Inside the Idea: A Glimpse Into A Crusty Writer’s Mind

Posted on February 10, 2026 by Sean T. Smith

A Fascination With History

When I was a kid I was blessed to have parents who encouraged my interest in history. My folks took me to countless forts, battlefields and museums. There is something special about seeing things in person rather than just hearing about them in school. I remember standing on the battlefield at Antietam when I was twelve and trying to imagine what those boys who had died there might have felt as they faced a charge. I recall closing my eyes and seeing the flash of bayonets and there was the smell of gunpowder and the screams of the wounded and dying. Inside the farmhouse there were pictures of dead soldiers sprawled over the very ground where I stood.

I visited many revolutionary war battlefields and was privileged to explore the Smithsonian. History came alive for me. I recall being blown away by the fact that I was looking at George Washington’s sword, the one he had worn into battle. And then seeing the sword that he accepted in surrender from General Cornwallis at Yorktown. The connection between where we had come from as a nation and where we’d ended up seemed to be a tangible thing that mostly made sense to me. It gave me a deep sense of appreciation for those who’d sacrificed everything for America.

During those same years, I was devouring science fiction like a starving man at a Golden Corral, eagerly immersing myself in futuristic worlds and complex narratives. The imaginative universes created by authors like Asimov, Heinlein, and Herbert made a huge impact on me, each story weaving intricate themes of humanity, technology, and moral dilemmas that challenged my perspectives. I found myself pondering the ethical implications of artificial intelligence in Asimov’s tales, the gritty social commentary within Heinlein’s works, and the rich, intricate political landscapes of Herbert’s Dune series. Each book opened a new door to possibilities, fueling my curiosity about the universe and igniting a passion for storytelling that has stayed with me ever since.

I think my books reflect my love of history expressed through the “what if?” lens of science fiction.

A Fresh Twist on Old Themes

With the Wrath series, I explored what the aftermath of World War Three might look like. In Tears of Abraham I delved into the horrific destruction that a second Civil War would bring to the country. The Fortress America will ultimately combine those two Themes.

I am hard at work on the next novel in the series, Anvil of War. This one is centered around the defense of Taiwan against the Chinese invasion, and it picks up right after the events of Forge of Freedom. The third novel is as yet untitled but will take place probably twenty-five years in the future and will revolve a second American Revolution in the wake of the Bates authoritarian presidency.

Some Tidbits

The title Forge of Freedom was my publishers’ idea. The brothers John and Dean must endure tremendous pressure from their father. The title is meant to evoke that heat and pressure and that hardened resolve.

Fortress America is the name of a military board game I used to play with my old buddy Arthur back in high school. The premise of the game is that the United States has become extremely isolationist and is invaded. As of this writing, the global opinion of the United States has plummeted. 74% of people in Germany and 65% in the UK and Canada have unfavorable opinions of the United States. This, following the Greenland embarrassment, when Germany and France sent troops to Greenland to defend against America. If something does not change, NATO will fall apart.

I had planned and written the assassination plot line a year before Trump ran for office again. After the attempt happened, I was so discouraged by how close it felt to my novel that I quit writing.

Please leave an honest review!

I hope you enjoy my work, and will leave me an honest review on Amazon. Your thoughts and feedback are incredibly valuable not just to me but also to potential readers who are deciding whether or not to explore my writing. Reviews are really hard to come by, and they make a huge difference in helping my work reach a wider audience. A few kind words can inspire others to pick up my books and delve into the stories I’ve crafted. It would mean the world to me if you could take a moment to share your experience!

Coming Soon!

Posted on February 18, 2025 by Sean T. Smith

The Angel’s Last War has found a home with World Castle Publishing! This will be released soon, probably in the summer of 2025.

What if you could live forever—but never escape the battle between good and evil?

Malak’s first memory is of the Crucifixion. From that moment, he is cursed—or perhaps chosen—to die and rise again, century after century, witnessing the rise and fall of empires, the birth of religions, and the unrelenting cycle of human suffering. From the burning of Rome to the Crusades, from the Inquisition to the Black Death, from the battlefields of the American Revolution to the war-torn present, Malak searches for meaning, haunted by a beautiful and enigmatic woman who seems to follow him across time.

