On The Road With Al And Ivy: A Literary Homeless Chronicle - Feb. 2022

"And as you learn the magic, learn to believe it. Don't be 'surprised' when it works, you undercut your power."

- Diane di Prima (Revolutionary Letter #46 - 1968)

The earliest known incident that referenced the Code Of Chivalry was recorded on a copper leaf fragment from the Lost Gospel Of Murgatroyd. Internet experts have estimated the date of origin to be 11,000,987 B.C. in Ancient Sumeria, and it was unearthed in 1998 by an treasure hunter using a metal detector on the Chicago side of Lake Michigan. 

Some critics assert that the fragment is actually a piece of a copper bracelet featured on a TV shopping channel that was claimed to have a therapeutic effect on carpal injuries suffered while attempting to complete online customer service forms.

The treasure hunter posted the discovery on social media, which have stringent policies in place to combat fraudulent claims thus the Sumerian origin of the fragment can be considered authentic by normal Internet standards of accuracy.

The fragment relates that a noble knight named Enki McDougal stabbed his opponent in the back while the referee was explaining the rules of the duel. He then commissioned an epic poem by Inanna Beethoven that described the heroic combat which lasted several hours, and of the foxy Princess who promised really hot sex to the winner.

The story was later recounted in an 18th Century chivalric romance by noted poet and plagiarist William Lyrpantsonfre called, "The Noble Quest Of Sir Bacondip" which chronicled the brave knight's arduous and dangerous journey to find the rechargeable electric drill that Jesus used as a carpenter.

...some expert testimony...

Professor Ivy of Shitzu U, who has a B.S. Degree in Speculative Internet Theory, states that "while it may seem that 18th Century writers were creating Chivalrous Mythology to differentiate European slaughter from that of Barbarian cultures like the Mongols, Huns, or French; it was in fact an attempt to motivate mankind to aspire to greater levels of ethical conduct in the exploitation and extermination of Natives, women, and men without mustaches."

Heady words indeed! It's no wonder that Chivalry mainly exists in the realm of literary arts and motion pictures and not in real life. When such ideals are brought into the temporal sphere, it would descend to the banal level of preachers who cheat on their wives, corruption of government officials, and Social Media Influencers.

...basic tenets...

The basic tenets of the romanticized version of Chivalry was utter fidelity to the King, good character, observance of the Sabbath, lifelong military service by the wealthy in wars that involved an actual risk of mutilation or death, mercy to the defeated, and respect for women.

It's not surprising then that a revival of Chivalry would be a nonstarter in the United States, though perhaps some sort of version could be worked up with no penalties for failure to live up to such lofty standards. I believe the modern term is "self-regulating."

There's similar lip service in pro sports, organized religion, politics, nutritional science, and in the financial sector, so it's doable, but it might only have a narrow utility in online war games and dating site profiles. [citation needed, lying like a dog on a dating profile might be legal in several states]

...the modern age...

It goes without saying that my description is a bit on the flippant side. 

Chivilaric concepts have survived into the modern age. The idea that two men settle a quarrel by stepping outside and having a fair fight, either with fists or in Western lore a gunfight is basically medieval trial by combat where the assumption is that God protects the righteous or the idea that a woman is under a man's protection, which goes back to ancient property law.

The percentage of medieval men who adhered to such principles is probably about the same as it would be in modern times, which is sorta kinda mostly true, more often than not, but maybe and maybe not.

Every woman who's been exploited, abused, assaulted or killed was technically under the protection of a man who would give his life to save her, or at least kick the poltroon's ass. It's not doubting the protector's love, sincerity or power to protect to say that Chivalry only works most of the time at best. It's an ideal that as with religion or ethics, men fall well short of perfection.

...White Company and Sir Nigel...

Arthur Conan Doyle wrote two books, "The White Company" (which originally ran as a serial in a magazine) and a prequel, "Sir Nigel" that were set in the Hundred Years War era.

Unlike romance novels like Sir Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe," or King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, Doyle's two books depict the wide gap between mythology and reality. Doyle's Knights and their peasant or mercenary infantry companies talked the talk, but often didn't walk the walk. 

Sir Nigel's White Company made no pretence of fighting for honor, even if their leader did. They intended to fight and accumulate as much loot as possible. One of the main characters, an archer named Sam Aylward, makes it clear in a recruiting pitch that booty (both kinds) was a primary reason to serve the King.

In one scene where Sir Nigel and Company go after pirates, it's made clear that no quarter was to be asked for or granted, which was actually how ancient naval warfare was fought. The losers, unless high born and could offer ransom, were thrown overboard during or after the battle. Chivalry was conditional.

I should note that one exception was in galley warfare, where the losers would often be pressed into service as rowers or sold as slaves. You've all seen the movie " Ben Hur," it's like that except only the newest slaves would have tans.

...Sir Nigel...

In The White Company, Sir Nigel is portrayed as an elderly "Don Quixote" type, always trying to pick fights but issuing challenges in language dressed up with chivalric phrases. A good parallel is old Japanese samurai movies where the ronin are constantly fighting each other to gain employment or reputation. The chivalry described here is more like "professional courtesy," and applied only to the nobility.

Doyle was certainly aware that real medieval warfare was brutal and often a business concern, but takes a middle course where the knights espouse the ideals, but describes the different reality like with Sir Nigel's obsession with finding more honor through duels.

A reader has to take into account that Doyle's intention was to entertain, so a lot of the contradictions described are definitely tongue in cheek. One running gag is that many of the characters are carrying what they think are authentic religious relics, such as a nail from the Cross, and other odds and ends that purport a connection to The Savior. All have been obviously swindled, and even Sir Nigel, the cultured and educated knight treasures his relic.

...a homage...

Both books pay homage to medieval romance literature, with what can seem like overly long descriptive passages of people (that can run over two pages in an ebook). Reminds me a lot of James Fenimore Cooper books, with lots and lots of exposition.

Arthur Conan Doyle felt that the historical novels were his best work, and whether that's true or not, each reader has to decide for him or herself. I think his best was "Micah Clarke," which had the same theme about a trio of characters who go through a great adventure but not as episodic as White Company, with funnier satiric passages than the Sir Nigel book.

However, if you like an author, why choose? They're public domain books so read 'em all. Even the most uneven, The White Company, has plenty of brilliance to enjoy and in spite of it's flaws, I've reread it several times over the years.

As one critic said about Doyle, "The man never wrote a boring word," and whether or not he was at the top of his game in every work, the man was a stone writer to the core, and always worth reading.

...book trailer now on Electric Fog Factory on YouTube!

