The Republic of Eastern Iowa (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798240996160)

When an unimaginable catastrophe plunges America into darkness, the people of Clinton, Iowa, suddenly find themselves cut off from the rest of the nation.

No phones. No internet. No television. No government instructions. No idea whether Washington still exists.

For Mayor Frank Ramey, survival means keeping the water running, feeding frightened citizens, maintaining order, and somehow preventing the city council from turning an apocalypse into a three-hour budget meeting.

For others, however, disaster presents opportunity.

As rumors spread, tempers fray, and ordinary people struggle to rebuild a semblance of civilization by lantern light, one ambitious National Guard officer begins to imagine a very different future-one in which eastern Iowa no longer answers to anyone.

Armed with equal measures of common sense, stubbornness, and Midwestern sarcasm, Frank and an unforgettable cast of city officials, soldiers, refugees, sanitation workers, and small-town eccentrics discover that preserving democracy may be far more difficult than rebuilding it.

By turns funny, absurd, suspenseful, and surprisingly heartfelt, The Republic of Eastern Iowa is a satirical look at what happens when the lights go out, the rules disappear, and perfectly ordinary people are forced to decide what kind of country they want to live in.

Because when civilization collapses, someone still has to pick up the garbage, organize the soup kitchen, and explain to the self-appointed Field Marshal why declaring independence might require a little more paperwork.

-From the author of The Cats Have Notes and The Eternal Trump