Now, in the modern world, Malak leads a clandestine organization dedicated to preventing humanity from spiraling into chaos. But his latest mission—assassinating a Saudi prince funding global terror—has put him in the crosshairs of the CIA. Worse, a greater enemy lurks in the shadows. Lucifer himself has been waiting for Malak, and at Megiddo, the prophesied site of Armageddon, he will offer him an agonizing choice.

Spanning two thousand years of history, faith, and violence, The Angel’s Last War is an electrifying, thought-provoking epic that will keep you riveted until the final, fateful choice.

This is the best book I’ve written thus far, I think. It took me years to write and I did a tremendous amount of research. Because it spans two thousand years, there was a lot to learn that wasn’t covered in my history classes!

While this is not a specifically Christian book, it is written from a place of faith, and I tried very hard not to directly contradict anything in the Bible or what we know of history. My personal belief is that God exists, but he’s so far beyond human comprehension that we cannot adequately describe Him. There is certainly a difference between religion and faith, and great evil has been perpetrated by organized religion through the ages, as men subvert goodness to their own desires. The Crusades and the Inquisition were a nasty bit of business.

A side note that some readers may find interesting:

I’ve never seen a demon or anything supernatural, but, while researching one particular demon for this book, I experienced a migraine headache, the only one I’ve ever had in my life, and I had to leave the house. There was a palpable sense of evil around me, a heavy, sticky weight that lasted for hours. It was bad enough that I tabled the book for a while.

The cover art depicted here is not final, just conceptual. I’ll have a final cover reveal when my publisher approves it.

Expectations

Posted on June 2, 2017 by Sean T. Smith

They shape us, sometimes sculpting with care, but often chipping away at who we could be. For expectations are born both from within and from without. Left unfettered, expectations will crush a soul, reduce an artist to rubble, and smash the joy we should feel every day.

Our parents start the process… “You go to a good school, get a good job, marry well, have children, and work hard. Go to church on Sundays. We absorb these ideas until they seem to be our own.

Then our peer group kicks in, and they can either help or hinder the process of personal growth. In my case, my friends from school and early adulthood tended to be unconventional. I tried to have it all, marrying a lawyer and writing songs in Nashville and never quite fitting in. Like many writers and artists, I strived for conformity, yearning for acceptance. But as an unknown writer, I was always just on the other side of an invisible door. I could see the people, smell the food, and hear the music, but I was more spectator than participant. So close, yet infinitely far.

Artists and creatives who surrender early on my find happiness if they can kill that part of themselves which longs for artistic success. It’s tough to achieve a balance.

We believe, deep in the secret places of our heart, that we are living a certain kind of lie, that there is something else out there in the universe whispering, then shouting, exhorting us to yearn for more. We chaffe against the bonds of the past and the expectations which threaten to confine us. Some of us are lucky enough to shed those shackles, and that is a glorious thing, an awakening of the spirit.

Yet, when we look beyond the borders we have been confined to and set our eyes upon the distant mountaintop, we begin another journey in which our own great expectations do us harm. It’s inevitable.

We dream great dreams and imagine a future of rainbows and unicorns where our art is heard, seen, read, and important. We visualize how things could be and convince ourselves that they not only should be, but that they will be thus because it is our destiny. Ahh, the arrogance of an artist. We must possess some of it, for we dare to believe that someday, somewhere, we will make a difference and that our work will matter. This drive can propel us to great heights, but it can just as easily destroy us.

I write because I must. My pen touches the page and I and mix color and emotion because I need to pull the swirling tempest of light and darkness out of me and share it with the world.

When I remember this truth, I enjoy the journey toward that lofty peak, savouring the scents and vistas along the way. I am free of expectations and can live, love and laugh in the moment, and the moment is what matters.

I strive to remember, because the moments will only keep slipping away.

Objects of Wrath, half price.

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Sean T. Smith

My publisher, Permuted Press, is running a promotion this week for Objects of Wrath; more than eight hours worth of adventure set in America after the next global war. Readers say that the novel “sits at the intersection of The Road and Full Metal Jacket.”

“

I truly enjoyed this book, and it probably one of the best reads I’ve had so far this year. ”

The Bookie Monster

The final book in the series comes out in February. Curl up by a cracking fire and spend a day immersed in a world that may yet come to be.

http://www.amazon.com/Objects-Wrath-Volume-Sean-Smith/dp/1618682245