How did “Now I Know In Part” originate? What inspirations did you draw on?

Back in 2018 a call for submissions went out for the anthology Rosalind’s Siblings, and this story was not only written for it, it was accepted by it! However, that particular iteration of the anthology collapsed, and news of its resuscitation didn’t reach me until a week or so after Lightspeed bought it—making this the only story I’ve ever been paid for twice as an original, which I thought was pretty neat. The specific inspiration was Kurzgesagt’s “Wormholes Explained—Breaking Spacetime” video from 2018, which again shows how long it’s taken this tale to see the light of day.

Did you get stuck at any point while writing this? How did you get past that?

As I recall, it took me a couple of months to write the story. That’s not unusual when it comes to me and stories. Sometimes the pressure-cooker environment of a submissions deadline getting closer and closer is the critical element in vaulting over whatever aspect has me penned in. One significant sticking point was where I had to stop to figure out enough of what warp drives did when turned on to present a valid threat to Va’s life at the end—with something like that, I couldn’t cheap out and invent something out of technobabble. It can be surprisingly hard to find exotic ways for humans to die.

What is your writing space like? What do you like to have around for optimal creativity?

I write from the same home office I use for my day job, though critically not from the same desk, because there has to be some separation. As I write this I have four typewriters within arm’s reach and two more close at hand. They’re useful machines for outlining or untangling ideas by talking to myself on the page, but beyond all that there’s something comforting about having them there. Those arm’s-length machines range in vintage from 1948 to 1978, and they keep me grounded; a lot of words have already been written, sure, but there are so many words yet to be written.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Three points come to mind. First, figure out where it hurts; where is that splinter of an idea? What can you do with it and what questions does that raise? Second, deal with it; extract the metaphorical splinter and use it as a quill to write your story with metaphorical blood. Third, be weird; this is the best advantage we hold over the large language models.

What are you working on lately? Where else can fans look for your work?

One recent place you can find my stuff is Rosalind’s Siblings, the original home for this story, radly edited by Bogi Takács and published by Atthis Arts. I also have stories out in the January/February 2024 issues of Analog Science Fiction & Fact and F&SF, which makes this a pretty active winter for me. Beyond that, I’m in the weeds with a stalled novel project and mostly trying to escape from a long-term creative crevice.