Let’s talk about writing a novel. Jim and I sat down to write Uncommon Scents three years ago. We thought we knew what that meant. We had a firm understanding that it would require a lot of words arranged sequentially. We knew words. We hoped that was enough. But then we remembered: punctuation! We stocked…
There are two secrets to becoming a bestselling author. (1) Be fiercely talented. (2) Release your first book no later than about 1990. Today? The odds are roughly zero that you will sell a lot of books if you’re working on your first book now. They’re not exactly zero. That’s an exaggeration. They’re just so…
Apple began delivering Vision Pro headsets to reviewers and customers last week. By all accounts, they’re quite nice VR devices. Oops! Apple doesn’t want Vision Pro to be called a “virtual reality” device. It’s trying to kickstart a new market and leave old baggage behind. Many people have already made up their minds: “VR” equals…
At the end of Uncommon Scents, an unruly mob of conspiracy believers gathers in Boyd Park, a lovely city park near downtown San Rafael. We wrote a scene filled with the creativity and diversity that people might bring to the world if augmented reality becomes widely available. Our scene is packed with in-jokes, references to…