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Experiences of Life
The Road and Other Liars is a collection of poems and vignettes, some like whispers, others like bruises, all orbiting the themes of wandering, memory, aging, and the aching hope for meaning. What inspired you to write this particular collection of poems?
I did not begin with the idea of compiling a poetry collection. All the poems began as single line or an undeveloped thought that seemed to promise a vein of ore worth mining. These notions were all hastily scratched into notepads and developed later into poems.
How did you decide on the themes that run throughout your poetry book?
I did not intend to focus on a narrow theme. A poetry book devoted to one specific topic or theme would, for me, become tiresome and I assumed it would be so for many other readers. As I gathered and reviewed my poems, I realized the title for my poem “The Road and Other Liars” served well as the title for this collection as it hints at the varied and often unexpected events, destinations, and experiences of life.
Do you think there is a particular mindset or environment that a reader should be in to fully appreciate your work?
I think my poetry would most appeal to readers who possess a broad interest in life and are naturally curious about the significance of what may at first seem insignificant. Pop culture has blunted this ability in so many of us. Some people never seem to have possessed this ability, many others have allowed it to fall dormant within them, but it can be resurrected by tuning out the devolving modern culture and nourishing your mind with the same devotion as you nourish your body to keep it strong and whole.
How has this poetry book changed you as a writer, or what did you learn about yourself through writing it?
I don’t think it changed me as writer except perhaps by forcing me to exercise and strengthen my underdeveloped self-discipline muscles. One thing of value I learned was that even on days when the words don’t come easily and much time is spent with little to show for it, progress is cumulative. Do what you can do during each session and you’ll get there.
Author Link: Amazon | GoodReads
What some readers have said:
“Very lovely poems (personal favorite was Hello). Quite a few of them felt sentimental for days gone by, and for days not yet seen.”
Gavin Janes (Goodreads)
“Very relatable and well written poems. You can tell there was many hours, and much thought put into this…“
Evie (Goodreads)
“Throughly enjoyed this book”
Mary (Goodreads)
“As the title may cause you to assume, many of the pieces are reminiscent of a road trip through words, expressing feelings of travel or bringing up images of unique places and experiences. But just as often, they are more like snippets of a life, where the setting doesn’t matter quite as must as the voice and its feelings…”
Everything Is at Stake
Until the Rescue Ship Arrives follows a retired priest who discovers a washed-up alien on a beach and chooses to protect this visitor and not turn them over to the authorities. What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think make for great fiction?
Regardless of genre, what I consider great fiction always reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the characters who are presented with a problem or crisis in which much or everything is at stake. Great fiction requires presenting characters with great challenges.
What was one scene in the novel that you felt captured the morals and message you were trying to deliver to readers?
There are numerous scenes in Until the Rescue Ship Arrives in which characters had to reach deep within themselves, especially in Chapter 22, but to avoid giving those surprises away, a scene I would mention is in Chapter 4 when the female alien, already physically depleted and functioning almost on force of will alone, battles fatigue and the elements in her struggle to reach the Oregon shoreline.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I am still exploring little fragments of stories that come into my head. Sooner or later, I’ll conjure a scene, a situation, or an exchange of dialogue that tells me there is a story here waiting to be discovered. I constructed the Until the Rescue Ship Arrives from the opening of Chapter 1 in which Father Hughes discovers the alien female on the beach. I saw everything pretty much as I wrote it up to the point when he kneels down and realizes he has discovered a person from another world. For some time thereafter I engaged in “what happens now?” until finally, I just began writing that scene. From then on, I was mostly just a reporter describing what I saw and what I heard the characters saying. The next book will probably follow that pattern.
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Until The Rescue Ship Arrives
Until the Rescue Ship Arrives is a surprising and slow-burning science fiction tale set in a dystopian near-future Earth where trust, compassion, and personal conviction quietly battle the weight of authoritarian oppression. It begins with a washed-up alien, half-drowned on an Oregon beach, and a retired priest, Father Hughes, whose intuition tells him to protect the mysterious visitor rather than hand her over to the authorities. As the story unfolds, a gentle but profound exploration of humanity’s best and worst qualities emerges—not through epic battles or flashy technology, but through whispered conversations, weary choices, and quiet heroism.
What caught me off guard was the elegance and intimacy of the writing. The prose is deeply thoughtful without being pretentious. In the first chapter, the simple rhythm of Father Hughes walking the misty beach with his dog Buster is almost meditative. When he stumbles upon the alien girl, the moment isn’t dramatic in a Hollywood sense—it’s hushed, almost sacred. The author draws this scene out just enough to let the emotional weight sink in. His decision not to call the authorities, guided by nothing more than a “little voice,” was a turning point. It said everything about the kind of story this was going to be—about character over plot, trust over fear.
What I admired most was how the book takes time to earn your emotional investment. It lets you sit with discomfort, with silence, with uncertainty. When Father Hughes debates whether helping this alien being is the right thing to do, knowing the risks not just to himself, but to others, it felt incredibly grounded. His conversations with Mother Catherine and Doctor Griffith aren’t expositional info dumps; they feel real. These are people with doubts and weariness and love for each other, pushed into a situation that none of them were prepared for. There’s a moment when Sister Clare chooses a name for the alien—”Laura”—that brought me to tears, not because it was grand, but because it was so heartbreakingly human.
It occasionally leans heavily into exposition, particularly during the sections that explain the alien civilization or the tunneling technology. While interesting, these parts slow the story’s pace. I found myself much more invested in the scenes grounded in human connection, like the moment when Laura listens to the nuns singing in the chapel, or when she asks about truth and kindness. Those scenes carried more weight than any sci-fi explanation ever could. The latter chapters involving the alien couple’s escape and internal monologues about their society were beautifully written, but I wished they had been more tightly integrated with the human narrative.
Until the Rescue Ship Arrives isn’t about aliens, or dystopias, or resistance movements. It’s about the quiet decision to care for someone who is different. It’s about the fragile but powerful ways humans choose grace over fear. I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves thoughtful, character-driven stories with a moral spine. Fans of The Man Who Fell to Earth or The Left Hand of Darkness will find a kindred spirit here. If you’re tired of noisy, effects-laden science fiction and want something that feels like a whispered prayer against a storm, this book might be exactly what you’re looking for.
Pages: 270 | ASIN : B0DHV72FWH
LITERARY TITAN 