Writing these stories has given me a unique opportunity to look at the role faith plays in our lives. Since my books look at life on Earth as well as other planets, many of which have highly advanced alien societies, I’m left to imagine what their religions and beliefs would be. Our little planet has been home to many great people whose beliefs gave rise to the world’s religions. I suppose it is possible those same souls appeared on other planets, probably in native bodies. Gallicean prophets would be featherless bird-like creatures living on ice islands floating over gas giant planets. Maklan saints would be crystalline spiders who can teleport themselves across space.

Alternatively, the founders of religions on those planets could be new and radically different. The one thing that binds them all together is their belief in something greater than themselves. Faith is an important part of my life and I was not about to leave it out of my writing. I want my heroes to be men and women of honor, integrity and faith, although the specifics of what they believe are deliberately left out. The goal is to demonstrate how their belief systems help them to overcome incredible odds to defeat evil and save their friends.

To be sure, my books are about adventure without the boundaries of our current scientific knowledge or the vastness of space. While there is some debate in the Dave Brewster Series about the line between physical and spiritual reality, that is never the focus of the plot. I view the inclusion of spirituality as just another way to show the similarities among people and other civilizations who live throughout this amazing universe.