I’m so excited about this.
It has been over two years since my last release, and so much has changed since then. The world feels like a much more uncertain place than it did two years ago. This book began as a project I worked on in 2016 prior to my boys being born, and started off like most of my books do: with a joke.
Since then it blossomed out into a richer idea. A novel about power dynamics, capitalism run wild, oligarchs and people abusing their power. You can’t just let those people run unchecked, though, which is why the core of this novel is the people who need to work together to build a better future for humanity.
Now I get to share it with you on May 6th.
I’ve never been a big ‘cover reveal’ guy, but here we are. The art is done by Logan Espartero. A big part of why I stepped back from indie publishing in 2023 was the rise of the large language models (LLMs, also known as AI) and authors intent on using them.
As a writer and an artist, I have zero desire to use machines any more than I have to. I love writing and creating, and this book is a testament to that. Right down to the editing and cover being done by humans as well. That might not seem like a big deal to you, but it is to me. For art to survive and thrive in this cultural moment, it takes bold stances against people with power.
If you aren’t aware, an iconoclast is someone who destroys icons (meaning images, monuments, etc.) to challenge beliefs (both spiritual and political) of the status quo. There have been various iconoclast movements throughout history, and in the age of machines creating edifices to the ultra wealthy, it feels like the right moment for this book to surface. I held it back for years (three to be precise), and now it feels like I can’t hold back any longer.
