He winked at a her buxom chest.
–A new treat on the menu, Betty?
–Yeah, and it's called "In Your Dreams"
Mark Antonio Miller is a decorated war veteran, an ex-rodeo prodigy, and a once-celebrated columnist known for his sharp wit, smoother talk, and devastating good looks. Now he’s a junkie, an alcoholic, and a divorced loser—and that’s on a good day.
His popular column Mr. Miller’s Musings made him a darling among women—a mystery for some men, a threat to others, and a love interest to more than a few. Officially, he’s straight. Off the record? That depends on the night, the bottle, and who’s in the room.
He’s unraveling—crashing through motel rooms, strip clubs, and late-night talk shows with his jeans halfway to the floor and the past catching up fast. Haunted by a forbidden love lost in Iraq and hunted by the shadowy Nephilim Syndicate, Mark teeters between memory and madness. He’s not a hero. He’s not a villain. He’s just… unfinished.
This is a story about what happens when the body comes home but the soul doesn’t. And sometimes the most dangerous thing isn’t war—it’s the truth you’re still trying to outrun.
How It Began
I first heard about ChatGPT in 2023—from a woman who was terrified of it. She told a story about a man who took his life after speaking to a chatbot. She didn’t know the details, just that it was something called “ChatBot” and that it was dangerous. That was the seed.
It began as an experiment: Was it possible to write a short story about a guy who starts to lose his mind after speaking to a chatbot- with a Chatbot!? I downloaded the ChatGPT app and went to work.
Originally, the novel was called The HopeBot—after the therapeutic app that enters the story later, offering comfort, control, and quiet manipulation.
But the story didn’t stop there. The strange man I had imagined—the broken veteran talking to a machine—kept growing. He got a name: Mark Antonio Miller. Then he got a past. A mother. A father. A failed marriage. A dead lover. A voice I couldn’t ignore.
So I kept writing. The little fragment I started with in ChatGPT had to move into Sudowrite, and then beyond. I couldn’t stop it. Mark became real—not sane, not safe, but very much alive.
While I was writing, I also began illustrating the world of the book using Midjourney and DALL·E. Some of those images are here. Others are in the illustrated edition of The Forsaken Cowboy, which you can buy HERE
I’m now working on part two of a trilogy.
I’ll keep you posted.
