I’m done being nice. I’ve been trying to write this post for days, trying to make it a manifesto, a story, an extended bio—but it wasn’t happening. Because it was supposed to be a rant. It was always going to be a rant.
Over and over throughout my time working on the Dronefall Series, I’ve found myself asking the question, “All this for a made-up story? All this for a cheap paperback? Why?”
Why?
I absolutely love Dronefall. I love my characters, my setting, the twisted trajectory of the plot. But man, why do I put up with a process that’s hurt me so much? All that doubt and exhaustion, all that overwhelm and discouragement and raging sense of futility. It’s gotten worse and worse. I could have dropped everything like a lot of would-be authors do. I could have gotten married and moved to a new town and started a family and left this whole little non-sequitur phase of my life behind.
But I didn’t. And I think I finally know why.
God could have given me any calling. Anything He wanted me to do I could have done, and He would have used my work for the good of His world. But God made me a dystopian author. Dystopian authors write what they write because they see things in the world that too many people don’t notice. We want to open people’s eyes to the reality they live in and give them the strength to fight it.
We’re also just generally full of rage. That’s probably funnier to people who know me in person and probably think I’m one of those people who aren’t even capable of getting mad. It’s not the kind of rage that drives a person to blast their horn in traffic or go around picking fights on the internet, though. It’s something that keeps you awake at night and leaves your mind screaming, “this is wrong! This is wrong! God, please tell them this is wrong.”
And God answers back, “You tell them.” And so, you go out like the disciples to find that one kid in 5,000 who packed lunch that day. Here’s what I’ve got. I’ve got a weird knack for writing made-up stories. I have no idea how this could ever work, but stranger things have happened.
A Voice of Dissent
This society claims to care about our voices. The benevolent media gods look down and see those of us who struggle to be heard. They elevate the ones they deem worthy and bask in the applause they get from doing it. But it’s all a show to distract from all the other voices they stifle in the dark.
Because they don’t want anybody to think people like us exist. Particularly millennial and gen z Christians. We’re at the age where we’re starting to have some serious influence on the culture. They tried really hard to mold us and shape us into what they wanted the future to look like. The audacity of people like us even existing. It’s bad news for the Enemy. We’re proof there are cracks in the reality liars have tried to create.
The last thing they want is the generation that’s taking up the torch to keep carrying the light of Christ. That light exposes too much. And it’s too dangerous to the antichrist’s agenda.
I wrote these six books because when you write, nobody can talk over you or tell you to sit down and shut up. The books are going to just keep existing and people just have to deal with it. Whole countercultures can be born from art. I have something for the people who are ready to see what’s happening. Or, if you already see it, I want you to know I see it too. You’re not crazy, and you’re not alone.
The Reason
And we won’t quietly fade into the background while the world crumbles. The Truth won’t be mocked, shamed and silenced when the light is needed most. We need young adult Christians—not just hidden away in their own little circles only to be seen by those in their community and the occasional passing scoffer—but also those who aren’t afraid to step out and exist boldly and brightly in the world at large. Jesus will never be irrelevant, obsolete or a thing of the past. He goes ahead of us into the future, no matter how bleak it looks. I hope Dronefall makes a point of telling everyone that.
I don’t know how much sense I’m making. I just know I care intensely about my generation. We won’t be lost. God hasn’t forgotten us. I want my work to awaken the courage for us to live like we haven’t forgotten Him. Because you haven’t, have you?
It’s because I know people like you exist that I haven’t given up yet.
Please Join Me
The rewritten Dronefall One still doesn’t have an official release date. But if you want to be a part of this, please join my email list. It’s the absolute best way to stay up-to-date on the progress and get all the backstory on what goes on. Plus, there’s the comic I made, which gives you a unique preview of the first chapter of Dronefall. You’ll get to download that when you sign up.
Thanks for reading my rant. I hope, when you get to read the books in the near future, it will all be worth it.