I bought a new job when we purchased the ranch: land to clear, deer feeders to install, and cattle to work. My hobbies, fishing, hunting, and pickleball keep me pretty busy. Why would a retired geophysicist want to write a science fiction trilogy? The idea erupted from a conversation with a grandson. Logan reached the age when his school introduced reading curriculum. Being all boy he did not agree with cutting into his recess and snack times to sit with books. The declaration "I hate reading" dismayed his mother, a voracious reader.
I asked, “If you don't learn to read, then how are you going to read the book that I write about you?” His brilliant mind stalled, trying to process the conflicting information. His personality would not allow him to miss out on anything the other siblings and cousins were enjoying.
“Familia es todo,” the cliché is very accurate if one adds God, “Jesus y familia es todo”. I would do most anything for my family, the only true legacy that remains after death. But how could a math and science geek like me, that struggled with college English courses, perform the writing task? Story telling around a campfire is more along my line of expertise. All my grandchildren love to sit around a fire on campouts listening to stories. I enjoy making up the stories on the spot, including subjects their age group finds funny and adventurous. Their repeated chant, “story, story, story,” gets me every time. Imagination would not be a problem in writing a book...but what about execution? I do have an ace hidden up my sleeve on that front.
Drawing from my current life and knowledge would limit research and let me write quickly...adding science fiction and adventure, also easy. The resulting work would need to honor God and my faith in Jesus Christ. My work would have to be acceptable to Christian parents, while engaging for young adults. So, I began.
I set an internal deadline for the first draft of Rat City to coincide with an upcoming family vacation. After completing the draft, I pulled the ace from my sleeve. My daughter, Amanda, a true ace in literature, made extensive changes and edits in time for me to print several copies for the trip. Seeing the older grandchildren reading the story on the airplane was very fulfilling. We've worked through more edits and adaptations of the story since 2018, but that first version was a milestone.
Logan is now an excellent reader, far exceeding the norm for his age. Not because of Rat City so much as he just needed to want to learn. He and all the other grandchildren are capable of anything they want to do.
And that’s the story behind why I started writing Rat City Trilogy.
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