I live in Chicago and write science fiction and fantasy novels (and a climate blog called The Carbon Fables). Whether I'm writing about magic or robots, I think stories are a great way to speak to both life's beauty and its struggles.
I think of my books like animations painted by an Impressionist—beautiful abstractions that aim to get at something true. And like many authors, I'm also trying to share a moral vision with the world and myself. Many of my books are about instrumentalism, focused on characters who have turned themselves into tools and want to go back to being human. I think many of us get lost in modernity, in needing to be useful when we deserve to simply be.
This, ultimately, is the great power of novels. They are a practice in empathy. They are not utilitarian. And yet, they are more than just a break from the world. They are a way to transform it. I hope you enjoy these books. I hope they remind you that you are worth every joy the world has to offer.
