The final months of 2025 were busy as I continued to incorporate the improvements suggested by the Gatekeeper at Temple Dark Books into my manuscript. As I have done so, I have again been repeatedly struck at the importance of having one’s work reviewed by an impartial and knowledgeable outsider. The cold slab of external scrutiny (and dare I say, criticism) is daunting.  We as writers inject so much of ourselves into our work that it can be hard not to take even the most valid criticism persona

Another month has passed and I have been busy tending to the workarounds the Gatekeeper at Temple Dark Books recommended for my manuscript.* I’ve expanded plot lines but still need to restructure some of the narrative. It's challenging but enjoyable.

My father gave me my love for science fiction and my mother taught me the skills to write it. And so, in my mid-twenties, I took it upon myself to write a science fiction novel.