Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work.
Today:
Dan Kopcow’s rom-com novel, “Madcap Serenade,” published by Black Rose Writing, is the winner of the 2025 Independent Press Award for Best Romantic Comedy, Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award in the Humor Category, FIRST PLACE WINNER of the Mark Twain Humor and Satire Award by Chanticleer International Book Awards, among several other awards.
Dan’s sci-fi noir detective novel, “Prior Futures,” published by Black Rose Writing, won a 2022 Independent Press Award for Science Fiction Distinguished Favorite and was a Science Fiction Best Thriller of 2021 Finalist at BestThriller.com.
Dan’s fiction short story collection, “Worst. Date. Ever.,” was published by Regal House Publishing and was named one of 2020’s top 100 novels by the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP). The anthology, “Thank You, Death Robot,” which included his short story, The Cobbler Cherry, won an Independent Publishing Award for best science-fiction and fantasy and was voted a Chicago Tribune Top Ten Fiction book.
Website: https://dankopcow.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanKopcowAuthor
Thanks so much, Dan, for joining me!
J. Scott Coatsworth: How would you describe your writing style/genre?Â
Dan R. Kopcow:  I write in all different genres.  It really depends on the story I’m telling.  “Prior Futures” is cyberpunk dystopian noir since that genre suited the story best.  Woven within all my novels and short stories is humor.  I find that to be the secret sauce to my stories getting published.Â
JSC: What was your first published work? Tell me a little about it.Â
DRK: I’ve had dozens of short stories in various genres published since 2006 in various publications. “Worst. Date. Ever.,” my fiction short story collection about romantic dates gone horribly awry, was published in 2020 by Regal House Publishing. The stories are written in several genres and science fiction is well represented in the collection. It’s available everywhere in paperback, ebook, and audiobook and available in hard cover through the publisher.
JSC: Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre? If you write more than one, how do you balance them?Â
DRK: I always start with the character and their goals. Then figure out how to put as many obstacles in front of them as possible. In real life, you don’t want to create conflict but as a writer, it’s pretty much your job. Then I think about the world the character inhabits. That usually dictates a point of view and tone which leads me to a genre. The content always dictates the genre.
JSC: Do your books spring to life from a character first or an idea?Â
DRK: Usually, I have an idea for a situation. That usually leads to a type of character that would be the most ill-suited for that situation. The fun part of writing, for me, is to make the character as uncomfortable as possible and to come with an idea or situation that readers aren’t expecting.
JSC: What inspired you to write Prior Futures? What were the challenges in bringing it to life?Â
DRK: When I started writing Prior Futures, it was intended as a social satire about wealth inequality and technology perpetuated and accepted as the new religion.  But as time went on, it felt less satirical and more like journalism and documentary about people’s need for technological expedience and obsession with wanting to live like the rich.
The novel asks questions regarding current issues like: Can we really trust others to have our best interests in heart? Or does there come a point where we must rely on ourselves?
I wrote it as a short story 15 years ago for a writer’s group. The idea of a detective trying to navigate this 2D world intrigued me from the start. Ultimately, this is an individual versus institution story
I thought about the world I was creating and how to explain it. I needed the protagonist to be new to the world so as they learn about it, so would the reader, without it feeling like I was constantly dumping exposition. That’s why I made Prior a disgraced detective. So he could be hiding for four years on the island of Antigua and fairly disconnected from the world. Then I had to think about why he would be disgraced.
The idea was always a world that wants to turn 2D and a protagonist who is 2D emotionally with little empathy but turns 3D by the end. So I thought about how I make him care about others and get involved with the world. I created his daughter who I didn’t want to be someone in need of rescue. She is really the hero of the story.
I am humbled and honored that Prior Futures has won a 2022 Independent Press Award for Science Fiction Distinguished Favorite!
https://www.independentpressaward.com/2022distinguishedfavorites
“Prior Futures is one of the year’s top books and is a must-read for sci-fi fans.” – BestThrillers.com
JSC: What is the most heartfelt thing a reader has said to you?
