My wife uses a ‘swear’ sometimes. It’s gritty and always gets a response out of me. She times its execution deliberately, skillfully dropping the word in at just the right moment to send me spiraling in agony. Her word?

I've spent my life trying to do the right thing and fixing it when I don't. "A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them." That's John Maxwell.

This is the super hero of tomorrow? Meet Kai Riddle, as lost as he looks.

I think maybe that I wouldn’t even WANT to have too much spilled out, spelled out, spoiled for me. I don’t want to know when I’ll die or the cause of my death. I don’t even want to know what I’ll have for breakfast until that time has come.

Take a pinch of time travel, mix in some romance, but don't forget the menacing threat to the future...but Endless Tempest is not quite like these suggestions, now is it?

I’ve contributed to time capsules. I’ve written journal pages that have, on review, made me a lot more gentle on myself. I’ve cranked out many, many love notes I hope my wife keeps. I’ve tried to express myself to my children, so they’ll know their value. In all this writing, I am very conscious of the preservative, time-traveling nature of “putting it in writing.”

I have issue with first person, for unless it’s a court transcript, a confession, or an epistolary tale, I find the vehicle of delivering in first person to be disingenuous and a bit clunky. I use it to get in the head of a character in a draft here/there, but I feel it might reveal too much if not deftly managed.

I might be wise or strong or quick or handsome in a cave all by myself, but to trust or be trusted, well, I'd need a cave bear at any rate.

We expense energy and attention on technology, but we’ve been fixated on other things over time, from golden calves to hourglass figures. Wars have been fought over salt and silk…and oil.

The future may bring us to desperation over high fructose corn syrup, like in my novels, or, say, our most precious resources like water and sunlight.

From passing notes and writing poems in grade school to writing in my journal and blog, and now writing longer public, published works—it all makes me feel good.

I hope just a few of them leave class for the day listening to the euphony of a word, like diarrhea or mammogram...

Almost any night, I can take the ephemeral reigns of my dreams and guide the coursers where I wish. Thus, I am my own production studio.

There needs to be more what-iffing in this F-ing world. How are we supposed to create novelty if we don't think beyond our bounds?

What "what if" might you posit?

It has to do with the constant threat of being revealed to be less than advertised. The chink in my armor is leaving me naked. I am exposed. A fraud.

Here’s the impetus for this post: I’m standing at the book fair, technically Local Author’s Day, when someone strolls by and asks me what my books are about.

I’ve unwittingly (well, for the most part) been the historian of my own life for my entire life. Every time I’ve crafted a diary or journal entry—and more recently a blog post—I’ve been pinning down a bit of history, even if it’s an internal thought that I, or my great grandkids, might someday review.

If ever my creativity were running dry, I’d go to an online generator or to ChatGPT to get the juices flowing again. Sometimes, honestly, I jog over there just for fun, for I seldom if ever have creativity problems.

Can a reforming misanthrope from Oklahoma make a difference in the messed up world and time he’s found himself in?

"Velocity Blues is a frenetic, futuristic gangster caper on fast-forward, with a premise you'll wish you thought of, and a protagonist you'll love (and want to kick on occasion). Characterization, action, and snappy lingo propel this, but there's also a sneaky critique of society, of youth and adulthood, exploitation and rebellion woven through the shenanigans. Enjoy the ride. And try to keep up."

- David Anthony Durham

What do Harry Houdini and Mason’s Knights Templar have to do with one another? What do they have to do with my science-fiction writing? Get a sneak peek inside my “research.” It’s fun to be me!