Novel writing is a team sport. If the book is any good, it's due to the team. If it's bad, it's the fault of the author. I hope I have successfully interpreted and acted on the voices of those who have critiqued, guided, and inspired my work.
Beta readers include Babs Carryer (author of Murder in Anegada), Dannie Stubblefield, David Sloan (author of Cameraman), Eileen McIntire (author of The House on Hatemonger Hill), Jasmine Warren, Allen Saslaw, Jay Strack, Sam Broussard, Eric Kimball, Eva Silverfine Ott (author of Ephemeral), Nathan Jeffrey Proctor Jones, Patricia Morrison, Sharon Browning, Ezra Linehan-Clodfelter (author of New Haven, MN), Lashandra Garner, Michael Brennen, Kemi Ashing-Giwa, Dee Hudson, Katrina Diaz Arnold. Amanda Nicole Ryan, and Dan Walsh.
I have a special place in my heart for friends and tribe members in The Black Writers' Collective who helped me tweak several chapters in the novel. Thanks Carolyn Holland (author of Behind the Dark Veil), Talia Clay-Johnson, Sherian Brown, Tracy Coker, Nadine Nana, Jedah Mayberry (author of Sun is Sky), Joanna Crews, La' Cole Martin, and Nina Aikins.
The novel benefited from Prof. Barry D. Keim's expert knowledge of climate and geography. He is the Richard J. Russell Professor in the Department of Geography & Anthropology at Louisiana State University, as well as the state climatologist for the state of Louisiana. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Sam Broussard at the nonprofit Acadian Heritage and Cultural Foundation, Louisiana. Sam, an avid sci-fi fan, provided not only excellent cultural insights but helped improve the story. Jeff Hawkins' book, A Thousand Brains - A New Theory of Intelligence, and my correspondence with him, shaped one of the core technology concepts of the novel.
Milan Jovanovic of 99designs created the book's excellent cover.
Finally, for inspiration, I must acknowledge monsters, living and dead. Mangalotte's rally speech in Chapter 22 and address to supporters in Chapter 69 borrow from Adolph Hitler's closing speech, Triumph of the Will, given at the 6th Nazi Party Congress, 8 September 1934, Nuremberg. The Chapter 69 speech also blends with part of Vladimir Putin's "cleansing" address to the Russian people, 18 March 2022. Thanks, Adolph. Thanks, Vladimir. You've shown us how sociopathic leaders can cloak monstrous schemes in the glitter of nationalism, and tilt normal people toward hate and murder. Brilliant.
The Pieces of My Self incorporates excerpts from the works of others:
· Antonio Porchia, Epigram—From Voices, 1943, 1947, 2003 (Copper Canyon Press)
· M. C. Escher, Frontispiece—Art excerpt from Regular Division of the Plane with Birds, 1949
· Gioachino Rossini—Excerpt from The Barber of Seville, 1775
· James Spencer—Poem, Kinship Is, Published in Poets Unlimited, 13 February 2017
· Jake Mitchell Hardy & Nick Donley—Song lyrics excerpt, Sittin' Pretty, Florida Georgia Line, 2018
· Dwight Yoakam—Song lyrics excerpt, It Won't Hurt, 1985
· Lewis Carroll—poem, Twinkle Twinkle, in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, 1865.
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The Pieces of My Self
Science FictionA hunt for treasure becomes a search for self. Lillian Fray, an adjunct professor at a community college, is asked to solve a puzzle involving a cryptogram and the link to a dead billionaire's sentient avatar. Her quest is fraught with racial politi...
