On July 13th 2024, Trump got lucky and so did I. If that bullet had veered an inch to the right, we would all be in RIP-Donald country and I’d be mourning the death of a book I invested a lot of laughter in.

These days, they don’t make victims like they used to. So says Cass in Collecting Cass, my 21st century reimagining of the classic themes in John Fowles fabled yarn, The Collector.

Once upon a time, voice, plot points, characters and themes filled our days. But now, we authors—sorry authorpreneurs­—spend them muddling through the acronymic jungle of our ad campaigns, stuff like CTR and ACOS. That’s what counts now, not all that literati tosh.

Storytellers depend on imagination and inspiration, but it’s often an experience that sparks a story into life.