Random Reboot

This marks my eighth book. The first seven were journeys through fiction and memoir: two short story collections, a western, and a dystopian scifi/fantasy tale I still plan to expand.

If you were to tally every word across those volumes—drafts, revisions, rewrites—the total would climb into the millions. Yet from all those words, sentences, paragraphs, and pages, I doubt more than two hundred could be called truly quotable.

I have always loved quotes: profound or historic, amusing or inspiring, heavenly or demonic, cute or twisted. They distill thought into a spark—sometimes illuminating, sometimes unsettling, always memorable.

After finishing my last book, I found myself not blocked but fatigued. The creative process had worn me down. Friends advised, “Take time off, recharge.” Easier said than done. Writing is as natural to me as breathing; to stop would be unthinkable.

So, I carried this conundrum for months, letting it ferment in my dwindling supply of productive brain cells, until the answer appeared: Write a book of quotes. The words emblazoned themselves across my mind, flickering insistently until I surrendered.

It was the perfect solution. I could continue writing without the strain of inventing new plots, characters, or worlds. Instead, I would let minds far more fertile than mine ferry me across the river of creative drought.

Thus, Random Reboot was born. A collection of quotes, song lyrics, and fragments—gathered not in order, but in delightful chaos—to offer a reboot to our weary, distracted, and often belittled minds.

When I finished compiling and proofreading, I was surprised by my own reaction: reading it pleased me. My gratitude goes to all contributors—dead, alive, and imagined.