The Boy Who Only Wanted To Make Things Better

A classic medieval tale about a boy who only wants to make things better, but first has to gain enough power and prestige to make it all happen. Yet as his influence grows, and he becomes the same King he had so admired as a boy, he must finally learn how to stop accumulating, and simply begin doing the good he had put off nearly all his life. 

Origin: Originally conceived as a children’s book to-be-illustrated by his girlfriend Sophie, “The Boy Who Only Wanted To Make Things Better” was liberated from its PG-shackles and evolved into something much darker than its original conception. The first half of the story written more than two years prior to the second (mirroring the extended hiatus taken by Hesse in drafting Siddhartha), this extended short story examines the ways that one’s search for personal greatness can hinder their ability to do good, and how one’s focus on the ends will invariably permit some very uncouth means. When we seek power in order to do good, it’s hard to know when enough is enough. 

(11,700 words; coming Dec 2020)