Time’s Up follows the political leaders of Earth as they determine if an alien warning about the apocalypse is real, and if so, who will be saved to carry on mankind? What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

I wanted an alien presence that was benevolent not bent on destroying us. Using CME’s (which actually exist on the sun) as the humanity killer, allowed the aliens to play a positive role. I wanted to speculate as to how the world leaders might deal with an unavoidable cataclysmic event along with an offer of help from an completely unverified source. I wanted to examine how normal human and especially conventional political forces might affect our behaviors.

What was your approach to writing the interactions between characters?

The primary interactions are between the protagonist (Yaz) and two old friends. Yaz had very close, though never sexual, relations with both men. With one friend she needed his help. With the other he needed her help. And eventually both friends, who were complete strangers, helped each other. I placed all the conflict between Yaz and world leaders who generally could not change their ingrained behaviors even knowing they would be futile. Friends, on the other hand, only helped each other without expectation of reward or benefit.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

That humans may be their own worst enemy. Politics makes people into monsters who cannot recapture their humanity even in the most dire of situations. That friendships/love last forever and are our only hope of salvation.

What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

Working on a sequel to TIME’S UP. It will pick up where TU ends. If it takes as long as TU did (I hope not), maybe 2025 (if I live that long)?

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