Counting Crows

Tina, now in her 40s, is a famous Iranian painter living in Manhattan, but her life is fraying at the seams. Raised in the chaos of 90s Tehran, where the American dream and rock music flickered like dreams never come true, Tina grew up fighting for a freedom that always felt like a crime. Now, married to a great husband with her dream job and life, she’s struggling in ways she never expected. Stuck in a creative block for her latest career-defining project, Self.

Amidst this struggle, memories of a boy named Gus returns. Their accidental meetings in the dive bars and cafés of Grand Rapids. Right places, wrong times, and feelings that are left unresolved. Her search for him becomes a borderline obsession, as she’s convinced that finding Gus could be the key to unlocking the art—and the self—she’s lost.

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Counting Crows is part of a unique duology created in collaboration with Aaron Paul Schaut, published by hypercats publishing, where two interconnected stories are told from the perspectives of Tina and Gus. While Counting Crows focuses on Tina’s journey from 1990s Iran to the United States as she navigates cultural struggles, creative expression, and personal freedom, its companion novel, Lover’s Rock, delves into Gus’s experiences, capturing his coming-of-age and reflections on love, loss, and memory.

Together, the books explore themes of identity, nostalgia, and the unspoken connection between two individuals shaped by their distinct yet intertwined paths. This collaboration allows for a richer exploration of shared experiences from two distinct voices, offering readers a multidimensional take on love, longing, and the passage of time.