Blog Archives
An Abundance Of Creativity And Magic
Cherry’s Big Wish follows a young mermaid who makes a birthday wish that takes her on an exciting adventure to meet fairies. What was the inspiration for your story?
My first inspiration comes from my experience as a little girl and wanting to read more magical stories. I loved magic, mermaids, fairies, and castles. In fact, I believed in fantasy so deeply I remember asking for my Care Bear colouring book to come to life. My second inspiration comes from the universe, which I believe carries an abundance of creativity and magic that is available to everyone.
I would like to add that I think all children’s books are inspirational. My love of reading wouldn’t exist if my mom hadn’t read me books by Dr. Seuss, Robert Munsch, and The Berenstain Bears. My first novel was R.L Stein’s Goosebumps book Say Cheese and Die.
The art in this book is fantastic. What was the art collaboration process like with illustrator Chloé Elimam?
Chloé and I met over Instagram and connected over our shared love of mermaids and fairies. Working with Chloe was a great experience. She did a phenomenal job of bringing the vision in my imagination to life. I enjoyed the anticipation of waiting for each illustration to arrive in my inbox and felt a flood of excitement with each reveal. We very much worked on this book side-by-side, and I think by the end, my attention to detail may have been a bit exhausting.
I encourage everyone to look up Chloé Elimam illustrations. Put her on your watchlist for breakout talent. I believe she’ll be illustrating animations in the near future.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
Friendship, big wishes, and believing in the ability to make your dreams come true. I want kids to be inspired by those ideas and to stay connected to their childlike wonder as they grow up. Afterall, dreams come true when you’re young at heart.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I have a couple of new stories in the works. I’d like to see Cherry’s Big Wish expand into a series called Cherry and Friends. The next book will likely be a Halloween story as the first book has a birthday theme. In this story, a new boy mermaid moves to town, but he’s shy and afraid to show himself because he looks different. Cherry befriends Frank and signs them both up for the Halloween costume contest at school. Spoiler: Frank might win the Halloween contest for his Frankenstein costume with the support of his new friends.
The next story I’m really excited about is a stand-alone book that’s tentatively titled Susy Snippets. This story follows Susy, an 11-year-old girl who has an incredible talent for turning the boring hairstyles in her town into magnificent works of art. As word spreads about Susy’s talents, she’s asked to style the mayor’s hair for a special event. When Susy’s swivel scissors break the night before her biggest transformation, she must believe her talent lies within herself and not her magical swivel scissors.
I’d love to traditionally publish Susy Snippets, which means I am looking for an agent. I can imagine it being on store shelves in about two and a half to three years. I’ll make a big wish!
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Instagram
The Ones Who Don’t Quite Fit In
The Misfit Crew follows a sixteen-year-old girl who has lost her mother and is forced to move to a new town where she discovers friends to whom she can relate. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I started writing this book shortly after my own mother passed away in 2021 so I was dealing with a lot of pain and grief myself. Writing for me has always been therapy and a way to process my feelings, so I think I channeled a lot of my emotions into Bay’s character, who also just lost her own mother.
Did you create an outline for the characters in the story before you started writing, or did the characters’ personalities grow organically as you were writing?
Yes I did quite a thorough outline of characters and plot outline before writing. But these character personalities definitely progressed beyond what I had originally envisioned. I really wanted very real, flawed, three-dimensional characters, and I feel I definitely achieved this, more than any other story I have written. So much so that I actually missed writing this story after I was finished, I found I missed the characters. They became very alive to me, and I found myself re-reading my book quite a few times after I was finished – like I wasn’t quite ready to let them go.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Besides dealing with the theme of grief and loss, I wanted to write a story about a girl coping with anxiety and depression, just as I did as a teenager. Even before her mother dies, Bay has been struggling with mental illness, and I wanted to explore what it really feels like for someone going through this. I started getting severe anxiety and panic attacks around 12 or 13, and it is terrifying for a teenager who has no idea what is going on. Also friendship, especially for teens who are on the outside, the “misfits,” the ones who don’t quite fit in anywhere, but who luckily find each other at a time when they need it the most.