DRK: I’ve been fortunate to get some lovely reviews for Prior Futures.  One of my favorites is
“Sam Spade meets Blade Runner in this mind-bending story of a dystopian world where two-dimensional beings rule. Dan Kopcow has created a cynical detective, worthy of Raymond Chandler, who shuffles, floats, and warps among a cast of eccentric characters in search of his own Maltese Falcon—a blood-borne art treasure that may hold the clue to survival for both the powerless and the powerful. Fast-paced and provocative, Prior Futures does not disappoint.” – Steven Mayfield, award winning author of Treasure of the Blue Whale and the forthcoming Delphic Oracle U.S.A.
JSC: Are you a plotter or a pantser?
DRK: I am mostly a plotter, as I was with “Prior Futures.” Since part of the story is a detective mystery, I knew I had to start at tech end and work backwards to parse out all the clues.
However, with my latest novel, a romcom called “Madcap Serenade,” I wrote the first draft without a plot and became an irresponsible parent, letting my two 16-year-old protagonists do what they want with no plan. It gave me some great insights and plot points and situations that I would not otherwise have thought of if it was intricately plotted from the beginning.
JSC: What other artistic pursuits (it any) do you indulge in apart from writing?Â
DRK: I’ve always had many artistic pursuits including woodworking, urban sketching (ink and watercolor), film and theater, cooking, and guitar. Writing is a great way to blend many of them.
JSC: What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?
DRK: I often return to “Love Note to a Playwright,” a poem by Phyllis McGinley, for writing inspiration and for a reminder that you have to make time to write. This especially comes through in the last stanza:
“Who, using up his mail to start
An autumn fire or chink a crevice,
Cried, “Letters longer are than art,
But vita is extremely brevis!”
Then, choosing what was worth the candle,
Sat down and wrote The School for Scandal.
JSC: What are you working on now, and what’s coming out next? Tell us about it!
DRK: My next novel, “Wayward Tracks,” is being reviewed by my publisher now. It’s an alternatively hilarious, heartbreaking, and thrilling cozy mystery about geographic amnesia, music, road trips, dark town secrets, murder, and family trauma.
A once-famous, introverted folk singer suffering from geographic amnesia becomes the most ill-equipped amateur detective to obtain the book rights that her album is based on and must solve a town’s deeply-buried murder and save it from an evil menace before she can record her album.
And now for Dan’s book: Prior Futures:
It’s 2090 and NanoGov has exploited nanotechnology to overtake the planet. The super-rich have converted to Mod; the two-dimensional ruling class. Jeremiah Prior, a three-dimensional disgraced Fringe detective hiding in Antigua for the murder of his partner, is forced back to Manhattan to prevent his estranged daughter from converting to Mod.
But when the ultra-rich target his daughter and start to devour all citizens, Prior has to decide whether to remain safely hidden or trust his daughter, join the underground rebellion, and help overthrow NanoGov.
Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Excerpt
Prior decides to spend his day trying to locate some old friends. Allies who might still be alive and can help him make sense of this world. He starts with Brewster, trying to remember where that crazy, hippie activist lived. He’ll search for Professor Belden later. If not today, maybe tomorrow. Belden was always more malleable and slippery than Brewster.
Prior hits the streets and finally recalls the route. It takes the better part of the morning. He keeps a lookout for Addison, making sure he isn’t being tailed. Brewster’s street is narrow and quiet. Old stone houses, bunched together a century ago when the city was worried about being too crowded with fully fleshed people, line each side of the street.
Prior approaches the foot of Brewster’s driveway, thinking of what he’s going to say to his old friend. He’s put aside the Fringe Underground Movement for the moment. The idea that Lachende and Antoine might be connected by common cause is too vast a notion to contemplate at the moment. He’ll deal with all that later. Right now, Brewster’s light is on and he needs the good doctor’s help.
He hopes Brewster has survived by his wits. Brewster was already a legendary chemist who railed against NanoGov when it first formed. For a while, he was known as something of a revolutionary. An anti-nano terrorist who helped organize the Fringe in their struggle. He begged Prior to stay and help him but by then, Feynman was dead, Felice had left, and Prior was on the last boat to Antigua.
