If fate had played its cards differently, we wouldn’t be talking about this as book. You’d be sitting in the velvet-lined seats of a Broadway theatre, bathed in golden light as the opening overture swelled through the air. You’d watch as a story unlike any other unfolded—one rooted in real events yet shaped by a decade of relentless ambition, heartbreaking setbacks, and a dream that refused to die.

But that’s not what happened.

And now, this book exists. Not because it was meant to, but because there was no other way forward.

The Bus Ride That Started It All

The first domino fell on an ordinary day—December 2013. I was on a chartered bus winding through the breathtaking Hunter Wine Region, expecting a day of quiet indulgence, a well-earned escape from the chaos of an exhausting year. But while my eyes traced the rolling vineyards, my mind was elsewhere—locked in a restless battle between the need to unwind and the nagging weight of unfinished ambitions.

Then it happened.

A song—a melody I had heard a thousand times before—drifted through the bus speakers, filling the air like an old friend stepping into the room. It wasn’t just nostalgia. It wasn’t just music. It was a calling.

In that instant, the weight of 2013, my fatigue, my frustrations—all of it dissolved. That melody wrapped itself around the scenery before me, blending memory with reality. As the song played, I wasn’t just listening—I was seeing. Characters formed, a world unfolded, and suddenly, I knew: this story had to be told.

Fast-Forward Two Years—A Line in the Sand

By late 2015, two years had passed in what felt like the blink of an eye. The idea had consumed me. Every day, every passing thought, every quiet moment—it was there. A creative fire refused to burn out, yet the pen had never met the paper.

Until the moment I cornered myself with a decision I could never undo. 'Make it fly or make it die'.

No more excuses. No more procrastination. This was it—all in or nothing.

And so, the project began. Words poured out, visions sharpened, and what started as a fleeting moment on a bus transformed into the blueprint for a Broadway musical.

It was bold. It was ambitious. It was the kind of thing people call crazy until they see it succeed.

But success never came.

The Missing Permission—The Key That Locked the Door

After years of relentless work, I had a finished libretto—a complete musical script ready to be workshopped. All that stood between me and Broadway was a single, unavoidable hurdle: I needed permission from one person. Without it, the show couldn’t move forward.

And here’s where the mystery deepens.

I had the story. I had the script. I had the vision for a Broadway smash hit—but I couldn’t even get past the gatekeepers. Every attempt to gain traction ran into a wall, and no matter how much effort, time, or strategy I put in, the answer remained the same: No green light, no workshop, no Broadway.

Then, as if the universe had a cruel sense of irony, the world shut down.

The Collapse—And the Story That Refused to Die

COVID-19 arrived like an uninvited wrecking ball, tearing through the industry, the world, and my life as I knew it.

Broadway closed.
Funding dried up.
The musical remained trapped in limbo.

To make matters worse, my own personal world was unraveling. My marriage ended. My income disappeared for 18 months. And as the most locked-down city in the world kept me trapped inside a spiraling chaos, my mental and emotional well-being hit rock bottom.

The dream of seeing this story come to life was slipping away, fast.

Until one decision saved it.

If I couldn’t put it on Broadway, I could put it in your hands instead.

The Novel You Weren’t Supposed to Have

And that’s why you’re here, reading this. This book exists because it had to. Because I refused to let a decade of work vanish into nothing.

If things had gone the way they should have, you wouldn’t be holding this story—you’d be experiencing it live, on the grandest stage of them all. But fate had other plans, and so here we are.

And if you're a die-hard fan of the music woven through these pages, you might already be picking up the hidden references throughout this note. Every chapter is riddled with them—song titles, lyrics, famous quotes, moments of history—woven seamlessly into the fabric of the narrative.

In fact, there’s an appendix in the back listing every reference. If you're up for the challenge, see how many you can spot.

The Final Challenge—Can You Solve It?

If it were up to me, I’d tell you straight up and give you a copy of the book to boot, but I’m not in a position to enter into a legal ‘David & Goliath’ stoush. So I’m leaving it up to you - the mystery is yours to unravel.

Who is the superstar?
What is Seen the Lights go out on Broadway truly about?
And when the time finally comes—does it deserve its moment in the Broadway spotlight?

Until then, the clues are in your hands.

🔥 Think you’ve figured it out? Subscribe for the next chapter. 🚀

The Story You Were Not Supposed to Read