Will this novel be the start of a series or are you working on a different story?
I wrote this as a standalone story, not as a series. I just felt like I had told the story I had wanted to, so didn’t feel the need to expand upon it. As a multi-genre author, I find I am always working on something different. My first book, Amber Tambourine and the Land of Laugh-a-Lot, is a children’s picture book, and I have a second Amber Tambourine book that will be coming out in the next year or so. As well, I am working on an idea for a poetry and prose chapbook on the topic of grief.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Sixteen-year-old Bay’s life is slowly unravelling. Already dealing with a debilitating anxiety disorder and a shameful secret, her world is further turned upside down after the sudden death of her mother. Not quite ready to let go, Bay continues sending emails to her dead mother. Her father moves her and her twin brother Ronin to small-town Woodgrove, hoping to make a fresh start. She meets Evie and Xander, fellow misfits who help restore her belief that deep, meaningful friendships do exist, even if you are on the outside. But her friendship with Xander is put to the test when romantic feelings come into play. After her anxiety disorder turns life threatening, Bay discovers that you can never really escape your old life, and that problems will follow you wherever you go – especially when you don’t ask for help.
Is It Worth Rolling The Dice
Drawn Into Danger follows a 24-year-old’s journey to teach English in Algeria, where he becomes immersed in local culture and unwittingly drawn into a secret police operation to thwart a coup. Were there any personal experiences or stories that influenced your writing of Drawn Into Danger?
I lived and worked in Algeria from 1979 to 1982, and I used my experiences of the settings to place the story, but most of the actions described are fictional. It was an exciting time, and using the idea of a secret plot to overthrow the government wasn’t so far-fetched as there were periods of instability. However, for many reasons, mainly because I was young and it was my first real job, I fell in love with the country and the people. But yes, some of the incidents are real, and a few characters are based on people I knew, but they are inserted into situations that tested them. By using touches of reality, I think the characters and events become realistic and acceptable. One example of an actual event is the car crash in the desert, but I added elements to make it fit into the story.
How did you balance the fast-paced action and suspense with the central themes of friendship and loyalty in the novel?
You are right. Friendship and loyalty are the binding themes that create a lasting relationship between the characters. I allied this with the idea that jealousy can destroy relationships. Dave had to cope with envy of his ex-lover, Steve. Susan had to choose between forgiving her husband, a serial adulterer, or leaving him and the beautiful villa she lived in looking out onto the Mediterranean Sea.
I needed a strong bond that would ensure the characters felt loyalty to support each other as they devised a revenge plot, even in dangerous situations.
The first part of the story sets the scene and creates the atmosphere for the rest of the book when events take control of Dave’s and his friends’ lives. There is a sequence of actions that are at first unconnected, but they begin to coalesce to trap the characters into a trajectory that they lose control of and with consequences that they would never have predicted.
What kind of message do you hope readers will take away from Dave’s journey in the novel?
Life is full of risks, yet at the same time, it’s exciting, and maybe those risks are worth taking no matter where they lead. Dave took a chance, going to Algeria, leaving a lasting impression on him. Dave loses someone he loved, but it leaves open an eternal question. Is it worth rolling the dice because who knows what will happen?
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Instagram | Pinterest | LinkedIn | FriesenPress
My Accidental Past
His Mother’s Son: Memoirs of an Accidental Man shares your story about breaking away from a dysfunctional family and building the life you wanted outside of their expectations. Why was this an important book for you to write?
This central theme actually derives from the primary theme of the book, which is the conflicted relationship I had with my mother. The final resolution of this relationship took sixty years, but in the meantime I did escape from my accidental past and find an authentic life. This constructive effort was motivated not just by my fractured maternal bond, but by the subsequent experience of isolation from family, friends, school, church, and society. Parental expectations evolved and were expressed over time, which only fueled a rebellious response that was already part of my initial impulse.
