Episode 219: Sam Robb – A Sense of Murder

A conversation with author Sam Robb about his new fantasy novel, A Sense of Murder.

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samrobbwrites.com

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About A Sense of Murder

In a far-flung corner of the worlds-spanning Empire, Ser Kellan tor Iaestus is a Highwayman, sworn to keep the peace in the rugged Outlands. Armed with a revolver from a forgotten war and a hidden Talent to see truth, he is an agent of justice and peace in a wild land . . . so long as he keeps his talent hidden, lest he be pressed into the service of the Empire.

When Prospero, an Imperial Magus, arrives in the Outlands hunting for a magical truth-teller, Kellan is assigned as his guide. Certain he can keep his Talent concealed and maintain his freedom, Kellan escorts the magus on his journey. All goes well until a string of seemingly unrelated murders exposes demons, dark powers, and a warlock weaving cruel designs in the shadows. As Kellan and Prospero investigate, they follow a thread that leads from the Outlands to the city of Victar de Reya, links whores and politicians, and takes them from fine restaurants to piratical celebrations.

Saddled with a suspicious young seer and facing demons clawing at them from the Unreal, the two must work together to unravel the warlock’s conspiracy before he kills again. But can Kellan locate the killer without exposing his own power, and surrendering the independence he’s fought so hard to protect?

Duty demands truth. Survival demands secrecy. Kellan can’t have it both ways . . . and time is running out.

About Sam Robb

Sam Robb

Sam Robb grew up in Pittsburgh, preferring books to football — a choice that, in hindsight, explains a lot. He attended Carnegie Mellon on a Navy ROTC scholarship, married the most amazing woman in the world, and promptly shipped out to the Pacific Fleet. After helping decommission the USS Wabash, he returned to Pittsburgh, decided people were overrated, and retreated into software development.

Then he ran for President as a Libertarian. He describes this period as “instructive.”

These days, Sam channels his restless curiosity into SF/F, prowling Pittsburgh’s back alleys with a camera and an overactive imagination. His writing proves that graffiti, old buildings, and questionable life choices make excellent creative fuel.

He lives with his wife, three daughters, and several quadrupeds who remain unimpressed by his publishing credits.

Episode 218: Dave Housley – Aliens Attack!

A conversation with author Dave Housley about his new science fiction novel, Aliens Attack!

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housleydave.com

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@dave.housley

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About Aliens Attack!

Told through the men and women—and aliens—who experienced it firsthand, Dave Housley’s sci-fi novel Aliens Attack! presses us with the big question: what would you do at the end of the world?

Intertwining the depth of sonder with the honesty of reality, Housley brings us the truth of what an alien invasion would look like in each of our lives. From a woman who realizes the man she’s about to marry has a dark secret to a priest addicted to oxycontin holed up with a choir he despises, Aliens Attack! is pockmarked with wry humour, pop culture references, and authenticity.

Housley holds the mirror up for us and tells us to behold what we cannot run away from—ourselves.

Praise for Aliens Attack

“This book won’t just break your heart. It will burn it, blow it up, zap it like the titular aliens attacking. It happened to me – but I’ve also never been more grateful to an author for introducing me to characters—aliens, dads, clergymen, kids—who in the midst of crisis behave in such a poignantly, perfect human way that I’m still thinking about them, long after leaving them back on that burned out earth.” —Amber Sparks, author of Happy People Don’t Live Here

“Dave Housley is one of my favorite writers, in general, and almost certainly my favorite within the genre of the Dumb Idea™ (complimentary). By which I mean taking a premise that is on its surface too silly, or one-note, or gimmicky for Literature, and infusing it with humanity—the beauty and complications and bullshit and warmth and everything else that makes up being a real person in this world. In Aliens Attack!, Housley turns those talents toward perhaps the very Dumb Idea™ he was most meant to write, and the result is everything I could have wanted it to be and more.” —Aaron Burch, author of A Kind of In Between, and Year of the Buffalo

