John Be Lane’s first novel, “The Future Lies,” is a 2025 Colorado Book Award finalist (Science Fiction/Fantasy). His previous book, “The Beatin’ Path,” received a Living Now Evergreen Award as “one of the world-changing books published since the year 2000.” He lives in Colorado, and can always be found at JohnBe.com.
SunLit: Tell us this book’s backstory – what’s it about and what inspired you to write it?
John Be Lane: Well, it’s set in Denver, because I wanted it to be grounded in a real place. It started as kind of a thought experiment, in which I wondered how some of our current realities might play out by the end of this century.
And to be honest, things aren’t looking good for the home team. Human agency has collapsed. What’s left of society is what I’d call “oppression on autopilot,” which is overseen by an Artificial Intelligence called the Network.
But it’s also about a Dark Age that’s become something of a spent force. What flickers of opportunity might there be in a moment like that? In the back of my mind was a book called “The Swerve: How the Renaissance Began.” My challenge was to take this unsettling premise and turn it into a good yarn.
SunLit: Place the excerpt you selected in context. How does it fit into the book as a whole and why did you select it?
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Lane: This is how the book begins, including the epigraph, prologue, and the first two pieces in Part I. It seems like a good way to give you the context of the story and the flavor of the narrative. And it’s a head start if you decide to read the rest of the book!
SunLit: What influences and/or experiences informed the project before you sat down to write?
Lane: My whole life, to be honest. One of the best things about writing is that every day you live is money in the bank. Everything you’ve ever done, read, heard, seen, thought, feared, broken, fixed – it’s wealth you can draw on to help tell a story.
Likewise, current and historical events are always on my mind. What are the patterns of human society? I remember the early days of the internet, when there was this idealistic sense of potential, with information and communication being liberated from all the gatekeepers. And then smart phones put the greatest knowledge tool ever conceived into the pockets of most of the human race. You might expect that those two things would result in an explosion of enlightenment. But I fear the opposite has occurred; we’re allowing our tools to use us. From that fear came the book.
SunLit: What did the process of writing this book add to your knowledge and understanding of your craft and/or the subject matter?
Lane: This was my first novel, so I was learning a new form. But it was a fairly comfortable step for me, because of everything I’d written before. All the screenplays and stories and poetry and letters to lovers and friends, and even the countless day-job emails to clients and colleagues – in whatever form it is, I think the more that you write, the better you get. Chops, as a jazz musician might say. I used the chops I had, and I developed some new ones.
“The Future Lies”
Where to find it:
- Prospector: Search the combined catalogs of 23 Colorado libraries
- Libby: E-books and audio books
- NewPages Guide: List of Colorado independent bookstores
- Bookshop.org: Searchable database of bookstores nationwide
SunLit present new excerpts from some of the best Colorado authors that not only spin engaging narratives but also illuminate who we are as a community. Read more.
As far as the subject matter, I researched how generative AI works, because it was going to be a central character. At that time, it was still a relatively underground topic. The book was finished before ChatGPT was released and AI became ubiquitous overnight. I knew something like that was coming, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.
SunLit: What were the biggest challenges you faced in writing this book?
Lane: Maybe the biggest challenge was understanding the AI Network as a character, which meant understanding how it would function. I pictured it as kind of an Internet of Things. So, imagine if your smart phone, your digital assistant, Ring doorbell, smart TVs and appliances, cloud computing, ChatGPT – all these things – were working together for the purpose of controlling you and everyone else.
To do that, the Network would be constantly reconciling all these inputs, and distilling them into a course of action. As a reader, you would want to see the Network make its decisions. That meant I’d need to know what the Network’s “voice” sounded like, before I could start writing. I was out walking one day, and a part of a scene just came to me. It was the Network talking to itself, loud and clear. That was the moment the first draft began.
SunLit: What do you want readers to take from this book?
Lane: First of all, that it was a good yarn and time well spent. But I also wouldn’t mind if it served as a cautionary tale about the kind of dystopia we might be sleepwalking into, by passively surrendering to technology and the people behind it who take all the rewards. If we’re not more vigilant about this, we may wake up one day on the wrong end of a leash, with a collar around our necks. Or worse.
SunLit: What will Denver be like in 60 years?
Lane: In the book, Denver is a microcosm of the world. I envision it as a place you’d still recognize in a lot of ways. The streets and buildings are mostly still there, but they’re in a state of neglect. The only functioning technologies are the tools that support the suppression of humanity. In addition to the Network, it’s things like driverless droids, drones, and a humanoid security force.
But literacy is a capital offense in this world. It has to be, because you cannot have oppression without ignorance. In an environment like that, literacy is the ultimate superpower. It’s the doorway to the forbidden Tree of Knowledge. So it’s a tempting skill to acquire or possess. But it’s also the ultimate threat to the powers that be, so in that Denver of the future, being able to read could cost you your life.
SunLit: Tell us about your next project.
Lane: There are a few contenders for my attention, which include a creative nonfiction book about a young man whose call to adventure runs into the realities of war, and a revised edition of my first book, “The Beatin’ Path.” I’m also kicking around ideas for a prequel and a sequel to “The Future Lies.” And what kind of writer would I be without a book of poetry the world is waiting to devour?
A few more quick items:
Currently on your nightstand for recreational reading: “M: Son of the Century,” by Antonio Scurati.
First book you remember really making an impression on you as a kid: Before I could read, it would be “The Cat in the Hat,” by Dr. Seuss. As a self-directed reader, “Call it Courage,” by Armstrong Sperry really hit home with me. I realize now it was the classic hero’s journey.
Best writing advice you’ve ever received: Just write! Unless you write something, you won’t have anything to edit.
Favorite fictional literary character: The composite character Lucia Berlin created from her life, in “A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories.”
Literary guilty pleasure (title or genre): I have a personal library of books by or about The Beatles, who have never let me down.
Digital, print or audio – favorite medium to consume literature: I love them all, I use them all, but print will always be the OG for me.
One book you’ve read multiple times: “Nineteen Eighty-Four.” It hits closer to home every time I read it.
Other than writing utensils, one thing you must have within reach when you write: A good night’s sleep!
Best antidote for writer’s block: Learn how your individual creative process works. To me, what people call writer’s block is just a moment when you’re not sure where to find the next piece of the puzzle you’re working on. That’s where your creative process comes in, and the fun begins.
Most valuable beta reader: That position is still open!