'Fracking Justice' gets underway (again) in Nuevo Vallarta

NUEVO VALLARTA, Nayarit, Mexico - The first three chapters of the sequel to The Fracking War were written in Watkins Glen as we struggled to get that book out the door (electronically).

My temporary office in Nuevo Vallarta

But today the sequel - Fracking Justice - moved ahead a chapter and a half. With luck (and a little keyboard pounding) the book will be well on its way by March 1 when Admiral Fox and I return to California where we hope a book crate full of the print versions of The Fracking War will await us.

If you have seen the movies Gasland and Gasland II, you will get a hint about what's Fracking Justice looks at. Justice has definitely been fracked by gas companies and the corporations that pull their strings.

Writing a sequel is proving to be a challenge. I can't assume that readers have read The Fracking War, so character development has to start from scratch, so to speak.

And even the people killed, blown up or otherwise missing from The Fracking War are finding themselves mentioned in the four chapters completed.

I have about six weeks of writing time here which means if I can churn 1,000 to 2,000 words per day, it will be almost complete by the time we return to the U.S.

I hope.

The Fracking War endorsed by Sandra Steingraber - woo-hoo!

WATKINS GLEN, New York - When your writing is referred to in the same paragraph as a book by John Steinbeck (The Grapes of Wrath) and another by Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Tom's Cabin), there is only one rational response: You blush.

So Sunday afternoon I had a thoroughly beet-red face for quite a while after I read a book-jacket blurb kindly offered by environmentalist, biologist and author Sandra Steingraber.
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Sandra Steingraber

"It was Uncle Tom’s Cabin, not economic data, that turned the page on slavery.  It was The Grapes of Wrath, not demographic reports that opened a nation's eyes to Dust Bowl dislocation.  Out of that tradition comes Michael J. Fitzgerald’s The Fracking War.  Here, within a smoldering crucible of social crisis, is a tale of power, money, fateful choices, and consciences aroused.   If you like your drill rigs served up within the context of a fast-moving plot line, you’ve got what you want right in your hands.” 

  —Sandra Steingraber, author, Living Downstream and Raising Elijah

The beet-red blush was also because Sandra Steingraber is one of my heroes. Working here in New York as a journalist, I've published reams about her courage in fighting the hydrofracking menace, helping to lead the struggle against a manifestly dangerous propane storage project in Watkins Glen, and her arrest and jailing earlier this year on trespassing charges following a protest.

So to have her praise The Fracking War so highly, well, I'm blushing again.

Book cover art by Will Sweeney

All of the pieces have fallen into place - with a little pushing - for electronic publication of The Fracking War this week. There may be some last-minute surprises from the publisher to delay the e-launch. But as they say at NASA, 'Confidence is high.'

And the print version is on track to be available in early 2014.

By the way, my sincere thanks to all the folks who supported The Fracking War through the Kickstarter.com campaign. We made our goal. And right now Adm. Sylvia Fox and I are scrambling to get the promised T-shirts done and mailed out. I'm also trying to put together an author's website.

At a fabulous end-of-the-season party last night at The Stonecat Cafe in Hector, several people asked me about a sequel to The Fracking War. The answer is yes, there will be one. But I won't say much more about it until Wednesday at the book publishing celebration at the Hector Wine Company, which not surprisingly, is in Hector, too.

'The Fracking War' gets a great endorsement, 5 days left to preorder

WATKINS GLEN, New York - The countdown clock seems to be ticking faster.

There's five more days to pre-order a copy of The Fracking War. Pre-ordering guarantees getting the book well before it's available via normal commercial booksellers - including Amazon.com.

This week the book got a fabulous endorsement from someone who has already read the book - environmental activist and book editor Wrexie Bardaglio of Trumansburg, NY. Wrexie did both editing and proofing of the 96,000-word tome.

Here's what she had to say:

"Trust me, you will want this book. Beyond the excellent writing are diabolical and enraging plots twists, terrifying because in our hearts we do not doubt that they have happened and will continue to happen. As they say, truth is stranger than fiction, and sometimes fiction is the only way safe way to get at the truth." - Wrexie Bardaglio

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Here's the link to Kickstarter.com to pre-order either an electronic book or print copy:

Preorder 'The Fracking War'

Just 10 days left to pre-order a copy of 'The Fracking War'

WATKINS GLEN, New York - There's only 10 days left to pre-order a copy of The Fracking War, either in electronic format (Kindle, iPad, Nook or?) or as a signed copy from the first press run.

The book is available through Kickstarter.com at this link:

PRE-ORDER 'The Fracking War'

10 days left to pre-order 'The Fracking War'

The Fracking War e-book version and printed edition will be commercially available through bookstores and online outfits in spring of 2014. But if you want one sooner than that, now is the time to log on and take care of business.

This morning The Fracking War's Kickstarter/pre-order shows 62 backers ranging from $10 to $250. Another backer said she will pledge $250 as soon as she gets her Amazon.com account working properly.

New York anti-hydrfracking Artist Will Sweeney has taken our agreed upon book-jacket concept and is working on  the final mockup and drawing even as I write this. We should get the final cover art Tuesday or Wednesday.

I will post more in a few days about book cover progress and two more anticipated endorsements.

Environmentalist, author Bill McKibben endorses 'The Fracking War'

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - Bill McKibben - an environmentalist, activist and author - Sunday passed along his written endorsement of the novel The Fracking War. 

Bill McKibben

It will be included on the book's cover, along with a photo of Bill. (Most likely a different photo from here...)

"If you've thought the debate over energy policy was a tad dry, this novel might change your mind. God hopes it never comes to this!" -- Bill McKibben, author Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet.

Bill's book-jacket endorsement comes as the Kickstarter.com campaign offering pre-publication sales of the book has just 14 days left.

In the meantime, New York anti-fracking artist Will Sweeney has promised to present a set of sketches Monday for the front and back cover.