About this project

Hello friends, Snarkmarket readers, Twitter pals, and internet gremlins!

I'm writing a book: a detective story set halfway between San Francisco and the internet. And the more people who reserve a copy, the better each one will be!

The basic setup is: Imagine a Sherlock Holmes for the 21st century. All the really good cases are on the internet. And Holmes is a woman, and Watson is an A.I., and San Francisco... oh, poor San Francisco...

To get a feel for the style and setting, check out a short story I published recently, Mr. Penumbra's Twenty-Four-Hour Book Store. Basically, if you enjoy it, and think "hmm, yes, I'd read more like this," this project is the way to make it happen.

Now, the goal of this project is to put a book in your hands. And the cool thing about books is that they enjoy tremendous economies of scale. So here's the opportunity: as more people reserve books, everybody's book gets better, because a bigger print run means everything is cheaper.

If I can get 300 backers, the book will be really nice: perfect-bound with a crisp color cover. If I can get 600 backers, suddenly we're talking better materials, more colors... maybe even hardcover?

And more than 600...? Why, it'll be made of PURE GOLD.

The whole process is going to be really fun, too. Any amount of support gets you behind-the-scenes access, and I'm going to share ideas, sketches, observations, and questions as I go.

I won't give away any secrets, though.

So, I'm aiming for novella length—about 30,000 words—which is a length that's reasonable for me to write and for you to read. I'm writing this right now. My deadline for finished and edited text is October 31. I'll design the book in the two weeks after that, then get it printed, then send it winging your way.

Update: I've reached and exceeded my goal, but I'm still after your support. The collective incentive described above still applies; more books reserved means better books for everybody. And, keep in mind, this is the only way to get a copy of this "zero-th edition" of the book. I'll be producing them for Kickstarter backers... and then never again! Check out the "Updates" tab for a sense of how I'm doing right now, and then—I hope—jump aboard!