“When the shit hits the fan, you’ll still be you and what about that? Aliens Attack! is an existential coming-of-age, the truest, realist thing I’ve read in a hundred years. It should be terrifying but I found it to be enormously comforting. I don’t know why. Worthy of mention in the same breath as Ursula Le Guin but better because it’s an expression of the keen, funny, perceptive mind of Your Friend Dave.” —Laura Scalzo, author of American Arcadia

“What would you do—really do—in an emergency of planetary proportions? How capable, ethical, and heroic would you be? In this novel about an alien invasion of earth, Housley smuggles uneasy questions like this into our brains with wry humor and cleverly intertwining narratives. Multiple perspectives from both sides of the invasion equation show us calamity from the perspectives of everyday people (and aliens) who are vulnerable, fallible, and feel refreshingly real, reflecting ourselves back to ourselves. —Tara Campbell, author of City of Dancing Gargoyles and TreeVolution

About Dave Housley

Dave Housley

Dave Housley is the author of four other novels and five story collections, most recently The Other Ones, LooneyThe Greys (with Becky Barnard), and Massive Cleansing Fire.

He is one of the founding editors of the literary organization Barrelhouse, and the primary organizer of the Barrelhouse conference, Conversations and Connections: Practical Advice on Writing. He is the Director of Web Strategy for Penn State Online Education.

He lives in State College, PA, with his wife Lori and son Ben. He wants to believe.

Episode 217: Caitlin Rozakis – Startup Hell

A conversation with New York Times-bestselling author Caitlin Rozakis about her new standalone novel in the Everyday Enchantments fantasy series, Startup Hell.

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caitlinrozakis.com

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@caitlin.rozakis

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@caitlinrozakis

About Startup Hell

A hilarious contemporary fantasy about a junior sales witch stuck in corporate hell, who has to evade devilish pacts and her kickass, world-saving, demon-slaying mum to save a (surprisingly hot) demon, and work out how to hit her quarterly target.

Morgan Blackwater’s mother is a kickass, world-saving, demon-slaying Shadow Council wizard. As for Morgan? Morgan’s a junior salesperson at a tech startup that can’t even decide what its product is. But with magic dyslexia and a disinclination to kick ass, Morgan is doing her best to carve out a niche for herself in the mundane world.

Leaving work late one night, she discovers her boss dead from the effort of summoning a demon to trade his soul in order to make his quarterly target. The disturbingly attractive demon, Lucareoth (Luke for short), is trapped here until he finds someone to sell their soul. While trying to sneak Luke out of the building, Morgan runs into her infamous mother. Apparently, someone has been summoning demons, and she’s here to get to the bottom of it.

Trying to protect Luke from her mother, Morgan gets sucked into the Infernal Plane and discovers hell really is a corporate nightmare. She only gets back home with a promise to deliver a human soul of her own. While her coworkers are really annoying, she’s not willing to sacrifice their souls. The company’s tech bro CEO, though, is another story.

With Caitlin Rozakis’s signature wit, Startup Hell is a contemporary fantasy that exposes the demonic nature of the corporate world.

About Caitlin Rozakis

Caitlin Rozakis
Photo credit: Laura Bang.

New York Times best-selling author Caitlin Rozakis writes fantasy with a satirical twist and a cozy heart. Her debut novel Dreadful turned out not to be dreadful at all. Her Everyday Enchantments series include standalones The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association and Startup Hell (Titan Books).

She also writes romance under the name Catherine Beck; her novella “Leah’s Perfect Christmas” was adapted into the Hallmark Channel Original Movie Leah’s Perfect Gift.

Short stories have appeared under the name R. Rozakis in Cast of Wonders, Aurealis, Daily Science Fiction, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, and Weirdbook, as well as the anthologies Substitution Cipher, Clockwork Chaos, Baker Street Irregulars II, and Thrilling Adventure Yarns 2022.

