The Conflagration follows a man faced with the task of saving the universe from an adversary who realizes things are more complex than anticipated. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The Book of Job from the Bible – The MC, Milo Sapphire, knows he’s the principal in a contest between Deity and Deity’s Adversary. I thought it would be really cool for Milo to take the ultimate risk and see how far he can push supposedly “all powerful” forces. After all, he’s got nothing to lose, right?

Discovering the actual limitations of omnipotence opens up many interesting areas to explore in subsequent books.

How has character development for Milo Saphire changed for you through the series?

Milo struggles with the exercise of power throughout the series. Just because he can, does that mean he should? Just because his friends and allies want him to exercise that power, is it still the right thing to do? What are his absolutes? Can they be changed? If the situation is desperate enough; does the end then justify the means? Can absolutes be prioritized? Is there a rank order? What is the extent of his “noblesse oblige” to the people who will be affected by his actions, both good and bad? And how does that fit into the life he lives as the leader of the Tribes with their “kill or be killed” societal structures?

He’s already walked away from everything once because he didn’t like who he became to survive and thrive. What would it take for him to do it again?

How did you balance the action scenes with the story elements and still keep a fast pace in the story?

In creating the milieu and the zeitgeist of the series, I ask myself, “what does everyone ‘know’ about a topic? What’s ‘common knowledge’?” It’s a big, complicated universe out there; lots of people doing lots of things. What’s the minimum amount of information needed to advance the plot? Will the inclusion of the story element advance the action? Is it an interesting enough thread to include and maybe just let dangle in the breeze of the plot rushing by? I love the reaction of “Hey wait, what was that? Oh never mind, the next bit’s already happening.”

I want my readers to have enough structure to recognize they’re on the roller coaster climbing to the top right before that first big drop. But not so much description of the blurry landscape flashing by that they get pulled out of the experience of the 90 degree corkscrew turn.

And who knows, something peripheral to today’s story, that dangling thread getting whipped in the breeze, may come into greater focus down the road. There’s definitely more than one roller coaster rattling around in my brain.

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

The next book is “The Promise of the Inang”. It should see the light of day in the latter half of 2025.

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