Welcome
Who I am and why this newsletter
Who
I’m Jak Koke. I create stories.
Some of my stories adhere very closely to reality, and some are completely made up. I’ve been writing professionally in various forms for over 30 years since I sold my first short story in 1991. Since then, I’ve published novels, game material, technical articles, marketing copy, instructional tutorials, memoirs, keynote speeches, and video scripts.
My interests vary widely. Over the years, I’ve been an author, an editor, a publisher, a content strategist, a lab technician, a French tutor, a ranch hand, a berry picker, and a newspaper delivery engineer. On the personal side, I’ve lived in over a dozen different cities in four countries, been blessed with two long-term (and a number of medium-length) loving relationships, and co-parented two daughters to adulthood.
Learn more about me and my books at jakkoke.com.
Why
I write to inform, communicate, and sway. The major issues that concern me right now are climate change and sustainability; economic, gender, and racial inequality; and how to change insidious and exploitative cultural narratives.
For me to write an effective story, I require an understanding of the world and how it works. In that light, I’m creating Dear Future to help three people:
You. Perhaps curated information that contains contextual knowledge will offer a more complete understanding of the world and the forces involved (as I see them).
Future me. This can serve as a reservoir of interesting information, and — because memory is both imperfect and shaped by context — remind me of what I was thinking when I posted it.
Current me. The act of writing something helps me codify it into knowledge and I’m likely to remember the information more clearly.
For more information, see the About page.