Dr. Necropolis Update: Final Rewrite

Hello friends and Happy MONDAY!

I don't know who's still interested in this project, but in case you're wondering, I'm about halfway through the final rewrite. It's going pretty well, but I'll admit that it's also been a LOT more comprehensive than I'd expected. 

Chapter 4 (Rewrite): The Diamond District

I finally finished rewriting Chapter 4. I expect that'll be the hardest rewrite in the book. I've been working on it for the past four days.

If you're wondering, I most wanted to strengthen Tiffany's voice. I also put Zulu into ACUs when he'd originally been in a superhero suit, and I added some clarity to some of the backstory, hopefully without slowing the overall narrative.

What do you think?

Testing Audiobook Tech

I recorded the first two chapters of my book. This isn't perfect. It's basically just a draft. But feel free to check it out if you're interested.

And... it looks like I can't actually upload the audio by itself. So here's a link to a shared mp3 file via Google Drive.

The Return of Dr. Necropolis (Audiobook Test): Chapters 1 & 2

I already have some notes, but please, let me know what you think!

Chapter 1: Running Late

Sally convinced me to write a new Chapter 1 for The Return of Dr. Necropolis. Her comments made me feel like Tiffany wasn't coming across heroically enough in the book's early going, a concern I'd had in the back of my mind since before the re-write. I'd therefore been considering something like this for awhile. I just hadn't pulled the trigger until this past weekend.

I gotta say that I'm still not totally sure where to put this. But you can tell me what you think of it, either in context with the rest of the book or as a standalone piece.

Thanks in advance!

The Return of Dr. Necropolis: Audio Book Options

My wife and I were talking on Sunday when she suggested I consider changing my pen name to Dan E. Cabeza. I've used Danno E. Cabeza for years online and on the various As For Football podcasts, but I can admit that it's not the most serious pen name, and I'm worried that people won't take The Return of Dr. Necropolis seriously because of it. Not that Dr. Necropolis is necessarily some think-piece, but it's unserious in an entirely different direction. 

Necropolis is a comic-style adventure story with some adult themes. Danno E. Cabeza is just a ridiculous name that I happen to like. I worry that the pen name will make people think the book is some kind of comedy. That's definitely not what it is.

Adventures in AI Part 1: Editing

I’ve spent the last two day working with an AI (Microsoft Copilot) on some of my writing by way of an experiment. Been sitting in corporate training this week & DRIVING into work, so I haven’t been able to write AT ALL. That has sucked. This is what I’ve been left with instead.

Sketch in My Notebook: The Return of Dr. Necropolis--Chapter 15 (Part 2)

Frank McGuinness, the man who was once the notorious super-criminal Dr. Necropolis, escaped from Sing Sing Correctional Facility, robbed a bank, and got away with it.  He took a hostage named Chelsea.  Meanwhile, his former partner, the Russian super-criminal known only as the Siberian Tiger, resurfaced after years underground, with both Frank's ex-wife, Gun Girl Gracie, on his arm and Frank's greatest creation, the Neural Disruptor, wrapped around his head.

Against them stand Army Lieutenant Blaine Winters, the new Centurion of the N.Y. State National Guard's Enhanced Forces Division (EFD), and FBI Agent Tiffany Trujillo, once the superhero Titania. These two went with a SWAT team to confront the Siberian Tiger and Gun Girl Gracie at a bank heist in Brooklyn, but they got their asses kicked. Tiffany wound up in the hospital, a bunch of SWAT officers died, and Blaine would have died too if not for the prodigious gifts associated with his extraordinary genetic heritage.

Sketch in My Notebook: The Return of Dr. Necropolis--Chapter 15 (Part 1)

Frank McGuinness, the man who was once the notorious super-criminal Dr. Necropolis, escaped from Sing Sing Correctional Facility, robbed a bank, and got away with it.  He took a hostage named Chelsea.  Meanwhile, his former partner, the Russian super-criminal known only as the Siberian Tiger, resurfaced after years underground, with both Frank's ex-wife, Gun Girl Gracie, on his arm and Frank's greatest creation, the Neural Disruptor, wrapped around his head.

