This is David, the author. By way of responding to some of the questions above, I want to share some questions I recently answered.
20 Questions about Particles of Light
1. You've said much of this story is literally Bowzer's. Which specific scenes or lines of dialogue came directly from him? Lido’s origin story with the old farmer is a modified version of Bowzer’s. Bowzer was a great communicator without saying a word. That is reflected in Lido’s POV that true communication is much more extensive and complex than simple words. Lido’s pleasure spot under his ear flap is the same as Bowzer’s. Bowzer was the king of the neighborhood, casually charming all he encountered, subjugating me to being his escort, not his master. This is built into the Lido and Danny dynamic. Overall, Bowzer’s presence is more in the observations and POV than plot points.
2. Lido learns to speak English without surgeries, drugs, or radioactive spider bites. So how does he learn? What's the actual mechanism? Lido learns English through a combination of real world established techniques, including the widely used step-on “talk buttons” employed by many dog owners and the wide range of tools, techniques and strategies used within the Autism community. Remember, Danny, in spite of his brilliance, had a particular challenge learning to speak, just as Albert Einstein did. Danny created a 3 step system. And, as Lido says, a whole lot of it with time, patience and care one-on-one with Danny, who knew the ropes. Later, after Lido was speaking and knew the fundamentals, Danny created a learning machine based on Stephen Hawking’s famous talk box. This was simply to speed up and amplify true mastery of the language Lido had already learned.
3. One review mentions "mysterious blue dogs." Who or what are they – and why blue? One should pay attention to the names of the blue dogs—Gabe and Mickey, short for Gabriel and Michael. Won’t say more than that. They don’t look anything like dogs but Lido considers them to be dogs because of how very much they know and understand dogs. They kind of know everything, and at all points in time. These fun-loving characters align with the book’s POV that science has proven that many overlapping realities coexist, also dog’s eyes can literally see parts of the light spectrum that humans cannot see, and that color does not truly exist, it is our brain’s interpretation of wavelengths of light. So “blue” is a subjective interpretation. If people could see that part of the light spectrum, we would say they are purple, because we can see red and dogs can’t.
4. You wrote, "One of us was rescued. Not sure which." What did Bowzer rescue you from? The ordinary. The short-sightedness of being only human.
5. Danny is on the autism spectrum. What did you learn about how his mind works that you didn't expect going in? Actually, I knew a lot as my mother was a special education teacher and I grew up in the middle of it. Also I had studied it quite a bit for another project and in my capacity as an advertising creative director, I served a couple of different charities that supported people with autism. I think it was plugging Danny into situations that many of these qualities came to life. I really enjoyed writing the coming of age of a boy who is very challenged, but also very advanced, all as part of his autism experience.
6. A review mentions "prairie dog councils." Are we talking literal prairie dogs having meetings? If so, what do they discuss? Science has proven that prairie dogs have an actual working language, including nouns, verbs, adjectives and sentence structures. This is a true fact. The prairie dogs here are seen through the eyes of Lido, who sees their unique understanding of compassion, justice, medicine, defense, community organization, politics and more. While their discussions are not literally recounted as Lido only begins to learn their language, their impact on and bonding to Lido are undeniable.
7. You said light is both energy and matter. How does that physics lesson play out as an actual plot point in the story? Science is strictly adhered to in this book. Nothing made up. Nothing is unsupported. Light is both energy and matter, the particles of which are called photons. The physics-based chapter titles all reflect an overlap of the story elements with the principles these chapter titles express for those who care to look into that. So there is heavy duty physics underlying the whole thing. Specific to energy and matter, one of the main points centers more around dark energy and dark matter which we cannot see, but which make up over 95% of everything in the universe. As you sit in the room you are in at this moment, you literally cannot see 95% of the stuff in it. Right now. That is a major them of the book: We cannot see or understand 95% of what surrounds us every minute of every day. And yet, we find a way.
8. Bowzer died the day you delivered your final draft. Did you know he was leaving, or did it come as a complete shock? It was a complete shock. I was always with him all day long. But had I understood better, I would have done a few things differently.
9. The book tackles God, guns, race, animal rights, and the universe. Which of those was hardest to write without becoming preachy? I tried to just share the facts with very little judgement. Tried. Still, I’m sure my true thoughts and feelings come through. Coming from an evangelical Christian background but no longer leaning that way, I probably worked the hardest to show all sides of how people see God through different characters, even with different points of view within Christianity. At one point, someone who really knows the nature of the universe is speaking about one person’s expression of their faith. He says, “She’s not exactly right. But she’s not exactly wrong either.” That’s how I think we all are.
10. You've said this is not a sentimental boy-and-his-dog story. What's the one sentimental thing readers expect that you deliberately refused to give them? I refuse to subjugate the dog to being a “lower” being in any way. In fact, I think dogs are very probably spiritually higher than us. Loyalty. Love. Living in the present. For instance, Lido says at one point, “You’ll never see a white Labrador and a black lab fighting over having opposite colors of their fur.” I wish we were that aware.
