Finishing Up

I’ve passed the 50% mark of the rough human draft for Captive of the Falconstar, which means that I’ve got about 40k words left to go. Since I’ve been averaging between 2,000 and 2,500 words per hour, I only need about 20 writing hours to finish it.

I also have to finish the AI draft, which is somewhere around 80% done, but that shouldn’t be too difficult. Add maybe another 5 writing hours for that. Also, I plan to do a full human revision draft, and a final polished draft, which I will probably start this week. Those should each take between 16 – 20 writing hours.

So let’s see:

  • AI draft: 5 writing hours
  • Rough human draft: 20 writing hours
  • Revised human draft: 20 writing hours (conservatively)
  • Final polished draft: 20 writing hours (conservatively)

So all I really need is another 65 writing hours, and this WIP should be done and ready to move into the publishing queue.

Here’s the thing, though: I only get between 1-2 writing hours per day. I usually watch the kids while my wife is at work, and since we’re in March now there’s a lot of outdoor work that needs to get done, like pruning the apple trees and prepping the garden. So it’s going to be really hard to squeeze out any more writing hours than that. I do usually get more like 4-5 hours on Saturdays, though, while my wife watches the kids. But since we keep sabbath, I don’t write on Sundays.

So realistically, I can only get about 10 writing hours each week. Which means that I probably won’t finish this WIP until the second half of April. I was hoping to finish it by the end of this month—and if I had a solid week where I could write full-time, I probably could—but realistically, it’s probably going to take longer than I would like.

However, the good news is that it’s all going really smoothly. No writing blocks, no major story problems or hangups. Just a lot of putting in time and doing the work. And even with the chores and outdoor work, I do still get a good amount of writing time. My wife is really good about watching the kids in the evening, and it really helps to get out of the house to write.

So I am very confident that Captive of the Falconstar will be done by the end of April, enough that I will probably put it up for preorder in the next couple of weeks. As for the next book, I plan to work on it in the fall, but it probably shouldn’t take more than 3-4 months, even at my current pace.

For the Revival To Succeed, Christian Nationalism Must Fail

This may be a hot take for some of you, but I think we are reaching a point where the greatest obstacle to the Christian revival in the United States is the politicization of Christianity, or what many call “Christian Nationalism.”

Jesus Christ taught that His kingdom is not of this world, much to the chagrin of many of his disciples (including Judas Iscariot, who probably betrayed Him in order to force His hand and make Him come out in His power and glory). They were looking for a political messiah, and when He died on the cross, even His most ardent apostles like Peter were totally lost. But He didn’t come to save the world from the Romans, or the Sadducees, (or the Democrats, or the left)… He came to save the world from sin and death.

But that’s not the message you hear if you go to some of these conservative evangelical churches that have draped themselves in the flag. To many of these Christians (a surprising number of whom are less Bible-literate than some atheists), voting the wrong way might as well be a greater sin than Trump’s adultery. This is hypocrisy, plain and simple—and I say that as someone who voted for Trump.

If Christian Nationalism wins, the revival will fail, because its reach will be limited to conservatives. In order for Christian revival to sweep this country, our Christianity needs to become separated from our politics. Salvation doesn’t come from Congress or the White House. Christ never promised that He would save us from the tribulation of this world. Instead, He told us to take cheer, because He had overcome it.

I do believe that God’s hand is moving this country. I believe that it was divine intervention that saved President Trump from the assassin’s bullet back in Butler Pennsylvania. But I’m not so sure that He saved Trump in order to make America great again. I think His plans run much deeper than that.

Will the Republicans lose the midterms? Will the MAGA movement end with Trump’s presidency? Will the economy collapse, or the Iran war turn into a quagmire? Will the left come back to power and do all the terrible things that the conservative right fears? If so, I can see how all of these things will ultimately serve to humble us and turn us to Christ. Indeed, I suspect that a major humbling is becoming increasingly necessary.

A Mother’s Love in The Widow’s Child

Fantasy stories often explore the idea of protecting hope in a dark world. In The Widow’s Child, that struggle becomes intensely personal. The story follows Elara, a widowed mother raising her daughter Seraph in secrecy, knowing the child’s unusual gifts could draw the attention of dangerous powers. When the wider world begins to close in, Elara must decide how far she is willing to go to keep her daughter safe—even if it means sacrificing the fragile life they have built together.