Book Trailer for "The Quitters" by Al Handa, a Serial Novel on Kindle Vella.

The trailer geatures 60s, EDM Dub, and punk music from DJ Boogie Underground, Mark McGraw and Handa-McGraw International on YouTube.

https://t.co/I1xT4IVPuD

...desert island discs for 2016...

I mentioned in an earlier blog entry what music meant to me in 2016, when living in the car. Though it didn't "save my soul," that doesn't mean it was useless or without value. Music certainly entertained, elevated or depressed my mood, and provided some context to what was going on.

The biggest shock was that most of the time, I didn't want to hear any music at all. It was depressing to listen and the reason was mainly because I couldn't play it. I could, if I was willing to expose an easily fenced guitar, but the only thing dumber would have been to let people know you had drugs, firearms or large amounts of cash (none of which I had). You risked becoming a target. 

As it was, I was regularly cased, and there were attempts to break into my car. I let it go without calling the police because at least the thieves might spread the word that I didn't have anything worth stealing. I also avoided acting protective or secretive (except with Ivy, but nobody faulted that with a pet) for that reason. 

...in brief...

In short, playing an instrument in public wasn't a good idea. Particularly during the six weeks the car was inoperable, and couldn't leave the area. It's more complex than that, but in a nutshell, if I couldn't play, it affected my enjoyment of music. But there were times I enjoyed listening and certain songs do stand out even now so this list of "desert island music" is a good companion piece to past blog entries that talk about music.

I should note, for those who haven't read my earlier blog entries, I eventually found that the remedy for not wanting to listen to music was to write. That saved my soul.

One note about the review format. I'll mainly talk about my impression of each song, and not provide descriptions of how the songs sound. Such detail might have been useful back in the day when one had to get a physical copy of the song but these days, any that I talk about can be easily accessed through a music service or YouTube. Saves you from having to read florid streams of consciousness of how the song exemplifies the struggle to blah blah blah...

My 2016 Desert Island Discs (in no particular order).

Best Kept Secret: Case/Lang/Veirs 

This was what I called a "coffee house song," a tuneful alternative piece with a nice spunky rhythm section and strings. Which was what I first heard. It took maybe three listens before I realized it was a pop-folk piece due to the noise level in a crowded Starbucks. Although it wasn't very inspiring in the middle of a four hour hike in 90 degree weather, most flavors of coffee tasted better when this song was playing. It has staying power, and is still on my playlists and ipod.

Just Do It: Copacabana Club

A pop-funk song with killer hooks. This type of number tends to cut through crowd noise and ended up as another keeper. Like "Best Kept Secret," it's a good Summer song and it's world music flavor was an additional reason to like it.

Never Be Mine: Angel Olsen

Angel was one of the hottest Alternative artists in 2016, and this mournful paen to unrequited love was a great torch song. Her emotive voice made the song too depressing to listen to in a car at night (when that's your home). It was definitely a coffee house tune. I keep it on my playlists and ipod, though once the book is completed, I may put it to rest along with other memories of that time.

...Ipod Songs...

Once I ran out of high blood pressure medicine (and didn't realize any drug store would try to get it refilled for you), the only alternative was to exercise as much as possible. When the average temperature was 90 degrees, that meant hikes and walks rather than jogging, which for most of the distance involved carrying a 13 pound Ivy, water, and a basic backpack of around five to ten pounds.

In this case, music was essential, particularly "workout" type stuff. That meant my iPod as that didn't require a subscription. The problem with workout music is that at high volume, it can be as tiring as heat, so I'd listen for maybe a couple of miles, and then just coast the last mile or two. By that time I'd have to let Ivy walk a bit anyway, though she didn't seem to mind being carried either.

Slang (live ver.) Def Leppard

This was generally the song I started hikes with, though AC/DC's "Highway To Hell" was a close second. I was a Def Leppard fan before becoming homeless, but it was really the beat which was ideal as a pace setter.

 Fijian Sunset: Ali Campbell UB40

Summer means Reggae music is on my iPod, though this song came to my attention when reading about the split that occurred with UB40. The main singer, Ali Campbell formed his own version and this was be of the songs the new lineup recorded.

One interesting thing, and it's in my book, is that other than Dave Davies (Kinks), this group was the only celebrity act that communicated with me and used their social media accounts to help. Though it was mainly their media staff, it still helped my morale when Ali's UB40 told their fans to read my blog and contribute to my GoFundMe, and even more touching, urged me to keep playing music.

Fijian Sunset had the perfect beat for the middle of a hike, when the heat and weight started to have its effect on me.

Spin-O-Rama: The Primitives

One of my favorite 80s groups was the Primitives, and several of their cuts are still on my playlists and iPod. By 2016, they were primarily seen as former stars that still had a strong cult following. This cut was a archetype power pop song that could have been on any of their 80s albums and been considered a great song.

Lord I Want To Be A Christian In My Heart: John Fahey

John Fahey is the artist who got me into playing guitar. One of his eccentricities was that he was very anti-church, but played hymns that clearly were a big influence on his style. This was a favorite during the time I still had a guitar as it's a good "porch picking" number, that is to say, it can be played casually and still sound good. I've said that music didn't save my soul out there, but Fahey's music certainly fed it.

She Moved Through The Fair: Bert Jansch

One of the legends of folk guitar who's influenced everyone from Jimmy Page, Neil Young, to alternative artists. His fusion of folk and jazz is hard to duplicate because his timings were idiosyncratic, often moving from one idea to another as opposed to keeping a steady tempo. The most obvious reason is that his guitar was keyed to the vocal line, which like old style blues, doesn't lend itself to a pure instrumental approach. This was the Jansch song I listened to all the time back then. It's a melancholy piece that actually soothes, which is the mark of an artist who can communicate angst, but also humanity and warmth.

Vagabond Moon: Willie Nile

The 1980 live version, from the Bottom Line in NYC was a perfect song for sitting in a car at night, observing the area to make sure it was safe to sleep. It's a romantic tale set to a folk rock backing, but I pictured it as a song where Ivy and I could look out into the night and see something beautiful. It helped put the fear that was often present in my mind into the background.

Special Streamline: Booker White

Also known as Bukka White, he was one of many great blues artists from my favorite era, the 20s and 30s. The catchy hypnotic rhythm and tough slide guitar riffs sounded good during a hike. His music was created in the hard living and heat of the South, and I'm sure it lifted spirits back then as it did mine in the hot and humid days in Gilroy, Ca.

