It's obviously been a while.
The last two years have seen a lot of changes. I worked a big-boy job at Chicago-Kent College of Law working as a kind of jack-of-all-trades. I told folks it was like working at non-magical Hogwarts because Law Professors are wonderfully eccentric, highly intelligent people, and we had lots of lavish banquets. Just like in Hogwarts. All the while, I slowly chipped away at Manetowak: a sentence here, a chapter there.
Due to Illinois' nasty Education budget cuts, I got cut loose at Chicago-Kent and figured I'd try my hand at freelancing work. My time at Kill Screen paid off and I got a regular board-game column. During my time in Chicago, I've turned to a lot of analogue gaming, bringing people together around a shared table to play and explore board games. I got to meet some of my tabletop heroes at Gen Con like Isaac Vega and Gil Hova.
All the while, Manetowak has undergone some steady, careful evolution. A character I didn't like suddenly evolved and became a strong, female police officer named Alice, who added some new twist to each chapter. Her role in the novel can't be understated: she has completely changed how each scene plays out. Her presence has upset the chemistry of each character interaction in the best way possible.
In August 2016, I took on a job at Venmo which has made life very comfortable, and given me more time and energy to continue these revisions. I also got a tattoo. Currently, the novel has 60,000 publishable words (which puts me at about halfway). While I can't provide any samples for distribution, feel free to contact me and I could hook you up with a taste if you're interested in reading.
There are further changes ahead, and some significant work to be done before it'll be ready for publication, but the work is real, and the process has turned up some alarming (and delightful) surprises so far. If you liked Stranger Things, weird local history, cults, blood, Twin Peaks, the Midwest, industrial accidents, or small-town police procedurals, I think you'll dig this book.
Thanks for reading. Don't be a stranger.