What is it about the notion of empire that fascinates so many men? Why do we think that an empire would be somehow cooler than a democracy? In the Star Wars mythological system, the Empire replaces a decrepit and tottering Republican system. The Empire is seen as stronger, more stable — a natural fallback position […]

Why doesn’t the United States just reach up and gulp down Canada? Perhaps it’s partly because Canada has value to the U.S. as an independent and sovereign state. Canada is a kind of mirror image America, with kinder, gentler social programs, higher taxes, and public health care. These are places America might want to head […]

The pretty girl with the raven-dark hair was crying bitterly to herself. She was sitting outside a dance club, her butt parked on the curb, her bony knees raising in the air. Her miniskirt was torn. All of a sudden, shameless, she let out a primal scream that echoed down the back alleys and front […]

This is my first try at a modified Petrarchan sonnet. Be gentle with me, muse!

John Connor ran for his life. The last terminator was still functional, still after him. His entire bodyguard had been slaughtered, but not before they got rid of the 8 terminators in the bunch. The ninth was waiting abovedecks on the USS Ronald Reagan, a large naval vessel docked at San Diego. John wiped sweat […]

What makes the territory so exciting is that Ontario is storyland, a setting broad enough to provide the living dreams for several lifetimes of writing. There are over a million square kilometers. There is almost 40% of the Canadian population. There’s lesser known but still inspiring cities — Timmins, Kingston, Windsor, Thunder Bay, Ottawa (the […]

“Being homeless is like living in a post-apocalyptic world. You’re on the outskirts of society.” — Frank Dillane

I am toying with an idea for a book about a world in which 50 megacorporations rule all. This leads naturally to the thought: what would such a world be like? Clearly, companies would like their own authority over the temporal world. They feel severely hemmed in and constricted by governments, and probably believe they […]

The Russians fear it. Chaos in government. Many nations around the world have had the same problem. A “Time of Troubles” brews and rears its ugly head. What to do? Whether it is a monarchy or a long-lived democracy, stability can only be achieved if the ground rules are understood and accepted by all. In […]

Looking down, it was a long way down the slope to the bottom of the pit. Chunks of gravel were embedded in the sides of the bowl of earth and they glittered in the Saturday noon daylight like bits of diamond mixed with stone. Quartz was everywhere. There were ragged trees on the far side […]