Where the Idea Came From

Many fantasy stories revolve around prophecy, destiny, and the rise of powerful heroes. But I was interested in the quieter question behind those stories: What does it feel like to be the parent of a child caught in something larger than herself? The idea for The Widow’s Child grew out of that tension—between epic destiny and the ordinary, human instinct to protect a child. I wanted to explore what happens when a mother’s love collides with prophecy, power, and the dangerous ambitions of those who would use a gifted child for their own ends.

How A Mother’s Love Shapes the Story

From the beginning of the novel, Elara’s choices are driven by one priority: keeping her daughter Seraph safe. She lives in isolation, hides their past, and carefully controls the small world Seraph grows up in. What might look like caution or secrecy to an outsider is, in truth, a form of devotion. Elara knows that the world beyond their quiet refuge is dangerous—and that Seraph’s unusual gifts make her especially vulnerable.

That love becomes the engine of the story’s major decisions. When strangers appear, when the past threatens to catch up with them, and when darker forces begin to move against Seraph, Elara repeatedly faces impossible choices. Again and again she chooses the same path: protect her daughter, whatever the cost. Her love is not passive or sentimental. It is fierce, protective, and sometimes painfully sacrificial.

This also shapes the emotional core of the book. While prophecy and magic swirl around Seraph’s future, Elara never sees her first as “the chosen one.” She sees a child who deserves safety, warmth, and a chance to grow up. That tension—between destiny and motherhood—runs through every major conflict in the story.

What A Mother’s Love Says About Us

Stories about heroes often focus on strength, power, or destiny. But the deeper truth behind many heroic journeys is love—the love that makes sacrifice meaningful and courage possible. A parent’s love is one of the clearest examples of this. It asks people to endure hardship, take risks, and face fear for the sake of someone else’s future.

In that sense, The Widow’s Child reflects something universal. Across cultures and histories, the willingness of parents to protect their children has shaped countless acts of courage. The novel asks what happens when that same instinct enters a world of prophecy, magic, and danger—and whether love might ultimately be stronger than the darkness gathering around it.

Why This Theme Matters to Me

Before I became a parent, I could imagine heroic sacrifices in the abstract. Afterward, those sacrifices became personal. Suddenly the idea of protecting a child—even at terrible cost—felt real in a way it never had before. The Widow’s Child grew out of that realization. Beneath the magic and adventure, it’s a story about the fierce, stubborn love that parents feel for their children—and the hope that such love might still matter in a dangerous world.

Where to Get the Book

Related Posts and Pages

Explore the series index for The Sea Mage Cycle.

Return to the book page for The Widow’s Child

Is The Widow’s Child for You?

The Widow’s Child is a character-driven epic fantasy about a mother trying to protect her daughter in a broken world where prophecy, sorcery, and ruthless power struggles shape the fate of nations. As dangerous forces close in, a small family must flee their mountain home and journey through a land ruled by warlords and dark magic.

If you enjoy fantasy stories where personal loyalty and family bonds matter just as much as swords and spells, this is a story about courage, sacrifice, and the fight to protect hope in a world that has almost forgotten it.

What Kind of Reader Will Love This Book?

If you love…

  • epic fantasy about prophecy, destiny, and powerful magic
  • protective parent stories where family is the heart of the adventure
  • refugee journeys and dangerous quests across a war-torn world
  • character-driven fantasy about loyalty, redemption, and unlikely found families
  • classic fantasy conflicts between dark sorcerers and ordinary people who refuse to surrender

…then The Widow’s Child is probably your kind of story.

What You’ll Find Inside

The Widow’s Child follows Elara, a widowed homesteader whose young daughter Seraph is marked by a mysterious prophecy. When a powerful warlord learns of the child’s potential and seeks to claim her power, Elara is forced to abandon her home and flee across a dangerous land. Alongside them travels Aric, a wandering sellsword with a troubled past who becomes their protector.

As they journey through refugee camps, hostile territories, and lands ruled by dark sorcery, the story explores themes of motherhood, destiny, sacrifice, and the struggle between hope and tyranny. The tone blends intimate emotional stakes with sweeping fantasy adventure, creating a story that feels both personal and epic.

What Makes The Widow’s Child Different

Fans of classic epic fantasy will recognize familiar elements like prophecy, dark sorcerers, and a world scarred by past cataclysms. But The Widow’s Child places the emotional core of the story not in kings or armies, but in a mother fighting to protect her child from a destiny others want to control.

