Into the Quiet Barren

<p><strong>To find yourself first you must recognize what isn't yours to carry.</strong></p><p></p><p>December Valence writes for the only newspaper in Pluto City-a digital refuge hidden from the raging civil war above. When mysterious power outages begin plaguing the city and her paper remains conspicuously silent December's carefully constructed reality begins to fracture.</p><p></p><p>With each blackout memories return-fragments of her forgotten role in bringing people to this sanctuary. When her attempt to report the truth is blocked December initiates a covert exploration of what Pluto City really is and what that makes her: savior or accomplice? As the boundaries between simulation and reality blur December must unravel the city's secrets while confronting her own complicity in building this dubious paradise.</p><p></p><p>With haunting prose and startling vision INTO THE QUIET BARREN examines the stories we tell ourselves to survive and the courage it takes to seek truth in a world built on gilded fictions.</p>