I know it's not the intent of putting it at the beginning, but it is the effect. I'm not going to put it there. No offense to those who have suggested it--I appreciate the feedback and the suggestion. It's just not going to work for this book
Why not compromise and do a middleword? Tolstoy did that in War and Peace when he essentially stopped the story and delivered a 30 page lecture on the meaning of the Napoleonic Wars. He spoke as himself directly to the reader. I'm not helping, am I?
