A tragicomic cli-fi novel about John Muir: ''MUIR WOODS OR BUST'' by Ian Woolen (pub date: July 2017)

A cli-fi novel about John Muir titled "MUIR WOODS OR BUST"-- written by Indianapolis novelist Ian Woolen and set for  a July 2017 release date by Coffeetown Press in Seattle

Here's some background info:

 

It's a relatively short book  (weighing in at around 52,000 words) and Coffeetown Press in Seattle will publish the novel in July 2017. 

 

A central focus of this novel is the critical self-blinding episode in John Muir's life, at his factory job in Indianapolis in 1867.

 

At that time in his life, Muir, abandoning his interest in nature, had embarked on a career in industry. His recovery from the accidental blinding restored his vision of his true self and his environmentalist calling. His pivotal, fork-in-the-road experience mirrors industrialist America's self-blinding, too. 

Another sub-plot (in the present time) involves a psychotherapist abducted by a client. And the overlap between psychological and environmental health. The psychotherapist has developed a new diagnosis: ''Eco-Mood Disorders.''

 

Below is a tentative mock-up for the cover, which hints at the tragi-comic flavor.

 

 

 

Our blurb for the novel:

 

This is a tragicomic cli-fi novel about a pivotal episode in life of the famous American environmentalist John Muir. In the 1860s, Muir had abandoned his interest in 'nature' and started a career in 'industry.' But a fateful on-the-job accident led to his return to his original calling. This book puts John Muir in a very new light!  

-- Dan Bloom, The Cli-Fi Report

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Short blurb:

This tragicomic cli-fi novel about a pivotal episode in the life of environmentalist John Muir puts the American icon in a startling new light!

 

-- Dan Bloom, The Cli-Fi Report