Into The Vale
an update, plus a new book from Clawfoot
Today I’m out of my cave with two bits to share: the first an update, the second a sort of sneak preview.
I have been doing alright, for those wondering. I’ve been doing my best to go “just keep moving” forward and so have subsequently run into a few (rather predictable) roadblocks and rough patches. You can know all the truths of life in theory but it’s still a surprise when one of them causes you to trip—this is all very cliche, but that’s the point. Life is just as hard and tumultuous as they say it is, and I’m here to tell you that I know it and I’m still doing my best to make it through.
I’ve been working on a new draft of a novel, codename Frank, of which I’ve posted excerpts here in the past. I have high hopes to complete this draft and to then let the thing rest. Give a shout if you’d like to be on the list of future readers. I am completely unsure of what the world will think of it. Here’s a clip:
The solemn air of the woods was peaceful for about fifteen seconds before I was surrounded suddenly by trees and silhouettes of the forest, the deep greens and glowing shadows. The sun had begun to set and so the darkness had amplified, the light growing dimmer as the Carriage Road went further into its forested tunnel.
Again I could not have said whether I actually heard the thing lurking behind me, or if I only believed it so intensely that I couldn’t have behaved in any other way.
I had to run. It felt natural, as though Almeida’s wine had given me an energy that needed to be burned off. It seemed right that the colors of the woods should be blurred, that I shouldn’t see anything clearly but my own feet, my legs as they pumped against the darkening ground. For a minute or two I felt like I could have run for miles without losing a step, and each minute felt like an eternity, a world in which I could have remained.
Other updates include that I just finished Patti Smith’s Just Kids, which has kept me company at night along with recordings of PWHL hockey games. I’ve been running at the gym, which to me is like going back to a drug that you used to have a lot of fun with when you were in college. I haven’t been writing much about movies but I did watch the Oscars telecast with a group of friends, and I was overjoyed to see Sentimental Value, my favorite of 2025, win Best International. I’ve been anxiously waiting for spring. Currently looking to find a local softball team to play with.
The second bit of news is that the team and I at Clawfoot Press are raising money this month for a new book: The Vale Barrier. If you’ve been here since the days of Haergrole and Victory Square, this will be a continuation of stories throughout the world of Ballea. If you’re new, know that The Vale Barrier will be a new collection of stories set in a fantastic country full of old-world charm, hulking locomotives, captains of industry, and whispers of magic.
The book will feature a new short story by yours truly – one told from the perspective of an academic who is contracted to write a dispatch from the northern regions of Ballea, where the legions of moneyed industrialists are blasting their way through the mountains to break into the World Beyond the Vale.
Please consider supporting our Kickstarter. The price of a (relatively cheap) new book helps support our mission as a community-based publisher and gets a copy of The Vale Barrier mailed to your door. You’ll also join our little community, receiving updates from us throughout the process.
All for now. Reach out with questions about the new book, or Ballea, or whatever – I’d be happy to chat.
Some more pics of life for the road:
Sounds like a book I would read! Can’t wait for you to finish!