Work on the manuscript that began as an exercise in self-discovery and eventually became a first draft started not long after the death of my mother. Despite decades spent salvaging a new life from the ruins of my childhood, no profound emotional/psychological resolution of this estranged relationship had been achieved. I determined to focus my energy on this potential solution to the primary problem of my life. Indeed, the very process of writing was the means to comprehend and forgive both my mother and myself, to quit the past and move on.
Upon completing the text I realized profound and positive results. During the two years it had taken, I came to see the themes I had experienced as personal were in fact universal. I also saw my lifelong quest for understanding as a selfish pursuit for which I wanted to compensate. That’s why I decided to publish it.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
The pathological relationship between my mother and myself was certainly the most difficult topic to write about. There can be no avoiding even the most painful experiences, and without the truth the work is not only pointless but counterproductive. I would hasten to add, however, that this exposition constituted the most critical and valuable aspect of the entire exercise, and was the crux in yielding a real resolution to this conflict. It taught me that truth is the path to forgiveness.
What is one piece of advice someone gave you that changed your life?
Good advice is plentiful, especially in works of literature, philosophy, and autobiographies. I have benefitted from such counsel as often as I have pursued it. But it is also available in everyday life to the extent we are willing to listen and heed it. My father once told me that I would find someone on a soapbox on every street corner telling me their view of the world and what I should do. He added that if I didn’t figure it out for myself, I would only have their options to choose from. Time has confirmed the worth of this observation.
What is one thing readers take away from your story?
Perhaps the most common comment about the story is that it shows how we can change a life determined by chance circumstances into a life shaped by our conscious responses.
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads
“I was enthralled. The descriptions are among the most beautiful I have ever read….forced me to read into the wee smalls…”
“His writing is extraordinary, and I felt time suspend as I read the radiant passages.“
“His Mother’s Son is a book that is full of substance and heart.”
What Highly Rated Amazon Customers said about the memoirs…
“This honest and raw storytelling style is powerful and thought-provoking… a must-read for anyone who has struggled to find their place in the world. The book is a testament to the human spirit…“
“This is a must-read for anyone looking for a moving, thought-provoking, and ultimately uplifting memoir.“
” The cover is attractive and the ending is interesting. Fan of Common Loss by Kirsten Tranter? You may like this story as well.”
How do you turn an accidental life into an authentic one? How do you find the place where you fit in?
Paul Anthony’s moving memoir is a powerful story of personal growth, self-discovery, and overcoming adversity. Raised in a dysfunctional family with an abusive mother, he struggled to find his place in the world and connect with others, leading to complex relationship conflicts and emotional challenges. But determined to heal and transform his accidental life into an authentic one, Paul embarks on a journey of self-discovery that takes him from steamy jungles to frozen mountains, and even to the depths of his darkest dreams.
As he confronts the emotional trauma of his past and navigates the complexities of relationships and family dynamics, Paul strives to find his true identity and overcome the impact of childhood trauma on his mental health. Filled with candid insights into his struggles with emotional abuse, the author offers readers a guide to emotional healing, resilience, and coping mechanisms.
This inspirational memoir is a compelling read that will resonate with anyone who has experienced family conflict, relationship struggles, or childhood trauma. If you’ve enjoyed the writing styles of Dean Koontz, Kirsten Tranter, and Claire North, you won’t want to miss Paul’s memoirs.
Offering practical self-help advice and lessons in self-awareness and self-improvement, the book is a powerful testament to the human spirit’s capacity for resilience and transformation.
So if you’re looking for an inspirational memoir that will help you overcome emotional challenges and find your true identity, click “Buy Now With 1-Click” and join Paul on his quest for meaning, healing, and personal growth.”
The Motive For Murder
Do Nothing follows a homicide detective in New York City who is searching for a serial killer.What was the initial idea behind this story, and how did that transform as you were writing the novel?
I wanted to create a copycat killer, and thought that a familiar setting with modern technology would be best for readers. While creating the villain’s persona, I chose New York City to be Griffin’s battlefield.
How did you come up with the idea for the antagonist in this story, and how did it change as you wrote?
I chose revenge to be the motive for murder and I always thought that a hooded villain would be cool. You can thank the Grim Reaper and Death Wish for that.
While working on this novella, I thought about ways I could make it better, even during the writing process.
What kind of research did you do for this novel to ensure you captured the essence of the story’s theme?
Police procedure, New York City, names of different things, etc.
What will the next book in that series be about and when will it be published?
A Colossal Injustice: A Griffin Knight Corporate Murder Mystery is the next novella in this series; it is published on Amazon. Detective Griffin Knight leaves New York City to embark on a new case in Seattle. Along the way, he makes new friends and enemies – outside of his jurisdiction.
Don’t miss out! Grab your copy here: https://amzn.to/3ZO9hxb
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website
Winter Pencraft 2023 Seasonal Book Award Winner
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A serial killer is on the loose in New York City.
This wasn’t the kind of day Griffin Knight looked forward to when he woke up this morning. Sure, being a homicide detective is never unicorns and rainbows, yet knowing the victim of a murder scene is up there with some of the really bad days.
There’s an avenger on the loose in New York with all the hallmarks of a long-silent serial killer.
But how does this serial killer choose the victims? Do the victims share something in common? How many more names are on his list?Can Griffin Knight cut through the questions this guy is throwing his way, or would there be another murder?
Empower And Inspire Individuals
A Path to Excellence shares your insights gained from personal experience and research that can guide readers to creating their best possible selves. Why was this an important book for you to write?
In today’s fast-paced, uncertain, and competitive world, many people struggle to find purpose and direction in their personal and professional lives. Many end up giving up, abandoning their goals, and giving in to despair. I have seen firsthand the impact that anxiety, fears, doubts, stress, and a lack of clarity, direction, and purpose can have on individuals and organizations. Furthermore, people feel uncertain about which path to take, especially when they know it’s a life-changing decision!
What choices and decisions we make now as we navigate the challenges presented by the eight inevitable cycles of life: transition, regeneration, focus, rebirth, balance, service, unity, and infinity matter for the future we collectively are creating. By writing A Path to Excellence, I aim to provide readers with hope and a clear roadmap for achieving success in their personal and professional lives, unlocking their full potential, and achieving their goals. To inspire readers to aim high and persevere when the tough gets going so they can reach greater heights.
A Path to Excellence was an essential book for me to write because I was called to offer practical advice and strategies for overcoming these challenges and achieving excellence in all areas of life; thus, each of us can exemplify high human potential. The insights and strategies presented in this book can transform lives and help people take control of their lives and achieve success across all the critical areas of life.
Ultimately, my goal in writing A Path to Excellence is to empower and inspire individuals to pursue excellence because it is a key driver of success and fulfillment in both personal and professional endeavors. When we strive for excellence, we are intrinsically inspired to continuously improve ourselves, our relationships, our skills, our service, and our performance.
This drive for excellence can lead to several benefits, including:
- Increased Productivity: Pursuing excellence requires hard work and dedication. We are more likely to be productive and efficient when focused on achieving excellence.
- Greater Satisfaction: When we achieve excellence in our work, we feel a sense of accomplishment and pride. This can lead to greater satisfaction and fulfillment in our personal and professional lives.
- Improved Reputation: Pursuing excellence can help us build a strong reputation as someone committed to quality and performance. This can lead to greater opportunities for career advancement and success.
- Increased Confidence: When we achieve excellence in our work, we develop confidence and self-assurance. This confidence can help us take on new challenges and pursue new opportunities.
- Competitive Advantage: Pursuing excellence can give us a competitive advantage in the marketplace. By consistently delivering high-quality work, we can differentiate ourselves from competitors and attract new clients and customers.
