know it when it happens. Suddenly, they’re making choices you didn’t plan, saying things that aren’t in your notes, dragging the plot in a direction you didn’t intend—but can’t resist following. That’s when you know they’re alive. Creating characters that feel real isn’t about giving them a tragic backstory or a quirky catchphrase. It’s about knowing…
The first draft of a novel is a glorious, chaotic mess. There’s no other way to describe it. You get the idea, you chase it, you lasso it onto the page while it’s still half-feral and snarling, and for a while, it feels like triumph. Like art. Like the great masterpiece has arrived in the form of a blinking cursor and 90,000 words that you just know are at least 87% brilliant. Then you reread…