Day 1597: May 16, 2026

It’s a glorious day to begin a new book in my Stephen King Journey! Today, I start on my 18th book, 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗵.

It’s one of the shortest of The Dark Tower series and I hear it’s the weirdest. I read it when it first came out over 20 years ago and other than the appearance of a certain famous author in it, I remember absolutely nothing.

Let’s begin!

The subtitle of this book is “Reproduction”.

The previous (retrofitted) subtitles of the first five books are: Resumption, Renewal, Redemption, Regard, and Resistance.

Interestingly, R is the 18th letter of the alphabet. Why didn’t he use “S” instead? 🤔

Starting now on the section titled “Beamquake: 1st Stanza”.

“𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺?”

𝘈𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥’𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘣, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬’𝘴 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴.

Picking up right where Wolves of the Calla left off.

𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘯𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘦. 𝘐𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 ’𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘮’𝘴 𝘓𝘰𝘵, 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦, 𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘥 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵.

Probably the strangest plot twist from the end of Wolves of the Calla.

𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺. 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦. 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.

“𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳,” 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘩𝘢𝘱 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦.”

“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩’𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦,” 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥, “𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘔𝘪𝘢’𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱—𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴.”

No slow warm-up here. The very first pages are full of anxiety and a loudly ticking clock!

𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳-𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘴: 𝘤𝘢𝘵-𝘰𝘪𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴, 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘳, 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴.

“Mother naked”? I’ve never heard that phrase before. I’d google it, but… well, ya know.

𝘈𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩), 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥: “𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦.”

“𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?”

“𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦.”

“𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳?”

“𝘕𝘰, 𝘣𝘶𝘵—”

𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘢.

The title of this section is “Beamquake” so I guess that’s what they’re experiencing.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵. 𝘈𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘥𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘺’𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘬𝘦: 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴, 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬.

A universe-bridging quake. A very disturbing concept.

𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘹𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘯𝘥-𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.

𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘶𝘻𝘻𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. “𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘣𝘰𝘺? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵? 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦!”

𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘶𝘻𝘻𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. “𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘣𝘰𝘺? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵? 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦!”

𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 ’𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘔𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘻’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. “𝘈 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮? 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴? 𝘚𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰! 𝘚𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦!”

I finished off this 1st Stanza and am now 7% of the way through Song of Susannah. Not a dull moment in this opening chapter, but plenty of doom & gloom about collapsing beams and Armageddons left in their wakes.

Day 1598: May 17, 2026

Roland and Eddie speak with the Manni at Calla Bryn Sturgis about the “magic” door that they need to use to go hunt for Susannah. Meanwhile, the whole town shakes from a Beamquake – the collapsing of one of the 12 Beams of the Tower.

It was a helluva start to Song of Susannah! I now move onto “The Persistence of Magic: 2nd Stanza”.

“𝘐𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦—”

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. “𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨—𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨—𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘶𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥.”

Of course, larger forces are at work when it comes to Susannah.

𝘈𝘯𝘥, 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘩, 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘮𝘢𝘯-𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘬𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘭𝘧-𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴.

𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘺 𝘺𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯-𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘱, 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 folken 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱, 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘹𝘦𝘴. 𝘗𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘣-𝘣𝘰𝘣𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘴, 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘹𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴—𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘥𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘴—𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯. 𝘉𝘶𝘵, 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥-𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘴, 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸, 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴.

𝘚𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘦’𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘷𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵.
…
𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳. “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.”

The Manni give Eddie a short lesson on “magic” with a plum-bob that seemed to have a mind of its own.

And with that, I finish reading for the day. I am now 10% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1599: May 18, 2026

Continuing to read Song of Susannah. The Manni feature prominently in these opening chapters having agreed to use their “magic” to help Roland & gang activate the door in the cave and seek out Susannah.

Today, I complete “The Persistence of Magic: 2nd Stanza”.

𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘺, 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘭𝘺𝘱𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘺, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 UNFOUND. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘣 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥, 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

What about Hightower’s bookshelf that should also be there in the cave? One would think that given the ‘Salem’s Lot revelation that they’d be poring through the other books looking for clues or revelations.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯—𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘒𝘳𝘢 𝘒𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘨-𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 (𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳)

It’s these little factoids that King drops about his characters – completely unnecessary, yet entirely and distractingly fascinating! (per the article below, fingernails can grow about an inch a year).

How Long Can Human Fingernails Grow?

https://health.howstuffworks.com

How do you like to wear your fingernails? Whether you prefer them elongated, clipped to the quick or occasionally chewed, you may have wondered how long they would grow if you left them alone. And by “left alone,” we mean for a really, really long time.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘚𝘶𝘻𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘈𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘶, 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘺. 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘺. 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦’𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.

𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳.

Does this portend a possible splitting up of the ka-tet? I suppose if the Fellowship (of the Ring) split up into separate quests, the same is likely to happen here.

𝘏𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥: “𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥’𝘦𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴?”

𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘶𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘦.

Ah – there’s the bookshelf!

“𝘖𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘣 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘭.”

A tearful separation between Oy and Jake. This’ll be a tearjerking scene in Flangan’s adaptation for sure.

𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯.

Jake’s powerful “touch” is set to work opening the door with the magic of Manni behind him.

𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯; 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘮, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥-𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘴. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘖𝘺, 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘭-𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥.

Oops – it was supposed to be Eddie & Roland going through that door into New York!

𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘻𝘻𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱, 𝘢𝘴𝘴-𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘸—

𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨.

And with that quite shocking turn of events, I finish reading for the day.

I am now 13% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1600: May 19, 2026

Moving onto “Trudy and Mia: 3rd Stanza” in Song of Susannah.

