A new Paul Forster medical mystery
I’m looking for up to 50 founding readers.
I have completed a 50,000-word novel set during a Shiatsu workshop in rural Poland. Before I prepare it for publication, I would like a small group of thoughtful readers to read the manuscript and tell me, honestly, what works and what still needs attention.
The manuscript
Paul Forster travels to Poland to teach a group of new Shiatsu students. What begins as an intimate workshop in a woodland retreat soon becomes something more troubling when one participant develops a recurring fever that does not fit the explanations everyone first brings to it.
The story explores friendship, observation, medicine and the assumptions we make when we try to help. It is the first in a planned series of Paul Forster mysteries, each bringing together a new Polish setting, a new medical puzzle and a community of people trying to understand one another.
The novel draws inspiration from places and experiences in my teaching life, but its characters, dialogue, relationships and central mystery have been substantially imagined and fictionalised.
The invitation
You will receive a private PDF of the complete manuscript and four weeks to read it. Afterwards, I will invite you to complete a short, structured questionnaire about the characters, pace, mystery, medical content, Shiatsu and the emotional effect of the story.
You do not need editing experience or any knowledge of Shiatsu. I am looking for attentive readers and candid reactions, not polished literary criticism.
You will become part of the first circle of people helping this series move from manuscript to published book. I will share selected behind-the-scenes updates as the novel is edited, designed and prepared for release.
The first 25 accepted founding readers will also receive a complimentary digital copy of my illustrated Five Elements Haiku Cycle.
This is not yet a public advance-review copy. I am asking for private feedback while the book is still being edited. Please do not share, forward, publish or upload the manuscript.
Applications will close when the reading circle is full. Between 25 and 50 readers will be selected.
A gift for the first 25
This illustrated collection brings together short poems inspired by Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. It reflects the same fascination with nature, character and human experience that quietly runs through the novel.
The ebook will be sent to the first 25 applicants who are accepted into the Founding Readers Circle.
About the author
I have spent more than twenty-five years practising and teaching Shiatsu, alongside postgraduate study in Chinese herbal medicine and a continuing interest in how traditional and modern approaches to health can speak to one another.
My work has taken me into classrooms, clinics and workshops with people from many backgrounds. Those encounters, together with my connection to Poland, inspired this first novel. I write in the hope that readers can enjoy an undemanding mystery while also recognising something true about care, friendship and the ways we learn to see beyond our first explanation.
Questions
Yes. Selected founding readers will receive a private PDF at no cost. The manuscript remains copyrighted and is supplied only for personal reading and feedback.
No. Readers with Shiatsu or complementary-health experience are welcome, but readers encountering the subject for the first time are equally valuable.
I am most interested in your experience as a reader: where you became absorbed, where your attention drifted, which characters felt real, whether the mystery remained compelling and whether the medical and Shiatsu material felt clear.
The planned reading period is four weeks from receipt of the manuscript. You will receive the feedback questions at the same time, so you can see what I am interested in before you begin.
Not without your separate permission. Feedback will initially be used privately to improve the manuscript. I may later ask whether I can quote a comment, but you will be free to decline.
Join the circle
Enter your details below. After confirming your email address, I will send further information about selection and the reading schedule.
The form is provided by Brevo. By submitting it, you agree to the processing described in the privacy policy. You can withdraw your consent or unsubscribe at any time.