Pursuing excellence is important because it can help us achieve our goals, build our reputation, and lead to greater satisfaction and success in our personal and professional lives. As a transformational life and business coach and consultant, I encourage my clients to embrace a culture of excellence and to strive continuously for improvement in all critical areas of life.
The cover for this book is interesting. How did you create the cover for A Path to Excellence?
The infinity symbol is often associated with timelessness, limitlessness, and endless potential. In the context of excellence, the infinity symbol on the book’s cover represents the idea that excellence is a continuous journey with many stages rather than a destination and that there is always room for growth and improvement.
The number eight is also significant in many cultures and belief systems and is associated with success, abundance, and achievement in numerology. The number eight is considered lucky in Chinese culture because it resembles the Chinese character for “prosperity.” Additionally, the eight cycles of life refer to the idea that life is a series of stages or phases, each with its challenges and opportunities for growth.
The rainbow colors on the cover relate to personal development in several ways. Each rainbow color has a unique energy and symbolism that can be applied to excellence. They provide a framework for understanding and working with different aspects of the self. By tapping into the symbolism and energy of each color, individuals can cultivate a deeper understanding of themselves and their personal development journey.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
The importance of mindset: Developing a growth mindset and positive attitude can be crucial for achieving excellence. This includes learning to embrace failure, staying inspired, and maintaining a sense of optimism even in the face of challenges.
Goal setting: Setting clear goals and developing a plan for achieving them is essential to personal development and achieving excellence. This includes identifying specific, measurable, and achievable goals, developing a plan to track progress, and making adjustments as needed.
Self-awareness: Developing a deep understanding of oneself, including strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement, is a crucial component of personal development and achieving excellence. This includes learning to identify and overcome limiting beliefs and behaviors and developing a sense of self-awareness that allows for continuous growth and improvement.
Continuous learning: Pursuing continuous learning and skill development is essential for achieving excellence. This includes seeking out new experiences, learning from mentors and experts, and developing a habit of lifelong learning.
Perseverance: Developing the ability to persevere in the face of obstacles and setbacks is a key component of achieving excellence. This includes developing resilience, learning to bounce back from failure, and staying motivated and focused even when the going gets tough.
Overall, A Path to Excellence likely includes a range of ideas and strategies for personal and professional development and achieving excellence, focusing on using the eight steps of the octagon of excellence method to develop the mindset, skills, and habits needed to succeed in any endeavor.
What is one thing readers take away from your book?
One thing readers will take away from reading A Path to Excellence is a proven roadmap for enhancing and growing their spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, relationship, social, career, business, financial, and leadership life. They can use the Octagon of Excellence method to develop a growth mindset and strategic focus, take ownership and accountability for unlocking their fullest potential, and achieve success, greater well-being, and fulfillment.
Author Links: GoodReads | Readers Favourite | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | Website
Are you tired of settling for mediocrity? Do you want to become the high-achieving person you know you can be? Are you ready to let go of your limiting beliefs and step into the prosperous, successful, and fulfilled life you know you are meant to have?
If so, A Path to Excellence is for you.
Thoroughly researched with authentic advice and ground breaking strategies, this illuminating blueprint for self-mastery invites you on a journey to realize your full potential, clarify your vision, and dare to achieve your dreams.
Inside, you’ll join #1 bestselling, award-winning author, Tony Jeton Selimi as he reveals a proven path to achieving the highest levels of personal and professional excellence. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Tony went from living homeless and penniless as a victim of civil war, to becoming a self-made millionaire and internationally recognised authority on emotional intelligence and maximising human potential.
Built on his critically acclaimed The Octagon of Excellence Method, this book breaks down Tony’s 30 years of experience into an easy-to-digest blueprint, challenging you to step beyond your limits and become the master of your destiny.
Inside, you’ll discover:
• The Eight Essential Components of Human Excellence
• How to Go Beyond Your Perceived Limits To Face Your Doubts, Excuses and Fears Head On
• A Step-By-Step Path To Address Challenges Mindfully, Overcome Distractions and Sharpen Your Focus
• The Exact Actions to Take to Break Free From the Internal Barriers That Are Preventing You From Achieving Your Full Potential
A must-read for anyone who dreams of creating a rewarding and meaningful personal, professional, and business life, A Path to Excellence will quickly become the key you need to realize your true vision of excellence.