Jake, Oy, Father Callahan transport through the magic door to NYC on a quest to find Susannah. Eddie and Roland zap over to Maine to find Calvin Hightower and get a real estate deal done.

Which was the exact opposite teams originally planned, and they (especially Eddie) are not too happy about it.

𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝟣𝟫𝟫𝟫, 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥-𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰’𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘜𝘍𝘖𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘴 (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘛𝘝), 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩-𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴—𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘣 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘺’𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥—𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

Nobody can introduce a character and scene more efficiently than King!

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰, 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘺-𝘴𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘬𝘺𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘺-𝘴𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘩 (𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘵)…

Wait – so where’s the rose now? In the basement of that skyscraper?

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘬𝘫𝘰̈𝘭𝘥 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘢, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘨𝘴,

“Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza is a 1.59-acre (0.64 ha) public park in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City”

TURTLE BAY!

Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza – Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴’𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴.
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵; 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴.

We saw this happen somewhat in Wolve of the Calla when they had todashed to NYC and Susannah/Mia was walking around.

𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 (𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭) 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝟤 𝘏𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘬𝘫𝘰̈𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯—𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘯, 𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘪 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘨, 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴—𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵. 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘴?

“𝘕𝘰,” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.

Legs with white feet. Having labor pains but not looking pregnant. Susannah’s transformation in this world is rather odd!

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦. 𝘐𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯; 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯’𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩.

There’s that turtle again!

That’s enough reading for today. I think Trudy is a throwaway character introduced for just this chapter as a creative perspective on Susannah’s/Mia’s grand entrance into New York City.

I am now 16% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1601: May 20, 2026

Susannah/Mia has arrived in NYC in the year 1999 and after growing a pair of legs, mugs the first person she encounters for a pair of shoes. She’s have labor pains but does not appear pregnant in this world. A skyscraper called “Black Tower” now sits were the vacant lot with the rose once was, but the choir of the white can still be heard.

It’s a nutty turn of events as I continue with Song of Susannah and “Susannah’s Dogan: 4th Stanza”.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘷𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥.

We’re now back into Susannah’s perspective.

𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥-𝘶𝘱 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘷𝘢𝘴 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘨, 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦—𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦 𝟣𝘴𝘵, 𝟣𝟫𝟫𝟫—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘺-𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥’𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨.

25-30 years after THAT we’re still wondering the same thing, battling the same battles.

𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘰. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘺. 𝘈 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘣𝘰𝘺. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱’𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳.

Susannah retreated into herself and imagined a control room (like Jake’s Dogan) for her own body.

But “like a strand of kelp”?

𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘬𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦-𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩.

Having flipped all the dials and switches to control her labor pains, it looks like she set herself up to do some comms with the folk back in the Calla.

𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰, 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺, 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰. 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥…𝘪𝘧 𝘬𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥—

In Wolves of the Calla, the Mia persona was the demonic baby’s mother/caretaker and was a lot more fearsome than she’s portrayed here. It’s like its a completely different character.

I leave Susannah and Mia and now Detta sitting on a NYC park bench where they hadn’t moved all chapter. They’re having a fine old crazy conversation amongst themselves in front of the turtle fountain.

I am now 20% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1602: May 21, 2026

Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came cover the first four stanzas of Song of Susannah.

The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah — Stanzas 1 – 4

http://twoguysdarktower.blubrry.com

In this episode of Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came, we explore The Dark Tower, Book VI, Song of Susannah, Stanzas 1-4.

Day 1603: May 22, 2026

With Dark Tower Palaver and The Cast of Ka having fallen by the wayside (or just taken too damn long) on their quest to the Tower, the podcast episodes I listen to are less frequent and that allows for faster reading through the books.

Today, though, I pause to take in Kingslingers‘ opening take on Song of Susannah.

Song of Susannah (Part 1)

https://podcasts.apple.com

This week, click your Mejis heels together three times and say “there’s no place like the end of the book!” We’re finishing Wizard and Glass by discussing all 5 chapters of Part 4: All God’s Chillun Got Shoes.

Day 1604: May 23, 2026

Finished off the Kingslingers‘ first episode about Song of Susannah where they revealed they were big fans of the throwaway character Trudy Damascus.

Song of Susannah (Part 1)

https://podcasts.apple.com

This week, click your Mejis heels together three times and say “there’s no place like the end of the book!” We’re finishing Wizard and Glass by discussing all 5 chapters of Part 4: All God’s Chillun Got Shoes.

Day 1605: May 24, 2026

Back to reading Song of Susannah, picking up at “The Turtle: 5th Stanza”. This is a long one, so I’ll be breaking up this chapter over two days.

I last left Susannah & Mia working on their “arrangement” while sitting at a park bench in NYC, trying to control their labor with “the chap” ready to bust out.

Jake, Oy & Fr. Callahan were supposed sent their as well, but we haven’t seen them yet. Roland and Eddie are also supposedly in Maine. Lots still to see!

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺, 𝘵𝘰𝘰.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯:

𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦.

𝘞𝘩𝘰? 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥?

𝘈𝘺𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺—

𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦.

An intriguing start to this chapter. Who is Mia really and how had she known Jake and Roland? Mia is much more than just another Susannah personality split. She seems to have her own independent agency.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴—𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦-𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘬. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱, 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰.

A tiny carved turtle found in the lining of the bowling bag carrying the Black Thirteen orb. Odd!

“𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘶𝘱.” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘵, 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘩, 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴, 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺. “𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘮𝘦.”

𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘱. “𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘰̈𝘭𝘥𝘱𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘢? ”

“𝘠𝘦𝘴.” 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘛𝘝 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸…

This turtle carving hypnotized a man who was just passing by and saw what they had pulled out of the bowling bag. Susannah took quick advantage of the situation and implanted a command to get her a nice hotel room.

