Category: Write Here, Write Now

Spindrifts: A Shimmering Image of the Future

Published on by Stavyah Vatsarah3 Comments

BOOK REVIEW

Book: Spindrifts
Genre: Futuristic Solarpunk Fantasy
Author: A-M Mawhiney
Rating: 5/5
Reviewer: Stavyah Vatsarah

A-M Mawhiney’s Spindrifts is a surprisingly tender science fiction novel imagining a future Earth that has not merely survived catastrophe but is gradually learning how to heal. Half a century later, after the destruction of the past, Mawhiney presents a world shaped by ecological responsibility and an extraordinary belief in what people can achieve together. But this is no faultless utopia. Yet beneath the beauty, questions quietly accumulate, and a current of uncertainty in the novel keeps its optimism from becoming naive. It’s a book about the future, certainly; nevertheless, its most profound concerns feel wrenchingly present: how we co-exist, how we make sense of difference, and whether real progress is possible without compassion.

Evoking Movement And Change

Fania is the fulcrum of this universe, and we see much of it through her eyes. Her curiosity pulls the story along, and it’s never merely intellectual. She has a genuine interest in people From Away, rooted in a sincere desire to know and connect, based on an instinctive belief in equality. ‘I want my communication to be equal,’ she says, a simple statement that reveals something fundamental about both Fania and the society she lives in. The unease she feels about technology quietly reproducing assumptions about whose language matters is what gives this futuristic world a surprisingly familiar human dimension.

Mawhiney’s world-building is strongest when it’s lived rather than explained. Ecological recovery is something we can almost touch, not just observe, as rivers, snow, ice, new plants, and changing seasons are all part of the process. And even that tiny moment when Fania and her great-grandmother, Alicia, hear the fragile crackling of ice becomes almost musical. Spindrifts is also a fitting title, suggesting something that can obscure what lies ahead but also evoking movement and change. This is not only a technological future; it is a living world.

Beneath the Beautiful Surface

But Spindrifts isn’t just praising its own creation. Its quieter mystery slowly draws us under that beautiful surface. Fania’s return to Immersion raises questions about her apprenticeship, Alicia’s work, and the things that remain unexplained. Her strange experiences only deepen the doubt, particularly the recurring landscapes and pink fog in her dreams. Mawhiney doesn’t have to rely on the usual suspense to keep us interested. Sometimes, a hint is enough, and an unanswered question can be more compelling than an immediate revelation. The mysteries contribute to the novel without disrupting its warmth.

Its relationships are equally complex. Fania and Alicia are genuinely warm with each other, but their relationship is not simple, and questions of identity arise naturally. Fania’s sister, Nuna, is tender because it is spoken in the quotidian, not the grandiose. Meanwhile, Kiki, Fania’s former Immersion classmate, gradually reveals humor and the possibility of connection. These relationships add emotional weight to the larger ideas of the novel.

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Utopian Vision With Bumps & Twists

What’s important is how Mawhiney lets those ideas live through her characters. Equality, communication, healing, and responsibility come through the way people relate to one another. The novel constantly demonstrates the interdependence of communities and the natural world, strengthening Fania’s realization that ‘everything is connected.’ Technology can make this future easier, but the real foundation is a changing sense of interdependence.

Mawhiney is also refreshingly candid about progress. Her future society has accomplished marvelous things, but healing is never portrayed as finished. In her opening note, she describes Spindrifts as a utopian vision ‘but one with bumps and twists along the way,’ and that phrase perfectly captures its spirit. Hope here is not the belief that everything is already right; it is the willingness to continue building something better.

An Ingenious Piece of Work

Mawhiney’s prose is at its best when beauty and thought go hand in hand. The cedar and wild ginger, the melting ice, the water in motion, and the new growth pushing through the snow make the future palpable and provide the book with its meditative rhythm. When the novel says ‘there was much more to be done and endless possibilities,’ it feels earned.

