The first month of the year is not greeted enthusiastically by everyone. It has a reputation for being long, dark and grey and a struggle to stay out of debt by the month's end. The second month of the year fares better as it's much shorter.

Between the two is the briefest mention of the 31st January and this year that is the publication date for Surplus to Requirements, my first novel.

The story begins in 2050, twenty-five years from now. The main character is a seventy-nine year old woman who walks a long way, and well into 2051. These are some of the numbers in the book.

Other numbers refer to the publication of the book. It has an ISBN number, one for print and one for e-book. They are the first publications of Longdendale Press, but we hope more will be coming soon.

ISBNs for Surplus to Requirements 978-1-0685628-0-8, for print book; 978-1-0685628-1-5 for e-book.

If you want to buy a print book you need that ISBN to order it from a bookshop. Please try to order it from an independent bookshop if you can. You can place an order before publication.

There are 325 pages and 95,000 words in the book. It might help you to know this so you can estimate how long it might take you to read.

There are lots more numbers but some of them are currently unknown. We don't know how many people will buy the book, read the book, give it as a gift or deposit it at a charity shop. These are all good things to do with a book.

It's now eight days to the publication of the book. Please continue to follow the publishing journey.

Janet Lees, 23rd January 2025, Longdendale.