But I wonder why the little turtle didn’t have any impact on her?

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘞𝘺𝘤𝘬, 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥.

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘴?”

“𝘠𝘢𝘩?”

“𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦,” 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘱. “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘴?”

“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵.”

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘜𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘺. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺…𝘶𝘮…𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺.”

This use of the sacred turtle was so… bizarre!

And with that bizarre turn into terrapin laxatives, I finish reading for today.

I am now 23% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1606: May 25, 2026

Finishing off “The Turtle: 5th Stanza” in Song of Susannah.

When we last left her, Susannah found a plot turtle inside the bowling bag she’s carrying around and it hypnotized a wandering Swede. She took advantage of the situation and got him to book her a hotel room and commanded him to have regular bowel movements from that day forward.

(I wish I were making this up.)

𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘭𝘦𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘴 (𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘩𝘢-𝘩𝘢?). 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘬𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳…

I could hardly find internet reference to what “kollege kuties” were, but Chat GPT said the following:

“Kollege kuties” is an old-fashioned, slangy phrase meaning attractive college girls or young women associated with college life.

𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬.

𝘈𝘚 𝘖𝘍 𝘑𝘜𝘓𝘠 𝟣𝘚𝘛, 𝟣𝟫𝟫𝟫, 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘕𝘌𝘞 𝘠𝘖𝘙𝘒 𝘗𝘓𝘈𝘡𝘈–𝘗𝘈𝘙𝘒 𝘏𝘠𝘈𝘛𝘛 𝘞𝘐𝘓𝘓 𝘉𝘌𝘊𝘖𝘔𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘙𝘌𝘎𝘈𝘓 𝘜.𝘕. 𝘗𝘓𝘈𝘡𝘈 𝘏𝘖𝘛𝘌𝘓

𝘈𝘕𝘖𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘙 𝘎𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘛 𝘚𝘖𝘔𝘉𝘙𝘈/𝘕𝘖𝘙𝘛𝘏 𝘊𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘙𝘈𝘓 𝘗𝘙𝘖𝘑𝘌𝘊𝘛!!

I’m not a NYC expert, but I think the Park Hyatt is different than The Plaza and King just blended it all together for purposes of this work.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘺, 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘬 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘬 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.

“𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘴𝘢𝘪, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘪.”

The desk clerk, also hypnotized by the talisman turtle, tapped into something deep and dark. A very creepy scene.

I end the reading today with Susannah/Mia checking into a hotel room.

Did this need to be an entire chapter – or would a single paragraph have sufficed? Needless to say, reliving a typical business travel situation didn’t quite make for compelling reading.

I am now 26% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1607: May 26, 2026

Continuing to read Song of Susannah, entering into “The Castle Allure: 6th Stanza”.

Susannah/Mia got checked into a fancy hotel thanks to the hypnotic turtle amulet they found in a bowling bag. But now it looks like they may be ready to travel to an otherworldly place.

“𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦!” 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘸. “𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥!”

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩’𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱’𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦.

Still puzzled that Mia wasn’t just a separate personality of Susannah, in Detta/Odetta fashion. Mia seems to be a fully formed entity with her own agency!

“𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬,” 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘔𝘪𝘢… “𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦. 𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭? 𝘐𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳-𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺? 𝘕𝘢𝘺, 𝘯𝘢𝘺. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘴𝘰 𝘺’𝘢𝘳𝘦.”

Very Lovecraftian image.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘺, 𝘨𝘢𝘸𝘬𝘺, 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘦, 𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘻𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘪𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘴—𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵—𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘖𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴.

Castles: Merlons

https://www.castlewales.com

Battlements (or crenellation) are the parapets of towers or walls with indentations or openings (embrasures or crenelles) alternating with solid projections. Merlons are the saw-tooth effect or the “teeth” of the battlements

“𝘈𝘴𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘴𝘦. 𝘠𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘺𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵.”

Damn, Mia has got some words for Roland!

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘏𝘶𝘨𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯. 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯, 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘈𝘮𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.

“𝘔𝘪𝘢,” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸. “𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸?”

𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘋𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵; 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦. “𝘈𝘺𝘦, 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦! 𝘈 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦! 𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘦.”

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯.”

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸—”

“𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱,” 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘢𝘺𝘦, 𝘩𝘦. 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵.”

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE???

“𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥,” 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦. “𝘏𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺, 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘺, 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘏𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.”

I think I know how this all happened. Back in The Gunslinger, Roland had sex with an Oracle demon. I bet it collected his semen, stored it in a cryogenic demon storage facility and then turkey basted it into Susannah in The Wastelands.

It’s a theory.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘵, 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵, 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘹, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦.

That’s some heavy duty lore right there.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘥. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘕𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴…𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

I am absolutely loving this deep mystical mythology building! This was what I liked most about the prose of the first book, The Gunslinger.

Mia is about to reveal to Susannah how she came to be pregnant with Roland’s child, but that will have to wait until tomorrow for me!

I am now 29% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1608: May 27, 2026

We are firmly in the realm of dark fantasy with Mia and Susannah having a palaver in the mystical and evil realm of Discordia. Mia is revealing all sorts of secrets to her, the most shocking of which is the fact that Roland is the true father the “chap” that lies in their belly.

“𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮. 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘪𝘭𝘭-𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦—𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘢—𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦. 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘴. 𝘠𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘎𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦.”

I feel like Susannah should open her college notebook and start taking notes for this lecture from End-World University.

“𝘈𝘺𝘦. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘤𝘩. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘣𝘶𝘴, 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴—”

Looks like my theory from yesterday was correct after all.

“𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯!” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘳. “𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘺𝘰’ 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩, 𝘫𝘶𝘴’ 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦! 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭’𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦! 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶? ”

“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸!” 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳. “𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘐 𝘢𝘮, 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘺?”

A powerful exchange!

“𝘔𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘙𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘗. 𝘚𝘢𝘺𝘳𝘦.” 𝘈 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦? “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰, 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶?”

“𝘠𝘦𝘴!” 𝘌𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘌𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦. “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘨, 𝘚𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘺-𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩.”

They are back in the hotel room and Mia answered the phone. I don’t remember much about this book, but I do recollect that The Dixie Pig is an important location.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘪𝘢’𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴. 𝘈𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘩’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘔𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴.”

The sweet talking smooth voice on the phone is most certainly telling lies – or at least, half-truths.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘳𝘦-𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘨, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱.

On that horrid note, I stop reading for today. I am now 32% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1609: May 28, 2026

I take a brief break from the book to listen to Radio Free Mid-World‘s coverage of the first third of Song of Susannah.

Day 1610: May 29, 2026

Finished off this fun & irreverent episode from Radio Free Mid-World.

Day 1611: May 30, 2026

Most of this book has been about the namesake, Susannah, and her trip back to NYC and (and a mystical visit to Castle Discordia). She and Mia also are dealing with the impending birth of Mordred, “the chap”.

I now open up Song of Susannah at the chapter titled, “The Ambush: 7th Stanza”.

[𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥] 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 (𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥, 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘰𝘳’𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘫𝘢𝘮𝘣).
…
𝘐𝘯 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥’𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺: 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯.

We’re back with Roland and Eddie and what the hell have they landed into?

𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 “𝘈𝘸, 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬 ’𝘢𝘵, 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬!” 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘥-𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳—𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦-𝘨𝘶𝘯—𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱.

This chapter has grabbed my attention. No slow-pacing issues here!

…𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘺. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘖𝘞𝘕 𝘖𝘍𝘍𝘐𝘊𝘌, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘚𝘛𝘖𝘕𝘌𝘏𝘈𝘔 𝘍𝘐𝘙𝘌 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘙𝘌𝘚𝘊𝘜𝘌.

So this is where Roland and Eddie landed.

Town of Stoneham, Maine

https://stoneham-maine.com

Town of Stoneham, Maine

Stoneham was incorporated on January 31, 1834

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮: 𝘌𝘯𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘰 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘳’𝘴 𝘶𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘦, 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘢, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘶𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘹𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

I also assumed they might’ve travelled back in time, BEFORE Andolini’s final fate.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭; 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱. 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵.

“once before… ten years in the future” – Makes the brain hurt!

“𝘠𝘰𝘶,” 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘯. “𝘠𝘰𝘶. 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦.”

“𝘔𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦,” 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥. “𝘈𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬.” 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘸 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧.

That was efficient.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 (𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪’𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭), 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘳.

This is a very interesting mystery.

I leave Roland and Eddie holed up behind the Stoneham convenience store, about to spring an explosive trap of their own upon Jack Andolini and all the other bad guys.

I am now 36% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1612: May 31, 2026

Continuing to read Song of Susannah, finishing off “The Ambush: 7th Stanza”.

Roland and Eddie have taken the Magic Door Express and landed in Stoneham, Maine where a hundred guns were trained on them. Balazar’s gang seemed to know to expect them in the exact where and when, a mystery that is quite intriguing.

When I last left them, they were about to launch an explosive counter-attack.

“𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯!” 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥. “𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵-𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘚𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘻𝘦𝘯? 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨! 𝘚𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯! 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧! 𝘖𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘌𝘯𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘰 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘳’𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦?”

My favorite scene from Wolves of the Calla was how Eddie had manhandled Jack Andolini. This isn’t quite up to that level, but it’s still enjoyable.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦… 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮.

And “this world” is the one where the author of ‘Salem’s Lot existed, no? There’s a connection here, I’m sure of it.

“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘒𝘦𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘯𝘥, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯,” 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.

I couldn’t find “Keywadin Pond” via Google. But there is a reference to it in Bag of Bones. Will try to keep this in mind 10 years from now when I finally get to that book!

𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. “𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵. “𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭. 𝘚𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴: 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘴?”

“𝘉𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴,” 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘮, 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘮, 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘯…𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘯𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬.”

“𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘴’𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳, ” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.

That Q&A John from the convenience store conducted with Eddie & Roland was riveting. I like when people act realistically in very bizarre situations.

But I stop reading here for the day. I am now 39% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1613: June 1, 2026

Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came discuss the adventures of Susannah/Mia and Eddie & Roland in our world.

The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah — Stanzas 5-7

http://twoguysdarktower.blubrry.com

In this episode of Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came, we explore The Dark Tower, Book VI, Song of Susannah, Stanzas 5-7.

Day 1614: June 2, 2026

The Kingslingers analyze every word of this off-the-rails section of Song of Susannah.

Song of Susannah (Part 2)

https://podcasts.apple.com

This week the Song of Susannah continues as Scott and Matt discuss the 5th, 6th, and 7th stanzas. We finally find out who the chap’s father is.

Day 1615: June 3, 2026

Finished off this episode from The Kingslingers.

Song of Susannah (Part 2)

https://podcasts.apple.com

This week the Song of Susannah continues as Scott and Matt discuss the 5th, 6th, and 7th stanzas. We finally find out who the chap’s father is.

Day 1616: June 4, 2026

I’m back to the book, reading “A Game of Toss: 8th Stanza” in Song of Susannah.

I last left Roland and Eddie in a massive gunfight in Maine where they escaped an ambush led by Jack Andolini and every mobster in the northeast who were waiting to take them out.

