So, as promised, let me give a few more details regarding this upcoming serialized-as-I-write novel set to begin next week.

The story (and planned series) is a picaresque, originally a Spanish Renaissance genre that features a protagonist of humble origins forced to make his way in a corrupt world by use of his wits. The hero generally falls foul of his own bad luck as often as he does the corrupt authority figures around him, but the humor of the stories lies in how he overcomes despite it al...