Release Date: February 17, 2026
He shot granny in the face then murdered 19 children and two teachers at Grape Valley Elementary School in West Texas.
So begins The Mural, Pulitzer-nominated war correspondent and author Sid Balman’s fictional account of the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Tx., that shook the nation to its core.
Told from the perspective of Jasper Losoya, an artist raised in the West Texas town of Grape Valley, the fictional location of the massacre, who is commissioned along with others to paint commemorative murals of the victims in the town square. Losoya is in Pompeii with his assistant, Coraline Larkin, a young Irish woman who lost her hearing and her father in a Belfast bombing, restoring an ancient mural in the Villa of Mysteries when they receive news of the mass murder.
All the main characters have been touched by trauma: Riley Page, former Marine sniper and current Texas Border Patrolman raised in rural Pennsylvania who breaches the classroom door and puts down the assassin; Adrianna Swiftwater, Losoya’s half Sioux half Brazilian lover who forges bells at the experimental Arcosanti community in Arizona; Ronin Abraham, constitutional lawyer, southern Jew and Coraline’s partner; and the Santa Marias, whose daughter Ycela perished in the shooting.
Losoya’s mural sparks a controversy over censorship and cancel culture that lands in the US Supreme Court, dividing a ‘half-mast nation’ as it lurches from one trauma to another.
Ultimately, The Mural is a testament to the power of love and the natural world to heal trauma and lead its characters to the light at the end of a dark labyrinth.
Available for pre-sale now everywhere
“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, two-time Spur Award–winning author of Narrow The Road
-Miguel Valverde Castillo, Artista Plástico
“The variety and complexity of Balman’s characters are testament to the many facets of the people who make up the state of Texas and America as a whole. . . . The Mural celebrates freedom of speech, artistic expression, and the power of love . . .”
—Journal of the American Studies Association of Texas
The Author
A Pulitzer-nominated national security correspondent and Writer in Residence at Sul Ross State University, Sid Balman Jr. has covered wars in the Persian Gulf, Somalia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo, and has traveled extensively with two American presidents and four secretaries of state on overseas diplomatic missions. After leaving daily journalism, he helped found a news syndicate focused on the interests of women and girls, served as the communications chief for the largest consortium of US international development organizations, led two progressive campaigning companies, and launched a new division at a large international development firm centered on violent radicalism and other security issues on behalf of governments. In addition to his current position as Writer In Residence at Sul Ross State University, Balman remains a working journalist and magazine contributor. A fourth-generation Texan, as well as a climber, surfer, paddler, and benefactor to Smith College, Balman lives in Alpine, TX, and has two children and a dog.
The Artist
Miguel Valverde was born in Cuauhtemoc, Chihuahua, Mexico and began painting at a very young age. He obtained an art degree from the Autonomous University of Chihuahua (UACh). His paintings reflect the diversity of his hometown, where he lived among Mennonites, Indigenous people of the Sierra Tarahumara, Mestizos and Spanish-born families. Following in the footsteps of traditional Mexican muralists, Valverde has created more than 50 intricate murals, several of which have become widely renowned. Valverde's art and talent have given him the opportunity to exhibit his art in Mexico, the USA, Belgium, Austria and Germany.
His works are on display in museums and private collections.
Advance Praise
-Jill Gibson, The Journal Of The American Association Of Texas Studies
Upcoming Appearances
Seventh Flag Trilogy
