Publication Date: October 6, 2026
One man. Zero chance of winning. Nothing left to lose.
After the pandemic costs him his career-and his sense of purpose-Tristan Heller makes an unthinkable decision: he runs for president of the United States. Not to win, but to say what no one else will.
Backed by a scrappy crew of Silicon Valley outsiders, Tristan’s long-shot campaign cuts through the noise of the 2024 election with blunt, incendiary truth. What begins as a protest quickly gains traction-drawing in voters hungry for honesty…and attention from far more dangerous forces.
As his message spreads, so does the backlash.
Online fury spills into the real world. Money, misinformation, and power close ranks. And Tristan finds himself in a fight he never intended to start-against a system that doesn’t reward disruption, and the people who will do anything to silence it.
In a nation defined by division, speaking the truth can make you a target.
A sharp, provocative literary novel with the pulse of a political thriller, Tristan 4 America explores the fault lines of modern democracy-from campaign finance and disinformation to identity, power, and the high cost of dissent.
When his job is eliminated in the aftermath of the pandemic, a man channels his talent via an unlikely source.
Author Bruce Overby introduces readers to Tristan Heller in Tristan 4 America. He launches a presidential campaign he can’t possibly win, but it gives him an outlet to deliver his own narrative.
With somewhat veiled references to “The Navel,” Tristan stumps for the Democrats by laying his plans on the line to “crush the modern Republican Party.”
His charismatic sales background makes for perfect sound bites, garnering all sorts of attention. In an emotionally charged political climate, that openness comes with a price.
Tristan 4 America reflects the unintended consequences of an ordinary citizen entering the political arena.
Bruce Overby is a native of San Jose, California, with an MFA in Writing from Queens University of Charlotte. He is also a veteran of a 35-year career in Silicon Valley. His story “Bookmarks” won First Prize in the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, and his debut novel, The Cyclone Release, published in November 2022, was a finalist in the Madville Publishing Blue Moon Novel Competition. His second novel, Tristan 4 America, is due out from Willow River Press in October 2026.
