Zimrone

Zimrone is more than just the official residence of Vesteek’s head of government; it is a gigantic, opulent monument to colonial history—a blinding white fortress of stucco and marble built against the relentless tropical heat. Within its echoing, high-ceilinged rooms resides Viceroy Dr. Rave Parzam, a brilliant billionaire Ph.D. who himself rose from the impoverished neighborhood of Densome Itchie. This collection of short stories peels back the formal façade of power, presenting the reality of governing Vesteek through the intimate eyes of the people who maintain the house and the man within it: Nessabella Thoms, the Executive Assistant, who tracks the flow of state secrets and knows the true meaning of the three distinct knocks at the Viceroy’s door. Goswin Thyles, the Driver, who grew up with Parzam in Densome Itchie and cannot reconcile the powerful man in his back seat with the struggling kid he remembers from Groveridge High. Elara Baptiste, the Head Groundskeeper, who wages a silent, daily war against the salt air, the jungle, and the tenacious roots of the strangler fig that seek to dismantle Zimrone's brittle foundation. Zimrone is a compelling study of class, history, and the quiet labor that sustains political might, revealing the vast, human cost of maintaining an image of impenetrable authority in a fragile world.