Hi Everyone-Thanks for checking out my Kickstarter project. I hope you can help me fund my new book, Zomby Dick or, The Undead Whale. 

Yes, it's Melville's novel Moby Dick, or The Whale, re-imagined and rewritten to take place in a zombie universe.

Here's an image of the cover I've designed (artwork by Sinisa Banovic).

Why "Zomby Dick?" Why Me? 

This adaptation of Moby Dick simply had to be written. The idea took me by the throat and didn't let go until it was done with me. I figure it's only a matter of time until someone sets Moby Dick in a zombie universe, and I hope the first is the story that grabbed me by the throat.  

Since reading Moby Dick (by choice) as a young twerp, I've revisited it many times over the years, including an intensive study of the work 10 years ago that included a trip to New Bedford. Most recently, I listened to the yarn, the fantastic and artistic 1987 reading by Frank Muller.  

It's taking everything I can muster to not go Melville on you and explain the research I've done for this project in excruciating, loving detail, but one example is just too good to pass up. The beautiful music in the video above--The Bonnie Ship the Diamond, performed exquisitely by Blackeyed Biddy and used by gracious permission of GreenTrax--is a whaling chanty from the early 1800s. A verse of this Scottish tune (not a New Bedford one as Melville claimed) can be found at the tail-end of the "Extracts" chapter in Moby Dick. But wait, there's more. The tune itself tells of the 1830 whaling tragedy that took place in, of all places, Melville Bay. I know! 

Okay, thanks for reading this one and only digression into geekery (I promise).

I have 12 years of experience writing, producing, and publishing 5 other books of my own. Because the audiences for those are distinct from the audience for Zomby Dick, I am using "Livingstone" as a pen-name to separate the two. Not a big secret, but there you have it. I'm also a PhD candidate with most of my dissertation finished; and I've won fellowships for my writing (thank you, Fishtrap!). I'll bring all my writing, research, design and book-distribution expertise to bear in the creation and distribution of Zomby Dick or, The Undead Whale. 

To catch a glimpse of how my design of Zomby Dick looks, check out this PDF. It contains: front and back cover, title page, dedication page, table of contents, epigraph, and the first page of Chapter 1, Loomings.  

About the Story:

In this alternate universe, zombies began to lurch eastward from California in 1847, claiming the lives of Ishmael's wife and young child. Guilt and remorse over their deaths leads Ishmael to become a member of the reviled Militia, ragged bands of bounty hunters who kill and scalp all the zombies they can find. When the novel opens, Ishmael has spent the last two years fighting the undead and is bone-weary and heartsick after forcing himself to complete one final horrible task.

There, in 1849 Manhattan, we find Ishmael wallowing in the November of his soul. He flees his past and the plaguey land to ship aboard the ill-fated Pequod, ruled by mad dismasted Captain Ahab; but there is no escape. Incidents during the whaling voyage trigger flashbacks of the grisly and guilty memories Ishmael has tried to suppress. Through these flashbacks you learn the story of his life with Lilith and their daughter Gennie, and of his battles against zombies in the Militia.  

Ahab also gets a backstory, this one told through his fitfully scribbled log entries. You learn the truth about the loss of Ahab's leg; you discover why Ahab's own guilt regarding the zombie plague drives him to madness as he hunts the White Whale; and you'll learn more about enigmatic Fedallah, the Persian mystic, who reveals ancient and arcane knowledge regarding the true nature of the White Whale and zombies.

The book introduces two new types of zombies and toys a bit with the disease vector, but that's all I'm willing to say. I hate spoilers. However, honoring Melville's chapter "Cetology," in Zomby Dick you'll find the chapter "Zombology," in which the three types of zombies are elucidated. At length. You'll also learn the etymological origins of the archaic spelling of "zomby." 

Both Ishmael's and Ahab's backstories give an entirely different slant to what Melville laid out in the original Moby Dick, and I hope the new plot surprises you.

The Writing Approach:

I've taken a mash-up, remixing, DIY approach to the project. Writing demi-goddess and master teacher Ursula LeGuin recommends "killing your darlings" in the editing process; I've slaughtered many of Melville's darlings, but then brought some of the juiciest language back from the dead in Ishmael's backstory and Ahab's log. I've even pilfered some of Mr. Melville's later poetry. There is also a significant amount of original material from yours truly. This version of the story moves along more quickly than the original. 

Zomby Dick or, The Undead Whale is 97 chapters and 390 pages. The text is 99% done. Advanced copies are going out to select readers for feedback in early September and, if this project is successfully funded, an experienced, professional editor soon after. 

More Details about the Project:

The book's interior and cover have been designed and are nearly ready to go to print, including fantastic cover art by Sinisa Banovic. Backers at every level will receive a Creative Commons licensed hi-res copy of this cool piece of art one month before anybody else. You can see a bigger, better version of this cover art at ZombyDick.com.

Included in the book is the appropriate and gorgeous Kickstarter-funded font, Cristoforo (Victorian Cthulu) by Thomas Phinney, and it looks great! I'm an avid believer in Kickstarter, and have funded 40 projects so far, with a +90% success rate. 

To catch a glimpse of how my design of Zomby Dick looks, check out this PDF. It contains: front and back cover, title page, dedication page, table of contents, epigraph, and the first page of Chapter 1, Loomings. 

What Your Pledge Will Accomplish:

Pledges collected from you for this project, dear reader, will be used to do the following:

• Hire an accomplished professional editor to edit the book. 
• Pay for the initial print run of hardcover copies of Zomby Dick or, The Undead Whale. 
• Create and ship to you the reward of your choice. (Book, sticker, shirts, fine art print of the cover art, see other premium rewards to the right) 
• Pay for book distribution set-up. This includes set-up fees for Ingram and Baker & Taylor (the two biggies of book distribution), freight costs, and warehousing fees for storing printed books.
• Pay for a fun and functional web site (www.ZombyDick.com), not only to sell the book and related swag, but also to provide excellent resources for understanding Melville's original Moby Dick, and also to help people understand more about whales and whaling in the present day.
• Pay for a simple promotional campaign (postcard notifications, review copies out to reviewers and bloggers, a month or two of Google/FB ads, etc.)
• If we can double or triple the funding for this project, I should have the funds to produce an audiobook version of the text, too; I'm already scouting out voice talent. If you know of anyone who would be great for this project (or if you are such a person), like a celebrity who loves Moby Dick and zombies and who might be willing to read this version, hook me up!

A Statement Against all (Non-Fictional) Whaling:

The ocean has been vital to my own lifelong mental and physical health, just as it is for the whole planet. Despite the subject matter of the book, I vehemently do not support any form of whaling beyond the realms of fiction. I do however, support all forms of zombie/zomby slaughter in any realm. 

Thank You:

This has been an extremely fun and engaging project to work on, and I think the newly woven yarn holds together well and makes for a good read. Working on this project has given me a renewed and deeper appreciation of Mr. Melville's prodigious knowledge and masterful use of beautiful language. I sure hope you can help me bring this project to life!

Thanks for your time and attention.

Peace,
JD Livingstone