Spindrifts knows that healing a landscape is only part of the job. A hopeful future also needs people who acknowledge their place in a larger web of life. With remarkable confidence, Mawhiney balances ecological science fiction, family drama, mystery, and a meditation on human possibility. Its greatest achievement is the tenderness with which it imagines what humanity could be.

I’d give Spindrifts 5/5 because it does something harder than inventing a good future: it makes a better future feel possible. It is a humane novel, intellectually ambitious, ecologically aware, suffused with real affection for its characters and for the living world they seek to restore. Its greatest success is that it has won the right to hope, through the courage to question inherited assumptions. If you want science fiction with a hopeful spirit, Spindrifts is a luminous, deeply satisfying read.

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ENGAGE WITH LH | Click on the cover image of the book Spindrifts and buy yourself a copy right off the bat!

‘The More Fun Writing Is, the More I Want to Do It’

Published on by B SudharsanLeave a comment

INTERVIEW

S A Schneider has a wolf, so naturally, he writes middle-grade fantasy. From his Lego and action-figure days, Schneider has been creating worlds and crafting stories within them, a pursuit that continues through his middle-grade fantasy works. But his interest in storytelling extends beyond traditional narratives. Schneider also explores how storytelling works in video games and encourages children to discover how they can create their own stories and fantastical worlds. He hopes to inspire others to join him in this imaginative pursuit. Recently, Schneider was interviewed by B Sudharsan, Founding Editor-in-Chief of Literary Harbinger. Excerpts:

SPECIAL & EXCLUSIVE

From Short Story to Book to Series

B Sudharsan: It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr Schneider. How long have you been writing, and what sparked your interest in it?

S A Schneider: It’s been about ten years, but I first got the thought to write about five years before that. I was a Girl Scout leader and wanted to write books that had female protagonists for my girls to read.

B Sudharsan: You mention you wanted to write books with female protagonists for the girls in your Girl Scout troop. How did that initial idea eventually lead to your published works, particularly the Town Magician and The Oddish Questors series?

S A Schneider: My fantasy series—Town Magician—started as a short story. Near me, at Kent State University, they had an annual Wizarding World festival. I wanted to set up a table but needed something that fit. So I wrote a short story. And, as happens, that short story grew to be a book. And, as happens, that book became a series. My newer series—The Oddish Questors—is based on my kids and stepkids. It’s been the most fun to write since I incorporated a bit of their personalities into it. I also included our wolf, Hunter, as a character. It’s been some fun stories.

‘My Two Favorites are Stephen King and Michael Crichton’

B Sudharsan: How do you approach developing a story once you have its basic premise? Do you map out the plot and characters beforehand, or do they evolve as you write?

S A Schneider: I have things loosely planned and mapped out. Not a detailed outline. Though, as I’ve gained experience, I can flesh out the outline more, and the writing is then even easier. I have a basic idea of the story, and then I use tools like Save the Cat and Hero’s Journey to help me fill in any details of the story that I may have missed.

B Sudharsan: Are there any authors who have significantly influenced your writing?

S A Schneider: My two favorites are Stephen King and Michael Crichton. Both keep me turning pages and wanting to read just a little more. Even books I’ve already read.

B Sudharsan: With your writing competing for time alongside editing, marketing, and events, how do you structure your writing routine, and when do you find yourself most creatively inspired?

S A Schneider: I try to write in the morning before work. But I can sometimes find other times to write. I have to balance it with editing, marketing, joining events, and a myriad of other connected things. Often, I will have a scene in my head while driving or mowing, and I need to write it down as soon as possible.

‘My Kids Call Me Their Intergalactic 12-Year-Old’

B Sudharsan: Great to learn that your writing and storytelling have developed alongside your experiences in other fields. Please tell us a little about where you live, your age, and your educational background.

S A Schneider: I live in Northeast Ohio near Kent State University. I went to school for computers and music, though I’ve let my music slacken recently. Do you want to know my physical age or my mental age? My kids call me their intergalactic 12-year-old.

B Sudharsan: (laughs) Certainly. Looking back at the journey you have described, when did you consciously begin to see yourself as an author?