Against them stand Army Lieutenant Blaine Winters, the new Centurion of the N.Y. State National Guard's Enhanced Forces Division (EFD), and FBI Agent Tiffany Trujillo, once the superhero Titania. These two went with a SWAT team to confront the Siberian Tiger and Gun Girl Gracie at a bank heist in Brooklyn, but they got their asses kicked. Tiffany wound up in the hospital, a bunch of SWAT officers died, and Blaine would have died too if not for the prodigious gifts associated with his extraordinary genetic heritage.

Sketch in My Notebook: The Return of Dr. Necropolis (Chapter 14)

Sketch in My Notebook

Frank McGuinness, the man who was once the notorious super-criminal Dr. Necropolis, escaped from Sing Sing Correctional Facility, robbed a bank, and got away with it. Meanwhile, his former partner, the Russian super-criminal known only as the Siberian Tiger, resurfaced after years underground, with both Frank's ex-wife, Gun Girl Gracie, on his arm and Frank's greatest creation, the Neural Disruptor, wrapped around his head.

Against them stand Army Lieutenant Blaine Winters, the new Centurion of the N.Y. State National Guard's Enhanced Forces Division (EFD), and FBI Agent Tiffany Trujillo, once the superhero Titania. These two went with a SWAT team to confront the Siberian Tiger and Gun Girl Gracie at a bank heist in Brooklyn, but they got their asses kicked. Tiffany wound up in the hospital, a bunch of SWAT officers died, and Blaine would have died too if not for the prodigious gifts associated with his extraordinary genetic heritage.

This week, we flash back to 2003...

Sketch in My Notebook: The Return of Dr. Necropolis (Chapter 13, Part 3)

Frank McGuinness, the man who was once the notorious super-criminal Dr. Necropolis, escaped from Sing Sing Correctional Facility, robbed a bank, and got away with it. Meanwhile, his former partner, the Russian super-criminal known only as the Siberian Tiger, resurfaced after years underground, with both Frank's ex-wife, Gun Girl Gracie, on his arm and Frank's greatest creation, the Neural Disruptor, wrapped around his head.

Against them stand Army Lieutenant Blaine Winters, the new Centurion of the N.Y. State National Guard's Enhanced Forces Division (EFD), and FBI Agent Tiffany Trujillo, once the superhero Titania. These two went with a SWAT team to confront the Siberian Tiger and Gun Girl Gracie at a bank heist in Brooklyn, but they got their asses kicked. Tiffany wound up in the hospital, a bunch of SWAT officers died, and Blaine would have died too if not for the prodigious gifts associated with his extraordinary genetic heritage.

Now Blaine is left to carry on the investigation by himself, while Tiffany recovers in the hospital...

Sketch in My Notebook: The Return of Dr. Necropolis (Chapter 13, Part 2)

Sketch in My Notebook

Frank McGuinness, the man who was once the notorious super-criminal Dr. Necropolis, escaped from Sing Sing Correctional Facility, robbed a bank, and got away with it. Meanwhile, his former partner, the Russian super-criminal known only as the Siberian Tiger, resurfaced after years underground, with both Frank's ex-wife, Gun Girl Gracie, on his arm and Frank's greatest creation, the Neural Disruptor, wrapped around his head.

Against them stand Army Lieutenant Blaine Winters, the new Centurion of the N.Y. State National Guard's Enhanced Forces Division (EFD), and FBI Agent Tiffany Trujillo, once the superhero Titania. These two went with a SWAT team to confront the Siberian Tiger and Gun Girl Gracie at a bank heist in Brooklyn, but they got their asses kicked. Tiffany wound up in the hospital, a bunch of SWAT officers died, and Blaine would have died too if not for the prodigious gifts associated with his extraordinary genetic heritage.

Now Blaine is left to carry on the investigation by himself, while Tiffany recovers in the hospital...

Sketch in My Notebook: The Return of Dr. Necropolis (Chapter 13, Part 1)

Sketch in My Notebook

Frank McGuinness, the man who was once the notorious super-criminal Dr. Necropolis, escaped from Sing Sing Correctional Facility, robbed a bank, and got away with it.  Meanwhile, his former partner, the Russian super-criminal known only as the Siberian Tiger, resurfaced after years underground, with both Frank's ex-wife, Gun Girl Gracie, on his arm and Frank's greatest creation, the Neural Disruptor, wrapped around his head.  

