February 17, 2026
The Mural views a tragic event through the eyes of a muralist commissioned, along with 20 other artists, to create murals on the walls of the town square honoring those who lost their lives. Resembling the town square in Uvalde, the journey of the muralist in the novel, along with the other major characters, is one of trauma, love and a semblance of healing, despite efforts in our half-mast nation, to cancel him and his work.
“A gut punch. A beautiful, essential work. There is healing in grief, and art in tragedy, but ultimately this vital and visceral novel is a meditation on the impact of a radical extremism that—as Balman warns—has already gained a foothold in America. Balman's experience as a war correspondent bleeds into his stark, often explosive prose. His descriptions are painful and true. There are times you will want to look away. Don’t!”
-James Wade, Author
-Miguel Valverde Castillo, Artista Plástico
“A post-apocalyptic western that is equal parts Cormac McCarthy and Larry McMurtry.”
-Jill Gibson, Editor Los Alamos National Laboratory National Security Magazine
“Balman still writes like a journalist who spent years reporting war, genocide and the attempted rehabilitation of extremists. He spends little time on frivolous prose, which is why the book can feel eerie at times: almost like a news dispatch from the near future.”
-Eliza Dubose, The Eagle
Seventh Flag Trilogy
A harrowing follow-up to award-nominated novel, “Seventh Flag,” radicalism and white supremacy take center stage in “Murmuration.”
A sweeping work of historical fiction, “Seventh Flag” is a Micheneresque parable that traces the arc of radicalization in modern Western Civilization – reaffirming what it means to be an American in a dangerously divided nation.
