Act one.
There are several reasons why
we’re posting this story in Acts. The
most important one to me is that this is a project that St. Barb is illustrating.
The art she creates takes time, and there is not enough time for her
to be brilliant if we try to put this giant, nearly 100,000-word thing up at
all once. Others include wanting to keep the website vital.
I’d rather provide a minimum of one good 50-page story (the average length
of the Acts in 1.5 spacing, smaller than manuscript length) for the next seven
months than throw up one HUGE thing that would take at least another month to
edit and format without any illustrations and have no new Third Kind
stories up for five or six months. The third reason, which I hope you’ll agree
with, is that this pup has whelped other stories as it went along, and I’d like
a crack at writing those, so that you have a ‘backstory’ story to enjoy as well. (Errant Deeds is a perfect example
of this kind of story: I had to stop writing Mongoose to write
it, in order to support a scene in Act One.)
Also, if you are not VERY FAMILIAR
WITH THE EPISODES you’ll be lost trying to sort this story out. I’ve written the Third Kind as a ‘shadow season’,
weaving the stories in and around the episodes. I highly recommend that you go back and re-read
Rattle and review the changed chronology
before you begin reading
Thanks: I need to thank a few people for their contributions
to this book. I have had the benefit of superb beta readers: Amy, Dina, Niely,
my darling sister Christy Ann, Barb, Donna, all gave me vital feedback as I
put this thing together. They are very patient and kind, and kept the faith
when I was ready to chuck it all together. (Twice in the eleven months that
I’ve spent writing Mongoose, Christy gave me shelter from the storm and let
me trash her kitchen while I worked on the book. She deserves a credit for helping
to put the story together, and you can thank her for all the gory details.)
Any errors or inconsistencies in this story belong to the author, and not to
the people who have so generously given of their time and talent in assisting
me with the manuscript. I would also like to thank everyone else for their patience
and their encouragement, especially Lee. The amount of feedback we’ve gotten
from people visiting the site is wonderful!
And a special thanks to the montages of St. Barb – the difference they
make to my stories is incalculable.