Against them stand Army Lieutenant Blaine Winters, the new Centurion of the N.Y. State National Guard's Enhanced Forces Division (EFD), and FBI Agent Tiffany Trujillo, once the superhero Titania.  These two went with a SWAT team to confront the Siberian Tiger and Gun Girl Gracie at a bank heist in Brooklyn, but they got their asses kicked.  Tiffany wound up in the hospital, a bunch of SWAT officers died, and Blaine would have died too if not for the prodigious gifts associated with his extraordinary genetic heritage.

Now Blaine is left to carry on the investigation by himself, but it feels like he's chasing ghosts...

Sketch in My Notebook: The Return of Dr. Necropolis (Chapter 12, Part 2)

When last we left Frank McGuinness, the man who was once the notorious super-criminal Dr. Necropolis, he'd been angry.  His former partner, the Russian super-criminal known only as the Siberian Tiger, resurfaced after years underground, with both Frank's ex-wife, Gun Girl Gracie, on his arm and Frank's greatest creation, the Neural Disruptor, wrapped around his head.  Determined to take back what was his, Frank escaped from Sing Sing Correctional Facility and made his way to an old safe house in the South Bronx.

Now Frank finds himself in a bank with police surrounding the building.  He's come for some simple walking around money, but after six years out of the game, even the easy things have become difficult.  As the police close in, Frank and his unwitting accomplish Chelsea must make their escape.

I wrote the darkest stuff today.

Got about eight hundred and sixty words down on the train to work this morning. I've been working on "The Return of Dr. Necropolis," and I'm finally into Chapter 15, the bit that first gave me the idea for the story. It turns out that there was a lot of build-up to get where I wanted to go. 

I've mentioned this before, but it's been awhile.  "Necropolis" started as a sex story, a simple piece of smut that went way off the rails right at the beginning   I could have forced it back, I suppose, but I don't think smut is my natural genre. I keep pulling away right as we get into the good stuff, and anyway, where's the tension in what ought to be a life-affirming act?  I've struggled with it.  It's not my best thing. 

The resulting story, though, has been a kind of comic book crime story, a superhero lunatic-fest that has not always been pretty. I set out to write a kind of guy's version of Fifty Shades, but if that's what this is, it implies that the male mind can be an ugly place.  I've always admired John Ringo's "Paladin of Shadows" books for their unflinching commitment to Ringo's worst impulses, and if this isn't nearly that hardcore, it is nevertheless very intense in its own, hopefully more psychological way. 

Ultimately, you'll have to judge for yourself, I suppose. 

Sketch In My Notebook: The Return of Dr. Necropolis (Chapter 12, Part 1)

Sketch in My Notebook

When last we left Frank McGuinness, once the notorious super-criminal Dr. Necropolis, he'd been angry.  His former partner, the Russian super-villain known as the Siberian Tiger, resurfaced after years underground, with both Frank's ex-wife, Gun Girl Gracie, on his arm and Frank's greatest creation, the Neural Disrupter, on his head.  Determined to take back what was his, Frank escaped from Sing Sing Correctional Facility and made his way to an old safehouse in the Bronx.

Now Frank finds himself in a bank with police on the way.  He'd come for some simple walking around money, but after six years out of the game, even the easy things have become difficult.

I don't blame you if you don't remember this one.  The old chapters are archived in the Sketch in My Notebook tab of this blog.  Check it out if you get interested in the story...

Sketch in My Notebook (Part 16): Safehouse (Part 3)

Last week's piece was a little longer than normal.  This week's is a little shorter.  This may also be the last of this for a little while.  I need to get to work on this year's Christmas story.

As always, if you want to start the story from the beginning, click on the Sketch in My Notebook tab.  You’ll find it there.

***

The Return of Dr. Necropolis
Chapter 11: Safehouse (Part 3)

“Easy buddy,” Frank said.  “Nobody wants any trouble.  Why don’t you come back another time, yeah?”

Sketch in My Notebook (Part 15): Safehouse (Part 2)

This week's episode of "The Return of Dr. Necropolis" is a little longer than I meant it to be.  You probably won't mind, but it took me a while to put it all together, so...  Well, there you have it.  It was tough finding a stopping place with enough action to make you want to come back next week.