Where many fantasy stories focus on chosen heroes rising to power, this one focuses on ordinary people forced into extraordinary choices. The result is a story where the fate of the world begins with the smallest and most human motivation: protecting family.

What You Won’t Find

This isn’t a grimdark fantasy full of cynical antiheroes and relentless despair. While the world is dangerous and often cruel, the story ultimately centers on love, loyalty, and the belief that good people can still make a difference.

If you’re looking for heavy political intrigue or morally nihilistic fantasy, this may not be your style.

Why I Think You Might Love It

I wrote The Widow’s Child because I was fascinated by the idea of a hardened wanderer and a widowed frontier mother building something fragile and hopeful together in a dangerous world. The relationship between Aric and Elara was the spark that first made me excited to tell this story, and once I began writing it, the rest of the adventure grew naturally from that core idea.

At heart, this book is about protecting the people you love when the world seems determined to tear them away from you. If you enjoy fantasy that mixes danger, destiny, and deeply human relationships, I hope this story gives you the same sense of adventure and hope that inspired me to write it.

Where to Get the Book

Related Posts and Pages

Explore the series index for The Sea Mage Cycle.

Return to the book page for The Widow’s Child.

Registration for Writers Cantina 2026 is open

I’m really looking forward to Writers Cantina this year! It’s a local SF&F writing convention up near Salt Lake City. For the last couple of years, I’ve been a panelist, and it’s been really fun. But the panels are really just an excuse to get together and meet with other writers, because the thing that makes Writers Cantina unique is that the barcon has basically taken over the convention (kind of like how the dealer’s room has taken over conventions like FanX and Comic Con).

The panels aren’t scheduled yet, but they probably will be in the next month or two. I’ll be lobbying for another AI writing panel, like we’ve had the last couple of years. Looking forward to sharing my insights on that, as well as talking about it with some of the other panelists. Or you can just find me in the cantina if you want to chat.

Register for Writers Cantina 2026 (July 17-18)

Loyalty Under Pressure in An Empire in Disarray

In times of peace, loyalty seems simple. You serve your people, follow the chain of command, and trust that the system holding everything together will endure. But when an empire begins to fracture, loyalty becomes far more complicated—forcing people to decide what they truly stand for when the institutions they trusted start to crack.

An Empire in Disarray, the eighth book in the Sons of the Starfarers space opera series, explores that question: What does loyalty mean when the nation you serve is falling apart?

Where the Idea Came From

The inspiration for this theme came from thinking about moments in history when powerful nations suddenly found themselves divided from within. Empires rarely collapse overnight; instead, they begin to fracture as rival factions claim legitimacy and ordinary people must decide which voices to trust. I wanted to explore what that experience might look like in a far-future interstellar civilization.

What would it feel like to be a starship captain or soldier who swore an oath to defend the Confederacy—only to discover that different leaders are now demanding loyalty in its name?

How Loyalty Under Pressure Shapes the Story

Throughout An Empire in Disarray, characters face a recurring dilemma: follow orders, or follow their conscience. When the political center begins to fracture, every decision carries consequences. A choice that looks like loyalty to one faction might appear to be treason to another.

This tension runs through the heart of the story. Captains must decide who they trust when messages conflict and alliances shift. Soldiers and civilians alike are forced to weigh their duty to the Confederacy against their loyalty to friends, family, and the ideals they believed they were defending.

Because this is the eighth installment of the Sons of the Starfarers series, those decisions carry even greater weight. Relationships built across many books are suddenly tested by the pressure of war, uncertainty, and competing visions of the future. Loyalty becomes more than obedience—it becomes a question of identity.

What Loyalty Under Pressure Says About Us

Stories about loyalty resonate because they mirror real human struggles. In our own lives, we are often pulled between different responsibilities: loyalty to family, loyalty to institutions, loyalty to personal convictions.

When those loyalties align, life feels stable. But when they collide, we discover who we really are. An Empire in Disarray asks readers to consider what loyalty means when the world grows uncertain—and whether true loyalty ultimately belongs to authority, to people, or to the principles we believe are worth defending.

Why This Theme Matters to Me

When I was writing the later books in the Sons of the Starfarers series, I found myself thinking a lot about the meaning of commitment. The characters in this story have been through years of conflict together, and by this point in the series their relationships matter just as much as the fate of fleets or empires.

What moved me most while writing this book was watching those characters face difficult choices and still try to protect the people they care about. Loyalty, in the end, isn’t just about allegiance to a cause—it’s about standing by one another when everything else starts to fall apart.

