And done! I am extremely happy, not to mention relieved, to report that I have now sent the final pages of the completed Brooklyn Wars manuscript off to my readers. Over the next few weeks, I’ll make revisions based on their feedback, and then it’s off to the printer, and soon after that, to you! My current plan is for an official publication date the first week of September, but I’ll see about getting both electronic and print copies out to Kickstarter backers a few weeks earlier.

It has been a long haul — those who donated to my Kickstarter back in 2014 may recall that I initially predicted the book would be done almost exactly a year ago — and reminded me that any research project always expands to fit the time available. But it has also, I believe, resulted in a much better book, one that not only tells the stories of specific neighborhood battles during the past decade or so of Brooklyn’s remarkable transformation, but also works to answer the questions that everyone in the borough is now asking: How did we get here? Was this an inevitable process shaped by larger forces, or one that’s the result of specific policy decisions made in City Hall and beyond? And now that we’re here, what can we do about it? I don’t pretend to have found all the answers, but what I did find, as the clickbaiters say, may surprise you.

With the pub date nigh, it also means it’s time for me to start polling my backers to see where I should send all your goodies that I promised you way back at the start of this process. (Your surveys from Kickstarter will arrive soon, under separate cover.) And I’ve also started gearing up for the publicity push by starting a Brooklyn Wars Facebook page and @brooklynwars Twitter feed — go Like/follow them now, and you’ll not only be helping me spread the word, but also you’ll get updates on future Brooklyn goings-on that happen too late for inclusion in the book. (You don’t think I’m going to stop following the borough’s redevelopment now, do you?)

You can also expect some more frequent updates now that I’m no longer in the thick of writing, and am instead in the thick of publishing. I have a great cover design planned, and some other tricks up my sleeve as well — all funded by what’s left of your Kickstarter donations — which I’ll reveal to you as soon as they’re finalized.

Thanks again to everyone for your support and your patience, and I can’t wait to show you all the finished product. If you have any questions about the book or your rewards — or, say, would like to review it, or own a bookstore and want to find out how to stock copies — drop me a line at neil@demause.net and I’ll fill you in.