When I read my first science fiction novel 20 years ago, it was the most amazing book, and it opened my eyes to a new perspective on life. The writer was Robert Silverberg http://www.robert-silverberg.com/ and the book was The Masks of Time. I found the book in a little used and rare book store in Houston called The Book Browser.

Robert Silverberg is a many time winner of Hugo and Nebula awards. After the first book, I went on to read more of his writings: The Son of Man, To Open The Sky, The World Inside, The Face of The Waters, The whole Majipoor series, Tower of Glass, Dying Inside, and The Book of Skulls to name a few.

But before I fell in love with Robert Breath of Dragons: VanishedSilverberg’s books, I had already begun to create the character for Mystic Deja when I was 19. My alter ego came from numerous dreams, and as an artist, my first instincts were to create a comic book.

I did try to draw Mystic Deja many times, including designing outfits for her, but the story didn't really come together in my head until November of 1999. The book was written and self-published by 2002.

Now, more than a decade later, I have written two more novels, and I’m focused on writing science fiction. Why? Well, I believe that sci-fi comes from the rarest of thoughts, from new perspectives on life. It can open the mind to things that have never been thought of. It can “boldly go, where no man has gone before”, as the say in Star Trek.

So, with that being said, you should especially enjoy reading Breath of Dragons: Vanished, because it definitely goes there. Dragons in the future, oh my!