Brewster had always been an invaluable resource to Prior, helping him with DNA evidence and other forensics to identify ownership of rare antiques. Brewster liked solving history’s riddles. “Bring clarity to chaos and you’ll never be out of a job,” Brewster was often fond of saying.
Prior is about to give Brewster’s door a knock when he hears shuffling footsteps inside.
“It cannot be,” says a gargled voice from behind the door.
“It is, man,” says another muffled voice.
“Brewster?” says Prior. “It’s me, Jeremiah.”
“Go away,” says the gargled voice from behind the door.
“Come on in,” says the muffled voice.
The door swings open. The foyer is dimly lit and the musty smell of mold and rotting wood is thick in the air. Prior steps inside before the door is closed.
“Alright, who the hell is…” says Prior. He takes a step forward to get a better look at the couple hiding from him.
He is confronted with two faces growing out of two long necks.
One of the faces is an older version of Brewster, slightly wrinkled, graying more around the temples. Ponytail still in place, maybe a bit longer. He wears granny glasses like one of his old idols. His spherical face bobs up and down on his inhumanly long neck like a tulip bulb in the wind.
The other face is flatter, more severe. It’s a version of Brewster the way Prior remembers him. He is young, vibrant, still with the ponytail and slight gray around the temples to indicate some sort of wisdom. But the joy has been washed out, leaving behind a void; an almost sinister anger and hopelessness. The flat face bobs away slightly, its neck tapering delicately as it gets closer to the face, and Prior sees clearly that this second head is two-dimensional. It reminds him of an old developing photograph dangling on a wire.
Both neck-stalks convene like rivers to the three-dimensional body of Brewster.
Prior takes a step back but he’s up against a dank wall.
“Don’t be afraid, man,” says 3D Brewster, the left-sided head. His spherical face draws closer to Prior, the neck elongating to allow a more thorough inspection.
“He is not wanted here,” says 2D Brewster. His paper-plate face retracts. “He smells of Fringe. Disgusting. I will not stand for this infestation.”
“Brewster, what did they do to you?”
“It’s cool. Come on in, Jere. Let’s hang in the lab where the light’s better,” says 3D Brewster.
He points the way and Prior proceeds down the hallway into a lit opening, keeping an eye on both faces.
Behind him, he hears 2D Brewster complaining, “He is not with us. He seeks to ruin! Mod will not stand for this.”
“You’re harshing the room, dude,” says 3D Brewster.
Brewster’s lab is exactly as Prior remembers it. Prior spent many nights trying to decipher clues with Brewster about the origins of Etruscan vases, Monet paintings, Indian arrowheads, vacuum cleaners, whatever was trendy with the collectors at that time. Three black lab tables are set up in parallel, each lined with glass tubes, beakers, crude scales, and wooden bowls. On the walls are blackboards, each filled with unreadable chalk scrawls of gibberish in every color available. Words are circled multiple times and arrows point in dramatic arcs from one point to another. The curtainless window is stained with a brown scum.
“You used to be tidier,” says Prior. He’s trying to figure out how to approach this.
Brewster positions himself in from of the window, his smeared reflection creating the illusion of two additional heads, like a nightmare Medusa.
“I’ve had difficulty focusing lately,” says 3D Brewster. 2D Brewster faces away, looking out the window. “Mod. They’re still after me. Everywhere. Listening.”
2D Brewster’s head whips around and conks 3D Brewster, knocking 3D Brewster’s head away. It makes a sound like two coconuts.
“Ah, this is treason!” says 2D Brewster. “Call the Mod Police. NanoGov! Get this Fringe, this murderer, out of my sight. He does not serve us.”
Brewster’s body, which is normal below the neck, from what Prior can tell, moves forward slightly. Brewster’s right hand reaches for a small vial on the lab bench. He flips off the cork stopper with his thumb. Brewster’s left hand grabs the vial, fighting him for temporary control of his body. With a practiced grace, Brewster’s right arm shakes loose his left arm and brings the vial to his 3D mouth. Brewster drinks the vial’s purple liquid like a tequila shot. Emitting a low growl, 2D Brewster’s head expands in its square footage and wraps itself around the 3D head, hoping to force the liquid to come sloshing out of his mouth; plastic wrap trying to suffocate a grapefruit.