𝘏𝘦 [Eddie] 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘺𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

Definitely not a sentence I had ever expected to read in my life.

𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘮’𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥. “𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯, 𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘰𝘹 𝘸𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘦𝘵? 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺—”

Eddie dropping hints about future events to their kind host makes for fascinating reading. I sometimes fantasize about time-traveling to the past and dropping incredible bombshells about what awaits them in the future (like the name of a current sitting president of the US).

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦’𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯, 𝘣𝘺 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘑𝘳., 𝘢𝘯𝘥 ’𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘮’𝘴 𝘓𝘰𝘵, 𝘣𝘺 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨.

“𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘮’𝘬𝘦𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧,” 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥: “𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵.”

Oh shit… Eddie’s going to ask him about Stephen King, isn’t he. Now I’m on the edge of my seat!

“𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥—”

“𝘚𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘐𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢-𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵: 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘢-𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦-𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦.

“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥?” 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘮 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

“𝘈 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦?”

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘮’𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥.

And there it is. The beginning of some of the weirdest plots King has ever written.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴-𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘰𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦?

These are the kind of “deep thoughts” you ponder while completely high, LOL.

𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘢 𝘬𝘦𝘺, 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘦? 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢, 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯. 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘴 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥?

Although it was three subchapters of talking, it was FASCINATING conversation!

I am now 44% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1617: June 5, 2026

Continuing to read Song of Susannah, picking up with “Eddie Bites His Tongue: 9th Stanza”.

I had a hard time leaving the last chapter where Eddie focuses on Stephen King himself and learns that he’s not far from the place in Maine he and Roland had landed.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦, 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮—”

“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥-𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨,” 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘹 𝘮𝘰-𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦.”

𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. “𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘸.” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵.

I was mistaken earlier. Their first point of business was to get to Calvin Tower who was traipsing around Maine looking for books to collect when he should’ve been in hiding!

𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘮 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦. “𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥—”

𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴. 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥.

“𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘐 𝘧’𝘨𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵—𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘰𝘰—𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘏𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦.”

𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘥.

I didn’t quite understand this exchange. Why did Roland shush him? Why is Eddie paranoid? Anyhow, Cullum takes his leave and I’m sure we’ll never see him again. Right?

Right?

“𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥? ”

“𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘈𝘴 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴.”

“𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮?” 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥.

Roland and Eddie found Calvin Tower’s buddy, Deepneau in Cabin 19 and are learning that Tower has changed his mind about selling them the lot with the rose.

This is the side of King I’m not the biggest fan of. The absolute frustration of dealing with fellow human beings who make terrible decisions. It’s realistic alright – maybe too realistic!

𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳 (𝘢 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘻 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘧 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦) 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱.

𝘉𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦, 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦, 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳 (𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘷𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦), 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘱.

Will Eddie clock Tower right in the kisser? Guess I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out!

I am now 47% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1618: June 6, 2026

It’s a lengthy but very interesting chapter as I continue in the middle of “Eddie Bites His Tongue: 9th Stanza” from Song of Susannah.

Eddie and Roland finally catch up with Calvin Tower who has had second thoughts transferring the lot with the rose to them.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶,” 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦. “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮—”

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦,” 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱. “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘺. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺, 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶?”

Eddie is a hard case, alright. I think every reader is rooting for Tower’s face to get punched.

“𝘚𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱!” 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥. “𝘚𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘢𝘵! 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘭! 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘺, 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘱𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯! 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴? 𝘏𝘐, 𝘐’𝘔 𝘊𝘈𝘓 𝘛𝘖𝘞𝘌𝘙! 𝘐’𝘔 𝘚𝘛𝘈𝘠𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘖𝘕 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘙𝘖𝘊𝘒𝘌𝘛 𝘙𝘖𝘈𝘋 𝘐𝘕 𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘛 𝘚𝘛𝘖𝘕𝘌𝘏𝘈𝘔! 𝘞𝘏𝘠 𝘋𝘖𝘕’𝘛 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘊𝘖𝘔𝘌 𝘚𝘌𝘌 𝘔𝘌 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘔𝘠 𝘍𝘙𝘐𝘌𝘕𝘋, 𝘈𝘈𝘙𝘖𝘕! 𝘉𝘙𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘎𝘜𝘕𝘚!”

Damn!

“𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥?”

𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘦. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦, 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘢.”

“𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘭𝘥?”

“𝘠𝘦𝘴.”

“𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯?”

“𝘠𝘦𝘴.”

“𝘠𝘦𝘴.”

“𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘤?”

𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥’𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥’𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥.

𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.

“𝘖𝘧 𝘈𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘤, 𝘢𝘺𝘦,” 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳.”

“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯. 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶?”

“𝘛𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯.”

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦?”

“𝘕𝘰, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥.”

That’s an interesting piece of Roland’s family history I would like to know more about.

“𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮.”

𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥. “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘐 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘭𝘺𝘯. 𝘊𝘰-𝘖𝘱 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺.” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵: Suppose I were to tell you that I’m there right now, as a matter of fact? Eddie Dean, the world’s horniest fifteen-year-old, running wild in the streets?

Forget visiting Stephen King. Now I want Eddie to visit that fifteen-year-old version of himself.

𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘭, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥—𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦.

Finally… Finally! They got that SOB to sign the contract.

A lot happened in this part of the book, but I am stopping here for the day. Eddie realized that the world he was in, as familiar as it was, wasn’t 𝘩𝘪𝘴 world. He’s realizing that 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 was the “key world” and it’s throwing him for a loop.

I leave him with Roland about to dig a bullet from his leg.

