splat time out

a note from the author:

welcome to my novel. it's not the first one i've written (the previous one got tossed in the trash by my ex, paper copies and backup discs and all), but it's the first one to be distributed to a wide audience. i think i'm getting better at it as time goes on. please let me know if you agree with me.

i'm having a really great time putting in links. while i was writing my story, my ratio of research to writing was about 6:1, and i made detailed notes and files of my research. it seemed such a shame to bury it in my files after turning it into fiction, and i'm delighted to find that in an electronic version, i can include the research as links. that's too cool. too bad you can't do it in paper books.

this is a true story. except that it's not. but everything in this story is real. the city is real - you can navigate along with suzie q. here's a mapquest link.

the people are real; the names were changed to protect their asses. and with good reason.

the events are real, for the most part. the news items are with very few exceptions taken almost verbatim from the published source.

however, i've got to warn you there's no graphic sex in this novel. and you'll have to wait for whatever sex there is. but the gratuitous violence is tastefully done as well as transcendental, the drug scenes are fresh and new, and our girl's coming of age is real and full of angst. my story makes a contribution. truly.

other people don't hate it, either. here's a sampling of comments i've received via email since i spammed all my friends about this blog of mine.

> subject: my new novel

> i've taken the last year to write a novel, and today i

> started posting it on a blog. it's a complicated

> coming-of-age story about a girl in atlanta with the

> wrong job, the wrong roommates, the wrong boyfriend, a

> bad case of road rage, and a paintgun.

> it's at: http://blog.myspace.com/72972265

> i would be most interested in hearing what you have to

> say about it, and in the interest of your privacy, i

> figured i'd contact you personally instead of giving

> the blog your email address so they might could spam

> you. i'm paranoid that way.

> love

> jeanne

my friend N.G. wrote:

dear jeanne, thanks - how do i get t the next page to read more.

my brother M. wrote:

404

my friend T.H. wrote:

good going!

my friend A.B. wrote:

the story

sounds very

interesting

my ex-brother-in-law G.H. wrote:

read for 20 mins this morning. i've always enjoyed

your writing and can't wait to get back to this. don't

think i have time to read a new chapter every day, but

i'll try to get back to you when i return.

my brother M. wrote:

i like the book. is it the first chapter?

the idea sounds familiar.

my friend S.S. wrote:

gonna take me awhile to get through all that, kiddo,

as i'll have to print

it out at some point. as i don't have a computer and

can't ask somebody else

to lemme print out 31 pages or so.

we shall see....

my brother M. wrote:

i enjoyed your writing. you do write very well... in

a lively,

personal style with evident enthusiasm.

my friend K. wrote (and commented):

Access to http://blog.myspace.com/72972265 has been

blocked by WebMarshal(tm)

Access to this site was blocked by the rule 'Warn

suspected offensive language'.

Your attempt to access this site has been recorded.

(I LOVE THIS ONE - DEFINITELY 'BIG BROTHER' STUFF)

Contact your WebMarshal administrator if you need

access to this site for business purposes.

my friend L.B. wrote:

fun read so far. i'll keep plugging away at it as

time permits, and give more constructive feedback if you

want it.

initial impression: good sense of adventure, nice

pace, but it seems to require that the reader be familiar

with atlanta's freeways.

don't i have cool friends?

so far we've seen what suzie's days are like. sleep, lay about, work, wait around for nelson, hope for rain. we'll start digging deeper next chapter.

you can expect the pace of the story to pick up a little now that we've been around the spiral once. in fact, by the end of the story you'll be pausing for breath, should you read that far.

if you have any comments, email me at demotivation@hotmail.com. and i'll post them at the next break in the story.

enjoy the film.

love

jeanne