Heather’s Bookshelf: Author Interview with DB Singer
Book Title: Singularity & Loneliness
Released: 01/28/26
Genre: Adult Sci-Fi
Interview by Heather L. Barksdale
What inspired you to write “Singularity & Loneliness”?
Singer: I’m a recovering philosopher, so questions about consciousness, identity, and what it means to live a good life occupy my mind most days. At the same time, my day job is in data and analytics, which means artificial intelligence sits at the intersection of my personal and professional lives.
I believe understanding AI, and what it might mean for humanity, is one of the most important challenges we face today. Many sci-fi stories about AI focus on large-scale disaster scenarios such as robot uprisings. Those stories are great fun, but at heart they are often disaster movies with an AI wrapper. Others focus on a far-future world where most of the difficult questions have already been settled. I wanted to explore the human side of AI instead. In particular, what it might mean over the next thirty years, when everything is still socially, emotionally, and ethically messy.
How did you come up with the names of your main characters?
Singer: I try not to overthink names because then I’m tempted to disappear down a rabbit hole of normative determinism. Instead, I reflected on where each character came from, looked up the hundred most popular names from those cultures or areas, and picked my favourites. After that, each name had to pass the “band name test”. This means I left the name alone for ten days to see whether it still sounded right when I came back to it.
Is there anything that you want readers to know about you, your writing process or your book?
Singer: Like most books about the future, it’s really a story about today. One early reader told me they found the billionaire character’s views outlandish and extreme. Yet every one of those ideas comes from real quotes, papers, or conference talks from the last few years. The world is moving fast, and sci-fi is the perfect place to explore where those changes might lead.
If "Singularity & Loneliness" was adapted into a movie, who would you like to see cast to play your lead characters?
Singer: For Beau, I’d love to cast Anthony Mackie. He’s a fantastic actor who knows his sci-fi, and while much of his work has been action-focused, I think he would bring a thoughtful gravitas to a more reflective character.
For Anika, Anjana Vasan would be ideal. She has an incredible intensity and presence that would suit such a driven character perfectly.
As for Lucas, I’d prefer someone completely unknown. Lucas is desperate to become famous, so there’s something fitting about having him played by a breakout actor at the start of their journey.
If you could have dinner with any character you’ve written, who would it be—and what would you talk about?
Naming the character I’d most like to have dinner with would be something of a spoiler, so I’ll choose another.
I’d like to have dinner with Rory. In the book, Rory is the billionaire racing to create the world’s first true AI, but he also has some complex views about the nature and value of humanity. He’s deeply invested in questions about humanity’s role in the future and whether we are merely a stepping stone to something greater. I’d talk to him about what led him to that worldview, what makes someone so confident that they are saving the world, and perhaps most importantly, who they believe they are saving it for.
When you encounter writer’s block, what do you do to break yourself out of it?
Singer: I try not to beat myself up about it, although I don’t always succeed. Writing is hard work and requires discipline, so I sometimes put pressure on myself to produce a certain amount within a set timeframe. When that doesn’t happen, self-criticism usually makes the problem worse.
Instead, I find it helps to do something completely different. Going for a walk is often a good place to start as it gives my subconscious time to wrestle with ideas. The one essential thing is to keep a notebook close at hand. Without somewhere to capture that sudden spark of an idea, even a bad one, I know I’d forget it. Also writing it down forces me to look at it critically and helps me figure out if I’ve broken free of the block.
What’s the weirdest or most unexpected place you’ve gotten a story idea from?
Singer: Everything can be inspiring, although that doesn’t always mean it becomes a good story.
I once wrote a short story inspired by a train ticket. The idea was that a ticket is really a tiny magic spell that lets you fly the length of the country, opening barriers and unlocking adventures along the way. It was a fun concept to explore, although it drifted alarmingly close to becoming an advertising campaign.
What is your favorite genre, book, and/or author?
Singer: I love all forms of science fiction and fantasy, but I’m particularly drawn to near-future and speculative stories. Small twists or unexpected changes to reality make me reflect on our own world and help me rediscover a sense of wonder.
I’m a huge fan of Ted Chiang’s Stories of Your Life and Others and Exhalation. He creates beautiful, internally consistent “what if?” worlds in remarkably few pages. I’d also highly recommend the magical realism of Jorge Luis Borges. A single Borges story completely changed how I think about money.
What are you working on next?
Singer: There are some fascinating parallels between Victorian spiritualism and what might be called digital necromancy. Today, people are creating apps that claim to reconstruct digital versions of deceased loved ones using social media data and other online traces. I’m fascinated by the way human hopes and fears seem to repeat across generations. The technology changes, but the underlying questions remain remarkably similar. I suspect that might make the perfect setting for a murder mystery.
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