But it’s too late. 3D Brewster has swallowed whatever was in that vial.
“I will report this insolence!” says 2D Brewster. “You can never truly…”
But that’s all that 2D Brewster gets out. His neck shrinks at the collar bone, like a decaying vine, until it snaps off from Brewster’s body. The detached 2D head and neck string begin to freely float through the air like a lost circus balloon.
“Sorry you have to see this,” says 3D Brewster whose own neck has begun to take the dimensions and location of a Fringe neck.
Brewster takes the floating neck string and flings it towards his mouth. In one practiced move, he swallows the detached 2D Brewster head like a fruit rollup.
“Apologies. Strictly necessary,” says Brewster, as if he accidentally belched in proper company.
“Alright,” says Prior, trying not to make eye contact.
“And disagreeably temporary. That crotchety dude will be back shortly.”
“What the hell, Brewster?” Prior thought about Brewster often when he was in Antigua. He hoped, as had many, that Brewster was the key to fighting the system and turning it over back to the people. Now, it looks like he can’t even control his own body. Like he’s suffered the ultimate home invasion.
“Despite what you must think,” says Brewster, sitting down in an old chair, “no one did this to me. Experiments and science, Jere. It’s what got us into this mess. That damn Ferri. Good riddance, I say. Science will get us out of this, man.”
“You did this to yourself?”
“Looking for a cure. Now, obviously, I’m more motivated than ever. You see, I’m in constant pain and in fear that my Mod self will eventually pause from thinking about himself long enough to realize it’s simple to completely take over the rest of me.”
“And here I was looking for your help. What can I do?” says Prior.
“Should have stayed in Antigua where it’s safe.”
“Yeah, about that…”
“Better make it quick,” says Brewster. “Our moon-faced friend is an impatient tenant. I can already feel him starting to bubble up.”
“Jesus, Brewster. I’m so sorry.”
“Empathy is in short supply around here, Jere, and refreshing to hear.”
“I need to clear my name,” says Prior, more nakedly that he cares to. “People still think…”:
“Ah, the sanctity of your reputation. I guess things haven’t changed all that much, have they, man?”
“Lachende said you helped him with a disguise so he could look like a Fringe. I need to get into Mod Police headquarters. Was wondering if you could outfit me with something.”
Brewster stands up, adjusts his lab coat, and shuffles over to his blackboard of mumbo-jumbo. He stares at it, his eyes tracing the arrows and circled words.
“That’s a lot of information you’ve divulged. A Fringe could get into serious trouble and pain if Mod found out what he was up to,” says Brewster, his back to Prior.
Prior spies the exit and thinks he can make the lab door before Brewster could reach him. Worst-case scenario, Prior could jump out the window, although he’s not looking forward to crashing through thick glass.
“Sorry to have wasted your time,” says Prior, slowly advancing towards the exit.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” says Brewster, turning around. He’s still 3D Brewster and Prior finds it odd that this sight is comforting. “I’m just asking you to be careful. Also, this never gets traced back to me.”
Brewster opens a drawer in one of his desks, reaches in, and throws Prior a small packet. Prior looks inside the open packet. A stick of gum.
“For trucking in,” says Brewster.
“Thanks, pal. What can I do for you?” says Prior.
“Go back to Antigua, for starters,” says Brewster. There is a pained look on his face. He holds his stomach, looking sicker by the second. “My roommate is pulling up to the driveway. He’s gonna crash here soon.”
“I can’t leave you like this.”
“Careful, Jere. You don’t know. There’s a gathering. A threat more horrible…”
Brewster doubles over and crashes onto his knees.
“Brewster…”
“Go!” says Brewster, his voice muffled, his neck already shifting over, elongating, making room for 2D Brewster.
Prior runs to the exit.
Behind him, he hears 2D Brewster growl, “Hey Prior, tell Felice and Molly I say hello!”