Another book off the list, and can you guys believe that makes eleven? It really seems excessive to me at this point... Like what the hell, that's too many books... But more the merrier for you all, I suppose. Let's talk a little about the new title and set things up for what comes next, shall we?
A lot of you have been here for a good portion of Infaust's second stage of development. It was a project I originally conceptualized back in 2017/8ish (I think, maybe earlier) while I was still interning at one of the many museums I've worked at in my adult life. It's hard to recall exactly what precipitated the whole thing. Likely, I had stumbled upon some folklore regarding the Pied Piper and had my brain chew on it until it spat out something vaguely Infaust shaped. I do remember having the idea of a witch with a dead familiar bonding with something Wrong running around in my head in general. Merging the two made Infaust, and from there it sat in developmental hell until last year.
Infaust has seen some of the most drastic rewrites and restructurings of any of my novels to date. It was a weird story, one plotted in ways I'd never really seen examples of in my own readings, and that made it harder to figure out. It's changed quite a lot from its first draft--and if any of you are curious about that draft, just search through my Patreon til you find it, I posted it after the Patreon rewrite so readers could contrast, compare, and see for themselves what a failed story looks like on my end. Fixing this story into something readable has taken years. A lot of those years, I wasn't patient. I wasn't willing to wait until it was polished and ready like it is now. But I had to. And I did.
For as many delays as I experienced while working on this book, for as many times as I grew frustrated with matters outside of my control inhibiting me from publishing when I wanted to, I'm grateful for them. Without those roadblocks, the Infaust of today wouldn't exist. You'd be reading a much weaker story than the one you've got now, and that would just be a crying shame.
I want to say an additional thank you to a few people who helped me get to this position, to the people who trudged knee deep through the turbulent waters of developmental hell alongside me over the years, who made Infaust what it is today. My editor NIL has quite literally been there from the start. They were the first person I ever spit-balled this premise to, and they sat with me, held my hand, and slapped me upside the head numerous times as I fought to get this tragic story onto paper. Sun, as you all know, made yet another gorgeous cover for me, all while dealing with some of the most tumultuous life events a person can go through. There would be no Infaust without either of them, and their impact on this publication seeing the light of day cannot be overstated enough.
Thanks go to all of you as well. Be you patrons, readers, fans, or just excited newcomers interested in picking up a book about a maligned, sad witch boy having some of the worst days of his life... thanks. Thanks for caring, thanks for being here, and thanks for giving Infaust a chance. It means the world. I can't wait to do this all again with you soon.
Until next time,
T.D. Cloud