Wild Man Book - Status Update

The compilation of articles is complete. I've organized the book in the following way:

Chapter 1 - What is a Wild Man?
Chapter 2 - The Stories by State, in Alphabetical Order (Alabama-Nevada)
Chapter 3 - The Stories by State, in Alphabetical Order (New Jersey-Wisconsin)
Chapter 4 - The Stories - Canada
Chapter 5 - The Stories - Other Countries
Chapter 6 - Conclusion and Recap
Chapter 7 - What is Bigfoot?
Chapter 8 - Origin of Bigfoot
Chapter 9 - Timeline of Evolution
Chapter 10 - Glossary of Terms

Right now the length is a nice 76,500 words. There are some great stories. In many, people just didn't know what they were seeing. There's a classic from 1839 in Wisconsin and one from outside the U.S. Both must reads. The 'What is Bigfoot?' and 'Origin of Bigfoot' are chapters added to address reader questions about "What else could a hairy ape-like wild man be?" I'm in the process of editing it all. Format, spelling, grammar, ya-da, ya-da.

The Writing is Complete!

What's left is a lot of editing. Plus all the marketing, e.g. Descriptions of the book in various numbers of words, the design of the book cover, etc. I have the book cover art. It's my painting. The book contains over 130 articles from newspapers from 38 states and a number of countries. The articles go back to 1839 ( a fascinating one from Wisconsin in 1839). Be aware that WILD MEN (probably the title) are stories about humans and woodland ape like beasts like those huge, hairy, non-human primates that we think roam the woods of North America. Sometimes the stories make it pretty clear which is which. Sometimes not. The journalistic writing is different enough back in the 1800s and early 1900s that I've added a short glossary of terms you (and definitely me) were unsure of their meanings. I have also added a few pages on what I think Bigfoot is, man or ape since it has characteristics of both. I also delve into its possible origins. Fun stuff.

WILD MAN Book draft now at 70,000 words!

I wanted to explore this topic, the Wild Man, but had no real good idea of what I'd find. It's a matter of finding old newspaper articles and compiling the stories. I had a feeling it would be a mix of mysterious sightings of something that could be man or beast. I was right, although more man than I would have thought. As part of the book, I will be: 1) compiling statistics regarding the stories, e.g. what states, wild man description, what the average/usual sighting consists of, etc.; 2) a glossary of terms and words that I ran into that serves to show how our language, or at least our journalistic writing may have changed since the 1800s and early 1900s.; 3) as a bonus, I'm working on my own interpretation of what I thing Bigfoot is, its origins, etc.

I'm closing in on the completion of the compilation of stories.

The bookcover will be a painting of mine.

Wild Man Stories

The compilation of Wild Man articles from newspapers so far involve 36 states and two Canadian provinces. The newspaper sources are all based in the US so the stats are understandable. There are several countries as well, mostly Asian.

Newspaper language was a little different back around the turn of the century and before. Sometimes stilted, but usually amusing. Sometimes dismissive of some of the sightings and sometimes editorial in nature, but it's easy to see that wild men or similar creatures were witnessed often. Sometimes captured. Often hairy. Muscular. Large. Mostly naked.

Now at 46,000 words. Nowhere near complete.