Gutter-Snipes & Fisticuffs

Glorious September 2023

The Book
Working on this book has been one of the hardest but also the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. Drawing will always be my first love, but historical research and writing narrative nonfiction is a whole other experience.

Someone said that once you really start getting deep into the bones and soul of the book, the book starts to write itself. I swear to god it feels like I am working on a ouija board because stuff just keeps showing up and it is like finding a stray jigsaw puzzle piece and then to find out, it fits perfectly.

An example would be lining everything up in hardcore chronological order. When you take primary sources for each different topic that is happening all at the same time, once they are lined up in order, a whole different story starts to emerge, and in that timeline I found a small opening between two dates. And then here comes this one little insignificant titbit, but when it is placed like a lost jigsaw puzzle in between those dates, then you see it fits perfectly. It revealed the equivalent of a secret door. 😱

LOL I am still not quite at the Civil War, I am right at the very edge, but then I came up with this brilliant idea to add something at the end of each year to build up to this one significant major event, which meant having to redo an entire section. Once I got it all sorted out, looking at the dates, again, it was like someone from beyond the grave was showing me something. When I realized what I was looking at, I couldn’t believe what I was reading.

When I wake up, I literally bound out of bed, shovel food in my mouth, gulp down some coffee and jump back on it. I hate it when it is time to sleep, I love that sweet spot where you are right there in the thick of it all, you can see everything around you. And then its time for bed :(

This is probably the most fun I have had in - forever, I absolutely love working on this book. Anytime I see a writer living on Social Media complaining about how much they hate writing while bitching and pissing through the entire writing process, it certainly makes me want to rush right out and buy that book (not).

Music: No Comments by Alfida