Where to Get the Book

Related Posts and Pages

Explore the series index for the Sons of the Starfarers series.

Return to the book page for An Empire in Disarray.

Is An Empire in Disarray for You?

An Empire in Disarray is late-series space opera at full intensity: shifting alliances, desperate diplomacy, covert raids, and the personal cost of holding a fragile coalition together when everything starts to crack. This is book eight in the nine-book Sons of the Starfarers series, which means the story is driving hard toward endgame—without losing sight of the characters who’ve carried you across the war.

If you want a sci-fi series where battles and politics matter because they press people to their moral limits, this is the kind of reading experience you’re in for.

What Kind of Reader Will Love An Empire in Disarray?

If you love …

  • character-driven military science fiction and space opera with long-running arcs and real consequences
  • rebellion-vs-empire stories that evolve into messy “what now?” politics after the turning point
  • tense alliances, betrayals, secret negotiations, and behind-enemy-lines missions
  • found family (and actual family) dynamics under extreme pressure—duty vs. loyalty vs. love
  • big stakes told through a close, emotional lens (you feel the cost, not just the spectacle)

…then An Empire in Disarray is probably your kind of story.

What You’ll Find Inside

An Empire in Disarray follows Mara Soladze and the people bound to her as the Outworld war effort enters its most unstable phase: victories don’t settle anything, power reshuffles, and old enemies become uneasy necessities. The book mixes fleet-and-station scale strategy with intimate, character-level tension, especially as trust becomes both the most valuable currency—and the easiest thing to weaponize. The result is a fast-moving, high-stakes installment that feels like the calm-before-the-storm is finally over.

What Makes An Empire in Disarray Different

Fans of authors like Lois McMaster Bujold (character-first military sci-fi), Elizabeth Moon (duty, leadership, and hard choices), or James S. A. Corey (factional politics in space) will recognize the blend of strategy, relationships, and shifting loyalties—but this series leans especially hard into consequences that accumulate across many books.

Where many space operas keep escalating external threats, Sons of the Starfarers also asks what happens when the “good side” starts fracturing under its own compromises. And in this installment, the story’s distinctive edge is how it forces characters to navigate collective survival while still fighting to remain fully themselves.

What You Won’t Find

You won’t find a cozy, standalone entry point here—this is the eighth book in a nine-book arc, and it’s written to pay off (and complicate) what came before. You also won’t find grimdark nihilism for its own sake: things get intense, but the series is ultimately driven by the question of whether people can become better under pressure, not merely harder.

Why I Think You Might Love An Empire in Disarray

In the author’s note, I half-joke that nobody should write a nine-book series—and then I admit why I did it anyway: because I’ve cared about these characters from the beginning, and I wanted to see where war would take them when it stopped being abstract and became personal. When I was drafting this book, I’d just moved back to Utah after a long stretch in Iowa, driving that lonely road through Wyoming and down past Evanston into the mountains—thinking about pioneers, endurance, and the strange mixture of hardship and beauty that comes with trying to build something that lasts.

That’s the heart of this installment, too. The ending I’d imagined for this series was never going to be neat or permanent—politics rarely is, especially after revolution—and my background in political science (and the places I’ve lived and traveled) shaped that. But the real reason I think you might love this book is simpler: An Empire in Disarray is where you get to see how far Mara has come, and what kind of person she chooses to become when all the easy choices are gone.

Where to Get the Book

Related Posts and Pages

Explore the series index for the Sons of the Starfarers series.

Return to the book page for An Empire in Disarray.

The most realistic AI worst-case scenario

When it comes to AI, there are a lot of crazy doomsday scenarios floating around out there—just like there are a lot of pie-in-the-sky, utopian visions of an AI-dominated future. But while nobody knows exactly what the future will bring, I think most of these projections are totally wrong. Instead, I think that AI will neither save us nor doom us—but it will completely change us.

With that in mind, I thought I would share this discussion of AI, which is one of the most grounded and realistic discussions of the subject that I’ve heard. It’s also one of the most insightful. We’ve created a technology that we barely understand, but it’s still just a new technology, not a savior or an antichrist. In a hundred years, when our great-grandchildren understand this technology and take it for granted, they will probably laugh at how we thought of it (assuming, of course, that Yudkowsky and Soares are wrong, and we aren’t all exterminated by a superintelligent AI).