Bill Cheatham: Leo Kottke

Kottke is often mentioned in the same breath as John Fahey, as well they should. Their early albums on Takoma helped created the American version of concert guitar. Like with Fahey, I could name a couple of dozen inspirational performances, but this cut is the one I seemed to listen to the most.

Forty Years: Let's Active

A fine number from Mitch Easter, who produced those great early R.E.M. albums. It's the song I imagined myself playing the most out there, which tied in with what I thought would be treasured once the homeless period ended, which was to be able to play instruments again. I was wrong, but that was no fault of this very wistful, evocative song.

Dishy: Candypants

A very dirty but witty uptempo pop song that evokes the mid-70s Kinks sound. The album got a lot of good reviews, but was the only release by this band. I keep it on my playlists and iPod and even after my book finally comes out, I'll still be listening to it.

Fireworks Music: Handel

This piece is one of the few I mention by name in the book because it goes back to my childhood. My first instrument was the violin and once past the basic exercises, my teacher set us to learning Handel. The English master is like a musical God because for a couple of years, his baroque compositions were a major part of my musical world. For reasons I elaborate on in my book, childhood events had a large bearing on my homeless experience.

Actually, once I started this list, a bunch of others came to mind. Maybe a part two in the future...

...impressions of Vella...

"The Quitters" has been on Kindle Vella for about six weeks now, long enough for me to have some initial impressions. I won't delve too deeply into what Vella is, as the technical details can be easily looked up on the net. Although it's relatively new, there's been plenty of opinion posted on the service both good and bad, which is well worth examining.

Keep in mind that I'm talking about my own experience with Vella, and make no claims about how you should feel about it, or if it's something everyone should do.

I have to say that so far, I like the experience. Unless you have a fan base that'll follow you to Vella, it's not a place where a writer can count on getting new readers, but the site dashboard and upload features are a good environment to get used to Amazon KDP and exposing your novel.

...built-in house...

Vella doesn't seem to have much of what musicians call a "built-in house," which means an audience that comes to Vella to find new books, unlike Radish or Wattpad, which  have large followings. I personally think that it might take another year or two to reach the level of those two established services.

A new writer can get a better deal from Vella in terms of pay. If you produce regular chapters (called episodes on Vella) and have some activity, it's possible to qualify for a bonus which will easily be more than your royalty rate. The Amazon bonuses make this a good option for a new writer, and it helps morale to be paid while working on building an audience.

I read one opinion on a discussion board that dismissed that and said that Wattpad paid more, and Radish had more income potential. However, you become a paid writer by invitation on Wattstack, and Radish requires a 30 page manuscript or writing sample to even apply. That may change due to competition with Amazon, but right now, Vella is the easiest to get started on.

As far as publishing a free serial novel for exposure (like on Wattpad), that's not an option for me. If I wanted to publish free chapters for maximum exposure, I'd just include those on each blog entry, which has an average monthly visit rate of 40,000 to 50,000. Most of you reading this probably have blogs with a larger audience than what you'd get starting from scratch on a free fiction site. 

...radish...

Radish is another matter. If you study the site (always do that before any submission), and feel that your work will appeal to that audience, then it could be worth your while. The site has a definite following, and seems to have a good idea of how to promote their product. Your serial can be on both Vella and Radish, so starting off with Amazon can be a nice way to develop a story that can be accepted on the latter later on. 

The Vella interface is simple and functional. I've been able to go back and revise parts of the book and change even the title without hassle. I've seen my chapters go live within a couple of hours (though the waiting period is officially 72 hours).

Also, the format is very flexible and a book can be revised on the fly. On Feb. 16th or so, I'll be taking the original three opening chapters and compressing those into two, the current chapter four will be moved and become the new chapter three. That gives the free chapters more substance. The prevailing wisdom was to go small on the free chapters, but six weeks in, my preference is that readers get a fuller experience right away. The new alignment will provide a better balance of action and character development.

...accept no substitutes...

In the music world, there's no substitute for playing live or releasing recorded work to the public as far as developing your skills. A person can practice everyday for years, and find that the live or recording environment is very different. The first chapters in "The Quitters" deal with that, how live work differs from the practice studio.

It's the same with writing. As I write this blog entry, I'm always conscious of the fact that people will read it. After a few years of publishing it, I've had to learn to ruthlessly edit myself, to be aware of how even casual phrases and passages will read to others. There's a difference between amateur and professional level work.

If you're a new writer, and can upload up a chapter a week (or whatever you can manage), putting a serial novel on Vella is a good first professional step. Having a new book that can be seen in your Kindle should have the desired effect of keeping your mind on getting the next episode out. Until an audience develops, work hard and earn the bonuses and you'll feel like a pro writer. When the book is finished, you can wait 30 days and have an ebook to publish to boot.

One perception problem that Vella might have is that because it's part of the Amazon empire, that the site should already be successful and making everybody rich. It's really just a well capitalized start-up, and well behind the competition in terms of audience. Money can buy a one time audience to a well hyped spectacle, but it won't buy an audience that'll keep coming back to a book site geared towards mobile devices. Now that it's on Kindle, it could morph into a wider experience, but until then, Amazon can get people to look, but the writers are what's going to keep them there. 

If the writers complain and nit pick the site, that's a problem that Amazon would need to address. By the same token, if everyone crabs about Vella and it gets wide coverage in the media, then writers are helping to kill that market. Unless you create your art in a garage for personal satisfaction, there's going to be the business side.

Amazon has the responsibility to make Vella an environment that'll attract authors, who'll have to come in with both eyes wide open, but cognizant of the fact that after that, they're on their own. There's a decent enough royalty rate in place, much better than with music streaming, so the writer has to has to produce a book that people will buy (in parts). After that, there's promotion, and more writing. The way it works in the entertainment business, only a small percentage will become big, but there's plenty of niches and of course, the satisfaction.

One common denominator that's present in the big success stories, most worked very hard to get there and we're ready for an opportunity. That's an element that every writer can control. A new site like Vella may not be the route to success, but a real writer won't discount any avenue to show their work. You never know where that opportunity will come from.

I've made it sound simple because it is. Other factors such as audience, royalties, how long it'll take for Vella to attract a large paying fan base, and whether or not the book makes money are all things to consider, but Vella is a legitimate outlet for your work and backed by one of the richest corporations and publishers in the world. It's going to be around for a while, and having a novel on the site might be a good thing if Vella finally takes off.

Of course, if you have something better in mind, go for it. 

Chapter Overview With Samples:

With eight chapters live, those who've read the book can see that the various plot and character arcs are starting to really develop. The first three chapters, which describes an audition gig in real time, has bits and pieces along with the action passages that begin to flesh out the personalities involved.