Caitlin Rozakis is the pen name of Rebecca Rozakis. After graduating from Princeton, she has had too many career changes, including mechanical engineering (cut short after the murderous robot incident), finance (amortizing tequila receivables is not as fun as drinking tequila), and the American Museum of Natural History (who knew emus had birth certificates?), and a number of marketing positions, some at companies you may have even heard of. She lives in Jersey City with her husband and son.

Episode 216: Dan Desai Martin – In the Shadow of the Sanctum

A chat with author Dan Desai Martin about his debut fantasy novel, In the Shadow of the Sanctum.

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dandesaimartin.com

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Gold Dust Publishing

About In the Shadow of the Sanctum

She was afraid of the truth. She was afraid of the lies. But mostly afraid she couldn’t tell the difference between the two anymore.

After escaping from the holy Sanctum, Ehla yearns for safety. In a realm where High Priests maintain absolute power through violence and manipulation, Ehla finds herself at the center of a rebellion she wants no part of.

And the more she learns about the One God, the Serpent, and the magical power of Song, the more she questions everything she thought she knew.

With the Sanctum’s shadow growing deeper, Ehla must make choices that will change her – and the realm – forever.

Packed with religious oppression, revolution, and self-discovery, this fast-paced, thought-provoking fantasy novel is perfect for fans of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Sabaa Tahir’s Ember in the Ashes series, and Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series.

About Dan Desai Martin

Dan Desai Martin

Dan Desai Martin is a fantasy author and communications consultant. After receiving a degree in Religious Studies from Berry College, Dan spent most of his career at nonprofit organizations trying to make the world a little better.

He is active with the Maryland Writers’ Association, and was an editor of the 2024 and 2025 editions of Emerging Voices: Poetry and Prose by Maryland Teens. When not reading, writing, or working, he enjoys traveling and spending time with his amazing wife, Rachana [pronounced RUTCH-na]. They live in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Episode 215: James Pyles – A Wobblegong and His Boy

A chat with author James Pyles about his writing career and his new boy’s science fiction adventure novel, A Wobblegong and His Boy.

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About A Wobblegong and his Boy

Thirteen-year-old Remmie McNeal emerges from cryogenic sleep on a distant world, expecting a new life with his family—only to find the adults still locked in their reconstruction creches, silent and unresponsive. The massive underground colony hums with machines, but the only ones awake are kids like him: scared, confused, and suddenly in charge.

With his quick wits, a loyal gang of friends, and an enigmatic, ever-changing creature dubbed the Wobblegong at his side, Remmie races to uncover the truth. Why did the system awaken only children between five and fourteen? What hidden glitch—or deliberate secret—traps the grown-ups in endless sleep? Strange signals flicker through the shadows, robots behave unpredictably, and whispers of a greater mystery echo in the vents.

This gripping sci-fi adventure delivers heart-pounding exploration, clever problem-solving, unbreakable friendships, and twists that will keep readers guessing until the final page. What force controls their fate? Can Remmie solve the puzzle before time runs out?

About James Pyles

James Pyles

James Pyles is a retired corporate technical writer and computer technology textbook author. Since 2019, he has had over seventy short stories and novelettes published in various anthologies and periodicals, mostly by independent publishers. 

His most recent novel is the boy’s science fiction adventure story, A Wobblegong And His Boy, published by Raconteur Press. His previous science fiction novel, Our Legacy the Stars: A Tom Corbett Adventure, is a legacy space opera based on a 1950s SciFi television show. 

Besides writing, James spends much of his time with his grandchildren, ages five to seventeen
, and borrowing his son’s dog to play fetch. 

He lives in Idaho, near Boise, with his wife.

Episode 214: Kathy Tyers – Firebreak

A chat with science fiction writer Kathy Tyers (a New York Times-bestselling author for her Star Wars novel The Truce at Bakura) about Firebreak, the first book in a new trilogy in her popular Firebird series.

