Hive, Madders of Time Book One

Q. What inspired you to write this book? Was there a particular moment or event that sparked the idea?

Ans. What was the spark behind HIVE? It started with an image I couldn’t shake: an old woman in a wheelchair, trapped in a flooded biodome, singing to no one while death tapped at the walls. That scene demanded a story. Was there a moment when the idea really clicked? Yes. I read two headlines—one about vanishing bees, another about AI in warfare—and they collided with a love story: an aging man risking everything to jump timelines and save the woman he loves. HIVE was the result.

Q. What research did you undertake to write this book? Were there any surprising or unexpected findings that you discovered during your research?

Ans. What kind of research did I do for HIVE? I wish I could say I spent months decoding Einstein’s field equations or interviewing quantum physicists. The truth? I read the news. Obsessively. Climate disasters, AI breakthroughs, mass extinction—it was like watching a slow-motion apocalypse through a cracked windshield. I’m a software engineer, so I understand how fast tech moves, and how often it outpaces ethics. That blend of wonder and dread is where HIVE came from. Any surprising discoveries? Yes. The scariest part wasn’t what I made up—it was what I found out. Murderbots are real. AI already mimics consciousness. And there are billionaire-funded survival "bunkers" being built right now. I set out to write sci-fi. I may have written tomorrow (again).

Q. What was the biggest challenge you faced while writing this book? How did you overcome it?

Ans. What was the hardest part of writing HIVE? Letting go. This story haunted me. I couldn’t stop writing scenes in my head, couldn’t sleep without wondering how to fix the world I’d broken on the page. But the hardest part? Stopping. Accepting that the book wasn’t perfect. That I had to let it go, flaws and all, and send it out into the world. How did I get through it? I remembered why I wrote it in the first place: to imagine a future worth fighting for. To scream a little, yes—but also to whisper hope. That helped me push “publish.” Even if I still want to tweak every comma.

Q. How did you go about developing the characters in the book? Were any of them based on real people or events?

Ans. How did you build the characters in HIVE? They showed up. Uninvited, opinionated, half-broken. Isabel came first—sharp-tongued, brilliant, hiding grief under layers of tech and sarcasm. Then Diego, the kind of man who'd dig your grave by hand just to spare you the loneliness. I didn’t create them so much as listen to them argue in my head and try to keep up. Were they based on real people? Some. Bits and pieces. A friend who never gave up. An ex who always did. A scientist I read about who cried while explaining why we’re running out of bees. But mostly, the characters are mosaics—built from moments, memories, and the fear that one day, we might all have to choose between saving ourselves or saving each other.

Q. Can you share any interesting anecdotes or stories related to the writing of this book?

Ans. 1. There’s a dead physicist inside an AI who helps run the last surviving biodome. Someone asked me if that was a metaphor. I said yes, but I have no idea for what. 2. The first time I described the time machine’s capsule (Singularity Transit Device. Now THERE'S a metaphor) as the STD, I thought, 'This will never fly.' My editor laughed for five solid minutes and told me to keep it. So I did. 3. In the final scene, Isabel sings 'Imagine' with her last breath. I wrote that part while sobbing into my laptop and eating peanut butter straight from the jar. The jar was fine. I was not.