S A Schneider: I had not given much thought to being an author until Kindle was introduced and I observed the emergence of numerous books. Then when I wanted to write stories for the girls in my Girl Scout troop, it all fell together.

‘I’d Love to Be a Full-Time Author’

B Sudharsan: Since becoming an author involves much more than writing, how do you balance your creative work with your personal responsibilities? What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?

S A Schneider: Well, that’s a thoughtful question. It’s difficult occasionally. After work and then doing everything needed, like mowing the lawn and grocery shopping, some days you just want to do anything except sit at the computer and think. But the more fun writing is, the more I want to do it. I enjoy reading, of course. I’m trying to find the time to get back into music. I also enjoy playing games with friends.

B Sudharsan: You mentioned that you are continuing to develop The Oddish Questors and have the third Town Magician story in mind. Please tell us about your current projects and where you hope your writing career will go.

S A Schneider: I’m working on more Oddish Questor stories. I also have the third Town Magician thought out, but not much written. I would like to be a full-time author, but it’s not easy to just do that.

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‘Concentrate More on Writing Than on Anything Else’

B Sudharsan: Drawing from your own experience of developing as a writer, what advice would you offer to aspiring authors who become discouraged when their work does not perform as they had hoped?

S A Schneider: Concentrate more on writing than on anything else. Don’t worry about seminars or classes at first. Don’t even worry about publishing. You’d be better off and further ahead if you wrote several books and short stories first and then went back to some learning to improve them. You’ll get so much more out of any learning if you’ve written multiple things. And that will be beneficial when you finally publish, and your published works will perform better for you. So all that time spent waiting is worth it.

B Sudharsan: Your advice to writers emphasizes the importance of writing and storytelling. Does that philosophy also connect with your thoughts on how we encourage children to read and tell stories?

S A Schneider: Oh, don’t think I want to go into this topic here. But there are multiple things. How about in school we let kids read more of what they want, including comics? And let’s not worry about spelling and grammar so early on. Let kids tell stories and learn to have fun telling them and reading whatever they want. I think that when you then introduce spelling, grammar, and reading other things, it will go over much better, and we’ll have people who enjoy stories.

‘Writing Is Some of the Fun Time’

B Sudharsan: You have spoken about writing, family life, work, and the everyday responsibilities that shape your routine. What does a typical day look like for you?

S A Schneider: My typical day includes working; household tasks like making dinner, doing dishes, and taking care of the animals; and some fun time when I can. Writing fits in there to various degrees and is some of the fun time.

B Sudharsan: Do you speak any languages besides English?

S A Schneider: Do some computer programming languages count?

B Sudharsan: (smiles) Finally, beyond what we have discussed, is there anything else about your books or your journey as a writer that you would like to share with our readers?

S A Schneider: All my books are at https://sa-schneider.com. I also have helpful resources for teachers and homeschool parents.

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How about in school we let kids read more of what they want, including comics? And let’s not worry about spelling and grammar so early on. Let kids tell stories and learn to have fun telling them and reading whatever they want. I think that when you then introduce spelling, grammar, and reading other things, it will go over much better, and we’ll have people who enjoy stories.

~ S A SCHNEIDER

ENGAGE WITH LH | Click on the cover image of the book you wish to read and buy yourself a copy right off the bat!

The Seeker’s Dilemma

Published on by B Sudharsan1 Comment

ESSAY

A few months ago, I journeyed from Chennai to Arakkonam, a railroad town some 80 km away. Krishna, a man whom I hold in the highest regard, accompanied me. We met three years ago when I was working for an ed tech company. He was my reporting head. He’s a great speaker with such authority that I was initially intimidated by him; he naturally inspires a bit of awe. But as time passed, I learned he was an incredibly empathetic person who genuinely cared about the well-being of those around him. Talking to him always gave me something to reflect on. I’m still in awe of his amazing ability to juggle time and duties with ease.

