Honored to receive these generous words of endorsement about my debut novel, Rogue Burnout, by none other than Ralph Pennel, Fiction Editor at Midway Journal. Thank you, Ralph! 😊

Ralph Pennel is author of an excellent book of poetry, A World Less Perfect for Dying In among many other stories and poems, and is Fiction Editor for Midway Journal. Beyond his stunning fiction and poetry, Ralph is a generous, supporting editor who has graciously recently given my story, “Latibule,” a fine home. Check out Ralph’s work on his website.

Find out more about Rogue Burnout here, and feel invited to sign up for book updates there. Rogue Burnout is represented by Mark Gottlieb at Trident.

Full endorsement:
“Rogue Burnout, the dynamic debut novel by Mike Piero, is all at once part Tales of the City, part The Song of Achilles, and part Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. In Rogue Burnout, Piero deftly and conscientiously explores themes of identity, belonging, and understanding, as Simon, the main character and a rouge who goes by the name of Pan, struggles to navigate the sometimes unforgiving world of competitive esports gaming, which is complicated at almost every turn by underlying toxic heteronormativity. In his search, though, Simon finds not just a path to self-acceptance, but he also finds a life partner, who helps him overcome the subjugation and tyranny of gender cisnormativity. Piero’s novel is as much a philosophical inquiry on being (reflecting on Adorno, Derrida, Barthes, Baudrillard, and others) as it is a lyrical ode and reimagining/retelling of the coming-of-age genre. Rogue Burnout is as smart as it is speculative and funny, and it will keep readers glued to their seats to the very end.”