I’ve been working on my fourth novel since 1994. It’s been
such a long time that it feels surreal to say that it’s being published this
fall. The Muse for this particular story has been around so long that it’s an
old friend I'll be sad to say goodbye to (I’ve come to realize there seems to
be a Muse for each one). There has been a special Muse serving as an advisory
role for this novel, and it’s one of the reasons why I’ve been almost reluctant
to finish writing the novel: my brother, Matthew.
This week would have been his 45th birthday. The idea for
this novel came to me the week he died in July 1994. It was my way of keeping
him alive, but it has evolved into a complex work of speculative fiction that
very much reflects the anxieties of our time: governments exploiting their
citizens, big data serving as an overlord of surveillance, and revolutionary
movements that struggle to promote their idea of freedom. The first draft of
this story included a group that was much like the hacktivist enclave
Anonymous, so it was kind of eerie when they actually popped up as a real thing
in the 2000s, and really became well-known during the Occupy Wall Street
movement. Other unsettling things that I conceived back then came to pass as
well, and have matured in the novel.
The basic concept has remained the same: what if ancient
Sumer never collapsed, but became a space-age super power? A young woman with
the powers of an oracle has been suppressed by her guardians. One night she
indulges in a psychoactive drug at a club, inadvertently quotes an ancient
text, and attracts the attention of an emissary of the gods, sent to right the
balance of power in this society. She re-enacts Inanna’s journey to the
underworld, and emerges as one of the gods’ emissaries on earth.
While mythology plays a strong role, so does the idea of
colonizing space. Research and mining colonies are scattered throughout the
solar system, but are in early stages of development. The government promotes
living off-world, but most people aren’t interested until all the comforts they
want are widely available. It’s very much a pioneer’s life, so in order to
build the luxury colonies needed, mass incarceration fills the gap by sending
prisoners to do hard labor on the colonies. People are convicted of minor
offenses (frequently falsely) and sent off-world. This was also an opportunity
to explore the Overview Effect, written about by author Frank White. An avid
supporter of space programs, White interviewed a number of astronauts about the
profound change in perception of Earth after having seen it from space. Because
space has always fascinated me, too, I attended several events that featured
the astronauts he interviewed (plus, he was in one of the coolest writing
groups I ever belonged to, and miss dearly as everyone got caught up in the
usual life stuff). You can check out one of the videos here.
Lords of Kur is
the longest novel I’ve written, and the most layered in terms of themes,
characters, and worldbuilding. It’s a true departure from following the life of
a real woman marginalized by history, as I have done in the first three novels
and a few short stories. I suppose it’s no accident that I finished it almost
exactly on the twenty-second anniversary of when I started it. The fifth novel
to come is also one that has been waiting in the wings a long time, so I
struggle with impatience. But I’m a few short weeks away from the editing
phase, and I’m delighted with the cover art. Very worthy of my brother’s style.
It’s been somewhat of a melancholy journey without him. He was the artist; I
was the writer. We helped each other on our respective projects, and I can only
imagine what we could have accomplished together. I continue the endeavor
without him. It goes without saying that Lords
of Kur will be dedicated to him. It’s a story that gave me strength for
years, and I hope it finds its audience.
