Journal
Reflections on writing, creating, and climbing — the pages and peaks that shape the journey.
VERTICAL Chapter 1 The Summit Breathing the crisp mountain air above fourteen thousand feet felt like it stripped my ribs bare, shocking life back into muscles dulled by hours of climbing. I had pushed up from camp through the early morning dark, fighting high winds and near-whiteout conditions, front-pointing steep snow with an ice axe […]
From all the self-doubt to flinching when you hear a shout The ease of silence to the fear of violence The body keeps score Caught between love and war From every encouraging word To every word used as a sword The body remembers what you do to it The way you treat it The company […]
Attention is a drug, especially when it comes from the wrong person or the wrong group. A few times in my life, I’ve found myself standing closer than I realized to a potentially life-altering decision involving the wrong people. The first time I didn’t understand what the situation might have been turning years later. The […]
Writing a novel takes time. Writing a good one takes patience and having a successful one almost feels like luck, though it can happen under the right circumstances. Now I’m finding myself in a new territory: Screenplays. I haven’t even finished editing my latest two novels, but I grew curious of the what if: What […]
Writer’s block crept up on me slowly, even though at the time it felt instant. Looking back, I can see it was a slow burn, gradually eating away at something that had once felt like part of my identity. It began with obsessive thinking about what I should or shouldn’t write. I became increasingly aware […]
Fitness for me used to be about the mirror, the size on the clothing tag, and the number on the scale. Those things can matter, but they don’t always determine health or physical fitness. At different points in my adult life, I’ve weighed as much as 232 pounds and worn up to a size 18. […]
Meet the believers, doubters, friends, enemies, and ordinary people caught in something they cannot explain. SPOILER-FREE · CHARACTER GUIDE ADRIAN LUZ — The Skeptic Intelligent, ambitious, and fiercely certain of what he believes—or rather, what he doesn’t. Adrian has built his worldview around reason. An Ivy League education and a future full of possibilities seem […]
Meet the architects, kings, fools, lovers, and pieces behind the events of the Through the Fire saga. SPOILER-FREE · CHARACTER GUIDE JADE — THE CO-ARCHITECT She didn’t inherit the kingdom. She helped design it. STRATEGIST · CONFIDANTE · BELIEVER Jade has spent much of her life believing the world is badly designed. Belial offers her […]
Meet the exiles, survivors, believers, and ancient powers awaiting the final chapter of the Through the Fire trilogy. AFTER THE FIRE · FIVE YEARS LATER · SPOILER-FREE AFTER THE FIRE Five years have passed since Maricel disappeared from Earth. On Mars, she has built a quiet existence beyond the reach of the people and ancient […]
Meet the survivors, believers, skeptics, prophets, and ancient powers caught amid the fire. THROUGH THE FIRE · BOOK TWOSPOILER-FREE AMID THE FIRE Three years ago, Maricel disappeared. Now she lives in Dallas under another name. She works in a bookstore. She attends community college. She studies scripture. And after years spent rebuilding her life from […]