Eleanor writes:

{{ As for the writing, tous vas bien, merci. An overabundance of brilliant ideas, really; the trick is in prioritizing..... }}

So glad for you! I'm also being showered in abundant rains of inspiration. You have been such an inspiration, like my other e-friend, Tom Keske. Though we've been corresponding for over 9 years now. Our bouncing comments back and forth has been a constant inspiration.

My letters to you have proven a new and excellent resource of ideas. When I release my piece "Friendly Ghost Detective Agency," you'll see the opening part's a direct passage from one of my recent letters to you.

BTW, I want to find an illustrator for my gay Dr. Seuss parody...that part in a larger piece (which I have since edited to perfection). I realized I can lift that out, polish up the beginning...and voila, it would make a fantastic adult gay parody that COULD be a best seller.

The book would mimic the standard Seuss children's book. Ha, gay parody of Dr. Seuss...as if his tales weren't way-GAY already. :D

I may have found my illustrator...lives in my building, very creative with the pencil. I think sketches for this would be HILARIOUS. The images have been swimming around my head like mutant sugar plums, the last two weeks.

BTW: Don't you find it a merciless and unforgivable intrusion when you're caught up in your writing, that from time to time you must leave the comfort of your desk to void the body of waste matter? Or prepare food? Or tend to whatever other daily and necessary chores (like bathing/shaving/dressing/brushing teeth/walking the garbage/throwing out the dog/etc.?

I should leave you to your important writing, now. I'm sure you're having LOTS of fun working on that horror story.

From: Eleanor
To: Zeke
Date: 10 Nov 2007, 09:47:28 PM
Subject: Re: How's your writing going?

Zeke:

"Friendly Ghost Detective Agency" is a truly inspired name. I hope you use it as an actual book title. It sounds to me like a novel. With a gay gumshoe protagonist. I'm serious! That's the kind of title that takes you to the top of the bestseller list!!!!!

And I think the time is absolutely right for an adult gay parody of Dr. Seuss. It could be a classic!

It was fun spying on Zeus and Apollo. Love the links--the Hephaestus illo was a find....

More soon--
Eleanor

From: Zeke
To: Eleanor
Date: 11 Nov 2007, 12:47:44 AM
Subject: Re: How's your writing going?

Eleanor writes:

{{ "Friendly Ghost Detective Agency" is a truly inspired name. }}

Wait'll you see the tale...it's actually non-fiction.

{{ I hope you use it as an actual book title. }}

It is the latest chapter of my Larkin Chronicles...which is already a book, as far as quantity of chapters go. You'll see.

{{ It sounds to me like a novel. With a gay gumshoe protagonist. I'm serious! That's the kind of title that takes you to the top of the bestseller list!!!!! }}

Oh, you don't know how on the mark you are, Eleanor! Yes, this story brewing in my mind is with myself and Larkin as detective partners/lovers. It is a fantasy morphing into reality. I am become a bona fide psychic detective, and I've already solved my first crime, with another as witness. But that is all explained in "Friendly Ghost Detective Agency". You will see it soon.

{{ And I think the time is absolutely right for an adult gay parody of Dr. Seuss. It could be a classic! }}

Yep. I'm on a roll...so much is falling into place for me, I could never again doubt the magic of the universe.

{{ It was fun spying on Zeus and Apollo. }}

Technically, I didn't even get close! Eros tricked me; instead I almost witnessed two dykes getting it on...something I care not to see, ever (goddesses though they be). Alas, I lost The Cloak Of Invisibility in my haste to salvage my sorry soul from the Wrath of Artemis. It all turned out well (in the end: heh!), as I did get to boink the daylights out of The Angel of Love's Passion Himself!

But I sure wish I could get That Cloak back! Well, you know where I left it: in the wardrobe of Artemis' bedroom. Since you are female, and highly regarded by the goddesses for your excellent prose (as well as loving your mother so kindly for so long; and sacrificed much in so doing)...perhaps in tonight's dream-travel, you can get a foot into Artemis' chambers. The excuse itself would be a snap:

"Artemis, do you mind if I peek into your closet? It's every woman's dream to peruse the wardrobe of a goddess; and I'm no exception!"

Play around with The Cloak all you want. I know that--impeccable, trustworthy soul that you are--you'll eventually return it to me, the rightful owner. At least, I think I'm the rightful owner. I remember standing by the River Lethe (drenched in the most scintillant, refreshing water I've ever quaffed), with that resplendent, water-logged Cloak draped over my left arm. My memory goes no further. If only I could afford a hypnotherapist! (Come to think of it, once The Cloak is back in my keep, accessing all the moolah I'd ever want--and then some--will be a breeze. I'll sing no more, those Thin-Wallet Blues!)

