“A depraved and offbeat leap out of the fifth wall straight into the loony bin.”

«An unofficial love letter to Anaïs Nin, inspired by her three novelettes in 'Winter of Artifice,' and her literature about a writer's experiences in psychotherapy.»

An art designer, and music critic at a Toronto music venue, is tracing an almost famous indie rock band, but he's about to become a two-time Master of Fine Arts dropout. In a drunken interview with Guerin Tracy, a semi-famous indie rocker, the interview goes sour when Ox mentions Guerin's infamous Kikkoman Soy Sauce t-shirt that turns out, doesn't fit anymore. Mid-life crisis in bloom, Ox starts to question whether society's distortions, or his own, are detaining him in this hell-bent journey to find a high fidelity, distortion-free existence. A handful of dead-end romantic relationships further drive him into his toxic, yet uniquely magic-sprung brand of disillusionment. When the magic for Ox and his eccentric good intentions start conspiring against him like a scoundrel ex-girlfriend, he finds satisfaction in knowing he's learned to accept a future that's totally distorted.

This amp-cranked, rock and rolling psychological fiction is a transgressive meditation of an ex-musician, turned writer, searching for profound connections from within the desolation of the inner-workings of the music industry, psychotherapy, and in and out of a Toronto psychiatric institution. Luckily, there's a sophisticated love interest he knows he can always turn to as his muse: the timeless voices of the legendary female writers for whom he elicits a quirky yearning and affinity.

Bolero Bird

Published books