About the author
Roy Sharples is the Founder, President and Chief Creative Officer of Unknown Origins on a mission to unlock everyones creative potential.
Manifesto
Manifesto
ALCHEMY OF THE IMPERFECTIONISTS
Alchemy of the Imperfectionists is a novel by Roy Sharples—a darkly comic literary satire set partly in Edinburgh—exploring ambition, burnout, and identity in a world where creativity becomes currency and the self becomes something to perform. It is the story of a man who got everything he wanted—and then had to live with it.
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THE STORY​
Argyle Mackintosh is a celebrated art–tech founder.
He built a life others admire.
A narrative others believe.
A version of himself that worked.
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Until it didn’t.
Burned out by success, he returns to Edinburgh—back to where it began. Not to fix it. To face it.
What waits is not resolution, but recognition. Of what he built. Of what it cost. Of what remains.
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WHAT IT EXPLORES
Ambition, sustained until it becomes pressure.
Burnout, disguised as success.
Identity, shaped until it no longer feels like your own.
A literary satire of modern success.
A novel about creativity as currency.
A story about the cost of becoming what the world expects.
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WHY IT MATTERS
Because success can distance you from yourself.
Because the version of you that wins is not always the one that endures.
Because there comes a moment—quiet, unavoidable—when you have to decide who you are without the story.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Roy Sharples works across creativity, identity, and innovation.
Author of Creativity Without Frontiers and Alchemy of the Imperfectionists.
He writes to see what lasts—and what never did.
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FAQs
What is Alchemy of the Imperfectionists about?
Alchemy of the Imperfectionists is a novel by Roy Sharples about a celebrated art–tech founder confronting ambition, burnout, and identity as success begins to unravel.
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Who is Roy Sharples?
Roy Sharples is the author of Alchemy of the Imperfectionists and an entrepreneur focused on creativity, identity, and innovation.
What themes does the novel explore?
The novel explores ambition, burnout, identity, creativity as currency, and the cost of modern success.
Where is Alchemy of the Imperfectionists set?
The novel is set partly in Edinburgh, where the protagonist returns to confront his past, his success, and himself.