As you can tell from the chapter titles, this isn't going to be a mythological bad boy punk story where everyone wears ripped t-shirts. If for no other reason, SF Punk wasn't like the press photos and canned interviews. There was a definite intellectual or anti-intellectual atmosphere in the scene, and plenty of tongue-in-cheek talk. There's a definite strain of black humor (and slapstick) in the proceedings. You really had to have a sense of humor in that scene.

Also, how Nym's personality and musical skill develops is important later when the scene shifts to Southern California, with it's considerably larger and more diverse music scene.

Chapter 3 and 4 are a break from the fast paced action, and gives the reader a glimpse of Nym's world, of the motivations and aspirations, introduces a new character, and creates a more complex picture of Jesus Guy, who comes off a really weird dude in the earlier chapters.

The idea is to give the free chapters more substance, and insert a new one that I was going to write later, but decided needed to be earlier in the story. Most readers who visit Vella will get 200 free tokens, so the changes don't affect my chapter plan. That many tokens will get you through most of the book.

The new Chapter 3 will follow Nym after the gig. This will give the reader more insight into Nym's personality. This new chapter will be live around Feb. 17th or sooner if it's completed before then.

Chapters 5 and 6 pick up the pace, though each features more character development. Both Ross and Stew show flamboyant public personas which turn out to be more interesting and detailed in Chapter 8. 

Chapter 7 focuses on Marly, the promoter who's infamous for his tough comedy routine to clear the Club before closing. As you go deeper into the book, it'll become obvious that a large part of the Punk scene is part of his long range plan that mostly succeeds, but also has the seeds of future discord and division.

Chapter 8 is a personal favorite (along with 4 and 6), as it gives me a chance to put many of the characters in one place and able to talk casually. There's a hint of future controversy that'll create a lot of turmoil in the later chapters.

The chapter 9 excerpt is from an episode that isn't completed yet, but Nym's personality is fleshed out further, both in inner dialogue and as seen by a couple of other characters.

...Chapter Excerpts...

Chapter 4: Nym’s Cool World

"It's a crisp August evening in the sin section of Broadway Street. The summer crowds are gone, and the sound of cars and busses are replaced by the shrill, desperate pitches of strip joint barkers now fishing in depleted waters.

Night is the best time, there's less detail, and the world’s simpler. It's easier to be me, enjoying the feeling of knowing I’m coming back to play again.

I’m skipping the third band, and just workin' on my Punk 'tude outside the pinball parlor next door. I'm puffing on a French cig, which adds cool and helps me resist the rich smell of Phillipino food from the restaurant section of the club. My macaroni and cheese dinner with a coke chaser is starting to wear off."

Chapter 5: The Negatives: A Punk Action Movie In Real Life

"The crowd’s colliding like bumper cars, so Ross jumps and twists in the air, giving the tourists a picture of wild, chaotic energy. 

It's like a modern art painting in motion! The Negatives' show has something for everyone! 

I'll have to ask Ross how he manages to get so much of his tongue hanging out like that. Whenever I try, I start gagging.

The fourth song, "Planet Toe Jam" is slower, which cools down the slam dancing. They want the crowd to just stand there, which sets up what's coming next. Plus in a longer set, it helps to have a romantic number so people can slow dance if they want to."

Chapter 6: Herman Hesse's Glass Bead Game - The Punk Version

"I gotta say he looks the part of a great artist; a big burly skinhead type who named his band after a Hermann Hesse novel. He says names like "Steely Dan" from Burroughs' "Naked Lunch," are too New York for his taste. Besides, being named after a dildo is so 60s!

I took Ida to see his show last month, and after she calmed down and agreed to not press charges, described the act as "Butt Love horseplay masquerading as performance art. It's definitely not entertainment."

I told Stew what she said, and he had the comment added to the group's press kit and asked me to thank her for the great review!"

Chapter 7: Marly Tells A Punk Bedtime Story

"Marly cuts the horn, then freezes like a brave knight who's just slain a dragon, which seems odd until I realize that some tourists are taking pictures. 

I subtly turn so my left side faces the cameras and pout at the ceiling. I take the goolie out of my mouth and hold it with two fingers near my chin, so the smoke curls near my face. Keeping it in your mouth makes you look like a puppy chewing on a biscuit, not very punk."

Chapter 8: Celebration At The Pup Chuck Wagon 24 Hour Hot Dog Diner

"There's no better place for a rising star to bask in new found glory than Pup Chuck Wagon, the 24 hour hot dog diner, a haven for San Franciscans who have more coolness than cash. Cheap food and everything you sit or eat on is washable!

I can afford a mustard dog, small fries and coffee if I use my bus money. It's only a half hour walk home and this night of achievement calls for a feast!"

Chapter 9: Nym's Walk Home

"How did you know I spent my bus fare?"

Jesus guy sighs, "You passed a bus stop on Stockton without stopping, I'd have given you the fare but Phil came, so I just took the next bus."

"You assumed Phil would give me fare money?"

"I ordained it, it's what I do child, besides, I can't go giving you cash every time you go broke, my wallet would be so light it'd float me back into Heaven and I'd have to do the Resurrection all over again."

End of excerpts...click link below to continue (for free of course)

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/episode/B09PC1XQKB?ref_=d6k_applink_bb_dls

The Electric Fog Factory.

The Al & Ivy Homeless Literary Journal Archive:

There are earlier blog entries on the Delta Snake Review section of this site that aren't on the On The Road page:
http://deltasnake.blogspot.com

Cover Reveal For Hide In Plain Sight

This is the cover for the upcoming book, Hide In Plain Sight, hopefully out sometime in 2022.

-Al Handa

djboogieunderground@gmail.com

The American Primitive Acoustic Collection by Handa-McGraw International can be streamed on all of the major services, including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and dozens of others. Note: only available on YouTube until February 21st

The Music Of Handa-McGraw International can also be heard on the Electric Fog Factory on YouTube. You can hear the album, and dozens of unreleased cuts and demos, plus exclusive video of Ivy.

On The Road With Al and Ivy: A Literary Homeless Journal - March 2019

"…I was halfway across America, at the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future..."

- Jack Kerouac (On The Road, The Original Scroll)

"It was my last observation that it was the custom of every man to call every other man a madman. The truth, in my judgement, they were all mad."

- Jack London (The Jacket, aka The Star Rover 1915)

Jack London is known (these days) as an adventure writer whose most famous books, Call Of The Wild and White Fang, are considered children or young adult classics (at least in abridged editions). He was quite popular in his time, and wrote several books that are considered classic.

