Re-Post! Artificial Intelligence and its (not so) Godlike power in THE VALLEN

I am a fan of Believer magazine and in the most recent edition (which I received in the mailbox earlier this week), I came across an article by Meghan O'Gieblyn and wow! did it put the hook in me. I mean she was talking all about the worship of artificial intelligence and the Book of Job and the burden of choice and what kind of god God was back in the fourteenth century versus now, and so on.

The kind of stuff that just enthralls the fuck outta me. (Needless to say I stayed up to finish the article, titled Good Shepherds.)

Knowledge + Time = ?

I try to determine what the wall is, where it’s leading Essa, and what walking the wall costs her.

This is the central conflict, dilemma, struggle, call it whatever you want, of my newest novel, THE VALLEN. From conception (during the 2016 Presidential campaign in the United States) to brainstorming to outline to writing the rough draft then many other drafts after, I’ve come to the point where I have now completed a submittable manuscript.

And all the while…

I’ve been asking…

Just what is the wall?

There are walls and walls and walls...

Borrowed from Wikipedia

Walls have been around for a long time. As architectural objects, they have a multitude of structural and cultural uses. I can claim no expert knowledge of walls, or their uses, or their endurance or deterioration over the ages, but I can gather together my sentiments towards walls and scribble them down here.

In writing a novel, THE VALLEN, featuring a wall — a border barrier, in particular,  — I obviously withhold some very strong feelings towards walls, barriers, earthworks and other structures which bar or impede free movement.

The world of THE VALLEN

Borrowed from pbs.org

In the months leading up to the 2016 United States presidential election, I clicked off the news and asked myself: what would America look like if Trump’s wall stood for over a hundred years?

What would you do to challenge that impediment to your movement? Would you try to flee—even if it was your own people who stood up the wall in the first place? Or would you welcome it? Is the wall good? Is the wall bad?

Outlining a blueprint for THE VALLEN

The Wall of Jericho, artist's rendering, more information available here

The power of a blueprint (or outline) for a novel is perhaps best represented in the plot of the novel. (I spoke in a previous post about how Rowling's outlining technique for Harry Potter benefited the page-turning plot of her books...).

What is THE VALLEN?

Filched from Wikipedia

In keeping with the updated purpose of this blog, welcome to a behind-the-scenes scoop on my newest novel, THE VALLEN.

What is The Vallen? 

Funny you should ask that, my main character—Essa Finch—asks the very same thing...

So...where to begin talking about THE VALLEN...hmmm...hmmm...