I am now 51% of the way through Song of Susannah!

Day 1619: June 7, 2026

I finish off the firs half of Song of Susannah, completing “Eddie Bites His Tongue: 9th Stanza”.

Eddie and Roland managed to convince (again) Calvin Tower to sign over the plot with the rose. There’s still five more subsections to go in this chapter and I have no idea what possible further business they could have with this book-addict.

𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘭—𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯—𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘥 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘧 ’𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘮’𝘴 𝘓𝘰𝘵.

Eddie has strong intuition that meeting up with Stephen King is critical to their quest. But it’s still in the 70s and he’s not quite famous yet.

“𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘴𝘢𝘪 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

“𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵,” 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦…𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦…𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴…”

“𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵,” 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘭𝘺. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯: “𝘓𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴.”

𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥. “𝘉𝘦𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘰𝘯?”

“𝘓𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴,” 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥.

I didn’t get the reference at first, but I guess in Eddie’s world, it wasn’t “Apple”.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘮𝘦!” 𝘏𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵. “𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴! 𝘋𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭, 𝘣𝘳𝘰? 𝘓𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘻𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯—𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦—𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘴.”

Guess I called that wrong. In the very next section, Eddie remembers how is brother Henry mistook “lemmings” for “lemons”. It was an inside joke.

“𝘕𝘰,” 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥, “𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦. 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺? 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯. 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴. 𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘉𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮.”

𝘐𝘵 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘶𝘱—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘺 𝘐𝘯𝘦𝘻 𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘭 𝘌𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘴—𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴; 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘰 𝘍𝘶𝘬, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸.

The thoughts that go through King’s head crack me up so often!

“𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯,” 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴. “𝘐𝘧 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰.”
…
“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥-𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸,” 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘵. 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶?”

And with that, I finish reading for the day. Not much moving forward in plot with this chapter, but still very interesting. I am now 54% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1620: June 8, 2026

I take a little break from the book to spend time with Kingslingers and their deep dive into these last few sections of Song of Susannah.

Song of Susannah (Part 3)

https://podcasts.apple.com

This week Eddie takes his solo in Susannah’s song as we cover the 8th and 9th Stanzas.

Discussion Question: In honor of Cal Tower, who is your favorite character that you just love to hate

Day 1621: June 9, 2026

Finishing off this Eddie-centric Kingslingers episode about Song of Susannah.

Song of Susannah (Part 3)

https://podcasts.apple.com

This week Eddie takes his solo in Susannah’s song as we cover the 8th and 9th Stanzas.

Discussion Question: In honor of Cal Tower, who is your favorite character that you just love to hate

Day 1622: June 10, 2026

I am back to the text, reading Song of Susannah picking up at “Susannah Mio: 10th Stanza”.

When I last left the book, Eddie and Roland were on their way to go find Stephen King himself. Based on this chapter’s title, we’re switching back to Susannah/Mia and their “chap” to whom they’re close to giving birth!

But… Where are Jake, Oy and Father Callahan? We’re more than halfway through the book and haven’t heard a peep out of them!

“𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘍𝘪𝘵𝘻𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘥 𝘒𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭.”

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦: 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘦’𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮.

“𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢’𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘖 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢!”

What a surreal way to open up this chapter!

𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘺-𝘵𝘸𝘰, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴, 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 ’𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘮’𝘴 𝘓𝘰𝘵. 𝘈𝘩 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢, 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳.

Susannah is caught in some sort of fever dream of overlapping universes.

How hard must it have been for King to write about his own brush with death?

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘦, 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘩𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘶𝘵 𝘈𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘓𝘺𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘙𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘕𝘪𝘹𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘌𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥, … , 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥.

𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱. 𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺, 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵.

“𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘺,” 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬-𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩-𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘪𝘢. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵, 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘤𝘩𝘢, 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴𝘦? 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘤𝘩𝘢 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥?

I hate that I’m cringing at this, but King is using the trope of a Chinese accents speaking English when he clearly had labeled them earlier as tourists from Japan.

There is no “L” sound in Japanese, so “fliend” would not be said. Most likely, it would’ve been “”furen-do”.

𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 (𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳), 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘐𝘧 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘖𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦, 𝘵𝘰𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘭𝘺𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?

A disturbing fixation on color and Mia taking over Susannah’s body.

𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧—𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸—𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺—

𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘵-𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥.

I stop here just as Mia is about to explain the truth of it all – who she really is, where she came from, etc.

But that’s for tomorrow. I am now 58% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1623: June 11, 2026

Continuing with Song of Susannah and the middle part of “Susannah Mio: 10th Stanza”.

Susannah & Mia (the “demon” occupying her body) are about to have a revelatory conversation. And Susannah’s a bit freaked out that her new legs are white and that the whiteness is working upwards along her body!

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘈𝘊𝘒 𝘔𝘌𝘕𝘋𝘌𝘋 𝘊𝘏𝘌𝘈𝘗 . 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘘𝘜𝘐𝘌𝘛 𝘙𝘖𝘖𝘔𝘚, 𝘎𝘜𝘋 𝘉𝘌𝘋𝘚 . 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘢 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘣 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦-𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯-𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦:

“𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴, 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴, 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴! 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘺𝘣𝘪𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵, 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘷𝘰-𝘊𝘈𝘉-𝘶-𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯! 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴, 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴, 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴! 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘺𝘣𝘪𝘦, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘱 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭! 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵! 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵!”

I can’t think of anything that would kill the urges faster than this robot announcer.

