books

Salsabil: The Blue Gold§

novel — in progress

In a near-future Arabian desert, fresh water has become the most valuable commodity on earth. A single liter sells for more than gold, guarded by the powerful and out of reach of everyone else.

A water-factory janitor, locked alone in a sealed motel room, sets out to write down how he went from the lowest rung of that world to the very top of it — and into the sights of the law along the way. Part survival story, part rise-and-fall myth, told from inside the room where it all comes apart.

Neanderthal§

manuscript — in revision

A two-part novel. The first half follows one voice through a series of collisions; the second hands the story to Kassandra and lets her retell what we thought we understood. It’s a book about inheritance — of temperament, of grudges, of the things families don’t say out loud.

Currently being prepared in both a full edition and a simplified reader editionnow
What I’m actually spending my time on at the moment, as opposed to what I’d like to claim I’m spending it on. writing Salsabil: The Blue Gold — drafting. The water-scarcity novel. Slow going, but the shape is finally there. Neanderthal — revising the second half, the one told in Kassandra’s voice. R… for language learners.

Elixir 181§

novella — complete

A father and son run a hummus and falafel shop under occupation. When the father is jailed for four days, the son does something with two bags of powder that neither of them can take back. A story about laughter as the last available weapon.

read it →Elixir 181
On the television, a man was talking about a peace agreement. Eighty years, and it still hadn’t happened. There was Oslo, then Camp David, then the war in Gaza. Some people say it all started on October 7. It didn’t. The old TV in the prison room made a crackling sound. A voice said, “We bring you b…

Kamikaze Raccoon§

short fiction — complete

Short, fast, and not entirely serious. Available in the reader edition.

reviews§

Pull-quote goes here.

— Publishers Weekly

Second pull-quote goes here.

— Outlet

Short quotes with attribution, as on a jacket.

Also on: nownow
What I’m actually spending my time on at the moment, as opposed to what I’d like to claim I’m spending it on. writing Salsabil: The Blue Gold — drafting. The water-scarcity novel. Slow going, but the shape is finally there. Neanderthal — revising the second half, the one told in Kassandra’s voice. R… · notesnotes
Click a title to open it as a new column. Playtesting Karkaba · A pass on Elixir 181 · Building the reader editions · Karkaba’s loop finally clicks · Reading about water rights Older notes archived. · writingwriting
Elixir 181 · Kamikaze Raccoon · Notes From the Prison TV · The Water Factory Janitor · Salsabil: The Blue Gold · Neanderthal · On Writing With a Beginner’s Mind · Why I Treat Everything Like an Experiment · Building Karkaba · Dubai, Between Two Deserts · What the Falafel Shop Taught Me · Serial Proj… · scribblesscribbles
Unpolished by definition — most of these won’t survive to a final draft, and that’s the point of showing them. A fragment lives here — a line from the current draft that I’m still turning over. Another slot, for whichever sentence is currently refusing to behave. A line that arrived without a home y….

Rights & translation enquiries: email me.