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kathytyers.com

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@kathytyers

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About Firebreak

What would you sacrifice to save your family and your home world?

Lady Firebird Caldwell returns to the world of her birth, Netaia, intending to introduce her young sons to the noble Electors while her husband, Brennen, conducts a military inspection. When mysterious ships in distress suddenly approach the planet, the Electorate sends her to initiate first contact. Forced to work alongside a vengeful childhood enemy, Firebird uses everything within her power—even her passion for music—to negotiate, only to discover their alien technology threatens all the worlds she holds dear. 

Facing ruthless betrayal, Firebird undertakes a deadly journey to salvage the mission. Brennen must make daring use of his telepathic powers to save human life in the galactic Whorl, including that of their young sons. But saving the worlds might force Brennen to give the order that would mean Firebird’s death. In a galaxy poised on the edge of ruin, survival may demand the ultimate sacrifice—from them both.

About Kathy Tyers

Kathy Tyers

Kathy Tyers is widely known for two Star Wars Legends novels: New York Times-bestseller The Truce at Bakura and New Jedi Order: Balance Point. Her hard science fiction novel Shivering World was long-listed for the Nebula Award and received the Christy Award in the Visionary category. 

Kathy’s ongoing Firebird series is adventure-romance space opera reminiscent of Star Wars 4, 5, and 6. Firebreak, the first book in a new Firebird universe trilogy, is a 2026 release. Two additional Firebird Interlude Trilogy novels are scheduled for 2027 and 2028.

At home in southwest Montana with her husband William T. Gillin, Kathy focuses on writing, music, and short-season vegetable gardening.

Episode 213: Roger L. Simon – EMET

A chat with award-winning novelist, screenwriter, journalist, and media entrepreneur Roger L. Simon about Emet, the first book in a thrilling new series.

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About Emet

A rabbi who doubts. A city on edge. A truth older than memory rising from the earth.

When Nashville is shaken by the brutal murder of a young woman visiting from New York, Rabbi Benjamin “Ben” Golub—a reluctant spiritual leader whose faith has long wavered—finds himself drawn into a crisis far larger than grief and consolation. The crime unmoors his congregants, ignites simmering fears, and pulls the rabbi into the orbit of two people connected to the victim: Ed, a Serbian-born sculptor with a past marked by war, and Tamara, a sharp-witted New York publicist fleeing her own heartbreak.

But when a freak tornado hits the city, exposing strange phenomena in the rabbi’s own backyard, Ben confronts something he never expected: evidence that an ancient Jewish legend may be more than myth. What begins as a whispered joke—a lump of mud shaped like a man—soon reveals a terrifying capacity for action.

As violence escalates, anti-Jewish hatred rises worldwide, and the rabbi’s private doubts collide with what he witnesses, Ben must decide what he truly believes—and what he is willing to unleash. Because the line between protector and monster is thinner than anyone imagined. And truth—emet—has consequences.

Emet is a gripping, unsettling novel about faith, fear, justice, and the supernatural forces that emerge when an ordinary man is pushed past the limits of reason.

Advance praise for Emet

“A thriller that’s as fast and furious as it is thoughtful and smart.”New York Times bestselling novelist Andrew Klavan

“A thrilling page-turner with a satisfying ending.”- Glenn Reynolds, American legal scholar and founder of Instapundit

“A tour de force full of . . . wit and wisdom and positivity amid peril.”Kurt Schlichter, novelist and Townhall columnist

“(Emet) doubles as a political and religious commentary, making it even more captivating and enlightening . . . (it) screams for sequels and an equally riveting television streaming series.”David Limbaugh

