In the bright sun and dry air of Burkina Faso, shadows are sharp. Looking down, I saw clear images of what was between the sun and the ground.

This was particularly striking when we visited a modern sculpture garden. The stone had been chiseled into enduring shapes while the sun stretched the shadows on the ground.

I was struck by the beautiful carved stone, but also by the shadows these sculptures created. The images that day were both transient and permanent marks of an artist’s dream.

Life is like that. A person takes an action that affects the world. Matching the intention and the consequences is like the form and the shadow, moving, shifting, sometimes clear and sometimes unexpected.

These reflections and images helped to shape the story in my novel, Fractured: When Shadows Arise.