I Visit Whatever With My Big Idea

John Scalzi, a science fiction writer famous enough to have a very long Wikipedia entry, has his own blog called Whatever. On occasion he shares his space with other writers, even those like me who aren't famous enough to have any kind of Wikipedia entry.

He calls the visiting writer entries The Big Idea, and I was fortunate enough to be allowed to write one. In it, I tell the completely unvarnished true story of how I came to write This World We Live In.

I'm most grateful to Mr. Scalzi for let...