Fortunately, human beings are remarkably diverse models to work from

If you have other things in your life-family, friends, good productive day work-these can interact with your writing and the sum will be all the richer.

In historical fact, all of history's despots, combined, never managed to get things done as well as this rambunctious, self-critical civilization of free and sovereign citizens, who have finally broken free of worshipping a ruling class and begun thinking for themselves. Democracy can seem frustrating and messy at times, but it delivers.

In the book, America had already been weakened by bio terror plagues before waves of selfish violence took down the rest. But the real enemy was the kind of male human being who nurses fantasies of violent glory at the expense of his fellow citizens.

Anyone who wants simple, pat stories should buy another author's product. The real universe ain't that way, and neither are my fictive ones.

My education and background thoroughly inform my writing

Change is the principal feature of our age and literature should explore how people deal with it. The best science fiction does that, head-on.