With Great Power…

My story ‘Primum Nil Nocere’ has won the Reedsy contest for ‘Superpowers’. I had a lot of fun writing this one. My character Dr. Albright works as a guidance counselor for children with superpowers, and he uses his wisdom and abilities to change the course of their entire lives.

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Dr. Albright accomplishes his job by diving deep into the real world complexities, ramifications and drawbacks of different superpowers. This is one of my favorite nerdy obsessions, which I trace all the way back to the Official Handbooks of the Marvel Universe. These were among the first comic books I ever owned, and their detailed lists of character aliases, powers, strengths and weaknesses definitely shaped my love for the genre.

I believe that engaging deeply with the concept of superpowers can open up new angles for story telling. If you only had one crummy power, how could you make the most of it? If you had no powers at all, how might you use your superhuman foe’s strength against them?

If you like your superheroes stories with a side of nitty-gritty (and a heaping helping of dark and gritty) then you’ll dig my novel CRITERION. You can buy it or try it here.

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