Literary Titan WTWB interview - part 2

What are some things that you find interesting about the human condition that you think make for great fiction?

What fascinates me most about the human condition is the gap between who we think we are and how we actually behave when things stop going to plan. We like to believe we’re rational, principled, and in control, but pressure, fear, love, grief, and ambition have a habit of knocking those ideas sideways. That gap – between intention and action, certainty and doubt – is where great fiction lives.

I’m also interested in how ordinary people respond when they’re swept up in events far bigger than themselves. Most of us don’t set out to change the world, break systems, or become symbols of anything. We’re just trying to get through the day, protect the people we care about, and make sense of the noise. Yet history shows that it’s often these accidental participants – people acting from love, stubbornness, guilt, or hope – who trigger the biggest consequences. That tension between small, human decisions and vast, unpredictable outcomes runs through the Path Finder series.

Finally, there’s the absurdity of it all. Humans are capable of extraordinary kindness, bravery, and resilience, but we’re also unwittingly brilliant at self-delusion, tribalism, and panic. Put those traits under stress – mix them with power, money, ideology, or blind faith – and you get situations that are by turns terrifying, ridiculous, and darkly funny. 

Satire lets me explore those contradictions honestly, without pretending we’re either heroes or villains. We’re usually just flawed, emotional creatures doing our best… sometimes making an almighty mess of it… occasionally doing something amazing.