Great Question.

For years I wrestled with “What kind of book will this be?” It did not start out to be historical fiction.  For one thing, the characters were very much alive.  They had all sorts of ideas about their lives.  “Ellie” wanted to see it on film, but then asked that I not publish the book until she was dead. She was afraid of what people would think. Some of her decisions about living the Beatnik life as a mom with two kids were sketchy.

“Monika” was furious, probably the result of a divorce that had nothing to do with anything in the book.  Their stories are  based on my 1961 diary and my mother’s memoirs as well as several writing assignments I did to pass grade 7 when we returned from Europe. Apparently a 12 year old doesn’t see the world in the same way as a young adult.

Kate’s voice is the only one I had. No one else seemed to be writing or photographing the chaos of 1961.

Several main characters spent a lot of time recreating incidents. Andee Rebeck found her parents’ treasure trove of audio tapes from the Beatnik parties. Peter and Irene Moritz as well as Shirley Ostrander poured bottle after bottle to sort out the adult dynamics. Twelve year old Kate did not understand the issues of homosexuality, bisexuality and other deviations that were part of the life.  My mother and brother offered long conversations and taped narratives about the significance of the 1961-62 events.

By the time I had the retellings from a good dozen people, we agreed that the stories needed to be told as historic fiction so that we could link them up and identify a common thread of narration.

The result is that the characters really come alive from the page, telling their own stories in their own words.  The history is real.  The details are reimagined, and nobody living or dead is that innocent.

OFF THE TRACKS – Chapter One