The Sniper and the Scientist: Finding Common Ground on Opposing Foundations
The co-writing team of Jones Worthington shares how their differing political and religious views led to stronger stories and friendship.
Around 2012, a British, left-leaning, atheist scientist living in Switzerland self-published a book called Huahuqui (wow-kay, a Quechua word). He created a teaser video that contained the statement: “What if God didn’t make us in His image, what if He made something else?”
It was enough to intrigue a fellow budding writer who happened to be an American Christian, right-leaning, SWAT sniper from Alabama who’d started writing a series that was distinctly, “Not your Mama’s Christian fiction.”
The two authors critiqued each other’s work and tore each other a new one via the platform Goodreads.com. Both were strangely happy with the brutal honesty they received from the other, especially when a new writer’s friends and family often lead with “It’s amazing.” This tough but fair constructive criticism—truly meant to build and not tear down—resulted in a profound mutual respect.
Some years later, around 2015, the scientist had a rather weird idea. He wanted to write a book that explored the God Shaped Hole—the idea that science only explains so much before the answer can only be: God. This story required two differing points of view and he knew he wouldn’t do a religious POV justice. After some thought, he approached the sniper and suggested a collaboration.
The sniper said no. For a year.
But over that time, through discussions and conversations, the sniper came around and they tentatively embarked on a joint project. At first it was awkward. Mechanical. Lots of tracked changes and hurt feelings over sentence re-writes.
But interestingly, they never fought about their political or religious views. Because, ultimately that would have defeated the point. Writing a character each, with opposing worldviews, provided the recipe for lightning in a bottle. The very fact that on the page, their own thoughts, ideas, arguments, and reconciliations could be played out meant that both writers learned about the other, and why they each held the views they did.
The name of the game was respect and the story was a study on tolerance and acceptance.
And so, their debut collaborative effort, It Takes Death to Reach a Star, went on to win multiple awards, including an IPPY, and was a Dragon Awards nominee—alongside Andy Weir. The novel was also optioned for film/TV.
And that was the beginning of something special.
The sniper’s deep roots in the reality of human nature through decades in law enforcement, but tempered by his faith, juxtaposed against the scientist’s somewhat nihilistic, yet idealistic, view of human potential. The collaboration launched a partnership that churns out genre-twisting, thought-provoking novels to this day.
Their brand centers around asking the most difficult questions, while relying on strong characters and vivid storylines to keep the reader engaged. Their writing style often means that each character reacts to the other’s actions as a real person might.
In their third collaboration, the two tackled autism and PTSD set against the backdrop of world-ending biological warfare. Not how neurodivergence is usually tackled, but they made it work. Bestselling author Jonas Saul said, "Like Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, this novel is revolutionary.”
Their latest novel, Omniviolence, took the premise of left vs. right and cranked it up a thousand percent. A near-future thriller with a dose of satire, the book explores our fragmented society and where we’re headed if we can’t reconcile. No political or social ideology was left un-poked. SciFiNow said, “The book’s title alone tells you this is going to be an extreme examination of human nature’s propensity for violence. Though rather than reveling in the barbarity for the sake of shock value alone, it uses brutality to question how the erosion of moral boundaries can lead to societal ruin. Omniviolence is a warning to the destructive power of technology and the darkness that lurks within the human soul.”
Through it all, the sniper and the scientist have become the best of friends. And while they may not see eye to eye on every subject, they understand and respect the differing viewpoints held by each other. In a world where two such people are often pitted against one another, they strive to exemplify tolerance, respect, and potentially provide a roadmap of the way forward—for all of us.
In the end, there are more than eight billion people on this planet. Embracing kindness, understanding, and a desire for reconciliation might just be the only way we will survive.
Check out Jones Worthington's Omniviolence here:
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