I love reading. Sometimes the world around us feels like it is on fire, and everything is out of control. So I dive into a world where heroes battle a great evil, and the scrappy band of misfits overcomes outrageous odds to save the day. All is set right with the world. The foe is vanquished, and the heroes stand victorious.

$1 Shipping on all books this month. Keep reading to find out how.

But then we come back to reality. A reality where those in power in my country are hell-bent on terrorizing immigrants because of the color of their skin. A reality where old men in black robes decide that other old men in state capitols can force women to bear children. A reality where our president is determined to protect child predators because he was pals with history’s most notorious pedophile. A reality where a wannabe dictator uses the National Guard like pieces on a game board to harass various cities, while sending our military overseas to bomb a girl’s school.

I started writing my fantasy novel, In The Shadow Of The Sanctum, back in 2014. That’s when I decided to create a world ruled by religious fascists, and a small band of rebels fought to keep the shadow from overtaking the realm. With my background in religion — growing up in a pretty conservative church, and then getting a degree in Religious Studies — I knew that religion and power would be a central theme of the book.

But I had no idea it would be so timely when published in 2026. Yet here we are.

When I am not reading or writing fantasy, I’ve had a long career in politics and policy. And part of that career has been working on voting and democracy issues. I’ve done it on campaigns and for organizations that are working to strengthen the foundations of our elections. In 2020, I helped run a national voter protection hotline, where we helped hundreds of thousands of Americans know where, when, and how they could cast their vote.

Looking at the world around us, I get the desire to escape into a fantasy world. In the real world, we can feel so small. So helpless. So powerless.

But we are not powerless. YOU are not powerless.

Voting is the foundational right in our nation. It is YOUR opportunity to decide which candidates represent you at the federal, state, and local level. Hell, it is the best way to prevent the kind of society I wrote about from becoming real. It is a way to say NO to book bans and attacks on our LGBTQ+ friends and neighbors. It is a way to say NO to misinformation about vaccines, so that our children can grow up healthy and happy. And it is our way to say NO to corruption and self-dealing.

Politics isn’t perfect. And there are no perfect candidates. But voting is your power. It is the magic YOU have to make a difference in this world.

September 15 is National Voter Registration Day. It is a reminder that you need to register so you CAN go vote for your city council, state legislators, governor, and members of Congress. If you are not sure about your voter registration, you can go to sites like I Will Vote or your state’s voter registration page (usually on the state’s Secretary of State website) to make sure you are registered. And while you are there, make sure you are registered at your current address!

To remind you about the importance of voting, I will be offering $1 shipping on books ordered directly through me for the month of September– just use the coupon code VOTE at checkout.

IN ADDITION, I will donate a portion of each of these sales to a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing pro-voter policies at the state and local level.

I love escaping reality by diving into a good book. Hell, I love escaping it by writing a good book. But we cannot run away in books forever. And as citizens, we have a responsibility to make our city, state, country, and world a better place. I hope you register to vote this month. And in November, please go vote.