Blog

May 9, 2026

Hello,

I was talking to my mom this morning. She said she had been blessed with a happy disposition. She’d been happy since she was an infant.

That’s an interesting idea. Is it our genes that dictate our happiness?

Naturally this sent me off to check Google Scholar to see what science had to say about it.

It turns out mom is on the right track. There’s solid evidence that part of what we call “happiness” is influenced by inherited biology—including aspects of brain chemistry. Studies...

May 2, 2026

Hello,

If someone asks, I always say Aidan and I write fantasy. The Hawks Trilogy is a classic example of the tradition. We created a world with elves and dwarves and humans—and a splash of magic. There’s a quest and a magic relic, a dark lord and a kingdom in trouble.

But then we wrote Dirt Town. It doesn’t follow the expected tropes. Aidan had been studying fascist states in his history classes and it caught his imagination. We developed a world where robots are used to enforce an...

April 18, 2026

Hello,

I was a middle school librarian. Aidan was a middle school student. The books we read then shaped how we write today.

I’m not saying we write fan fiction.

But we were inspired by the great stories that captured our imaginations.

One of our most frequently cited favourites is John' Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series. Aidan is a fervent fan. Check out his video.

April 18, 2026

Hello,

I was a middle school librarian. Aidan was a middle school student. The books we read then shaped how we write today.

I’m not saying we write fan fiction.

But we were inspired by the great stories that captured our imaginations.

One of our most frequently cited favourites is John' Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series. Aidan is a fervent fan. Check out his video.

April 11, 2026

Hello,

Continuing my examination of the themes in our stories—and my efforts to think beyond what happens next—this week I’ve been reflecting on Loftiest Intelligence and the book I’m working on now, Strangest Intelligence.

I have to be honest. Thinking in this style is hard for me. In my first ten drafts, I kept wandering back to plot. What follows is a severely pruned version where I've attempted to stick only with theme.

I don’t know how Aidan does it. He can talk about ideas...

April 4, 2026

Hello,

With the ski season officially over and the lifts shut down, my friends and I have been ramping up our hiking in preparation for our trip to Machu Picchu. Walking in the woods provides plenty of time for reflection and I have been pondering the dichotomy Aidan and I set up in the Legend of Order and Chaos.

As I mentioned in my previous two newsletters when I examined Power and Knowledge, I am dissecting the themes that Aidan pointed out to me. You would think that I might...

March 28, 2026

Hello,

As best as I can recall from our day on the ski hill, I am reconstructing Aidan’s analysis of the themes in Loftiest Intelligence. Last week, I looked at power. This week, it’s knowledge.

Loftiest Intelligence

Ellie hoards forbidden books—not to dominate others, but to understand. In contrast, the Eastern Alliance outlaws magic and restricts learning—as if ignorance will keep people safe.

Aidan and I agree that ignorance is never the answer—it breeds suspicion and fear.

...

March 21, 2026

Hello,

Aidan is a thoughtful reader—and he is trying to teach me to be one as well. I’ve always been insatiable, gobbling up every book and rarely thinking beyond the next page turn.

He sees the big picture—always going on about themes and what the book is arguing—while I’m mostly thinking, yes, yes, but what happens next?

He just re-read Loftiest Intelligence to refresh all the detailed lore and keep it straight in his head as he wraps up the outline for Book 2: Strangest...

Hello,

I’ve been working on videos this week, and as I wrote the scripts, I noticed a recurring theme in our stories.

The most important characters aren’t the ones holding weapons. They’re the ones watching.

In Rebels of Halklyen, the story opens with a public execution. Flint is thirteen years old, being marched toward the gallows, and the square is full. People have come to see him die.

That detail matters.

People...

February 28, 2026

Hello,

I find one of the best ways to learn how to do something better is to watch someone do it badly. Picking out flaws in technique makes me think about how I could be doing it better.

For example, when I’m on the ski lift and I watch a skier speeding down below, I like to analyze how they turn. The excellent skiers do everything so smoothly that it’s difficult to ascertain exactly how they do it.

But those who are still figuring it out make errors I can see. If they skid...

February 17, 2026

Hello,

Strangest Intelligence: Book 2 in Legend of Order and Chaos is coming together. After my little vacation from it while I wrote the first chapters of Four Old Women Go to Machu Picchu, I’m back to work. The memoir will have to wait until after May when we make the trip.

Thank you, by the way, to all those people who let me know they enjoyed the opening chapter. I’m having fun with it. The style of writing is so far removed from what I normally do—and as an added bonus, I...

February 14, 2026

Hello,

Aidan and I write fantasy. I love piecing intricate lore together to form a world and peopling it with characters. And Aidan loves crafting a story line filled with battles and wondrous magic.

For example:

Get Rebels of Halklyen

But last week, I woke up with a new idea. So I gave myself a vacation from fantasy. Aidan was a little concerned—but I assured him that I can do both. I would take ten days to get the new project underway and then split my time evenly so they both...

Hello,

Have you ever noticed that names in fantasy books can be difficult to hook your mind around? Or is that just me?

Tolkien, the man who built the cornerstone for modern fantasy, started the ball rolling with the complicated, unpronounceable names. As a professional philologist (scholar of historical languages), he drew heavily from Old English, Old Norse, Finish, Welsh, Gothic, Latin, Greek and others. Plus, he invented at least 15 languages—6 or 8 of which are fully developed with...

Hello,

We write fantasy books—wild tales packed with adventures, featuring bold characters who wield dangerous weapons in worlds that seem to have nothing to do with our own. Or do they?

I'm not sure that everything comes straight out of our imaginations. Aidan and I speak almost daily. The goal is to connect on the progress of "The Book" (as in, the current project). However, we are both scatter-brained conversationalists and rarely manage to stick to the topic of "what comes next".

We try. But...

December 27, 2025

Hello,

Do you use Goodreads? I swear, as a librarian, it was my secret weapon. I couldn’t believe the depth of the reviews—people dissect plots like surgeons, point out strengths, note weaknesses, and then kindly tell you who will enjoy the book. Choosing new titles is always tricky, but choosing for a couple thousand students? That’s like juggling flaming swords while riding a unicycle. Goodreads made it possible.

As a reader, it’s still my go-to when I need something fresh. I...

December 20, 2025

Hello Dear Readers,

I had the privilege of visiting a Creative Writing 11 class this week, and what an experience it was. The students welcomed me into their creative space and shared pieces of their writing that blew me away. The quality was remarkable—not just polished sentences, but vivid, living images that pulled me straight into their worlds. I could feel the texture of their settings, hear the voices of their characters, and sense the emotions woven through every line.

...