On the way to Arakkonam by suburban train, our talk swirled around questions of existence, consciousness, death, and the existence of God. I used to be a forceful believer. However, exposure to epistemology gradually forced me to reconsider many of my assumptions. I don’t say with absolute certainty that God does not exist, but I no longer believe in a creator who is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent in the traditional sense. But that doesn’t mean I’m completely closed off to the idea. I realized, after talking with Krishna for a long time, that I had been carrying so many unexamined assumptions within me for years. It felt more and more important to face these things honestly, rather than to continue living in quiet intellectual inconsistency.

Something to Be Argued Into Existence?

Like so many others who may have searched the internet for deductive arguments that might prove the existence of God, I too had wanted certainty. I told Krishna that I considered myself a seeker, that if I were ever presented with convincing evidence for God, I would willingly change my mind. After all, my philosophy has always been based on the principle that beliefs must be revisable in the face of new evidence.

When I told Krishna that I was a seeker, he replied immediately, ‘You will be a seeker for the rest of your life.’

I didn’t understand the meaning of what he was saying at the time. But in retrospect I can see that I had been operating for a long time under a strong assumption: that God, if He existed, must be demonstrable by argument and evidence. Perhaps even many prominent atheist debaters, like Matt Dillahunty, share this assumption without fully recognizing it themselves.

But what if God is not something that can be proved in the usual sense? What if divinity, if it exists at all, is not something that can be argued into existence but rather something to be experienced? I have heard many people share very personal spiritual experiences, and I have too often dismissed such testimonies too quickly. But I have begun to wonder whether that dismissal itself is ever an example of intellectual unfairness. Is it irrational to take lived experience seriously just because it cannot be universally verified?

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Photo by Abhilash Subbayyan

The Great Leveler

Atheists frequently argue that if God exists, then such a being is not worthy of worship because the world is full of suffering. But I find myself wondering if suffering is entirely objective. Is suffering a function of the events themselves, or is it partly a matter of interpretation? Death is, after all, the great leveler. It’s the one thing we can’t escape. And if mortality is the only reality we all share as human beings, perhaps learning to face it meaningfully is more important than winning abstract metaphysical debates.

Krishna pushed the argument further. ‘I’m not concerned about confirmation bias,’ he said. If the belief in a higher power gives me peace, joy, and psychological stability, then why should I be troubled by the possibility that this belief may be false? Why do we reduce everything of value to proof? What if God cannot be limited by the bounds of argument?

The more I thought about what he said, the more it sounded well said. Belief, no question, provides many people strength. It gives confidence and a sense of purpose, even in a universe that may itself have no intrinsic purpose at all. If a common belief can help people to live more meaningfully, why reject it simply because it cannot be conclusively proven?

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Who Are You?

In my case, more and more I have felt that it is perhaps more important to understand one’s own nature than to settle the question of God’s existence. My cousin, a teacher who believes she has been saved by a higher power in several near-tragic experiences, once told me that obsessively investigating whether God exists is not the main issue. ‘The real question,’ she insisted, ‘is who are you really?’

She gave me an example that I have remembered ever since. When a person dies, we say that they ‘are gone,’ yet the body is still there in front of us. If the individual was simply the body, why would we speak this way? Why do we not go on relating to the body as if the person were still there? The body rots, but we feel something integral has been lost. ‘We can’t just be the body,’ she said. There is something beyond that, and that reality can be grasped only through sadhana.

Photo by Matheus Bertelli

A Worthy Guiding Principle?

I have no way of knowing whether her conclusion is correct, nor do I know how one might definitively investigate such claims. But I am thankful for having lost at least some of my earlier presuppositions. I now try to be more open in answering these questions. I carefully evaluate spiritual testimonies and claims rather than accepting or dismissing them at face value.

More to the point, I have started to wonder whether the pursuit of happiness and inner contentment might actually be a worthy guiding principle. If belief in a higher power does indeed help human beings develop resilience and bliss, then perhaps the value of that belief is not in whether it can be proved, but in what it allows people to become.

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But what if God is not something that can be proved in the usual sense? What if divinity, if it exists at all, is not something that can be argued into existence but rather something to be experienced?

~ B SUDHARSAN