{{ Love the links--the Hephaestus illo was a find.... }}

Wasn't it though! I deliberated on choosing that among various worthwhile sites. While they provided more vital info on the nature of Hephaestus, none depicted him so graphically as a cripple. So the gimp page won out. Do you know he's the spouse of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love? What a lesson their partnership displays to mortals: the loveliest of all goddesses marries the most deformed of all gods! I like to tell people, "If you really want to learn about human nature, study the Greek myths." As my first shrink (I wear 'em out hella fast) Dr. Gilbert Weisman once said: "The Ancient Greeks were a very cerebral lot." (He also introduced me to gov't disability, and got me off the streets. But that's another story.)

I am so glad you enjoyed my Invisible Cloak tale! Did you notice how I picked up the "thread" of Greek mythology on behalf of gay rights, by literally using Ariadne's thread as the common link? I'm very proud of my quite special gift to draw from a rich, classical distant past, and breathe new life into it, in order to foment revolution.

Yes, I had so much FUN finding the appropriate illustrations...the magic of which was they fell right into my lap. (I'd like to say "laptop" to be punny, but I don't own one *sigh*)...very little time spent tracking down each one. But I really don't know what I'm looking for, except in a most general, themed way. So it's always a surprise and delight, to see what The Muses toss my way on LCD. Like a scavenger artist rummaging through garbage dumps, I do same in cyberspace.

Discovering and manipulating images to enhance my writing is but one among numerous unique benefits to web-based authorship (as opposed to conventional tree-pulp publication). Another, is hyperlinking: providing links to other pages in cyberspace. A link can be a pun, or additional resource that could NEVER exist on paper. I can take any story or poem (does not have to be an essay or new report), and enhance it with such links. Thus my articles/tales/poems/letters/etc. become information rich in ways I never dreamed of when I first composed them!

Here are several other web-writing benefits:

• You can provide a message board or web log for your readers. Besides the excellent feedback, it's a great way to brainstorm and keep in touch with kindred souls around the world.

• Publishing your work on the Internet costs from nothing to very little...and does not waste paper or ink. And it's instant: no waiting around w/fingers crossed for an editor's blessing.

• Free copyright protection: just post your writing to a newsgroup, and it will be permanently and irrevocably stamped with the date and time of its posting. This approach is not for everyone, though it certainly is for this left-wing ex-flower-child radical activist and raconteur!

• In cyberspace, there is so much excellent (and free) material on any subject you can imagine, you could do most of your research from the comfort of home. And a lot faster.

Did you know I played a significant role--albeit not famously--in shaping cyberspace as it now exists? (Or maybe I'm just having an Al Gore Moment.) As a member of KAY*FOG bulletin board service years and years ago, we discussed and expounded upon concepts like hypertext and hyperlink, free/cheap international communications, telecommuting/travelling, virtual realities, free/cheap quality education for all, and so on. We thirsted to see these ideas take root...we saw the future and craved it (prophetic geniuses that we were, this little cabal of hungry hackers).

I even worked at PC World Communications under the management of Andrew Fleugleman (Founder of the Whole Earth Catalog, and shareware) . You will find me quoted extensively in Microcornucopia Magazine (Sept./Oct. Issue, 1998), regarding a solution to these proliferating virus attacks. My idea became incorporated in every early antivirus program...though I got not one red cent for my idea! I also created the world's first and only full blown ANSI-animated story, called "SallyJones". Before I came along, no one thought to use ANSI except for elaborate single-frame art (often for BBS welcome screens), or very simple, quick several-frame pieces (colorized versions of ASCII images).

My piece was such a hit, that BBS sysops around the world featured my "keyboard of the future" sequence on their sign-in screens. Even Russian sysops! Alas, modern CPU's are way too fast to play SalllyJones, unless you run a utility to slow it down. I don't have such a utility...but then again, I haven't searched that hard. I tried a few freeware versions, but they don't seem to function. My real plan is to knock apart the entire animation, and convert each frame into "gif" format...then stick them all back together again with a simple gif-animator. (Don't know why I've never gotten around to it after all these years...but I will soon.)

Of course, it is now much more obvious to you, how I will become a likely candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize...and maybe take over the entire planet through the sheer brilliance of my gifted intellect.

No false humility here! I write for the sheer PLEASURE of it. My first goal is NOT the money...it is to use my "white magic" to liberate the souls of my gay brothers and sisters. Affluence will result as a consequence, in order to empower me further.

You can see now why I'm on disability, as "mentally disabled". I am TOO MUCH for most people to comprehend. Holding down a regular job ALWAYS spells disaster for me!

Pleasant dreams, you excellent angel!