Books

Dalton is actively seeking literary representation.

The Quiet Activist: Dag HammarskjÖld and Saving Humanity from Hell

What makes a man go from “harmless” to “troublesome” in the eyes of the most powerful people in the world? That’s where Dag Hammarskjöld found himself during his tenure as the second Secretary General of the UN (1953-1961). This first-of-its-kind history will fill a gap in the current lexicon of Cold War history, exploring how Hammarskjöld became embroiled in increasingly dangerous situations, all while maintaining calm assuredness and visionary ideals for the future.

Evocative of a John Le Carré thriller with the research of a Jon Krakauer read, this is a narrative non-fiction that dives into Hammarskjöld’s life and leadership style at the UN at the zenith of its power. This book will feature newly unsealed documentation surrounding Hammarskjöld’s mysterious death in the forests of Northern Rhodesia, muddying the waters on who may have been involved in his untimely end. Accessible, propulsive, and written like a novel from Hammarskjöld’s point of view, readers will learn of his savvy politicking and his isolationist tendencies in his personal life, brought on by his Christian faith and repressed sexual orientation—a striking and tragic juxtaposition to his public role as a global peacekeeper. This text will affirm why Hammarskjöld and his leadership still matter today, emphasizing how he embodies the title of ‘The Quiet Activist.’

Murder at 1600

Frank Barker, a wunderkind gay historian who swears using presidential nicknames, is as disorganized in his personal life as he is organized in his writing and research. As a blizzard rages outside the White House and another day of interviewing President Alec Larsen is about to begin, Alec hints that he has a secret to reveal. But before the president can do so, he’s found dead in the most secure room in the most secure home in the country. No one can go in and no one can go out. Unless someone could walk through walls.

The president has been murdered and the list of suspects is longer than one might expect, including 40 ghosts of past presidents. Frank is thrust into the position of investigator, tasked with using his historical knowledge to identify who could have committed this crime and why. Teaming up with other sleuth spirits like Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, Frank races against the clock (and inquisitive reporters) to question FDR in the swimming pool, Nixon in the bowling alley, and Adams and Jefferson in the Treaty Room before the killer strikes again.    

Bram and the Bat

This is an epistolary gothic-horror novel focused on Bram Stoker as he is sucked into the life of the vampiric inspiration for Dracula in a Scottish seaside village.

Bram Stoker is seeking inspiration for his novel. Having been overworked and undervalued at London’s Lyceum Theatre and feeling unloved by both his wife and secret lover, Oscar Wilde, Bram escapes the city for the Scottish village of Port Erroll. But a mysterious woman’s death plunges Bram into a dark tale of murder, cults, devilry, and blood-sucking creatures of the night. As he attempts to appease his many masters, Bram knows he must finish this vampiric story of his, if not only to save his own life, but the lives of others who may encounter similar nosferatu.

Florenzers

Fleabag meets the Renaissance in FLORENZERS as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo battle one another’s artistic talents and patience in a fresco war to see which artist will end up on top. This biting historical comedy sees the aging, urbane, and openly gay Leonardo quarrel with the rising Michelangelo, a man as repressed in his sexuality as he is aspirational for success in Florence. Thanks to pesky patrons, a bloodthirsty son of a Borgia pope, and Niccolò Machiavelli, the artists find themselves thrust into a competition the likes of which Italy had never seen before.

It’s silly but it’s serious. It’s deep but it’s shallow. It’s sacred and profane. Most of all, it has wind in its sails: energy and movement and life.