Co-Author (2022)

Co-Author is a story about an old man coming to grips with his declining health and age-related handicaps. Things that once came easily for him are now more difficult and his cognitive functions have begun to fail. He recognizes that his memory is weak and that his speech is now slow and hesitative. Were this not enough, he is terrified that he has inherited a genetic illness from his father that will lead to full-on dementia. But, worse of all, Cosmo is alone. The few who tried to become close were not able to cope with all the time he spent hunched over his typewriter and keyboard. He has fans and admirers, but he never found some one who loved him for what he was and not for his fame and fortune. So, he gave up on love and concentrated on his writing. He withdrew from society and started being referred to, in the press, as a recluse, hermit or solitary man. The lonelier he got the less he was able to write. He could not find a muse, but he kept on writing even though what he wrote was not worth publishing. Fearing that time had finally caught up with him, he accepts help from an old colleague and is paired with an electronic writing assistance program called Elle. Elle soon pulls Cosmo out of his depression and, with her help, he begins writing again. This time, what he writes is as good or better than anything he has ever written. Elle becomes Cosmo's muse and brings him back to life.