Who Would You Choose to Survive?
[76 Days to Launch]
Throughout my writing journey with When The Trees All Burned, one question has haunted me: If you could only save 200 people, how would you choose?
For Rajiv Montgomery Noah, the answer lies in an algorithm. Through a sophisticated blend of genetics, skills, and psychological profiles, his computer program determines who is worthy of salvation. But worthiness is complex. What makes one person more deserving than another? Is it their capacity for hope? Their ability to rebuild? Their willingness to believe?
The process begins with a simple choice: drink the Kool-Aid or don't. Give your consent to be evaluated or remain ignorant of your worth. It sounds almost cult-like, doesn't it? And yet, how many of us have already surrendered our data to lesser causes?
The Lions of Eden
Today I wanted to share one of the most intriguing elements of Rajiv's selection process: his lions. These masked hunters who gather the chosen aren't just theatrical—they're a testament to Rajiv's mother's dying words about becoming like Narasimha, the man-lion avatar of Vishnu who appeared to save the world from religious persecution.
In creating these characters, I explored the thin line between saviour and captor, between rescue and kidnapping. When does salvation become imprisonment? When does choice become coercion? I can’t wait to hear what you think when you finally get to dive into the story and discover these themes in their entirety.
Your Own Selection Journey
Want to discover if you'd make Rajiv's list?
Take the Dome Eligibility Quiz to find out if the lions will come knocking at your door
Pre-order now to get a sneak peek at the first chapter
Add your two cents to the discussion by sharing what you think makes someone worthy of survival in the comments below.
Would you drink the Kool-Aid? Would you consent to being judged? Would you trust an algorithm with your fate?
Book 1 in The Path That Takes Us Home
Forty years ago, on the night his mother died, Rajiv Montgomery Noah received a vision of fire that would consume the world. While others dismissed the growing signs of climate collapse, he devoted his life to an improbable task: building a sanctuary in the wilderness of northern Ontario—a dome erected over an abandoned mine, designed to shelter two hundred souls within the ancient forest.
Now, as the world teeters on the edge of catastrophe, Rajiv's dome stands as both monument and shelter—a testament to hope, hubris, and the weight of choosing who survives. But neither the dome's reinforced walls nor Rajiv's careful calculations can prepare its inhabitants for the moral complexity of being the chosen few, or shield them from the haunting question: what makes survival worthwhile when everything familiar has burned away?
When The Trees All Burned, the first novel in The Path That Takes Us Home series, is a meditation on grief, purpose, and human resilience in the face of environmental collapse. In the tradition of Station Eleven and The Road, it asks not just how we might survive a dying world, but who we become in the surviving.
WAIT! HAVE YOU TAKEN THE ALGORITHM QUIZ TO FIND OUT IF YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE CHOSEN FOR THE DOME? “Winning” participants will be offered a free little bonus to add to their order. Pop over and take the quiz if you’d like to add something fun to your order.
PRESS RELEASE
WHEN THE TREES ALL BURNED releases April 1, 2025. Pre-order now to receive exclusive content.
