I didn't want a bath before. Well, too bad, I was going to get one, now. At the edge of the pier I stomped the ball of my foot against the wood and sailed off the end in an arc whose trajectory was aimed directly at the ship. It would be an easy swim compared to the west arm of the lake.
I could hear shouts and screams behind me along with a warning blast from the dock, followed by the ship's low bellow in reply. Then I exploded into the water, gliding in green silence below the surface, until I curved upward and skimmed the top, gasping, and heard more shouting, saw a rope ladder dropped down the side of the ship, a white sleeve hanging over it, big hand waving. My arms sliced one after the other, repeatedly, into the freezing chop of the inlet, each stroke exposing my face to the stinging waves, bringing me closer to the rusted hull.
This chemise was going to be as sheer as the water that soaked it by the time I climbed the ladder, exposing every detail from neck to knees. Well, let the passengers and crew see me, then, let the whole blasted world see me. Water up my nose and down my throat, nipples like lug nuts from the cold, who cared, who bloody well cared. I had lived long enough in small towns on the edge of nowhere to know what it was to want more. I'd had a glimpse, now, a taste, of what could be: adventure, passion, love. It's all in that notebook, not just numbers and news, but my life, my operaâand I will have it back.
This is a work of fiction and while the titular characters are the historical figures Morris Two-Gun Cohen and Sun Yat-sen, the events as described in my novel, along with the newspaperwoman who writes them down and the pressman who prints them, have come from my own imaginationâwith a few facts thrown in. Cohen would approve. He not only led a wild and marvellous life, but he told wild and marvellous tales. I am indebted to Daniel S. Levy's
Two-Gun Cohen, a Biography
for revealng the discrepancies. Cohen's stories were widely published in newspapers as the truth because they were a tantalizing tangle of real and imagined. My story does not try to separate one from the other, but, in the true spirit of fiction, revels in the snarls, and then contributes a few more in the process.
Many people have supported me in the writing of
Two-Gun & Sun
and to them I am sincerely grateful:
Agent extraordinaire John Pearce of Westwood Creative Artists, publisher Vici Johnstone who leads the fine team at Caitlin Press, editor Marnie (Doc) Woodrow for exquisite nips and tucks.
SPiN writing group pals Mary Novik and Jen Sookfong Lee for their constant encouragement; Terri Brandmueller and Tony Wanless for courageous readings.
Barbara Pulling for insightful feedback, Paul Taunton for embracing my “otherworldly Western”; Anthony De Sa for his friendship and his counsel.
Hal Wake, Jenny Niven, Alexis Lefranc and Jenny Tasker who coordinated the many and complicated connections for my reading at the Suzhou Bookworm; Ben Potter, Worm chef and unofficial tour guide; Paul French for The Glamour Bar on The Bund, Shanghai; and all those who made our stay in Hong Kong a delight: Alice Eni Jungclaus and family, Myrna Holm, Wyng Chow, Peter and Idy Comparelli.
Maxie Von Schwerin and vintage clothing collector Ivan Sayers for their 1920s fashion advice, Mary Beth Sullivan for those tickets to
La Fanciulla del West,
Andrea Polz for her operatic voice.
Co-workers and students at SFU, The Writer's Studio Online, UBC's Writing Centre and Langara Continuing Studies for feeding my writing habit.
Paul Erlam, former
Whitehorse Star
pressman, who read over the mechanical details and tried his best to fix what I had broken; Rusty Erlam, former Star owner, who told me about Cold-Ass Marie; Nick Russell, journalism mentor, who taught me never to mix fact with fiction, and whose forgiveness I seek.
Garth Erlam who, along with Terri, put the steam punk in
Two-Gun & Sun
; Joni Erlam for tech support; and the boys, Liam, Merrick, Morgan and Mason, who brought so much sudden joy into our lives.
The Canada Council for the Arts for making the development of this novel possible.