11. If Lido could ask you one question about being human, what would he ask? Why are so many people so mean?
12. What's the first thing Lido says that made Danny laugh so hard he forgot to be afraid? (And is it still "Oh, poo" – or is there more?) I’m sticking with Oh, poo. (P.S. Danny was initially unreceptive, but never afraid.)
13. You spent 35 years as a copywriter and creative director launching Microsoft Office. What was harder: writing a 30-second TV spot or a 546-page novel? Writing ads within organizations that allowed uninformed non-writers, new to the business strategies, to dictate creative approach. Without even justifying their POV. Very difficult.
14. One line from our conversation has stayed with me: "They both dared to stare into the light. Even though it hurts. Just a little." What is the light, exactly? And what is the pain of looking at it? The light is life and existence itself. It’s not fair. It’s not kind. But it’s not mean either. But of course it hurts. It’s supposed to. It helps us learn to be better, kinder, more complete souls. There’s plenty of joy. But if it never hurts, you’ve missed the point and the opportunity.
15. What's a scene you cut that still haunts you? When Danny is in the mental hospital, in a deserted room, he finds an old piano which he plays. It is properly tuned except for the middle A. Due in part to his autism, he cannot leave that key alone. He improvises melodies which intentionally end on that out of tune key. Driving himself crazy, but unable to stop.
16. If Bowzer could read one Amazon review of Particles of Light, which sentence would make him wag his tail? Too many to choose from. Just very grateful to be appreciated.
17. You grew up in West Texas. Which real-life person from that world secretly appears as a character in your book? Everyone is based on a real person or a mashup of two people. Plus I am in every character. Like I say at the beginning. “Every word is true and really happened. Just not like this.”
18. What surprised you most about becoming a first-time novelist after 35 years in advertising? I wrote this to finally create something where I wasn’t required to bend to the wishes of others. I didn’t intend to even let others read it, much less publish it. Little by little I decided to share it among a few friends. That went very well and led me to throw caution to the wind and here we are. I was surprised that my very personal journey, not to be shared, became something I wanted to share.
19. Be honest – do you talk to your dogs differently now? I wish Bowzer was still here. I learned so much from him and learned to talk to him differently over the course of our time together. Actually, I still talk to him. I thank him and tell him I love him every day.
20. Finally, what do you hope we remember about you and about Bowzer after our Spotlight session is over? Life is worth re-examining. Particularly when you can walk in the paw prints of someone who literally sees so much of life, love and the universe that is invisible to us.
20 Questions about Particles of Light
1. You've said much of this story is literally Bowzer's. Which specific scenes or lines of dialogue came directly from him?
Lido’s origin story with the old farmer is a modified version of Bowzer’s.
Bowzer was a great communicator without saying a word. That is reflected in Lido’s POV that true communication is much more extensive and complex than simple words.
Lido’s pleasure spot under his ear flap is the same as Bowzer’s.
Bowzer was the king of the neighborhood, casually charming all he encountered, subjugating me to being his escort, not his master. This is built into the Lido and Danny dynamic.
Overall, Bowzer’s presence is more in the observations and POV than plot points.
2. Lido learns to speak English without surgeries, drugs, or radioactive spider bites. So how does he learn? What's the actual mechanism?
Lido learns English through a combination of real world established techniques, including the widely used step-on “talk buttons” employed by many dog owners and the wide range of tools, techniques and strategies used within the Autism community. Remember, Danny, in spite of his brilliance, had a particular challenge learning to speak, just as Albert Einstein did. Danny created a 3 step system. And, as Lido says, a whole lot of it with time, patience and care one-on-one with Danny, who knew the ropes. Later, after Lido was speaking and knew the fundamentals, Danny created a learning machine based on Stephen Hawking’s famous talk box. This was simply to speed up and amplify true mastery of the language Lido had already learned.
3. One review mentions "mysterious blue dogs." Who or what are they – and why blue?
One should pay attention to the names of the blue dogs—Gabe and Mickey, short for Gabriel and Michael. Won’t say more than that. They don’t look anything like dogs but Lido considers them to be dogs because of how very much they know and understand dogs. They kind of know everything, and at all points in time. These fun-loving characters align with the book’s POV that science has proven that many overlapping realities coexist, also dog’s eyes can literally see parts of the light spectrum that humans cannot see, and that color does not truly exist, it is our brain’s interpretation of wavelengths of light. So “blue” is a subjective interpretation. If people could see that part of the light spectrum, we would say they are purple, because we can see red and dogs can’t.
4. You wrote, "One of us was rescued. Not sure which." What did Bowzer rescue you from?
The ordinary. The short-sightedness of being only human.
5. Danny is on the autism spectrum. What did you learn about how his mind works that you didn't expect going in?
Actually, I knew a lot as my mother was a special education teacher and I grew up in the middle of it. Also I had studied it quite a bit for another project and in my capacity as an advertising creative director, I served a couple of different charities that supported people with autism. I think it was plugging Danny into situations that many of these qualities came to life. I really enjoyed writing the coming of age of a boy who is very challenged, but also very advanced, all as part of his autism experience.
