My editor's initial feedback on chapter one of my next novel...

Blazing Reader,

I sent chapter one of my forthcoming novel, COVID Disobedience, off to my editor, Pete "Typolino" Toccalino. Here was his reaction to the first 1,000 words:

"In my opinion, this first chapter is very well written... and really delivers a lot of information about characters, time period, and the direction the narrative will take very efficiently and amusingly. You also pulled off some entertaining, and I think true to form, 1800s New England dialogue... accompanied by great descriptions of dress and mannerisms."

Half the story is set in 1846, Massachusetts (with Henry David Thoreau), the other half in 2020, Sudbury, Ontario (with Stefanie Müller from Much Ado About Corona). So it's a bit of a historical fiction.

Here's an excerpt from the opening paragraphs:

— ONE — 
As Men of Reason Are Wont
Concord, Massachusetts, United States of America
Friday, 23 July 1846

“I am main sorry, Mr… Mr. Thoreau,” stuttered Constable Sam Staples, “but I must… You have left me no choice in the matter… With my most sincere apologies… I am obliged to take youinto custody.”

There, I’ve finally done it, thought Staples, as the tension in his shoulders subsided.

Constable Staples stood face to face with Henry David Thoreau on the wooden sidewalk along Sudbury Road, before Hawkin’s barbershop. Staples had not sought the young man out — nay, he’d been dodging him these many weeks. Thoreau’s detention wasn’t a matter of public safety, but it was five years overdue. Staples had sworn to the council that next time he encountered Thoreau’s impish grin, he’d perform his duty. 

Thoreau offered no retort to Staples’ halting words.

Instead, thought Staples, his vexing smile widens at the mention of ”custody,” as if I had bid him to a lyceum lecture ’stead of the county jail. 

 I thought COVID Disobedience was going to be a short novella, but it ended up being a 55,000-word novel. But the finish line is approaching. My current goal is to have this published by April for Easter.

—John C.A. Manley

P.S. COVID Disobedience is a prequel to Much Ado About Corona. So if you haven't read Much Ado About Corona yet, you still have time. You can purchase a copy in ebook, paperback, hardcover or audiobook format at: http://MuchAdoAboutCorona.com

John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona, All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of philosophical fiction that are "so completely engaging that you find yourself alternately laughing, gasping, hanging on for dear life." Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber.