A Blue State — Michael Williams

What would you do if the country you called home, and the state you loved growing up and collecting memories in, had changed so much, as to no longer be recognizable? What might you do if it changed into a nightmare? To what lengths would you go to get out loved ones trapped behind? In his new novel, A Blue State, set in a politically dystopian near future, author Michael Williams takes readers on a journey into a new era of civil, political, and state division within America. Drastic change has come to Daniel Hanson's beloved home state of Minnesota, as the post-pandemic litigation events of 2023 divide the country into two factions: conservative states still identifying as the United States of America; and the more liberal states, who have left the union to form the Enlightened States of America (ESA). The intermixing of countries works for a while, until one of the countries becomes much better off economically, with vast more freedoms and less restrictions, than the other. Minnesota, as part of the new ESA, has become a place of lawlessness and corrupt socialism. Now residing in Tennessee - which still identifies as a part of the old United States - Daniel has built a good life with family and friends. But, the news of things going from bad to worse in the ESA Minnesota compel Daniel to make a last, desperate journey to save his sister and niece from the dying freedoms and terrors found back in his old home. Can he reconcile his former life and rescue his family before it's too late? Michael Williams has published numerous works of fiction and non-fiction over his career. He is a former finalist for the Minnesota Book Award and the recipient of the 2019 Archway Award for Best Fiction. His non-fiction books about travel and the theme park industry are continually listed on best-seller lists. He began writing after a career in music, he has a master's degree in music from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. In his private life, Williams enjoys theme parks, Christmas, playing the piano, and creating elaborate gingerbread houses.