Yes! It is at last that exciting time again, when I have done to the Work In Progress about all I can do for it at present, short of remembering all the Oxford commas and/or setting it on fire.
I am therefore preparing to send it out to a select group of dauntless volunteers who will do their level best to read it and then tell me (ideally uniting civility and truth) what they think of it. Or, failing that, upon what page the book lost the ceaseless battle with that struggle we call Life.
The manuscript (which for some reason we still call a manuscript even though I did not write it by hand) currently tops the scale at about 108,000 words. (For purposes of comparison: the published version of Restoration Day is about 100,000.)
So – are you brave, are you dauntless, and more to the point, do you have some time in the next three or four weeks you’d like to spend reading a fantasy novel hitherto unread by eye of man (or woman, or small furry creature from Alpha Centauri)? If so, let me know in the comments, or send me a message through the Contact form.
The alert and discerning among you will have noticed that no title has as yet been mentioned for this mysterious work. The working title is Nameless. The book itself is nameless. The main character is nameless. (cough) Potential titles may well be one of the things you are offered the opportunity to give your opinion on.
Similarly alert readers may likewise have noticed that there is no back cover copy provided to give you an inkling of what it is you are letting yourself in for. This is because writing the back cover copy is just about as hard a job as writing the book itself, and the inexorable march of time has enmeshed us all in the toils of mortality, or something along those lines.
Perks of heroically volunteering include the first look at the new book (albeit in pupa form) and the infinitesimal drop of immortality that is getting your name in the Acknowledgements (optional).
And if none of this has put you off…well, I very much look forward to hearing from you.
You know I’ve been hanging out for this day! Yes please :-). And I am happy to report that as of today, my other pressing responsibilities are lessening – famous last words, I know, but hopefully I’ll be able to choose when I can set aside time to read and enjoy, and of course critique your next book. It’s high time I had something fun to read!
*puts hand up
I’m happy to have a good read to look forward to, as I’ve finished LOTR.
Tough act to follow! But thank you – have a look in your inbox.
Good morning Deborah,
We have the perfect weather to curl up and enjoy a brand new book.
It will be an honor to beta test your latest masterpiece.
Definitely reading-by-the-fire-with-a-hot-drink weather, isn’t it? The file should be in your inbox now.