Bad Americans: Part I
The Human Tragedy, Volume 2
by Tejas Desai
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Pub Date Sep 15 2025 | Archive Date Sep 15 2025
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Description
Summer 2020: the Covid-19 Pandemic is raging. A reclusive billionaire, Olive Mixer, calls twelve diverse & lonely Americans to his mansion complex in the Hamptons: nurses, lawyers, mechanics, social workers, students, financial analysts, soldiers, uber drivers, engineers, hair salon operators. During the day, the guests meet, compete, date, dine, flirt and fight. Each night, one must tell the group a story.
Their tales range widely in subject, style, length and decorum. Many stories respond to each other. They trigger passionate debate and fiery resistance. They change how characters perceive each other and affect the trajectory of the frame narrative. They make us ponder the nature of storytelling itself.
Bad Americans is part Boccaccio and part The Bachelor, but it is a creation all its own. Both a novel and short story collection, Bad Americans is at once a powerful portrait of the American pandemic experience and an examination of narrative itself. Bad Americans: Part I is the second volume of the profound and daring anthology series The Human Tragedy, following the subversive classic Good Americans. Bad Americans: Part II will be released on April 15, 2026.
A Note From the Publisher
Inspired by classics like The Decameron & The Canterbury Tales, as well as reality shows like The Bachelor and Big Brother, BAD AMERICANS is a Novel and Short Story Collection IN ONE.
It's Summer 2020 and the Covid-19 Pandemic is raging. New York City has been locked down for months. 12 diverse Americans, lonely and single, are selected via a dating app competition by billionaire Olive Mixer to stay at his ornate Hamptons mansion complex for 12 nights.
During the day, the guests meet, compete, date, dine, flirt and fight. Each night, one must tell the group a story.
Their tales range widely in subject, style, length and decorum. Many stories respond to each other. They trigger passionate debate and fiery resistance. They change how characters perceive each other and affect the trajectory of the frame narrative. They make us ponder the nature of storytelling itself.
More importantly, each story portrays a different aspect of American life in a vivid, accurate, innovative, entertaining and thought-provoking way.
All 12 stories can be enjoyed independently and are being published as ebooks ahead of the publication of the frame novel to be released in two Parts. Please scroll down for the full release schedule.
Advance Praise
"Tejas Desai skillfully examines human nature and Americanism, complete with all of its flaws, frustrations, absurdities, and convolutions. Bad Americans: Part 1 is an important contribution to our postmodern roaring twenties."
-- Raj Tawney, author of Colorful Palate: A Flavorful Journey Through a Mixed American Experience
"In an age when authors are increasingly turning inward and literature seems to have gotten smaller, Tejas Desai has accomplished the remarkable task of writing about a topic as large as Covid, with a canvas as broad as the United States itself. This is a compelling story that is driven by an extensive cast of characters, each vivid in their own way. Together they comprise the mosaic of New York City's outer borough of Queens, whether Chechen, Filipino, Jewish, Taiwanese, or African American; they work as nurses and bloggers and pizza deliverers, in finance, hair salons, and hospitals. Desai weaves them all together seamlessly as he tackles the aftereffects of a deadly virus that no two characters either experience or absorb in the same way, raising many more questions than answers as the narrative unfolds. The author also has a fine eye for details--the ventilators and N95 masks that populate this medical battlefield. In the end, Desai makes us care about all these characters, and he leaves us wanting to know more about their stories. It makes for a captivating read."
-- William J. McGee, author of HALF THE CHILD and ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS
"The distinction between a dated book and a timeless book emerges in whether or not its subject matter hits upon universal notes. This is a book about COVID and Trump and many other soon-to-be dated subjects. And yet Tejas has focused his real ire upon death, his real hope upon love, and his deepest reflections upon the meaning of life itself."
— Lancelot Schaubert; author of Bell Hammers, Songwriter of H.A.L.T.S., filmmaker for Alaska
"This vivid recollection of the bad times of COVID-19 not only dives into the hardships and harsh realities of those years, the death, hardships, and the emotional toll it took from all of us but lays open the toxic politics and divisiveness that time whipped up. And the author does this not as a typical novel, setting up a single narrative, but presenting a mix of forms told from many points of view, some opposing and others sympathetic. From spoken word to novella, and short story to episodic arch, the book mixes the poor with the wealthy, immigrant and citizen, a swath of races, nationalities, and political stances. By holding all these ideas tightly together, he lets loose the natural frisson of these juxtapositions. The variety of narrative forms stands out as a particular strength, rising above partisanship and letting the underlying humanity show through. Much like the Decameron did during the Black Death almost 700 years ago." -- W. Lance Hunt, author of A Perfect Blindness
"With Bad Americans, Tejas Desai poignantly describes the effects of Covid on NYC through a compelling fictional storyline. Twelve individuals are chosen to spend twelve nights at a billionaire's house in the Hamptons during the height of the pandemic. They vary in political, social, sexual, vocational, and economic backgrounds. After days of leisure with group activities each night a different personalized story is told. All twelve of the character stories are so gripping that you'll want to know what comes next."
-- M.C. Allison, Librarian & Blogger
Marketing Plan
Current Publishing Schedule for BAD AMERICANS:
Individual internal stories released as Kindle Ebooks:
"On the Frontlines" (aka Andrea's Story, novelette) -- March 15, 2025
"Immigrants Unite!" (aka Cathy's Story, spoken word poetic tale) -- April 15, 2025
"Corona Chaos" (aka Taylor's Story, short story) -- May 15, 2025
"Black Boy's Ballad" (aka Rashan's Story, novella) -- June 15, 2025
"Mason Mayhem" (aka Ricard's Story, novelette) -- July 15, 2025
"Love Liability" (aka Nalini's Story, novelette) -- August 15, 2025
Part One of Novel containing six stories above, in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and possibly audiobook format:
BAD AMERICANS PART I (frame novel with six stories) -- September 15, 2025
Individual internal stories released as Kindle Ebooks:
"Barcelona Blasphemy" (aka Lisa's Story, novelette) -- October 15, 2025
"ISIS Crisis" (aka Khassan's Story, short story) -- November 15, 2025
"A Model Citizen" (aka Hayley's Story, novelette) -- December 15, 2025
"Cape Conundrum" (aka Pritesh's Story, novelette) -- January 15, 2026
"The Manchurian Algerian" (aka Sylvania's Story, novelette) -- February 15, 2026
"Dope Double Ditty" (aka Angela's Story, novella) -- March 15, 2026
Part Two of Novel containing six stories above, in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and possibly audiobook format:
BAD AMERICANS PART II (frame novel with six stories) -- April 15, 2026
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9781734727845 |
| PRICE | $6.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 479 |