About Roger L. Simon

Roger L. Simon

Roger L. Simon is an award-winning novelist, screenwriter, journalist, and media entrepreneur whose career spans more than five decades across literature, film, and cultural commentary. He first gained prominence with his bestselling Moses Wine detective series, beginning with the 1970s breakout hit The Big Fix, which became a cultural touchstone and later a Hollywood film starring Richard Dreyfus. Simon wrote the screenplay, beginning a career in Hollywood that also saw him write, among many others, Bustin’ Loose (with Richard Pryor), Scenes from a Mall (with Bette Midler and Woody Allen), and the Paul Mazursky-directed Enemies, A Love Story, for which Simon was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. A Better Life, for which Simon wrote the story, was released in 2011; its lead actor, Damien Bichir, was also nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award. Simon also directed the independent feature Prague Duet, starring Gina Gershon and based on a screenplay he wrote with his wife, Sheryl Longin.

Simon has taught screenwriting at Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute and at the American Film Institute. He is a former president of the PEN Center USA West, former vice-president of the International Association of Crime Writers, and a former member of the board of the Writers Guild of America.

Simon has become a leading voice in political and social journalism, co-founding PJ Media, one of the earliest and most influential digital platforms in the online commentary landscape. His work has appered in major publications worldwide, and he is known for his sharp intellect, fearless critique, and his ability to fuse narrative craft with cultural insight.

Emet launches a provocative new series that confronts the spiritual and geopolitical dangers facing Christians and Jews in the modern world. Simon, 82, calls this creative resurgence “remarkably optimistic” and feels this is arguably some of his most ambitious work to date.

Episode 212: John Van Stry – Lock & Load: Valley of Fire Book 3

A chat with bestselling and prolific author John Van Stry about his career and his newest novel, Lock & Load, Book 3 in the Valley of Fire trilogy set in is popular Wolfhounds universe.

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About Lock & Load: Valley of Fire Book 3

In the heart of the Fire Nebula, war rages across the stars.

Crown Prince Wolf Alexander-Morgan and Princess Mariella, forged in the crucible of combat and mech warfare, stand at the forefront of a desperate counterstrike against a ruthless empire that has already struck at their homeworlds. With elite squadrons, aging battleships revived from slumber, and hard-won alliances hanging by a thread, they prepare to carry the fight straight to the enemy’s stronghold.

But victory demands more than firepower. As hidden truths surface, old grudges resurface, and the line between ally and threat blurs, Wolf and Mariella must navigate treacherous politics, overwhelming odds, and the weight of their own destinies. One wrong move could doom their kingdom—or end the war in flames.

Pulse-pounding space battles, brutal ground assaults, and the clash of crowns await in the explosive conclusion to the Valley of Fire trilogy. In a galaxy where loyalty is tested in fire, some legends are born… and others are extinguished.

About John Van Stry

John Van Stry

John Van Stry holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE). During his college years, he joined the United States Air Force and gained some flying experience. His early career included work in robotics, followed by positions as a Flight Test Engineer in the aerospace industry at Grumman Aerospace, General Dynamics, and Lockheed.

During this time, he acquired a cougar and relocated to Oregon. After leaving aerospace, he transitioned to the medical devices sector as a Quality and Test Engineer in a research and development group, then at Tektronix, before entering contracting, drawn by the financial incentives. By then, he owned several big cats, incurring substantial feed costs that necessitated a dedicated account with a wholesale meat supplier and the purchase of a van for hauling.

He later moved to California, and now resides in Texas. In his roles in quality assurance and testing, Van Stry has been fortunate to engage with cutting-edge technology, witnessing extraordinary innovations and collaborating with brilliant engineers—as well as a few challenging personalities.

Writing has long been a personal pursuit for Van Stry, with contributions to various fanzines and small press outlets. Upon receiving a Kindle as a gift, he entered the world of independent publishing. This proved wildly successful, and in 2015, tired of all the travel associated with contracting, he became a full-time writer.

Episode 211: Mark J. Wilson – Full of Beans: A Back-In-Time Mystery

A chat with Mark J. Wilson about his new time-travelling detective novel, Full of Beans.