His real life became legendary and many works like On The Road, a book about hobos, came from experiencing, and not just visiting, that life.

London treated writing as a discipline, and part of that involved churning out 1500 words a day. That resulted in a body of work that included short stories, essays, fiction and nonfiction books. Much of that went out of print until the digital age. There were hard copies around, but the rarer ones tended to command collector level prices.

One part of his catalogue that's become better known in the digital age are the books described in some circles as early science fiction. Which is sort of true, though it might be more accurate to describe the works as metaphysical, though his recreation of pre-Stone Age life, Before Adam, could be seen as speculative fiction.

My favorite London work in that genre, The Jacket, also known as The Star Rover, is a fascinating psychological novel that involves a prisoner who escapes torture by disassociating into past lives. London went all in with the concept and didn't label it as a descent into madness or fantasy. The prisoner actually connected with past lives, and unlike some modern treatments which portray glorious and successful adventures, recalled a variety with vastly different outcomes. Which is in line with London's life experience in environments where many a life was cut short by fate or failure.

London was a superb short story writer. In fact, that was probably his forte, and because of that, the various past lives are told in masterful detail. Even more impressive for his time, each episode accurately reflects the mentality of each era. Each is a superb short story within the bigger work.

What can be overlooked was how good the psychological detail was. The various prison characters are seen as personality types, each played or manipulated a certain way by the prisoner. In other words, each one didn't just do this or that, but also had psychological traits, motives and goals.

The process of disassociating from physical pain is described in minute detail. London's true life adventures certainly involved experiencing various forms of deprivation, thus giving insight into the thoughts and sensations that came from both the slow starvation of a prison diet, and being strapped into a jacket designed to inflict pain.

It's a prescient series of passages about mind over matter that was echoed in later works of art. One notable example is in an episode of the crime drama, Criminal Minds, where one of the agents is captured with the intent of torturing him into revealing information. The torturers are puzzled by the apparent indifference to pain until the head villain realizes that the agent has successfully disassociated into the past, and a psychological chess game begins to try and bring him back into the present. 

London was astute enough to make sure the fellow prisoners in the book had a variety of perceptions about that ability to regress into past lives. The prisoner who taught the main character how to self hypnotize was a believer in the method, but regarded the recollections simply as a mysterious trick of the mind to detach from reality. Others felt it was all crazy nonsense and self deception.

The Warden and his assistants were depicted as cruel, but of the "normal" world, who had no idea of what was going on and had no ability to see past what they thought was reality. Disassociation is now a familiar idea or belief, but back when London wrote the book, the characters calling the prisoner crazy may well have been drawn from real life skeptics.

One of the other themes is sanity, and what a core personality is. In other words, inside that mix of physical and psychological actions, was a person who came to see himself as a consciousness that would survive all that was happening.

For the purposes of this blog entry, the most interesting aspect of the story is how the various characters viewed (or were unable to see) what was going on in the Star Rovers mind, and the subject of disassociation. Also, the story had a cast of characters and there was no clear delineation of who was normal and not. As the story develops, it's clear that the main character is probably saner than his captors.

London didn't create a story with sane people dealing with the insane. He took a more metaphysical view in creating a mix of personalities and behaviors, and left judgement to the reader. That a character would visit past lives wouldn't have been an abstract to him. In his life, he'd encountered a wide variety of cultures and as a writer type, observed that many had deep spiritual beliefs that weren't common in the Western culture.

That the Star Rover's escape into the past was viewed with a variety of attitudes like skepticism, misunderstanding, or as a mystery that triggered reactions like fear or anger, it could be seen as a microcosm of how mankind has often treated the strange and unorthodox.  

...mental illness, and the strange...

The concept of sanity, norms, and mental illness is a subject that hasn't been covered in detail in this blog, though a sizable part of the homeless population is considered "mentally ill."

I had devoted over half of this blog entry to the technical aspect of the subject but found that it just led to an unwieldy morass of disputable data. Having people disagree with my opinion is OK, but it's always a good idea to avoid setting off chapter and verse disputes over data. I discarded the section and kept to the relative simplicity of generalities for this entry.

Another reason I discarded the previously planned section was that it became obvious that the issue isn't mental illness, but mental health.

For example, you hear people claiming that the homeless seem to want to stay that way and other overly broad statements that are actually a wrong diagnosis.

Apathy is often a symptom, and it's not really a general personality trait. Many drug and alcohol abusers are self-medicating, not partying away in a cardboard box in an alley. That's why general assistance fails so often. It's not treatment.

I'm going to revise the original essay and run it in the next blog.

...mental illness in the past...

Most people know that historically the definition of mental illness has differed in the past and that the "treatment" could be brutal. The supposedly normal people who burned women as witches were certainly not, though society tries to explain it as "ignorance." Calling it ignorance obscures the real issue, which is that the concept of sanity is often determined by majority rule, or those in power.

Blaming it on religion isn't entirely accurate either, as women who didn't fit the norm were persecuted or punished well before Christianity. For example, punishing a woman for adultery goes back to ancient times, or basically as soon as men decided they were property.

It's more complex than that of course, and the reasons for punishing someone judged as mentally ill can involve a wide range of motives that include social, political, religious, and emotional reasons that could be classified as insane. The mentality of attacking or punishing the unorthodox are human traits that have always been around and probably always will be.

We live in an era where people on opposing ends of the political spectrum, for example, take things past simple disagreement on issues and assert that the other side has a mental condition, or label people as sociopaths or whatever on the basis of what they've read in the news.

Society, or even smaller segments like peer groups decide for religious or political reasons which behaviors are normal and one can't automatically assume the standard will be fair. There is one constant, which is that sanity tends to be determined by majority rule. Not by doctors or leaders, but what the majority agrees with or is at least duped into believing. If were only up to leaders or experts, there'd be no disagreement about Global Warming, vaccines or whatever.

Mental illness still has a stigma, and a lot of it is based in fear. It's still a mysterious subject in many ways, as there's generally no obvious cause and effect like the flu, and odd behavior can be unsettling to those who are taught how to behave according to societal norms.

I hadn't decided how to treat the subject until the fifth draft. It's a complex subject, yet subject to the same dynamics that was described in the book by London. The mentally ill homeless population is actually complex and diverse, but tends to be viewed simplistically as under that one label, which is then interpreted in a wide range of often conflicting views, many of which are subjective.

