I live at the outskirts of San Francisco in a yellow house near the sea. For years repairing that building was a preoccupation. After finishing my shelter, making simple furniture, and landscaping the backyard I decided to write paperback novels. The project had been on the backburner since grammar school. Nowadays, trying to guess a potential future and telling its story has become an obsession.

In sixth grade, I discovered science fiction. There was a bookshelf in the library with a selection of the old masters. I was the kid in the back of the class with his nose always hidden in a book or making a point to include the stragglers in my circle of friends. Friday afternoons were spent in art class and trips to the library in small groups. It was my favorite day. Later, when normal teenagers were spending their allowance on tobacco, alcohol, or drugs, I would buy paperback SF books. My best memories of high school were, athletics, long phone calls, and reading SF. In college, after getting some A's in creative writing, I decided to investigate the nature of the self, using psychedelics. If that wasn't enough, my next choice was a religious cult! After that I spent a lot of time quietly making pottery and doing vegetable gardening, then got a job as a cook. To round out my disrupted education I would purchase used textbooks to study math and science; history was also a passion. But I must confess, reality has ruined me for literature.

My house is full of paintings, mostly abstract. I like bright colors and patterns, but the hours spent bent over an easel inhaling fumes proved exhausting. A few years ago, my interest in science fiction was rekindled when I encountered the new LIT RPG format invented by Eastern European writers. Some of my best friends while growing up were Russian! Having nothing better to do, and at that time of life when all good sense has long departed, I decided to become to compose an epic adventure series. Using different settings to explore possible futures, it will include everything from Luddites hiding underground, to our day-to-day world as another virtual reality. There will definitely be talking animals! I draw the line only at zombies; we already have enough of those telling us what to do. I know you will say all reiterations of stale ideas. But not by me or with the diligence I bring to things. Thanks for listening. Jim H.