http://jadesylvan.com/backstage A Novel Serialized in Forty Weeks Mon, 10 May 2010 18:47:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en For a limited time online, check out Backstage at The Caribou: the comic, no. 1, on the website of my lovely collaborator, Dan Mayzee. http://jadesylvan.com/backstage/?p=272 It was amateur night.  A Friday, two weeks after Julie and Princess quit, and Michelle sat and watched as young girls, many barely eighteen, shook their round asses for the crowd.  Michelle was sure two girls would be hired.  A curvy, chocolate-skinned girl who danced under the name Orchid, and ... http://jadesylvan.com/backstage/?p=269 She never saw Morris again.  She didn’t need to.  She didn’t want to. That Friday, after Michelle had just given a two-hundred dollar private dance, Princess found her.  As she approached, a small entourage of customers lingered at a respectful distance, giving the dancers privacy.  Princess hugged Michelle before she spoke.  ... http://jadesylvan.com/backstage/?p=258 There was no answer at Sam’s door when Michelle knocked.  No rustling.  No giggles or hushed lover-voices.  Not even the sound of Lily running over the floor.  She stood for a moment in the stale-smelling hallway listening to the silence, then she walked to work. That Monday the girls couldn’t fill ... http://jadesylvan.com/backstage/?p=254 Michelle and Sam went the following Saturday evening to the bar where Sam first taught Michelle to dance.  Though it was early and the bar was virtually empty, the management still felt it necessary to play pop music at an inhumane volume. They arrived early and sat in silence.  Both drank ... http://jadesylvan.com/backstage/?p=252 The headlines read like tabloids. Madman attacks dancer in city club Dog fends off attempted murder in gentleman’s club Giant sociopath runs amok in Caribou Service dog saves woman’s life at expense of own Superhuman schizo strangles stripper And, in one publication, Pit bull attacks!  Is no one safe from this deadly breed? The following night, ... http://jadesylvan.com/backstage/?p=249 “Look, I know her.  She’s got long, light brown hair and glasses,” Michelle said listlessly into the receiver.  It was three o’clock in the afternoon.  She was on the phone with an obstinate secretary with a god complex after being transferred from a clueless secretary in the wrong department. “That’s not ... http://jadesylvan.com/backstage/?p=246 Ring ring. “Hello?  Department of Philosophy.” “Um, hi.  I was looking for Philosophy of Science.” “It’s a subset.  I can help you.” “Hi, um, my name is Michelle Browne, and I’m looking for someone.” “…Alright.  Is it a student?” “Yes.  Well, a graduate student.” “Okay, what’s his name?” “Her.  Well, I don’t know her last name.” “…Okay.  May I ... http://jadesylvan.com/backstage/?p=244 “Sam!  Are you all right?” Michelle was pounding on the door of apartment 118C.  She heard movement behind the door.  She knocked louder. “Come on, Sam!  It’s Michelle.  It’s me!” Slowly, the door opened. Sam looked tired, sick.  Her white skin was almost translucent, and Michelle could see faint snaking rivers of blue veins ... http://jadesylvan.com/backstage/?p=239 The next day at about one-thirty, as Michelle was walking to the grocery store, she saw a long-haired teenaged boy skateboarding on a banister.  His unwashed brown hair lay in strands, whipping behind him as he slid down the pole and landed with a clack! back on the sidewalk.  He ... http://jadesylvan.com/backstage/?p=237