My next book to be released, The Fifth Line, was also an accidental pregnancy born from similar emotions. I wasn’t looking for a story or new project to write, it just sort of happened. The Fifth Line is the most personal thing I’ve ever written. A bulk of it is autobiographic. That said, it is still almost entirely fictional. I started writing it the day my grandfather (or Papaw, as we’ve always called him) died and finished it (in its rough, first draft form) two months later. It was tough to write at the time and, once I had finished that rough draft, I was almost certain that it’d never see the light of day. The thought of going back to it and working on it was just too painful. Some months went by. I started working on this current novel that I’m writing which is very, very long and detailed with a lot of characters…and I needed a break from it. I thought of The Fifth Line and thought it might deserve a second look. I read it over and it was pretty good. It was then when I decided that I was going to have it published and the heavy lifting really began.
The Fifth Line is very, very different when compared to the previous novel, Bunny Boy. While the latter was a dark, spit-in-our-face, doom and gloom horror novel, The Fifth Line really isn’t. It’s much more subtle and the horror elements of the novella are few and far between. It’s a ghost story of sorts, but not a horror story. If I had to describe it as anything, I would just say it’s general fiction with a few southern gothic elements. It’s a bit lighter than what I usually do.
The image below is the book’s cover. I think the artist did a great job on it and I can’t wait to see it released to the world on January 19th, 2024. I hope you’ll read it and enjoy it.
Prior to Booktober Fest, I’ll be heading to Richmond, Virginia for the USWFL National Championship weekend. My lovely wife is on the All-Star Team and might be in the championship game as well, so that’ll be a fun time. While we’re there, we’ll visit the Edgar Allan Poe Museum. I’ll try to post some pictures to Instagram!
Other than all of that, I’m still working and writing. Like I’ve said before, I’m currently writing this epic new novel and I’m having a lot of fun with that. I also just completed the first draft of a new short story. It’s pretty raw and needs some edits but maybe that’ll be out in the not too distant future? Who knows? I’m also still plugging away for the Daily Downforce. That’s been a hoot and I plan to represent them for the September race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hopefully all those pieces fit in place and we can make it happen.
In the future, look for some more promotional things to come out about The Fifth Line. I hope you’re as excited as I am.
Keep reading,
Your resident author,
-CW