FAQ | no-worse-sin

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Here are some questions that people ask me after reading No Worse Sin. If you have a burning question that is not answered here, feel free to email me using the Contact link under my Bio. Please note that anything you write to me can be reprinted here (or elsewhere), so please be civil. Thanks.

Is North Bayside, Massachusetts a real town on Cape Cod?

Nope. I made it up.

02

Can people really time travel?

Theoretically, yes, although travelling from the future into the past would be much harder than travelling from the present into the future.

03

Will Laena and Cree ever see each other again?

I hope so! Stay tuned for my next novel.

04

Is Esperanto a real language? And are the Esperanto sentences you used in No Worse Sin actually saying something?

Not only is Esperanto a real language, but everything Cree and Ariel say in Esperanto are real sentences. You can translate what they are saying by typing the Esperanto sentences into Google or another search engine on the Internet if you’re curious…

05

Is the New England Aquarium in Boston a real place?

Yes it is, and you should go visit! It’s fabulous.

06

Will red-winged blackbirds and owls really call back to you if you mimic their calls?

Yes! Try it.

07

Horseshoe crabs don’t really have blue blood…do they?

They do have blue blood.

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Will climate change really result in the loss of Boston, Cape Cod, New York City, and other places?

The extent of sea level rise depends on how much carbon dioxide is emitted, and what the temperature rise actually is. At this point, it is inevitable that we will get some sea level rise. It is entirely possible that we will lose major cities along the east coast of the United States, and elsewhere in the world.

Do right whales really get entangled in fishing lines? And is it illegal to get within 500 yards of them?

The North Atlantic right whale is a critically endangered species that spends much of its time in Massachusetts’ waters.There are only about 450 indivduals left in the population. Ship strikes and entanglement in fishing lines are two primary causes of injury and mortality for these magnificent creatures. And yes, it is illegal to get within 500 yards of them in the United States.

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Are all those drugs really in our drinking water?

Unfortunately, yes.

Are virophages for real?

Yes, they are!

12

Are antibacterials really killing the virophages?

Not that I know of. But, antibacterials in our water supply can be very dangerous for a variety of reasons, and some are already being banned.

13

Are krill really that important to the food chain?

Yes, indeed!

14

How come Laena and Cree don’t believe in God?

Approximately 20% of Americans are atheists, and that number seems to be growing every day. As scientists, Laena and Cree do not believe in God because they see no evidence for a God, or for the vast majority of things that are in the Bible.

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Do you believe in God?

No, like Laena and Cree, I am an atheist.

What were your favorite books when you were a teen?

I loved Watership Down, A Wrinkle in Time, Me and Fat Glenda, The Inheritors, and all the Agatha Christie mysteries (especially And Then There Were None).