Madame Death

Read this first

Dead Leaves

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November 14. 2023

The Book
The section I am working on now looks so much different when reading everything from primary sources, of which there are a bazillion to choose from, only to discover that what I was always taught and believed has actually morphed into something else entirely.

Imagine a certain section of history as this blue lane, its always been blue and then you discover this green lane that is totally different but yet similar to the blue lane. And that was when everything kind of tilted.

“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be”—Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Night.

It is the cynicism and biting sarcasm which I found so refreshing and different, full of humorous back-biting soap-opera type drama, nuance and black humor so black, O my gosh, I cannot believe some of this stuff was published, especially during the American Civil War.

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The Sacred and the Profane

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Five Columbia River rocks engraved with the words:
Shirley Jackson Social Club MEMBER: 1948.
They feel good in the hand and have a nice heft.
I keep them near my writing desk for inspiration.

The Book
Medieval streets of Paris, the smell of Sakkârah, the sound of the River Seine, Solifuegae, Pennsylvania Avenue, New Orleans, the Five Points, the Tombs, the Bowery, Tattoos, Phrenology, Sailor’s Charms, Chatham Square, Georgetown, Julia Ward Howe, Egyptian Temples, Witness Trees, Manhattan, Blood …

I finally did a word count. Oh lord. Anyway.

There are three Acts in the book, I call them Books.
Book I: World Building, getting to know everyone.
Book II: The Civil War
Book III: World Dismantling, everyone dies.

Everything is good, actually better than I thought it would be. But I am still cutting, rewriting and double-checking my information. I did much of my research years ago...

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