5 Reasons Jon Bon Jovi Would Love “When The Trees All Burned”
Or: Why the King of Stadium Anthems Would Totally Dig This Apocalypse Novel
Look, I know what you’re thinking. “Why are we talking about Jon Bon Jovi and apocalypse fiction in the same breath?” But hear me out—after spending years crafting When The Trees All Burned, I can’t shake the feeling that the man who gave us decades of anthems about hope, survival, and sticking together would absolutely devour this story. Here’s why:
1. “Livin’ on a Prayer” Energy
If there’s one thing Bon Jovi understands, it’s the power of holding onto hope when everything’s falling apart. “Take my hand, we’ll make it I swear” isn’t just a lyric—it’s a life philosophy that runs through every page of When The Trees All Burned.
Whether it’s Jude and Brett finding unexpected love in an RV at the end of the world, or Maxine desperately searching for her partner in the chaos, the book is filled with those moments where people reach for each other when the ground literally gives way beneath them. Jon has spent his entire career singing about working-class people who refuse to give up, and that’s exactly what my characters do—even when the sky is raining fire.
There’s something deeply Bon Jovi about the scene where Maxine and Rochelle cling to each other in an underground bunker, or when the Peters family in New Mexico opens their shelter to neighbours they barely know. It’s that “we’re halfway there” energy, even when “there” might be the literal end of everything.
2. Community Over Fame
Jon Bon Jovi could have easily retreated into rock star isolation, but instead he opened soul kitchens and fights food insecurity. He gets that real wealth isn’t money—it’s the connections you build and the people you lift up.
When The Trees All Burned strips away all the superficial stuff that usually defines us. Suddenly, your job title doesn’t matter, your bank account is meaningless, and your social media following can’t save you from cosmic fire. What matters is whether you’ll share your last can of beans with a stranger, whether you’ll comfort someone who has lost everything, whether you’ll choose love over fear when the world is literally ending.
The book’s most powerful moments happen when characters abandon their old hierarchies and just become human beings taking care of each other. That’s pure Bon Jovi philosophy right there.
3. Underdog Stories
From Sayreville, New Jersey to stadium stages worldwide—Jon knows something about defying expectations. He’d absolutely connect with characters like Brett, who arrives at the apocalypse planning to end his own life but instead finds love and purpose in the most unexpected place.
Or take Jude, the documentary filmmaker who’s been given an unsettling diagnosis but decides to spend her final months telling the most important story of all time. She’s not a superhero, she’s not special—she’s just someone who refuses to go quietly into that good night.
Even Rajiv Montgomery Noah himself is the ultimate underdog story—an immigrant orphan who builds an empire and tries to save humanity, only to be mocked until the very moment he’s proven right. Jon’s always had a soft spot for the dreamers and the dismissed, the people who dare to believe in something bigger than themselves.
4. Epic Storytelling
Let’s be real—the man who wrote “Wanted Dead or Alive” knows how to paint a picture. He understands that the best stories are operatic, larger than life, filled with characters who face impossible choices and somehow find a way to be heroic.
Rajiv’s whole arc is pure rock opera material: the eccentric billionaire with a divine vision, building his glass dome fortress while the world laughs at him, then watching that same world burn while his chosen few huddle in underground caves waiting for a new dawn. It’s got everything—prophecy, betrayal, redemption, and enough dramatic irony to fuel a dozen concept albums.
The book doesn’t shy away from big emotions or big stakes. When the nuclear warheads start flying and the meteors begin falling, it commits fully to the spectacle while never losing sight of the human stories at its heart. That’s exactly the kind of storytelling that made songs like “Blaze of Glory” into classics.
5. Soundtrack Potential
Come on—this story is practically begging for a power ballad. Picture it: sweeping orchestration, soaring vocals, maybe a key change that coincides with the moment the dome seals shut and the chosen few realize they’re really, truly alone.
“Eden’s Prayer,” anyone? “Burning Sky”? “The Last Day”?
I can already hear the opening piano chords of a song about Maxine searching for Bonnie in the chaos, or a driving rock anthem about a family racing to their bunker as the world explodes around them. There’s something about the book’s blend of intimate human moments and cosmic-scale disaster that screams for the kind of emotional, arena-filling music Jon does best.
Plus, let’s be honest—after decades of singing about living on a prayer, wouldn’t it be fitting to explore what happens when all the prayers run out and you have to find a different kind of faith?
The Bottom Line
When The Trees All Burned is fundamentally about the same things Jon Bon Jovi has been singing about for forty years: ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances, the power of human connection, and the stubborn refusal to give up even when everything seems hopeless.
It’s about finding beauty in the darkness, choosing love over fear, and believing that somehow, some way, we’re going to make it through.
And if that’s not worth a stadium sing-along, I don’t know what is.
What do you think—am I onto something here, or have I been listening to too much classic rock while writing apocalyptic fiction? Let me know in the comments!