6. A review mentions "prairie dog councils." Are we talking literal prairie dogs having meetings? If so, what do they discuss?
Science has proven that prairie dogs have an actual working language, including nouns, verbs, adjectives and sentence structures. This is a true fact. The prairie dogs here are seen through the eyes of Lido, who sees their unique understanding of compassion, justice, medicine, defense, community organization, politics and more. While their discussions are not literally recounted as Lido only begins to learn their language, their impact on and bonding to Lido are undeniable.
7. You said light is both energy and matter. How does that physics lesson play out as an actual plot point in the story?
Science is strictly adhered to in this book. Nothing made up. Nothing is unsupported. Light is both energy and matter, the particles of which are called photons. The physics-based chapter titles all reflect an overlap of the story elements with the principles these chapter titles express for those who care to look into that. So there is heavy duty physics underlying the whole thing. Specific to energy and matter, one of the main points centers more around dark energy and dark matter which we cannot see, but which make up over 95% of everything in the universe. As you sit in the room you are in at this moment, you literally cannot see 95% of the stuff in it. Right now. That is a major them of the book: We cannot see or understand 95% of what surrounds us every minute of every day. And yet, we find a way.
8. Bowzer died the day you delivered your final draft. Did you know he was leaving, or did it come as a complete shock?
It was a complete shock. I was always with him all day long. But had I understood better, I would have done a few things differently.
9. The book tackles God, guns, race, animal rights, and the universe. Which of those was hardest to write without becoming preachy?
I tried to just share the facts with very little judgement. Tried. Still, I’m sure my true thoughts and feelings come through. Coming from an evangelical Christian background but no longer leaning that way, I probably worked the hardest to show all sides of how people see God through different characters, even with different points of view within Christianity. At one point, someone who really knows the nature of the universe is speaking about one person’s expression of their faith. He says, “She’s not exactly right. But she’s not exactly wrong either.” That’s how I think we all are.
10. You've said this is not a sentimental boy-and-his-dog story. What's the one sentimental thing readers expect that you deliberately refused to give them?
I refuse to subjugate the dog to being a “lower” being in any way. In fact, I think dogs are very probably spiritually higher than us. Loyalty. Love. Living in the present. For instance, Lido says at one point, “You’ll never see a white Labrador and a black lab fighting over having opposite colors of their fur.” I wish we were that aware.
11. If Lido could ask you one question about being human, what would he ask?
Why are so many people so mean?
12. What's the first thing Lido says that made Danny laugh so hard he forgot to be afraid? (And is it still "Oh, poo" – or is there more?)
I’m sticking with Oh, poo. (P.S. Danny was initially unreceptive, but never afraid.)
13. You spent 35 years as a copywriter and creative director launching Microsoft Office. What was harder: writing a 30-second TV spot or a 546-page novel?
Writing ads within organizations that allowed uninformed non-writers, new to the business strategies, to dictate creative approach. Without even justifying their POV. Very difficult.
14. One line from our conversation has stayed with me: "They both dared to stare into the light. Even though it hurts. Just a little." What is the light, exactly? And what is the pain of looking at it?
The light is life and existence itself. It’s not fair. It’s not kind. But it’s not mean either. But of course it hurts. It’s supposed to. It helps us learn to be better, kinder, more complete souls. There’s plenty of joy. But if it never hurts, you’ve missed the point and the opportunity.
15. What's a scene you cut that still haunts you?
When Danny is in the mental hospital, in a deserted room, he finds an old piano which he plays. It is properly tuned except for the middle A. Due in part to his autism, he cannot leave that key alone. He improvises melodies which intentionally end on that out of tune key. Driving himself crazy, but unable to stop.
16. If Bowzer could read one Amazon review of Particles of Light, which sentence would make him wag his tail?
Too many to choose from. Just very grateful to be appreciated.
17. You grew up in West Texas. Which real-life person from that world secretly appears as a character in your book?
Everyone is based on a real person or a mashup of two people. Plus I am in every
character. Like I say at the beginning. “Every word is true and really happened. Just not like this.”
18. What surprised you most about becoming a first-time novelist after 35 years in advertising?
I wrote this to finally create something where I wasn’t required to bend to the wishes of others. I didn’t intend to even let others read it, much less publish it. Little by little I decided to share it among a few friends. That went very well and led me to throw caution to the wind and here we are. I was surprised that my very personal journey, not to be shared, became something I wanted to share.
19. Be honest – do you talk to your dogs differently now?
I wish Bowzer was still here. I learned so much from him and learned to talk to him differently over the course of our time together. Actually, I still talk to him. I thank him and tell him I love him every day.
20. Finally, what do you hope we remember about you and about Bowzer after our Spotlight session is over?
Life is worth re-examining. Particularly when you can walk in the paw prints of someone who literally sees so much of life, love and the universe that is invisible to us.