Enclosed are the opening chapters of my novel, "An Ordered Rank of Pawns, All Dressed in Gray," in Adobe .pdf format. This is the first published volume (e-published :) of what I like to call an "enormous world" series. Naturally, I owe a lot to PJF, in that respect. I have a PJF story, that goes along with the novel, which, if ever published in book form, will have a dedication to the inimitable Mr. Farmer.

Years (many years) ago, when I was in my first burst of literary creativity, I had this tremendously original idea, and was 100 pages deep in what I believed to be the world's first scientific afterlife story. You wouldn't believe how proud I was, of myself. Then, in my regular shopping at the local bookstore, I picked up a brand new paperback, by Phillip Jose Farmer, which was the first volume of the Riverworld series. What a shock! A better mousetrap. After decades, I returned to the theme, in a much different way, but I never forgot that shock.

Therefore, in honor of my terrible experience :) I had to provide some sort of acknowledgement to PJF. In the first chapter of my novel, one of the characters wakes up, at the wrong time, to a very unusual situation - not the same situation that Richard Burton found, but the similarities are intentional.

Later on, in my enormous outline, I found a perfect excuse to include a minor, but interesting character named Riverworld, but that's another story.

The entire novel, and the beginnings of its sequel, can be found as recommended Science Fiction, at MightyWords.com. The sample chapters, attached, can be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader.

I hope you find the enclosure interesting.