While writing and illustrating a new children’s book, Nicholas, age twenty-two, conceives of an innovative, universally accessible money concept. His idea could dramatically change how people earn money and choose to make a living. Unsure of what to do with his idea, he delays developing and promoting it, abandoning his chance at a life-transforming entrepreneurial future. Instead, he takes an unplanned career detour working as a consumer products art director with a company that markets innovative gadgets and gifts.

Consumed with his job, he ignores the warning signs that his success-driven life is slowly unraveling. A chance meeting with Paige, an aspiring musician, and songwriter unlocks a powerful creative connection. They immediately discover that they both view their lives through their favorite song lyrics. During their time together, Paige witnesses a miraculous phenomenon that only she can see. Energized by the experience, she fearlessly embraces the unknown and begins to express the unlimited range of her creative abilities. While Paige strengthens her connection to this rarefied source of creativity, she identifies restless energies linked to Nicholas’s dormant future.

Meanwhile, Nicholas maintains the illusion he’s living a fulfilling life.

 The story unfolds during an idyllic, Santa Barbara, California summer in 1979. A transformational year, when the counterculture retreated from center stage, and the young, urban professional class began its media promoted ascent. The Creative Trade is a magic realism novel about the courage required to sustain a creative life and the invisible depths of human connectivity.