FISSURE: A New Novel
Delia Bosch has no passions or prospects in life. All she has is Layne, her long-time true love. But as she begins to traverse life after college, even that begins to crumble.
Desperate for purpose and guidance, Delia turns to a dark and alluring stranger who she believes can offer just the push she needs. But as she listens to his story, she becomes entrenched in the seedy quest he has taken up in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. She follows his lead into a chaotic web of jealousy, treachery, and revenge—all in the hope of finding love and the answer to her own liberation at the center of it all.
Fissure is a chaotic romantic thriller told as an anthology of stories within stories. On the surface is a young woman, Delia, quietly living on an emotional precipice. At the core is a young man, Adam, who finds himself in a life-changing predicament while on a caving expedition: he gets stuck, upside-down, in a narrow fissure. What happens down there ripples to the surface of Fissure and effects everyone who hears Adam's story. It's up to Delia to navigate her own story as it intersects the dark purpose Adam rises to fulfill.
Since August 2022, I've been trying my hand at a radical marketing scheme—giving away free copies of the first 60 pages of my book to friends and strangers. Some people looked at me like I was stupid for giving away so much. My reasoning: I fell in love with the unique counter-cultural community of Fargo, and I wanted everyone to get a taste of how the city and its people impacted my writing.
If you're one of the lucky few who nabbed a copy, hold onto it. The story is bound to change after subsequent drafts. It may be insightful to see what Delia's first steps looked like in earlier versions.
- Zach, 10/18/22