I am often asked how I decided on this project. Throughout my life I have worked in technology. It has been a rewarding and challenging profession. I have taken a path less traveled. Creating something new has always been a passion of mine. You know, putting pieces together to make a better solution, rather than accepting the status quo. I realized after nearly 50 years of thinking this way that I had developed techniques that increased my probability of success. I began to write them down thinking that maybe I could share them someday.
When I retired, I considered how to give this information to my grandchildren and other young adults, realizing that the techniques I developed over the years might benefit the generation of the future. So, I made a spreadsheet of the things that helped me through the years. Then, as I reread it, I understood that the concepts were a bit abstract and may be difficult to communicate.
So, I thought it would try to teach through simple examples using a group of characters that readers could relate to, called the Sharefield Gang. As I embarked on the writing of the mystery novel, I found it very enjoyable. I attempted to intertwine multiple facets into the mystery while developing personalities for each of the characters. I was careful to make sure the puzzling circumstances within the story resolved themselves in plausible realistic ways, because I felt that if everything was completely unbelievable then the lessons I was trying to impart may be perceived as unrealistic as well.
After writing the first novel I decided to continue the journey with more fantasy as the Sharefield Gang explored the future of artificial intelligence. Withing the artificial intelligence realm, I was afforded more freedom to explore pure fantasy through a virtual reality setting. This became a convenient way to contrast and compare reality and imagination in a way that teaches lessons. The second book was a lot of fun to write.
Beyond The Key’s Blind Side, I wanted the gang to explore how we, as individuals, perceive the world around us. After all, much of creativity involves seeing the world from a different perspective and then engaging with it to bring forth a new vision.
I started the Key’s Reflection by creating images that appear as two different objects. After drafting about 50 sets of these, I went about trying to craft a mystery novel that incorporated the image pairs. This turned out to be a challenge requiring considerable back and forth iterations to craft a plausible and coherent story. In the end, I feel as though I achieved my objective.
Unlike the other volumes, I did not write any analysis on this topic to avoid biasing readers. Everyone has their own view of the world. I just wanted the reader to absorb this book at face value and interpret it through their own personal mind’s eye.
It would be awesome if others were to continue this exercise by creating their own image pairs that showcase visual similarities. I feel that this is a unique approach to the creative process. I may consider further writing in this area if there is sufficient interest.
