Science Fiction
Date Published : 07-24-2025
Haunted by his failures and mistrusted by those he fights to save, Duck finds an unexpected ally in Hannily, the Stellaran princess who believes in the potential for unity. Together, they must bridge the divide between two fractured worlds, confronting betrayal, cultural rifts, and their own doubts to give humanity a second chance at survival—or risk losing everything to the void.
Is There a Message in Your Novel That You Want Readers to Grasp?
For me, it all boils down
to not letting your past or preconceptions of yourself prevent you from finding
your purpose in life. Whether it be something you’ve been striving towards or
something other people have set out for you, sometimes you must open yourself
up to the fact that you or the people around you were wrong, and opening
yourself up to change can be what ignites your destiny.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
For me, it's making sure
the emotional or cathartic gut punches hit the way I want them to. As a writer,
you spend so much time playing scenes in your head that you read a section and
you think it’s playing better than it reads on paper. Thankfully, I have some
great beta readers who can tell me what’s landing the way I want it to and what’s
falling short.
How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
I’ve written three books,
but only published two. Earth’s Last Encore is hands down my favorite. It feels
three steps above everything I’ve written before and sorta acts as a thesis to
my writing style.
If You had the chance to cast your main character from Hollywood today, who would you pick and why?
I would love to get Xolo Maridueña to play my main character. He’s the reason I stuck with Cobra Kai, even through the bad seasons, and the way he can show a character’s inadequacies while turning up when its time to fight would make him a great fit to play Duck.
When did you begin writing?
I started writing during
basic training in the Army. Since they took away your phone, at least in 2009,
I had a lot of free time to write and started playing with my creative outlets.
How long did it take to complete your first book?
Seven years, and I was
mostly winging it. I didn’t know the things I know today about story structure,
pacing, and was editing as I went, which made the whole thing take way longer
than it needed to.
Did you have an author who inspired you to become a writer?
C.S Lewis is my inspiration. I read the Narnia books as a kid, but
it was reading The Screwtape Letters as a teenager in a youth group that showed
me how books and stories, in general, can entertain us with one hand and reveal
something about ourselves or life with the other. He was a remarkably creative
writer, but what made his work timeless was his intelligence and profound
understanding of human nature.
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
Editing for sure. It’s a
lot of fun to take a scene I’ve written and tweak the knobs to make it sing
just the way I envision it. However, it’s also the worst part too because
sometimes I feel like I’m never going to get it right, lol.
Describe your latest book in 4 words.
Forfeit trauma for triumph
Can you share a little bit about your current work or what is in the
future for your writing?
Yes, while I do plan to make Earth’s Last Encore a trilogy if the first one is well-received, I am currently writing something deeply spiritual. It follows a dad who is approached by a demon who’s enslaved the soul of his daughter, who committed suicide, and to save her hell-bound soul, he must retrieve a biblical artifact for the demon to erase her existence so she doesn’t have to endure eternal damnation. This story deals a lot with letting go of control and trusting in God’s way instead of your own.
I’ve always seen my writing as a gift from God, and this book is my
chance to give glory to him. And while this story seems rather dour on paper,
it’s actually filled with just as much comedy/absurdity as tragedy. It’s a
project that will stretch my writing skills, and being halfway done, I’m really
excited to see how it turns out.
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