About the ProcessWe do not collaborate on each chapter. Instead, the process of producing this serial is a version of the old slumber-party game in which one person starts a story and each subsequent person takes up the narrative where the last one left off. Or to put it more briefly: we alternate chapters. But now the question is: which author has written which chapters? Do any special traits mark a 'Chris chapter' as opposed to a 'Kay chapter'? That is up to the reader to decide. Feel free to publish your speculations in our guestbook.
Since Chris is in New York City and Kay is in Chicago, we obviously do not have the opportunity to sit down each week to discuss each installment. Instead, we do long-term planning during brief furtive phone calls and more frequent and lengthy e-mail messages. Chris sends his chapters in e-mail to Kay; Kay (who is in charge of all the html coding) posts her offerings early under an undisclosed address for Chris to look at before it goes 'public.'
As of Chapter 4, everything in this novel is based on real people, places and experiences, with the exception of:
The novel Sooner Than NeverWaterbury Publishing (Although Chris does know someone who works in publishing whose name is 'Waterbury.')The newscasters described in chapter 1 (They do exist, but they work for different networks.)Transylvania Station (although it is suspiciously similar to another NY tourist trap, Jekyll and Hyde)Shoe chewing (that we know of)
Takamoto Publishing: There is a Takamoto Building in Chicago, but its insanely ornate lobby is a complete and total fiction.Paul Revere was a silversmith in Boston, but it is doubtful he ever designed bedpans, stylish or otherwise.The Eastland disaster is a real-life historical event, and did take place by the Clark Street bridge, but the story of the tower, the delay in the rescue team, and the ever-so-dramatic suicidal leap into the river are complete fabrications.The Billy Goat Tavern does, indeed, exist just north of the river in Chicago, and owes its fame to former Tribute columnist Mike Royko (RIP) and John Belushi (RIP).We cordially invite you, the reader, to direct any questions about the process to us by leaving a note in our guestbook. Also, if you find any flubs or gaffes in our story-telling, let us know!
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