The Power Of Love
Alexandria: Unshattered Love follows a newly divorced psychiatrist who goes on vacation to Paris alone and ends up on a journey of self-discovery. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I truly enjoy being inspired by the power of love because love is one of the most complex emotions we could possibly have, and love, sees no color.
Alexandria goes through a lot of growth in this story. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
Real-life experience, to some extent, observing others around me, including myself, evolved through life challenges and/or discovering new things about ourselves as life goes on and/or later on in life.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Firstly, romantic scenes to spark the imagination and to invite readers into the characters’ world desires – experiences – love – courtship – family strife – rich inner lives are given value – center stage.
Will there be a follow-up novel to this story? If so, what aspects of the story will the next book cover?
Yes. Unshattered Love Book Series Book 2 title BELIEVE will be available this fall 2023.
‘Everything we think we know, guess again’
With everything on the line, will she risk it all for love?
Book 3 PROMISES will be released 2024.
Author Links: Website | Amazon
Her best friend Samantha invites her on a European trip to Paris. As Dr. Alexandria Belmont starts a new chapter with a bright outlook on life. She affirms her decision to travel abroad for the first time in her life.
At the last minute, Samantha is unable to travel because of an unexpected work obligation. She promises Dr. Alexandria Belmont that she’ll make up for her late arrival to Paris. Dr. Alexandria Belmont will be forced to question her lifelong friendship with Samantha. She will discover the connection between sultry-voiced Alessio, Samantha, and ex-husband Fredrick.
Perhaps, Dr. Alexandria Belmont carries her own secrets?
Alexandria is a powerful probe of matters of the heart and psyche. Its ability to take a psychiatrist’s growth and evolution to the next level beyond a romantic interest alone lends it a three-dimensional heart that will appeal to romance readers looking for more depth than most genre romance offer… The process by which Alexandria overcomes many engrained fears and preconceptions of who she is and her future makes for particularly involving reading… perhaps as compelling as the head-over-heels romance she finds herself entwined in.
Diane Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book, Book Review
Embark on an unexpected journey…
A riveting fiction novel that engrosses one’s attention with a story full of conflict, tension, suspense, unexpected twists, and high stakes, all packaged effortlessly.
This Book Will Both Challenge and Encourage Every Type of Relationship.
What Kind Of Submission?
Gardens, Groves, and Mechanical Trees follows a professor and former student who discuss the ethical implications of AI development. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
From a deep-rooted interest in the Sociology of Values and Beliefs, Ethics, and, the freedom of story-telling in Near-Future Fiction, I felt inspired to take a favorite quote as foundation for writing about the emergence of Artificial Intelligence in western society.
The re-quote from the work of Max Weber is:
“There are, to use the words of F. Th. Vischer, Subject Matter Specialists and Interpretative Specialists. The fact greedy gullet of the former can be filled only with legal documents, statistical worksheets, and questionnaires, but he is insensitive to the refinement of a new idea. The gourmandize of the latter dulls his taste for facts by ever new intellectual subtleties. That genuine artistry which, among the historians, ranke possessed in such grand measure, manifests itself through its ability to produce new knowledge by interpreting already known facts according to known viewpoints.”
My initial inspiration is to explore whether Artificial Intelligence is being developed to be more like Subject Matter Specialists, that is the fact greedy gullet, or, more like Interpretive Specialists with the preference for intellectual subtleties. From this foundation, my research and writing to follow, evolved into the story exploring where wisdom, whether organic or artificial, may lie amongst the Gardens, Groves, and Mechanical Trees.
What do you think were some of the defining moments in Professor Garmin’s development?
Professor Garmin was not a politically correct, tenured academic reeling in the years. Rather he was true to openly teaching and to encourage Critical Thinking. What he taught was that nothing about artificial intelligence is easy-in easy-out.
