The changing climate is here already, but what does the future look like in the Berkshires as the consequences of climate change get worse?

David Guenette, author of the literary climate fiction series The Steep Climes Quartet, discusses the effect of climate change in our day-to-day lives. The series presents Berkshire County-based, deeply explored characters experiencing climate change as the rising greenhouse gases exact costs on us. Kill Well takes place in 2026 and Dear Josephine in 2029, and the author will illustrate key points in the presentation using excerpts from these novels.

What can be done about climate change is the oft-asked question by many American citizens. The transition away from a fossil fuel-based energy system to a clean energy system is the most fundamental and effective action we can pursue nationally and internationally, but we can expect the massive and well-entrenched fossil fuel industry to strive for current profit levels for as long as possible.

Perhaps the biggest challenge ahead for us is to understand the real-world concerns we should focus on, including the cost of climate change in our own households. Can we accept these costs and is there really any other choice? After all, doing nothing about reducing carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions is the vastly more expensive choice of all.

Manuscript work for Book Three, Over Brooklyn Hills, with action taking place in 2035, is underway with an expected publication date of December 2025. The fourth and final book in the series, Farm to Me, is set in 2049 and will publish in 2026.