The New York Times reviewed three books that deal with political satire and one of them is The Faking of the President anthology! Editor Peter Carlaftes of Three Rooms Press and all of us contributors are absolutely thrilled that they chose to review our book and it’s a great review! I’d say it’s the best of the three.
And they mentioned me and my near-future President Pence story “In Mother We Trust”! Now that’s something I can check off my bucket list.
Last night we had our virtual launch party for the West Coast writers of THE FAKING OF THE PRESIDENT (in addition to Chris Chambers and editor/publisher Peter Carlaftes who are East Coast). It was a blast! We chatted about politics and our predictions and hopes for the upcoming election. It was the first time I got to chat with writers I only know virtually like Nikki Dolson and Chris Chambers.
I read from my story “In Mother We Trust” which is told from the POV of Karen Pence. It’s set during the 2024 election in which Pence is the Republican nominee and Trump refuses to leave office. Not only is it an important presidential election but Calexit is on the ballot for California.
My story “In Mother We Trust” is set during the 2024 election with Mike Pence as the Republican candidate. Trump refuses to leave office which sets off all kinds of shenanigans, Calexit being one of them. I tell the story from Karen Pence’s POV which required me to do a lot of research into the Pences. That was interesting to say the least. I had a lot of fun writing this and it was quite the challenge!
Three Rooms Press is hosting several virtual launch parties on Facebook Live in the next few weeks beginning with one tonight. I’ll be reading at the virtual L.A. one on May 19 with the other Los Angeleno writers. More on that to come!
CrimeReads came out with its “Top 10 Books You Should Read This April” list and selected The Faking of the President as one of them. On top of that, they singled out my story, along with Angel Luis Colon, as stand-outs. Woot!
My story “In Mother We Trust” is set in the near future during the 2024 election with Mike Pence running as the Republican candidate. It’s told from Karen Pence’s POV and she will do anything to ensure her husband’s rightful place as president. This resolve is tested when Trump refuses to leave office. Throw in Governor Elon Musk of California and the looming possibility of Calexit and you have a noir thriller that one reviewer wrote “reads something like a prequel to Handmaid’s Tale.”
For more information about the book, here’s Three Rooms Press editor and publisher, Peter Carlaftes, talking about the inspiration behind The Faking of the President and the process of putting this White House noir collection together: Inspiring Change Through Noir Fiction
I’m so excited to be a part of this unique collection! It includes my dystopian story “In Mother We Trust” set in the not-too-distant future of the 2024 election.
THE FAKING OF THE PRESIDENT: Nineteen Stories of White House Noir pulls back the curtain on the “new norm” for America’s highest office, with a collection of bizarre new stories by a diverse group of renowned authors that take readers across the chasm of reality into an alternate universe—where Nixon takes a wacky psychedelic trip with Elvis Presley; where a time-traveling renegade targets members of the George Bush administration with disastrous results; where a spy seizes a sudden opportunity for power after Woodrow Wilson’s stroke. The stories are outlandish—but when it comes to the White House of today—strange behavior and kinky, zany antics are no longer implausible.
Spinning new tales of White House noir, these yarns confirm that absolute power—minus checks and balances—absolutely corrupts. THE FAKING OF THE PRESIDENT acknowledges the wacko state of politics today, and openly wonders how far down the rabbit hole the American presidency can go.
The line-up of award-winning authors includes Eric Beetner, Peter Carlaftes, Christopher Chambers, Sarah M. Chen, Angel Luis Colon, S. A. Cosby, Nikki Dolson, Mary Anna Evans, Kate Flora, Adam Lance Garcia, Danny Gardner, Alison Gaylin, Greg Herren, Gary Phillips, Travis Richardson, S. J. Rozan, Alex Segura, Abby Vandiver, and Erica Wright.
