The situation in LA - a note from the author

June 9th 2025

When I began drafting The River Rubicon in late 2023, I was responding to a question that had been gnawing at me: What happens when political division meets unchecked executive power in America? What began as a speculative thriller turned into something far more unsettling — because just months after its publication in January 2025, parts of the story are already becoming reality.

Over the weekend, protests in Los Angeles escalated into violence. In response, President Donald J. Trump invoked Title 10 to federalize California's National Guard — without the governor's request or approval. Legal experts are already warning of constitutional overreach. State officials are calling it authoritarian. And for many Americans, it's a moment that feels both shocking and eerily familiar.

That familiarity is what troubles me most.

The River Rubicon imagined a crisis rooted in the breakdown of federal-state balance, how moments of unrest could be used to justify sweeping emergency powers. When I wrote those scenes in 2024, they felt like fiction. Today, they feel like a warning that's arrived too soon.

I won't spoil the story for those who haven't read it. But I will say this: what's unfolding now was the starting point in my book, not the conclusion.

And in the second installment, The Shadow of Pharsalus, the consequences of that first rupture are explored with even darker implications. Because once democratic guardrails are breached, it's not just about what happens next — it's about who decides what happens next.

Both novels also wrestle with a deeper structural issue: the damage caused by extreme political polarization in a rigid two-party system. As a Canadian, I recognize how essential a multi-party framework can be to reflect the broad and evolving range of views in modern society. When people are forced to choose between two extremes, space for compromise, nuance, and institutional resilience disappears.

The world is changing at the speed of light. Democratic erosion, legal ambiguity, and political extremism aren't just themes for fiction anymore, they're part of our daily headlines.

If my novels help provoke thought or reflection, I'm grateful. But like many authors of cautionary fiction, I'd prefer to be wrong.

Let's all dare to imagine a better world — and work toward making it real.

THE RIVER RUBICON: THE BEGINNING

Every story begins with a spark. Sometimes, it's an ember buried deep, waiting for the right breath of air to ignite. Other times, it's an inferno that consumes everything in its path, demanding to be told. This book is the latter—a story that burned its way into existence, fueled by questions too dangerous to ignore.

What happens when power is absolute, and truth becomes the enemy? What do ordinary people do when faced with extraordinary circumstances—when the line between hero and villain dissolves, and survival demands the unthinkable? These aren't just the questions this book asks; they're the ones it answers, with an intensity that will keep you riveted to the edge of your seat.

As you turn these pages, you'll meet characters who live in the gray areas, who are neither saints nor devils but something far more real: human. You'll walk alongside them as they navigate a world teetering on the brink, where decisions are never easy, and consequences are always lethal. It's a world that reflects our own in ways that might leave you breathless—or unsettled.

This book is not just a story. It's a journey, a challenge, and perhaps even a mirror. It will pull you into its depths and leave you questioning where the lines are drawn in your own life. By the time you're done, you won't just have read a book; you'll have lived an experience.

So, turn the page, ignite the spark, and brace yourself. Because what lies ahead isn't just a story—it's a firestorm. And once you step into the flames, there's no going back.

Enjoy the ride.