Adrien Carver

In the long ago summer of 2010, Evan Barker’s life is shit. His older brother, Jason, has taken his own life, leaving behind a family shattered by grief. His parents are buckling under the weight of the Great Recession, his so-called friends are aimless, drunken douchebags, and his younger sister has been institutionalized after discovering Jason’s body.

In a desperate leap for meaning and change, Evan decides to audition for American Idol in Nashville. Never mind that he hasn’t ever sung a note in his life.

Joining him on this reckless, possibly absurd trip is Lily Trent, a childhood acquaintance turned unexpected companion. A newly minted dancer at Deja Blue, Lily is just as lost as Evan, harboring her own secret demons and motivations. She’s also more than aware of the massive crush the hapless, virginal Evan has developed on her.

What starts as a desperate bid for stardom and relevance morphs into something else-- a search for meaning, connection, and self-worth in a generation raised on shoddy promises.

Johnny Clee was a redneck child who grew up to be a solitary drug mule for the opioid crisis. Now he's dead-- though he can't remember how it happened-- and he's got another job working for The Devil and Death.

Johnny assumes collecting the souls of the damned will free him from the highways of purgatory, but salvation isn't the only thing waiting for him at the end of the road.

It's 2088 and Elizabeth London is turning 100. Time to go to the Epicity to get retired aka medically euthanized via nitrogen asphyxiation. She’s aided by her Emotionally-Minded Omnibot, an AI hospice nurse. On the way down, she listens to an old mix CD-- a parting gift from her first boyfriend in the fall of 2006.

The songs activate memories long forgotten, and Elizabeth relives moments from her first week at college as she makes her final journey through the fantastical dystopian underground humanity has built for itself in the wake of catastrophic climate change.

A writer wishes to be a genius. A dog learns to speak. A boy tormented by bullies picks a flower near an old well. A young girl with green skin is found in a drainpipe outside Pittsburgh. A child cannibal writes a confessional. A lake monster is secretly fed by park staff.

Stories of dread, wonder, and whimsy.

A young man is fired from his job. A waitress develops a crush on a regular. A boy is asked to destroy a hard drive. Another boy jumps off a roof to impress his friends. A man abducts a young woman. A low-level podcast studio employee gets a moment alone with a presidential candidate.

Stories of hope, humor, and heartache in the empire of modern capitalism.

Poetry — 2005-2023

Poetry — 2023-2025