Smashwords has approved the book for Premium Distribution

 I can't remember when one of my books went through the upload/meat grinder process without any errors (formatting) but this one did. I guess I've done this enough to know what to do without errors.

I've scheduled the release date for February 19 which is a Friday. I chose this day since most ebook sales occur on weekend days. The publishing of my book with a future release date allows me to do a little marketing, e.g. on Twitter where I've compiled a list of 458 people interested in Bigfoot and other Cryptids. At the same time the book cover, title and description get delivered to the Apple iBook store, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Sony, etc. so that potential readers get a chance to learn of it to develop interest.

I'm pricing it a little low at $1.99 to generate some initial sales.

The book contains 220 stories from newspapers, most of which are over a hundred years old. The articles cover activity in 42 states, Canada and a number of other countries. It's fascinating to see how  accounts of wild men encounters and sightings are described. People didn't know what they were seeing in many cases. They saw something hairy, manlike, naked, bipedal. It scared them, was often huge, looked a little ape-like.

Many were actually human. Others seemed more like beasts. They were elusive, despite pursuits by large, armed posses. Some were caught, some were shot, some were killed.

I've added a couple chapters about some related topics, e.g. what else wild men could be if they were not humans living alone in the woods.

Wild Men has been published and is under review by Smashwords.

The book is scheduled to be released on February 19, 2016.
The book description is as follows:

What was a 'Wild Man' -beast or man? Gibson has compiled 220 related newspaper articles, most over 100 years old, covering 42 states, Canada, and elsewhere. Read how witness accounts of Wild Men were reported - generally a bipedal, hairy, mostly naked, and elusive creature.  Sometimes it's obvious what people saw; other times not. Some wild men were captured. Some were shot. 

The wild men-related stories include the incredible capture of a bipedal hairy creature in Wisconsin in 1839, the Leed's Devil of New Jersey, and an 1829 deadly attack by a monstrous bipedal beast in the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia, and. Many incredible accounts you haven't heard or seen.

Wild Men book is about finished...Almost Ready to go to 'Press'

I've pretty much completed the writing. I have one more edit to go, having been through the text and formatting at least once for each, but need to go through everything one more time. The words number 77,000+. There are over 220 individual stories from old newspapers going back to 1829, covering 36 states, three Canadian provinces and a number of countries. Most of the newspaper articles are in the 1800s. People were not sure what they were seeing.

There is the story of a capture of a creature in Wisconsin back in 1829 which is just fascinating. Also an 1839 story of a deadly attack by a beast in Georgia in the Okefenokee swamp. There is also the story of Leed's Devil in New Jersey. Wild men did exist in the 1800s and early 1900s. Some were human and some not. Witnesses reported seeing man-like, ape-like beings who walked on two legs, hairy, naked or mostly naked, fast, muscular, elusive, mischievous and often huge. These are stories most everyone has not heard before. Some of the 'Wild Men' were captured. Some were shot. Beast or human? I'll let the reader decide. Sometimes it's obvious; other times it isn't.

I've narrowed the book cover down to two, both of which are the combined artistic efforts, combining a painting of mine and a photo.

Bigfoot and Human Origin Books Read Recently

I've read all but two of the following:

When Roger Met Patty by William Munns

Bigfoot by Loren Coleman

The Best of Sasquatch by John Green

Sasquatch - Legend Meets Science by Jeff Meldrum

Bigfoot Enigma by Scott Marlowe

The Red Ape by Jeffrey Schwartz

The Hoopa Project by David Paulides

Missing 411-Western US by David Paulides 

Missing 411-Eastern US by David Paulides

Still Living? Yeti, Sasquatch and the Neanderthal Enigma by Myra Shackley

Other Origins by Ciochon, Olsen & James

Cryptozoology A-Z by Loren Coleman

The Beast of Boggy Creek by Lyle Blackburn

True Giants by Mark Hall and Lorne Coleman

Giants, Cannibals & Monsters by Kathy Moskowitz Strain

I'm more than halfway through Lyle's book on the Beast of Boggy Creek and the next one I have is Kathy Strain's book. I would have taken it on vacation (as I did two others) but Kathy's book is big with the pictures and all and I was wanting to travel light. 

All of the above books are recommended. 

Book Status and International Cryptozoology Conference

The work on the book has resumed after several days in St. Augustine where the first annual International Cryptozoology Conference was held. It was a top notch affair, including the city, the hotel and venue and especially the speakers. I am a Bigfoot enthusiast, but there was a diverse set of speakers covering various topics in the realm of cryptids. I had a chance to meet Cliff Barackman as well as Kathy and Bob Strain. I heard some incredible stories regarding BF encounters. The next one should be held sometime in the summer of 2017 in Portland, Maine. Loren Coleman did a fantastic job in organizing, hosting and taking responsibility for this event.

The book editing continues until it is done. I have a general book cover format which will do with a few tweaks. The book length is about 79,000 words at present and may get pushed over 80,000 by the time I finish. I have some great stories from the 1800s when people really didn't know what they were seeing, man or beast.

Happy New Year!

It's been busy, which is why I have only some small progress to report on the book. I am going through a thorough edit of format, spelling, typos and punctuation. I am a little over 20% complete. The book cover is in progress. I have some other work to do as well, including book descriptions (very important!). That is it for now.