If you want to start the story from the beginning, click on the Sketch in My Notebook tab.  You’ll find it there.

Let me know what you think.

***

The Return of Dr. Necropolis
Chapter 11: Safehouse (Part 2)

Frank spent the next several hours rewiring salvaged equipment.  The zero-point energy projector in particular was useful because it would deflect bullets, shrapnel, or even enraged ultrahuman mobsters if necessary, although the power it required would eat up Frank’s makeshift system’s battery in a Hell of a hurry.  Even with the efficiency he gained by splicing in Kid Zulu’s repurposed super-capacitor, Frank figured he had at best a half-dozen charges with either the projector or the electromagnet-belt before the system itself would need to be recharged.  That was substantially better than nothing, but it wasn’t like Frank could take on the whole of New York’s police force by himself or anything.  He could maybe rob a bank and make good his escape, but creating industrial-strength mayhem remained well beyond his capabilities.

Sketch in my Notebook (Part 14): Safehouse (Part 1)

This week we get back to the story of Frank MacGuiness, aka the infamous Dr. Necropolis, now an escapee from Sing Sing prison.  I’m excited because when I started this story, this was the chapter that I outlined first.  It’s taken eleven chapters to set the idea up, but now--finally--it’s almost time for sex, violence, and utter mayhem.

If you want to start the story from the beginning, click on the Sketch in My Notebook tab.  You’ll find it there.

While we’re talking, I have stats that show that a bunch of folks checked in to read last week’s entry.  If you were one of them, do me a favor and let me know a little about yourself.  I don’t need your name, but believe it or not, it helps a lot to have a general idea of who one’s audience is.

Thanks in advance!

***

The Return of Dr. Necropolis

Chapter 11: Safehouse

Frank was down for three full days with a fever.  He was lucky, he knew, because he’d managed to get all the way to his old Mott Haven safehouse before the fever laid him out, giving him a chance to ditch the ambulance and its drivers on a North Bronx side-street and then catch a subway line south.  The subway ride had been a misery, but he’d managed, and anyway, his obvious illness had at least kept other passengers from looking at him too closely.  Since then, he’d lain flat on his back in utter misery, shivering while his body fought itself and surviving on a diet of ten-year-old ramen noodles and cans of vegetable soup he’d put away against just such emergencies back in better times.  His dreams were fevered and confused, haunted by memories of Jaynie and prison.  Images of his cell in Sing Sing mixed with the Hell of swimming the Hudson River at midnight in late fall.  Thoughts of Jaynie interspersed with those of the Owl or Scott-fucking-Grossman.  Orange jumpsuits and black lace.  Handcuffs and beatings.  Pain and heartbreak.

Sketch in my Notebook (Part 13): The Other Shoe

Last time we saw Frank MacGuiness, aka the infamous Dr. Necropolis, as he made good on his escape from Sing Sing.  This week, we check back in on FBI agent Tiffany Trujillo, once the superhero Titania, and her new partner Blaine Winters, aka the new Centurion, as they try to recover from the ass-kicking they got at the hands of Frank's old partners, the Siberian Tiger and Gun Girl Gracie.

You can read the story from the beginning using the Sketch in My Notebook tab above.

***

The Return of Dr. Necropolis
Chapter 10: The Other Shoe

Tiffany came awake slowly.  Her eyes were glued shut with tears, her mind was stiff and drowsy, and in waking, she felt as if she were crawling from the abyss of the grave.  She was twisted into something, and there were straps around her arms with tubes rising up above them.  Her vision cleared, and she saw pale pink walls alongside long bars of light running across the ceiling behind frosted glass.  Something was beeping off to the left side of her head, softly but steadily.  

A heartbeat monitor.

Sketch in my Notebook (Part 12): Lost in New York (Part 2)

This is the second half of Chapter 9, which began last week.  To catch up on the whole story, check out the Sketch in My Notebook tab.

***

The Return of Dr. Necropolis
Chapter 9: Lost in New York (Part 2)

He looked around, but there was nothing close at hand.  They hadn’t tied him to the stretcher—that was a blessing—but he was still shivering, though less now than before.  The shivers were more intermittent than uncontrolled, enough to remind him that his escape had nearly cost him is life but not enough to stop him doing something when the time came.  

He hoped.