The homeless problem has been around long enough for archetypes and cliches to develop, and thanks to short sound bytes and Internet forums, one can list the categories. That is to say, just one, the "mentally ill," all viewed in the same lens as the occasional person that goes off and commits a violent act or uses the sidewalk as a bathroom.

...odd ducks...

I lived for 14 months among more than a few "odd ducks" and people who needed help. I was uneasy at first around them, and often scared by their behavior. After a while though, I came to realize that most were harmless.

Many lived in fear, as they were easy targets for predators, and stuck rigidly to routines that helped them survive. I learned to not interrupt those routines and let them live in their own world. In fact, I learned a great deal about survival from predators by watching them. People can think the mentally ill homeless were all alike, just a bunch of crazies or whatever, but again, that's just simplistic.

Like all people, they had a variety of perceptions of the world around them, and in their own way, had good instincts and came up with various strategies for survival. They may have had problems, some had a lot, but most certainly weren't dangerous. 

...family....

Seeing the elderly ones affected me the most. There were men and women out there who in a perfect world should have had kids or grandchildren taking care of them. Having worked in a nursing home as a young man, I know that having family that care isn't a given. 

It requires a cold heart to be unmoved by the sight of a woman old enough to be a grandmother wander around out there with everything she owns in a shopping cart. If it pained me to see it, I couldn't imagine her pain from knowing there was family that knew and didn't come for her in that dangerous world. I came to feel that being detached from reality was perhaps a mercy in that place and time, and I don't expect society to understand why I and others felt that way.

There are various theories and reasons for there being so many mentally ill out there on the street. All may have some truth, but the most common cookie cutter solution seems to be, round them up and put them into forced treatment for their own good, with the underlying attitude that they're pests to be put out of sight and mind. Some might argue with that statement, but most decent people know that there's that element in any solution that involves involuntary detention.

More than a few groups or subcultures have found that it's not always safe to have sanity determined by majority rule. That why the subject is so contentious, and the solution won't be easy to find, though there's people out there doing their best to help, and frustrating as it can be, try to follow the rules and resist the temptation to join the more vocal in the crowd that want to treat the homeless like pests.

I gave the subject of mental illness a great deal of thought, and it wasn't until the final draft that a way to treat the subject evolved in a satisfactory way. The early explanations and essays based on research were discarded, including statements by people on both sides of the issue.

The reason is that, like a lot of subjects, it's rife with often conflicting theories and dependence on experts who aren't always vetted, particularly on the Internet. A good case in point is in a criminal trial where both sides can produce an expert to testify in their favor.

I decided to stick with what I saw, and what the homeless that I talked to, told me. Any descriptions of the mentally ill that described them as such were taken out. They were treated as characters in the story, and the passages written in as much in their point of view as possible, as with those respectable members of society who seemed to make it their businesses to get us arrested or chased out by any means possible.

I did come to one conclusion; that I had little to fear from the mentally ill out there, but there were members of respectable society that I'm glad didn't have any power over me. It's not the powerless ones that I feared, but the ones with it. Believe me, some of them were very, very scary

...the universe....

The homeless world wasn't some isolated tent city or skid row, but part of a larger universe that had all sorts of people that surrounded and interacted with it.

People picture a homeless camp or enclave as a discreet gathering of tents, like a separate world, and that's basically accurate, but in my book, you'll see that it also had subcultures that surrounded or orbited around it. Gilroy didn't have an extensive social service structure like San Francisco, so we didn't see aid workers or counsellors. 

But in 14 months in four locations, the periphery of any homeless gathering was active with vigilantes, hazers, dealers and couriers, pimps, religious cult members, sexual predators, animal activists, truckers, bike boosters, gypsies, possible police informants, tourists, and weekend slummers. 

Three of the locations were considered "gang territories," but I rarely saw gangs operating among the homeless. I've read (and heard at the time) that it was different in places like San Francisco, where tent cities were used to hide bike boosting rings and such. Also, as explained in earlier blog entries, certain places like county aid offices had gangs and businesses that targeted those who went there, but the homeless were incidental to the larger goal of harvesting the aid money paid out every month.

...life on a reservation...

There's a solution one hears now and then, which is to put them all in camps on public land (away from prime real estate), which would be a disaster for the mentally ill, especially the females. Homeless camps and shelters develop different dynamics depending on the demographics of the people there, but as you'll see in the book, it can quickly become Darwinian. In one chapter, I relate the experience of one homeless man who lived in a shelter for a while, and the dynamics resembled a loosely supervised school or reform school yard.

Any forced gathering of homeless would quickly turn into a refugee camp, and at best, be like a Native American Reservation.

The location of Native American reservations is no accident. The United States wanted the various tribes off of any land that could turn a real profit. The few times that such land turned out to be productive, like when gold was found in the Black Hills, commercial interests funneled wildcat miners into the area and the predictable conflicts forced the government's hand, bringing the Army in after the Sioux refused to leave.

The suggestion to ship the homeless off to camps is rooted in the same mentality, to get people seen as pests away from high value property (or areas in the process of becoming more valuable). The problem is that the only land suitable for a new "reservation" is public land, most of which is valuable enough that if it's not being exploited, business interests want it to be.

It's probably a good thing that such camps aren't created. One can look at areas like L.A. and San Francisco where ad hoc camps have become a humanitarian disaster area rife with drug use, crime, untreated mentally ill, and disease (like typhoid). Any such camp would have to be run like a city with services, so while it would cause many business types to shake their heads when I say this, the best organization to handle the homeless problem are city governments and that's where the money should go, and cities are where the homeless should stay until the problem is solved. 

In the long run, it'll still be cheaper than funding camps that create a permanent state of dependency. Some may argue that it's already happening in the big cities, but that's really more a situation where money is being poorly spent, and that can be fixed if society has the will.

"The experience of a long life has taught me, however, that sin is always punished in this world, whatever may come in the next. There is always some penalty in health, in comfort, or in peace of mind to be paid for every wrong. It is with nations as it is with individuals."

- Arthur Conan Doyle (Micah Clarke)

My favorite fiction books and movies tend to be historical adventures, and almost all involve some sort of journey. One favorite is Arthur Conan Doyle's Micah Clarke, which is about the exploits of three men who left their homes to join the Monmouth Rebellion in England. Doyle once said that his best writing wasn't the Sherlock Holmes stories, but the historical novels like Micah Clarke, White Company, Sir Nigel, and others. 

One thought that came to me after becoming homeless was that the characters left their homes to embark on the journey, yet were never labeled as homeless or transient even as they had to sleep out in the open or whatever shelter that could be found. Even Buddha today would probably be described as an enlightened homeless guy.

