Chad Musick

From the Lighthouse

It was a dark and stormy night, which was the opposite of what the neighbors had paid for.

Knot doesn’t remember how they came to live with Bigman, nor whether their name is actually Knot. Bigman calls, and Knot answers. Not a boy. Not a girl. Not getting any bigger over the past twenty years.

John Bigman makes enough money selling good weather to those who believe his claims of magic to keep the bank from taking the unfinished lighthouse where he lives in an uneasy truce with Knot. Bigman still bleeds where Knot bit him years ago, and they still sometimes try to stab him during arguments.

Most of the time, the two get along. Knot watches tv in their room. Bigman plays video games in his library. They go fishing, with Knot catching most of the fish and Bigman dozing among the mangroves that have infested their beach.

But Bigman is getting old. His control over Knot has been slipping. His strength was barely enough to foil Knot’s last attempt at running away. That was before Knot found allies, who have their own reasons for wanting Knot to escape from the lighthouse.

Published on 1 February 2022 by Cinnabar Moth Publishing LLC

Cover by Vanessa Mendozzi

ISBN: 978-1-953971-24-1 (Paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-953971-26-5 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1-953971-25-8 (EPUB)
ISBN: 978-1-953971-27-2 (Audiobook) — Performed by André Santana

Selected Reviews

We are not told who or what Knot is but we do know they are kept isolated until tragedy occurs and Knot explores the multidimensional limits that Bigman has held Knot from.

WL

I liked the way we were given little pieces of information as the story went on so that it was enough to keep me interested.

OI

I really enjoyed the author's writing style. I read Susanna Clarke's Piranesi in December, and I felt like fans of that book would probably enjoy this one.

TI

Despite being set in Florida, this world is unlike any I’ve encountered, “peopled” with talking cats and lizards, Bird deities, a mother dragon who is anything but maternal, and mermaids/manatees.

NU

I was blown away by the voice in this novel. Really, really deep first person point of view. And possibly the most original voice I’ve read in awhile. The reader is tossed straight into the story and left to figure out what’s going on for themselves.

LD

I was blown away by the voice in this novel. Really, really deep first person point of view. And possibly the most original voice I’ve read in awhile.

Ann

An exceptional and poignant novel

Foreword Reviews