LaFond’s latest attempt to write a love story—surprise—turned into a horror short novel. And this meathead wonders why the middle-aged love-starved female editors and agents continue to spurn his slag-iron word-smithing.
Contents
Prologue: Nest-taker 11
Chapter 1: Jerome Ronnie Ringgold Thompson 14
Gearing Up 14
Moving Out 18
Neighborly Relations 21
Hot Chocolate & Cake 26
Snowfall 34
Chapter 2: Virtius Maniples 38
Anno Domini, 43, Wales 38
The Accursed One 38
The Counsel of Plutarch 42
Anno Domini, 2014, Monday, January 6th, 11:24 p.m. 47
Virgil 47
Chapter 3: Hasti ‘Five Tooth’ Acine 51
Anno Domini, 43 51
Bloody Snot 51
Plutarch’s Fortune 55
Anno Domini, 2014, Monday, January 22, 7:05 a.m. 59
Virgil 59
Chapter 4: Mars’ Speculum 65
The Unnatural Road 65
Neptune’s Lung Puss 69
Effigy 75
D.O. Goddamned-A! 77
Anno Domini, 2014, Monday, January 22, 7:19 a.m., Wysteria Lane, Baltimore, MD 77
Interlude: Old Death Wind 83
January, 1783, A Half-day’s Stalk above the Headwaters of the Potomac 83
Gray Call 83
Moon Kiss 86
Chapter 5: Whoreson Plutus 93
A.D. 43, Emerald Isle 93
The Hand of Moros 93
Dance of the Mad Signifier 99
A.D. 2015, Monday, the 19th, Martin Luther King National Holiday, Over the Moon diner, U.S. Route 40 and Middleton Road 106
Over the Moon 106
Chapter 6: Aptus the Butcher 113
Hounds of Ire and Ice 118
Ivan the Imperishable 125
Chapter 7: Felix Gore-hog 131
Hate’s Deep Bellows 137
Chapter 8: Neptune’s Drink 142
In the Arms of Spring 142
6:14 a.m., May Day, Friday, May 1, 2015, Apartment 216, Ruxton Towers, Baltimore County, MD 142
In the Arms of Moros 148
12:07 a.m., Winter Solstice, Tuesday, December 22, 2015 148
Under the Eyes of Mars 152
12:20 a.m., Spring Equinox, Sunday, March 20, 2016, under the power lines above I-695 at Philadelphia Road 152
Epilogue: The Butcher in My Sink 161
Midday, March 1, 1524, Cape Fear, the future English colony of North Carolina 161
12:01 a.m., Winter Solstice, Wednesday, December 21, 2016 163
7:17 a.m., Sunrise 165
Author’s Notes 167
Winter of Our Kind: Racial Memory in Fiction 167
‘Head in Hand’ 170
The Butcher in My Sink: The Outline to Winter 172
The link to Amazon’s listing for the print book is below.