Arthur Conan Doyle was different in that he wasn't a stylist, like say, a Dickens or Joyce. He isn't quoted a lot, or has lots of people rhapsodizing about great passages, but anyone who's read Doyle knows that he was a no nonsense writer who was a great storyteller.

Being a writer who can efficiently narrate a story isn't a small feat. I've read lots of books where superfluous verbiage or detail seems to interrupt or stop the flow, or create scenes that fall flat. In addition, Doyle showed a satirical side (that reminds me of Stanley Kubrick) that wasn't always apparent in the Sherlock Holmes tales.

There's a couple of funny scenes that stand out in Micah Clarke. One is where the tough Mercenary becomes pious and devout in the presence of Puritan businessmen, to the disgust of Micah, and later, where two noblemen threaten each other with death, and a infantry officer respectfully suggests that there's a suitable place just outside where the gentlemen can have "proper elbow room for a breather." As the two lords get get more hysterical in their attempt to get the sergeant to intervene, he continues to politely direct them to a suitable dueling place. As the scene unfolds, you can imagine the smirk on Doyle's face as he wrote out that passage.

Doyle's historical novels rarely had a lot of long "detail" passages. He didn't fuss over fashion or equipment specs, yet the reader has a good sense of the atmosphere and look of the period by the end of the book. That's because much of the information was only fed in as needed, and a lot of the feel for the period came from the dialogue, which adds color and keeps the action moving forward. There aren't long descriptive passages about swords or armor, for example, instead the characters talk about the subject during conversations at various points in the story.

In the end, the historical novels were very much like the Sherlock Holmes series. Great story telling and characters that come alive and stay in your consciousness, like good friends you regularly visit and enjoy the company of. It was a book I reread in the car and was glad to enjoy the company of Micah and friends once again.

...the journey...

Micah Clarke wasn't the only adventure/journey book I read. I also read or reread "Travels With Charlie" by John Steinbeck, the reissue of Jack Kerouac's "On The The Road" in the original scroll form, and Jack London's "The Road."

All three are classic, of course, but each invoked a much different reaction than what might have occurred had my circumstances had been less dire.

Travels With Charlie, a travelogue by Steinbeck who decided to see the real America with his poodle, was the biggest disappointment. I thought that a book about a guy and his dog roughing it in a cross country trip would be full of insight into my situation but it read like a slight tale about a very well financed vacation. I refrain from calling it slumming as Steinbeck appeared to to be sincere in his desire to see the real America and talk to the salt of the earth.

Steinbeck by this time was a wealthy man, and the descriptions of the custom truck trailer complete with liquor cabinet and various hotels were so out of sync with my reality that it made me feel like Karl Marx to read it. Motel rooms were a real luxury out there, and run by corporations that charged such high rates that one often had to choose between a bed or eating a full meal. Some put all their money into a room and then panhandled to get cash to eat, though most just went without. All that could have been overlooked had it been an entertaining book, but my impression is that it was mainly a book for Steinbeck fans.

The Kerouac book was quite interesting, though a few decades down the line it's become a period piece, albeit a classic one. Kerouac originally typed the entire book out on a single roll of butcher paper, not even stopping to correct mistakes or do any editing or revisions. A cynic might say like a word processor with auto correct. It was, in effect, a stream of consciousness put to paper, though it did have a plot.

I liked this scroll version, as it's earthier and spontaneous. It was an adventurous book for it's era and place, which was 50s America, though Europe had already seen writing like this before. Kerouac had a freer sense of poetry or metre, influenced by American jazz, and is clearly less mannered than James Joyce or Henry Miller, who were more disciplined.

The lack of editing does show, and it's an uneven book, with brilliant passages and some real clunky sections that won't inspire rereading. Yet it's hard to imagine how Kerouac could have produced this book any other way, as any self editing process would have filtered many of the best passages into more "correct" structure, as it's now clear that it happened here and there in the original published version.

Although the book was a chronicle of a trip across the United States, the real journey was in the author's mind, as he attempted, and succeeded, in creating a new culture with it's own language. As I started my own book, I couldn't say that "The Road" was going to be a direct influence. For one thing, On The Road is a young book, almost innocent in it's enthusiasm, and very much about discovery. But Kerouac's writing was also was very brave and honest, and such qualities will serve me well in my own work.

...another Road book...

Jack London's book, "The Road," describes his experiences as a hobo, and it provided a lot of the background of later movies like "Emperor Of The North." It's a brilliant book, full of details that might shock or surprise those who think of hobos in terms of Roger Miller's 'King Of The Road" or Red Skelton's lovable tramp character.

The Hobo world was, and is a lot tougher, and very insular with it's own language and culture. I remember seeing hobos as a kid, they had set up a small camp near some tracks that ran though the then small town of Palo Alto. That area was a popular place for kids, as it had trees that were suitable for building ad hoc platforms, so we'd come into contact with them as they passed though.

The hobos were old school, and carefully avoided trouble, particularly with kids as that would quickly get the attention of the police. I heard and read stories later on that the hobo scene was changing, with younger men and a tougher environment, but that wasn't really true. Some of the hobos warned us even back then to be careful around hobos, and that's echoed in London's book, although not explicitly.

London's stories are an unglamorous view of such hobo staples as train hopping, which in reality could get one maimed or killed. There were murders, and a criminal element, yet among the mainstream, a sense of code and honor. They did go around and beg for food if short on cash, but their life wasn't entirely about avoiding work.

In an earlier age, many probably would have become mountain men or trappers, content to live an independent life away from civilization. Most didn't become town drunks or the happy neighborhood tramp. Their life was about travel, being in constant motion and London clearly found it an adventure with plenty of challenges for the type of man he was at the time. 

I was aware of hobos and similar wanderers out there, and most of the old timer homeless avoided them and advised me to do the same. I resisted the temptation to visit hobo camps and rail byways that had their codes written describing the area, and never stayed near railroad tracks at night. 

It wasn't a matter of whether the danger was truth or myth, but that there wasn't much margin for error out there. That's why the risks London took in his book looked even more impressive once I'd been out there for a while. A robbery or beating could be catastrophic to a homeless person, and danger was really danger, not like in a TV show or movie where people luck out or are too tough to take on.

I once saw a young man emerge one morning from the levee camp area after an obvious beating, and it was clear that if he couldn't have walked out under his own power, he'd have had to lay out there until discovered by someone (who didn't mug him). He was a big strong guy, not someone you'd pick a fight with, but like I said, it wasn't like the movies. The guys who attacked him had simply waited till he went to sleep that night. 

