I write under the name R W Span, but the person behind the keyboard is just Will, a Virginia science and tech guy who grew up staring at grainy NASA launches at impossible hours. Brownie, my first dog, snored through history while I memorized every plume of exhaust. When I was not glued to the screen, I buried myself in Tom Swift, then wandered into myths from everywhere I could find, and finally collided with Chariots of the Gods.
The stories that grew out of that mix sat in my head for decades while I worked regular jobs. Retirement finally gave me the one resource I never had enough of, quiet time. I spent a stubborn decade teaching myself how to write, draft by draft, until some of those old ideas felt ready to share with anyone willing to explore them.
Every story starts for me with a "what if" that refuses to let go. What if the so called ancient astronauts were not gods or conquerors, but travelers in over their heads who needed a hand. What if the orbital habitats I dreamed about as a kid actually had to obey the annoying details of physics, budgets, and human stubbornness.
I sketch ships and habitats like an engineer, then I drop very human characters into them and see who breaks first. I care a lot about getting the feel of things right, how artificial gravity might be arranged, how power and air move, how an outsider would react while walking through an old temple or a new cylinder station.
I write plainly, revise a lot, and keep chasing that balance where the science feels believable and the pages still turn late into the night.
Ancient space travelers arrive needing help, not planning conquest or quiet control.
I build starships and habitats with a science and engineering mindset.
I speak plainly, invite questions, and treat every reader as a co explorer.
R W Span is my author name, and I am a Virginia independent sci fi writer who grew up watching NASA launches at 4 a.m., my dog Brownie snoring beside me.
I went from Tom Swift to world mythology to Chariots of the Gods, then carried half formed stories in my head for decades. Retirement finally gave me the time to drag them out, shape them, and start sharing them with curious readers.
My background sits in science and technology, not in creative writing classrooms. When I finally started putting words on paper, I had to teach myself everything between basic craft and modern self publishing.
That meant ten years of drafts, rewrites, false starts, and slow progress, until a few stories finally felt ready to leave my desk. The spacecraft and habitats in my books behave like real machines, even while the plots move at thriller speed.
I run this whole thing online, which means you are never more than a click away from the slightly bewildered writer behind the curtain.
I keep my voice informal, I invite questions, and I genuinely enjoy hearing theories about my characters and ancient travelers.
If you want to nudge, question, or encourage me, you can always yell at the writer via mail and I will actually read it.