The Preview Looms

We are 10 Days away from my releasing the Preview to my book, The Fifth Man.

This complies with the $25 reward offered by the Jumpstarter Proposal I first launched on the 7th of February.  Following the work I've done on it today, I feel that I can confidentially define what that proposal is include.

Laid out as a standard size paperback, 135 pages (or thereabouts).  In words, 40,000.  This will make it slightly larger than the Dungeon's Front Door in terms of content.

I wanted very much to provide a substantial portion of the book without undermining the book's larger story arc - while at the same time providing something of a meaningful resolution to the arc that dominates that first third of the story.  I haven't spoken about that arc (as far as my brain can remember) - so it should be a pleasant surprise to the reader, without any spoilers whatsoever coming from this blog.

The reason for a big preview is two-fold: one, I felt people deserved a lot for their contribution to the jumpstarter.  My gentle readers made it possible for me to continue living in my present space long enough to finally find work and my gawd, that is unaccountably huge.  This means I am writing this at the same desk in the same room that I have happily occupied for more than seven years now.  I'm home, I'm in control, I'm alive and the world continues to spin with something resembling hope.  For that, I wanted to give a lot, as much as I could.

My second purpose is to demonstrate, as strongly as I can, that the book is not a false hope, like so many things associated with kickstarter campaigns.  I have a lot of work left to do on the remaining half of the book - I am estimating between 45,000 and 55,000 words left to craft according to previous drafts, adjustments and character development; plus editing those words and bringing the book to a solid conclusion.  Every inch of this thing is established in principle and context; I know what happens with and to every single character; this thing will get finished, barring the possibility of my actually dying before getting it finished (in which case the existing draft will at least be made available).  So there's no fear that the readers won't know what was supposed to happen.  I trust that this preview will lay any notions like that to rest.

If you're interested and you're not among the gang that has already make a donation, please jump forward and help me out: it's $25 for the preview, but you get a module and other content as well, if that matters.  I have a lot to write and I'd love it if I could work more on the book than on a flat top, a deep fryer or a dishwasher.

P.S.,

Thinking seriously of writing a post called "The 7 Things Everyone Forgets When Trashing The Fountainhead" . . . but that's probably a bad idea.  Hah.