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markjwilson.com

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@markjwilsonauthor

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@markjwilsonauthor

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About Full of Beans

Phil Beans has a lot on his plate. A dead professor. A cheating husband. A missing graduate student. A mysterious Umbrella Guy. And a suicide that doesn’t make sense.

For the ambition-challenged and exertion-adverse private investigator, Phil Beans, who is usually content to use his time-traveling skill working straightforward divorce cases, solving each of these seemingly disparate crimes seems like a lot of work, and (maybe) not worth the effort.

But he’s made promises that he must keep, so Phil sets off on his mission of discovering the truth about these crimes, and maybe even gets the girl in the end, as a bonus.

Full of Beans is author and scientist Mark Wilson’s highly engaging new time-bending novel in the Back-in-Time book series, set in Oxford, England. Tightly woven and a fun story, it is filled with eccentric characters, engrossing plots and subplots, and a detailed sense of place that will keep readers hooked from the first page to the last.

About Mark J. Wilson

Mark J. Wilson

Mark J. Wilson lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Carrie, but he was born and brought up in Reading, England, and his favourite place in the world is in the Cotswolds, just down the road from Oxford (where most of Full of Beans is set).

Mark went to college in Canterbury, where he earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry. He has worked in biopharmaceuticals for the last 35 years or so, but is now working in gene therapy, helping to develop a much-needed cure for Rett Syndrome.

He worked in Nottingham and Cambridge before moving back to Reading, them moved to the United States in 2009, living in North Carolina for seven years before moving to the DC area.

Growing up in Reading gave him a fascination with trains and planes, since, in his words, “there wasn’t much else there to interest a kid.” He loved hanging around at the west end of Platform 5, and when Concorde would fly over. His dad gave him a lifelong passions for astronomy, physics, chess, cooking, and model-making. He loves model trains, and over the years, in his spare time, has also been a watercolor artist and a music producer. He particularly loves electronic dance music.

Episode 210: Dr. Paul Michael Privateer – Mindweavers II: Attack

A conversation with Dr. Paul Michael Privateer about the latest book in his Mindweavers science fiction series, Mindweavers II: Attack.

Website
paulprivateer.com

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About Mindweavers II: Attack

What if a virus could rewrite not just your biology, but your very sense of reality?

In Mindweavers II: Attack, Paul Michael Privateer delivers a razor-sharp, genre-defying techno-thriller that fuses the urgency of Contagion with the cerebral intensity of Black Mirror and the geopolitical paranoia of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. This second installment in the Mindweavers series takes you deep into a world where genetic warfare, ecological collapse, and cognitive manipulation converge into a single, terrifying threat.

When a bizarre mass whale stranding rocks the Atlantic coast during a global security summit, a rogue team of Interpol specialists uncovers a viral intelligence capable of mutating across species and consciousness itself. As the storm surges and world leaders gather, the narrative races through autopsy labs, military lockdowns, digital forensics, and quantum neuro-hacking, building to an explosive confrontation that asks: What happens when the next war is not over territory, but over thought?

If you loved The Three-Body Problem12 Monkeys, or the philosophical tension of Annihilation, this book will haunt you. It’s a mind-bending plunge into bioethics, machine sentience, and the future of human identity. Fans of speculative thrillers, climate fiction, and political intrigue will find Mindweavers II both terrifyingly plausible and addictive.

About Dr. Paul Michael Privateer

Dr. Paul Michael Privateer

Dr. Paul Michael Privateer is a former Strategic Air Command missile specialist turned academic who crafts genre-bending fiction about the terrifying line between human and machine. A professor at Georgia Tech and Arizona State University, and guest professor at MIT, his commentary has appeared in The New York Times and on NPR, CNN, and the BBC.

His Mindweavers series draws on real-world expertise in military tech and data science to create a dark vision of genetic warfare. Privateer turned to fiction because he realized some truths need to be dramatized, not just analyzed.