His strength meant nothing, and in fact was a disadvantage. The two assailants couldn't take the chance he'd get up and start fighting back, so the attack was sudden and very violent. Luckily he was smart enough to recognize that they weren't going to kill him so stayed down and took the beating, which could have been a lot worse.

That's a tough choice he had to make, and the best way to avoid such situations was to stay away from places like camps and railroad tracks where hobos hung out. That was possible because I had a car and could keep moving, which London didn't have, but he still adhered to the same principle, that movement was survival. Of the three books discussed, his was the most real to me out there.

I did research the subject of hobos, and learned some of the codes and such, but it's dicey to put things in a story purely from research. Much of what I read about the homeless gets a lot of things wrong, so figure it must be the same for tramps. As a result, they are a shadowy presence in the book, as it was in reality for me.

...Ivy...

It's been almost two years since Ivy passed away on March 17th, 2017, and she's been on my mind more than last year. Part of that is because as my book nears completion, most of the work is on the second half which includes her death.

The first draft of the book ended in February 2017, on the one year anniversary of us becoming homeless, and even up to the third draft, I still seriously considered keeping that original ending. However, Ivy had emerged in the second half as a major part of the plot, becoming the "face" of both the promo business and blog, and even in death, a catalyst that helped mobilize efforts that literally rescued me from the street. It was appropriate to make it about her whole life.

I've described her story in earlier blog entries, but one aspect stood out this month, her emergence as the face of virtually all of my projects. It started when I started my Twitter account a few years ago. It was intended to promote my music, but none had been recorded yet, so was treated as an internet radio station playing an eclectic mix.

It gained a thousand followers, and that seemed good enough as a place holder set up until some original music was created. The thing that was on my mind at the time was, how to go about growing the audience from there.

I had been taking pictures with my iPhone and was enjoying editing those on various photo apps. The long range plan was to be able to produce my own promo and album covers. Most of the people around me didn't like having their pictures taken, and neither did Ivy, but she had no choice in the matter. Thus, her career as a model began.

Ivy's reluctance to be photographed changed once it became a professional situation, with payment in extra treats and food after sessions. Her white hair and big eyes were ideal for creating photos with graphic effects, and I literally took thousands of pictures of her.

 I used one of her in a blue hooded jacket as my Twitter avatar, and the result was a surprise. People, particularly women, started to follow the account and it began to grow at a thousand a month.

One Fourth of July weekend, I was at a dinner, and put one of the festive American Flag napkins on her back (which slipped forward like a scarf) and took the picture you see today as the avatar on both the Twitter and Facebook accounts. Once that became the symbol of the Boogie Underground, the Twitter account grew to over two hundred thousand in a little under two years.

I've never changed that photo, except to put a copyright notice on it, and have always kept it as the company logo, so to speak. I've often wondered at the success of her image, and the main thing that comes to me is that Ivy projected a friendly and sweet personality along with the patriotic colors. A cute little dog is hard to resist.

Ivy probably never knew that she had become the Boogie Underground's super model, but did understand that something important was going on when the iPhone was pointed at her. She was a little diva, and limited photo sessions to a couple of minutes, but when engaged, would pose and make a wide variety of faces. 

The sessions were structured, and I always used the same words and tonal inflections so that over time, she knew when a big smile was required or when to show a more reflective air. It was always more effective if the camera set to rapidly shoot for a couple of minutes, as she had gotten into the habit of making the same face if it was a posed "smile for the camera" situation.

Her modeling skills became vital in 2017. Freelance drafting jobs were hard to come by, and job applications didn't go very far for a homeless person. However, some regular income did start to come in from promotion work on social media using ads featuring Ivy. It was an important development that helped me begin to feel productive again, and to have hopes that our ordeal could someday end.

Having a dog who could pose like a model was more than simply useful or a good selling point for ads, it was also a lot of fun during a time when things felt dreary and hopeless. We spent many wonderful hours getting good pictures, which were then processed into ads, and as payment was in advance from kind and enthusiastic customers, the rewards were immediate and concrete. In Ivy's case, it was slices of baked chicken, a real favorite. It helped our spirits to an extent that's hard to describe without it sounding like fantasy, but in the context of life as it was then, it felt like a miracle.

Ivy didn't make it out, and looking back, it was obvious that her heart condition was getting worse, and deep down, I knew that there was a chance she'd die out there. Still, it felt so sudden, and to this day, I still feel the loss of a good friend who was there at the lowest point of my life, and never broke faith with our friendship.

I've changed nothing since. Every picture is still up, and she's still the face of The Boogie Underground. It's not that I can't let go, but a matter of respect. People who do great things get statues or memorials, and in Ivy's case, she helped build this blog and it's social media presence, and so she'll live on here.

The book will have her statue in it. It'll have to be constructed with words, which I believe will last longer than stone anyway.

...update on the final draft...

I had hoped to have the final draft complete by December 31st, but couldn't manage it. Most of that month was spent trying to move the manuscript into the Windows 10 and Android environment and dealing with the technical problems that came up.

I eventually solved the problem by just staying in the iOS environment for now, and will deal with getting it into Word manuscript and ebook format when the book is done. Trying to do it all at once wasn't a good idea.

The book chapters are assembled, with a working total of 36 chapters, most of which are done. I'll need to rewrite three chapters, and do the final revisions on six.

The actual planned total will be 24 chapters. Some of the working sections will be combined into larger chapter, etc, but are being kept separate until it's time to do the layout for ebook formatting.

One of the things I saw was that the chapter order had to be changed and better transitions written. I've said in earlier blog entries that the book would be combining first and third person narrative, which makes the story more vivid, but wasn't happy with the flow because there was a chance that the reader could find the shift of perspective confusing or abrupt. You can get away with that in a movie, but not in a book written by anyone not named James Joyce.

I came up with a perfect narrative approach in January and am writing out the new transition passages. The various changes in mood, pace, and style now hang together and won't seem fragmented or abrupt. I hope it'll be a rich reading experience for any of you who read the book when it comes out.

I'm still thinking in terms of publication by late Spring or Summer at the absolute latest. As said earlier, there's reasons it shouldn't come out later so that's the deadline for all this.

- Al Handa

djboogieunderground@gmail.com

The Al & Ivy Homeless Literary Journal Archive:

There are earlier blog entries on the Delta Snake Review section of this site that aren't on the Road page:
http://deltasnake.blogspot.com

Cover Reveal For Hide In Plain Sight

This is the cover for the upcoming book, Hide In Plain Sight, hopefully out sometime in the summer of 2018.

-Al Handa

djboogieunderground@gmail.com