Buzz Words: December 2025 - Troy Buzby, Author Buzz Words: December 2025 Troy Buzby, Author

Back in the Saddle

November marked my return. Not just to writing, but to a version of myself I'd been waiting to meet.

I officially retired in October after decades in federal service. Through October, a lot of recovery. Sleep I'd owed myself for years. But by November, I was ready. I dusted off the Strand Series, which had sat dormant since January, overhauled the third novel's structure, then dove in. By month's end: 18,000 new words. A third of the book is complete.

There's something clarifying about finally having the time you always said you needed. No more excuses. Just the work.

The Long Way Home

Getting back in the saddle sometimes means a literal journey. Author Nation in Las Vegas was my annual pilgrimage—the largest conference for self-published authors—and this year my wife's lifelong friend joined us. She drove across the country from Jekyll Island, GA to Las Vegas with her husband and her turtle Flat Stanley.

My wife & I with the turtle Flat Stanley

Then came the government shutdown. Flights cancelled or delayed. So we rented a Chevy Malibu and pointed it toward North Carolina. What could go wrong?

Sixty hours later, somewhere around Muskogee, Oklahoma, my wife delivered her verdict: "Never again."

Fair. But for me, those endless miles of I-40 felt like transition space. The old career behind me. The open road ahead. I've now driven all of I-40, I-30 and most of I-20 and I-10 interstates. Maybe I'll finish the set.

Community as Accountability

The true gift of Author Nation isn't the sessions. It's the people. Some of us worried we'd drift apart when the old 20Books Vegas conference ended in 2023. We didn't. Instead, we formed the Pink Flamingo Universe (PFU).

The premise is absurd: each of us writes speculative fiction, and somewhere in our novels, we include a scene where pink flamingos are apex predators. Why? We write the impossible for a living. Why not?

This year, we added structure. Weekly accountability emails via Basecamp. "What did you do? What's Next?" No hiding. The group grew. And the flamingos wait, patient and pink, for their moment in each of our worlds.

A writer writes stories. An author builds community. You can't outsource that. (read more about Author Nation)

And through all this, my wife decided she is creative enough to create books. They will come out under the Merovex Press imprint.

Navigating the Rapids

AI dominated the hallway conversations at Author Nation. Some authors swore "never." Others are all in. Joanna Penn listed 21 use cases and looks forward to readers swapping out narrator voices to suit their preferences. That troubled me. Just because technology enables something doesn't make it right. I worry we'll use AI to hear only what we want. Become either Pygmalion or Narcissus.

But "never" isn't realistic either. AI is projected to replace 12% of the workforce. It's coming whether we like it or not. The question isn't whether to engage—it's how without losing what makes our work ours. That's why I created the AI Rapids Scale—a whitewater rubric for how much AI a writer can handle without drowning. Authors who adapt smartly will survive. Those who ignore it or surrender to it will be swept away. I use AI for structure, but I write everything myself. I know my limits.

Period of Divergence

I've been thinking about what makes alternate history believable. Writers typically identify a single "point of divergence" where history changes. Kill Hitler, change history.

Except it doesn't work that way. Kill Hitler and another German dictator rises. The seeds of the second war were sown in the first.

I prefer thinking in terms of a period of divergence. History is too complex for one pivotal change to redirect its flow. The American colonists fled Europe seeking freedom from despots. Without something reshaping the colonial relationship, we revolt. It's what we do.

That's why my Strand Series introduces exotic technology. Without it, the changes don't stick.

Maybe retirement is my period of divergence. Not one moment, but a season of accumulated choices finally bearing fruit. (read more about Period of Divergence)

Midjourney of an ancient forest, inspiring ideas for Strand: Discovery cover

What's next?

Finish Strand: Upheaval. Design the covers myself. I've tried artists and been left unsatisfied. And my wife, inspired by all this, has decided she's creative enough to write her own books under the Merovex Press imprint. And of course, Christmas. He is the reason for the season.