Speaking of Chisinau, and Whiplash . . .


Chisinau was the site of a massacre during World War II, one of many, unfortunately. That bit of history wasn't relevant to the new Whiplash story, so it's not in the book. Even an oblique link was lost when I cut some of the irrelevant parts of a scene down.

That happens a lot: Bits and pieces that mean a lot to the writer in the early stages or even pre-stages of a book get totally lost in the process. They may not make it onto the writer's screen, let alone the reader's.

But they do add something - or at least I think they do - to the texture of the book. They haunt it like ghosts in the walls, things you can sense but can't quite touch.