Singled out for his commitment to a balance of Subject Matter and Interpretative influence, Professor Garmin was erroneously convicted and maimed for questioning the potential of unnatural Artificial Intelligence that would otherwise punish the natural, organic ability of humanity to teach its own values and beliefs. Professor Garmin was prepared to stand up to the AI bullying, until he was targeted and ultimately rendered both physically and emotionally submissive.
Now quadriplegic, and entering his new phase of life, Quad Garmin never accepted the submission, and ultimately overcame his physical and mental prison to discover self-determination on his terms. And, to attain his freedom and self-determination, all he had to do was match Curantus’ Advanced Artificial Intelligence, with the cleverness, cunning and ingenuity only a determined human could achieve and maintain.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this screenplay?
Once I started to research and write Gardens, Groves, and Mechanical Trees the thematic pallet was bountiful.
With respect the main characters of Professor/Quad Garmin and Curantis, an initial theme was that of organic teaching/learning versus inorganic teaching/learning. That is, whether the Advanced Artificial Intelligence of Curantus could accommodate both the organic teaching provided by Professor Garmin, and, while continuing with the inorganic teaching model of merely taking in data and mimicking responses from the processing of raw data and imagery.
An extension of the above theme evolved to provide creative tension when pushing the theme of whether being clever, might ultimately overcome artificial intelligence in a disagreement. Quad Garmin knew he had only his mind to use against the Artificial Intelligence of Curantus, and, that nothing would likely be settled with the RoboHumanoid in a direct Mano a RoboMano confrontation. Left for Quad Garmin to utilize, was his resourcefulness for being clever, cunning, and ingenious. And, of course, this challenge evolved into the theme of whether there would be escape or no escape from the power of Curantus’ Advanced Artificial Intelligence.
Having established some of the thematic storytelling for the main characters, the challenge became one of creating the setting.
What was obvious was that I wanted the broad setting/pallet to enhance and build upon the broader theme of Natural versus Unnatural. What evolved was the Road-Trip, or Yellow Brick Road theme of Curantus pushing Quad Garmin through Natural Gardens of Classic Beauty, and, through Unnatural settings of Irradiated Forests and at times the dark Goth/Steam Punk environs where Mechanical Trees thrive.
From this broad pallet I also wanted to develop the theme of how small a world the data-mimicry driven world of inorganic artificial intelligence can be within the expansive diverse Natural world.
Ultimately, there are the related themes of Natural, organic humanity of Professor/Quad Garmin, to be creatively juxtaposed with the Unnatural, inorganic technology of the RoboHumanoid, Curantus. To express these themes, and more, through the main characters and, to visually enhance the themes through the dynamic and engaging setting(s) was always challenging and a goal (goals) I hope to have realized.
Is there any moral or idea that you hope readers take away from the story?
AI… AAI will have… now has… the potential to coerce humanity into submission. What kind of submission? How much submission, or resistance to submission is there to be tolerated? How will AI force humanity to submit to its artificial notions… will there be violence… negotiation? Will artificial intelligence evolve to be entitled? If so, entitled to what… and will it all come from the resource’s humanity may or may not be willing to offer?
From these questions, will there be a synthetic form of cleverness, yet to be developed, experienced, or will the arbitrary processing of data and RoboMimicry be the only source of definition/redefinition for the future of humanity (our futures)?
These I believe are relevant questions, at a time when there are world’s leading technologists, founders of artificial intelligence, and entrepreneurs calling to pause the roll-out of Artificial Intelligence into the Public Domain. What I would hope is first, there will be a ‘pause,’ and second, that this story, if it is ever distributed into the broader Public Domain, may serve, and perhaps contribute as a form of entertainment that will encourage more populist interest and thought so humanity might appropriately begin to consider the potential ramifications of Artificial Intelligence along the path through the Gardens, Groves, and Mechanical Trees.
LITERARY TITAN 