[3] Prior to founding TooFar Media, he was a partner at the venture capital firm Crosspoint and a board member at AristaSoft and New Edge Networks.
[4][8] Shapero has been self-publishing since 2004, starting with Wild Animus (2004), Too Far (2010), The Hope We Seek (2014), Arms from the Sea (2016), Rin, Tongue and Dorner (2018) and Balcony of Fog (2020).
From the author's website: "Wild Animus tracks the reckless quest of Ransom Altman, a young Berkeley graduate who—roused by his literary heroes and love for his girlfriend, Lindy—resolves to live in a new world of 'inexhaustible desire.
'"[9] The initial idea came to him during his time at Berkeley in the late 60's and deals with the primal nature of man in pursuit of true self in the Alaskan wilderness.
[14] The novel was released under the imprint Outside Reading with three accompanying CDs, The Ram, The Wolves, and Animus, featuring musicians including Jim Keltner, James "Hutch" Hutchinson, Charles Bissell, Marc Ribot, and Iva Bittová, with art by François Burland and Adde Russell.
[10] The story was partially inspired by his young daughter's interest in the fantasy genre, and Shapero incorporated her ideas on character development into the final draft.
[20] The CD component, Dawn Remembers, features musicians including Maria Taylor (Azure Ray), Andy LeMaster (Bright Eyes), Joe Gore (PJ Harvey, Tom Waits), Marc Ribot (Tom Waits), Eric Drew Feldman (Captain Beefheart/PJ Harvey).
The songs are performed by Marissa Nadler and accompanied by Marc Ribot, Robert Powell, Andy LeMaster, Joe Gore and Son of Dave with Shapero on acoustic guitar and mandola.
[13] The plot "imagines a future in which humans are driven by the encroaching glaciers of a new ice age to live in a weather dome, "Clemency," where citizens are encouraged to regulate "temp"—both temperament and temperature—for the sake of the colony's survival.
Montreal-based band Elsiane was brought in for the album, with the vocals of Elsieanne Caplette used to portray "Tongue,"[26] a character described as "a weaving chorus of beckoning, provocative voices inside Dorner's head.