07/14/2026
Are you much of a Hemingway fan?
Paris to Boulder, and Pamplona to Cheyenne: Reimagining a Hemingway Classic
Some books begin as an idea. Others begin as a conversation across generations.
Best Chance Media released my historical fiction novel, “What the Morning Brings.” It’s fitting that the book comes out this month, since July 22nd is Ernest Hemingway’s birthday.
I adapted Hemingway’s classic “The Sun Also Rises," which entered the public domain in 2022. Rather than retelling the story, I reimagined it for a different generation facing a different war.
Hemingway’s characters sought refuge in the cafés of post-World War I Paris. My characters find themselves in Boulder, Colorado, during the turbulent years of the Vietnam War. The antiwar movement gains momentum. Young people question authority. Veterans return home carrying wounds that aren’t always visible.
Jake Barnes, a Vietnam veteran and newspaper photographer, and Brett Ashley, a former military nurse turned antiwar activist, are at the center of the story. Like many people of their generation, they are searching for meaning in a world that no longer makes sense.
The story eventually leaves Boulder for Wyoming. In Hemingway’s novel, the climax unfolds during the Running of the Bulls and the bullfights of Pamplona, Spain. In “What the Morning Brings,” the action moves to Cheyenne and the Wild Prairie Stampede, where a fateful bull ride changes lives forever.
The novel explores friendship, love, loss, resilience, and the struggle to find one’s place in a rapidly changing America. While inspired by a literary classic, it’s also a story of the American West, the Vietnam era, and the people who lived through it.
As a writer and documentary filmmaker, I’ve long been fascinated by how history shapes individual lives. “What the Morning Brings” allowed me to revisit a pivotal period in American history while paying tribute to one of literature’s most enduring novels.
If you’d like to be among the first readers, autographed copies are now available. They cost more, but purchasing directly helps support independent publishing and allows me to personally sign each book before it ships. You can also order from your local bookstore or online retailer.
Thank you to everyone who has followed my writing journey. I look forward to sharing this new story with you.
Purchase your autographed copy today and join me on a journey from the streets of Boulder to the rodeo grounds of Cheyenne, where the promises of youth collide with the realities of war, love, and fate.
https://bouldercomedia.gumroad.com/l/whatthemorningbrings
