A Pre-Release Book Discussion

Elements of my novel "Awake in the Mad World" are, inarguably, “coming of age, identity and self-discovery”. But also, it’s about place, and asks, Where do the dreamers fit in? Where, in the modern American conversation that’s been changed by technology and is continuing to be changed by the political landscape? How we communicate and what we’re communicating about is managing some sort of odd relevance and mindlessness simultaneously. That said, is the importance, then, of one’s search for Self in this country being put on the backburner as greed and distraction take precedent by governing how we define our survival as artistic, creative thinkers? This is not an often nor heavily vocalized concern among those of my novel, not this particular topic, but they are on the edge of its weight and worry, and are therefore living in the early part of the new millennium where this conversation is developing as an imperative. And though the novel’s characters representing this search are post-graduates in their mid-twenties, the disillusioned and disenfranchised in our culture are of all demographics, ages, income ranges, genders and ethnicities. My novel is about human relationships, also, and how the growth and purity of our ambitions are shaped and altered by the friends and family we include on our paths to not perfection, but wholeness.

As this is a literary non-genre novel, after three years I decided to publish this book myself, recognizing fully the struggle I would continue to face while attempting to sell the risk of a debut novelist to an agent, editor or publisher already anxious about the changing publishing industry. It is my sincere hope that, if you do invest your time in reading it, my novel proves to be worthwhile. Please connect with me here on Goodreads and share with me your thoughts on this topic, or any topic.