Dreams, travel, colorful friends … E. J. Simon considers where the ideas for his books come from.

We’ve come a long way since HAL turned homicidal in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” but where is AI headed from here?

Ten years ago, my premise — that Alex Nicholas had himself “copied” into an AI in the Cloud before he died — was called far-fetched by some reviewers. Not anymore.

Despite an author's assurances that certain characters are not a reflection of his own personality, they often are.

Many of my characters are loosely based on people I know, but I try not to be limited by reality.

When I’m writing, I’m not looking to find another way to divide us or to create more angst for myself than I already have.

I want to be James Bond, but I don’t want to be swimming with crocodiles or get dissected by Goldfinger and his industrial laser. I like going to bed early.

Being a writer is likely as close as I’ll to come to fully experiencing a different life—and maybe that’s just as well.

Changing the places where I write changes more than the scenery.