𝘈𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵:

𝘍𝘌𝘋𝘐𝘊 𝘚𝘛𝘈𝘛𝘐𝘖𝘕
𝘔𝘖𝘕𝘖 𝘗𝘈𝘛𝘙𝘐𝘊𝘐𝘈 𝘋𝘐𝘚𝘊𝘖𝘕𝘛𝘐𝘕𝘜𝘌𝘋
𝘛𝘏𝘜𝘔𝘉𝘗𝘙𝘐𝘕𝘛 𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘋𝘌𝘙 𝘐𝘕𝘖𝘗𝘌𝘙𝘈𝘛𝘐𝘝𝘌
𝘚𝘏𝘖𝘞 𝘛𝘐𝘊𝘒𝘌𝘛
𝘕𝘖𝘙𝘛𝘏 𝘊𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘙𝘈𝘓 𝘗𝘖𝘚𝘐𝘛𝘙𝘖𝘕𝘐𝘊𝘚 𝘛𝘏𝘈𝘕𝘒𝘚 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘍𝘖𝘙 𝘠𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘗𝘈𝘛𝘐𝘌𝘕𝘊𝘌

If I remember correctly, Patricia was the name of Blaine the Mono’s companion, one that might have been the trained that ended itself rather than continue.

Patricia the Mono

https://darktower.fandom.com

Patricia the Mono is the female counterpart of Blaine the Mono. She was blue, had beautiful glass sides according to Bix, and traveled northwest. Blaine fried Patricia’s circuits because he was tired of hearing her cry all the time. The last stop on her train route was Fedic. A third known Mono ran to End-World close to the Crimson King’s Big Combination acording to Lord Malshun in Black House. The full name of the third Mono is never revealed, if it was given a name.

“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮,” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘉𝘳𝘺𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺—𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵?—𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.”

“𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘉𝘳𝘺𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘴,” 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺, “𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘺𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘈 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦, 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵.”

This is… Thunderclap?

“𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘺. 𝘐𝘯 𝘍𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘯.” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥. “𝘐𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘯.”

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴.”

“𝘈𝘺𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴.”

Oh the endless tales that could be spun out of the town of Fedic from this brief excerpt Mia is giving!

“𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴, 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘏𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯—”

“𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘺,” 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘨. 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.”

“𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

“𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥,” 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘺. “𝘔𝘺 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵.”

I really don’t know what to make of this. So is the kid from Roland? From the Crimson King? This is getting all so convoluted!

“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦—𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵—𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘴. 𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘴𝘩-𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦.” 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵—𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥, 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘦—𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧.”

And with that haunting imagery, I end reading for the day and will finish this chapter tomorrow.

I am now 62% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1624: June 12, 2026

Finishing off the chapter “Susannah Mio: 10th Stanza” in Song of Susannah.

Mia has been sharing her origin story with Susannah – a story of a horned-up feminine elemental who was tapped by Walter (aka Randall Flagg) to be the mother of the Crimson King’s child. And just like Pinocchio, Mia made a deal to become human in order to do so. And into the super dogan she went!

Make sense?

𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴.

Well, when you put it like that…

𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘤 𝟣𝟨 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨) 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘯𝘥-𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘭𝘭-𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮; 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴-𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦.

What a horrific image!

𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺, 𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘯𝘰. 𝘚𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥’𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦.

And we’re back to the demonic turkey baster theory.

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘺,” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥…

“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘺?” 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥.

“ ‘𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳.’ ”

I’m not a fan of late-entering prophecies as a narrative ploy. If you want to have a prophecy come true, put it at the beginning of the tale (like back in the first book) if it is to have any weight.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺, 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘪𝘢; 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘹 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦.

𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘹 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦, 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨

(𝘧𝘢𝘹𝘦𝘥)

𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘪𝘢.

Deja vu:

Fetal transfer

https://stexpanded.fandom.com

A fetal transfer is a process in which a fetus is transferred from one womb to another. According to USS Baldwin captain Patrick Ingrum, the procedure made elective abortions obsolete. He also indicated that the physician who performed the first fetal transfer received two Nobel prizes. (USS Baldwin: “Mother and Child”) In late 2373, a fetus was removed from Jaimie Petrelli without her consent. Jaimie did not know about it – nor did she know she was ever pregnant to begin with – until 2378…

Susannah & Mia returned to our world and begin their trip to their destiny at the Dixie Pig. As they entered a cab, Susannah sent a psychic message to an old street preacher named Rev. Harrigan – but we didn’t spend much time with him to see what he was going to do.

So with that, I leave this chapter and turn my attention to a few podcast episodes about this material. I am now 65% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1625: June 13, 2026

Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came were not so fond of all the exposition found in Song of Susannah.

The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah — Stanzas 8-10

http://twoguysdarktower.blubrry.com

In this episode of Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came, we explore The Dark Tower, Book VI, Song of Susannah, Stanzas 8-10.

Day 1626: June 14, 2026

Radio Free Mid-World provided a blow-by-blow recap of the second quarter of Song of Susannah.

Day 1627: June 15, 2026

I enter into the section of Song of Susannah titled “The Writer: 11th Stanza”. I wonder who that “writer” could possibly be?

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸…𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦? 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦…” 𝘏𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩.

𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥. “𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘮𝘩𝘶𝘨? 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵? 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘣𝘭𝘦-𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴?”

I don’t remember much about what Roland encountered at the Tower from my first read decades ago (except for that very, very end – who could forget that?). But I wonder if this is setting us up for a disappointment…

𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘴 𝘙𝘰𝘢𝘥, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯, 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦? 𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵.

𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦.

“𝘔𝘢𝘯, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.

OK – this is such heavy foreshadowing, I can’t take it!

𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘱 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦…𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵.

A lot of explanations are pouring out of Eddie’s head. Almost too much to take in at once. King & the Rose as opposite ends of the Beam? How nuts is that?

“𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺,” 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩. “𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 …𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴? 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴?”

“𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭.”

“𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺.”

“𝘛𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘺? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶?”

It’s one thing to hear 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 King in his own novel.

It’s quite another to actually hear the man himself speak in it.

𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘯. 𝘕𝘰𝘵, 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳-𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.

𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥.

That has got to be the most realist reaction one could have hoped for!

“𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦-𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬. 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴, 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶?”

𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦. 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘬 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘰 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘨𝘢𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥.

Never would I have considered this down side to meeting the Creator.

𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦. “𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘺. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘭 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘥. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.”

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵. “𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵?”

“𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘮𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘮𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶-𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦-𝘪𝘵.”

Now we’ve leapt from fiction to auto-biography!

Learned this fact from King himself in this chapter:

“At the train station, as the tale goes, she strayed from her luggage for just a moment and when she returned, the suitcase was gone. It was a double blow when Hemingway discovered that Hadley had packed not just the originals of his work, but the carbon copies as well.”

Literary mysteries: Books that have been permanently lost

https://www.mprnews.org

Manuscripts from Ernest Hemingway, Sylvia Plath, Thomas Hardy and more have all been lost to time — or to a train station thief.

And with that, I stop reading this absolutely riveting chapter. I am 69% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1628: June 16, 2026

I continue through the ground-shifting chapter “The Writer: 11th Stanza” in Song of Susannah.

Roland and Eddie are now palavering with a young Stephen King from the 70s – an author for whom the character of Roland was an abandoned idea and Eddie wasn’t even thought of!

It’s the most bizarre twist in any King story I’ve read to date – but it’s working very well for me.

“𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴,” 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘴. “𝘒𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦’𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰, 𝘴𝘢𝘪 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴.”

“𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘯,” 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.

𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥-𝘣𝘰𝘹 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘳. 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦. “𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦.”

Lots of beer in this subsection. King is honest about portraying this alcoholic period of his life.

“𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦,” 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘧𝘺. 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘫𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘦-𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

Takes a junkie to know a junkie!

“𝘠𝘦𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥. 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰, 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳.”

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.”

𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴—𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴—𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥: “𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.”

This moment in Mike Flanagan’s upcoming adaptation – my God… Who will play King? Will this come across ridiculous on the screen?

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦…𝘩𝘦𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵!”

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥’𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘯𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴.

“𝘠𝘦𝘴,” 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥, “𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴, 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘪𝘵?”

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥.”

Roland hypnotizes King and gets him to talk about where his stories come from. This circular meta-ness is almost too much!

I leave Stephen King in his hypnotized state (helped along by the cans of beer he guzzled while being interrogated by his creations).

I am now 72% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1629: June 17, 2026

Finishing off “The Writer: 11th Stanza” in Song of Susannah – Stephen King’s first appearance as a character in one of his own novels.

Roland hypnotized the late 70’s version of King, and he blurted out statements about “serving the Beam” and “Oh Discordia!” – which was truly a creepy moment. I have no idea where this storyline is going or even how this chapter will end. But I’m looking forward to it!

“𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” 𝘈 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯.”

In the audiobook version, “Cuthbert” is pronounced with a soft “u”: cuh-th-bert. In previous audiobooks, it was que-th-bert.

I’m surprised King would allow the change in pronunciation – or if he was even involved.

“𝘈𝘺𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘹 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘴𝘸𝘶𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘴. 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦?”

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. “𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦. 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭.” 𝘈 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦. “𝘊𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘴.”

Whoa! “Twinners” from The Talisman?

“𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦. 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳.”

“𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦?”

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳-𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵.”

“𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥,” 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥? “𝘚𝘢𝘪 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶—𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶?”

“𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯.” 𝘈 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦. “𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦.”

Under hypnosis, King revealed something from his childhood.

“𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦?”

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺?”

“𝘕𝘰. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘩-𝘬𝘢𝘺. 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦?”

𝘈 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦. “𝘕𝘰. 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯. 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦.”

“𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦. 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸—”

“𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵. 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥?”

“𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵. 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵—”

“𝘐’𝘮 𝘎𝘢𝘯, 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘎𝘢𝘯, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.”

𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘺. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. “𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘴, 𝘐 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘪𝘴, 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘬𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥, 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘬𝘢, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘪𝘵? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘨𝘢𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘳 𝘎𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳. ‘𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘬𝘢, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵.’ 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘐, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘥𝘰.”

𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦.

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘬𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘣𝘰𝘯. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘢, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘣𝘰𝘯, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵!”

I don’t think I blinked once while reading this entire exchange!

“𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘢?”

“𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘣? 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘎𝘢𝘯! 𝘐 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘪𝘴, 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘎𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘺𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥,” 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.

“𝘕𝘰, 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵.”

“𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘯.”

𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱.

𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥. “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳?”

I know this whole plot line is considered controversial by many fans, but I for one am absolutely blown away by it. Roland is 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 King to continue writing the Dark Tower saga!

“𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺. 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘵, 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦. 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨.”

“𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦?”

“𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩’𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱.”

𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰.

Oh yeah, nearly forgot that the namesake of this book is IN the book!

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥: “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯.”

𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥. “𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭? 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯?”

“𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘐𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯.”

I leave this book with Stephen King feelin’ real good after waking up from Roland’s hypnotism, resolved to take another look at his Dark Tower notes that he had packed away.

I am now 75% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1630: June 18, 2026

Kingslingers was more shocked about the portrayal of Japanese tourists in Song of Susannah than they were by King writing himself into the plot!

Song of Susannah (Part 4)

https://podcasts.apple.com

This week, it’s Stephen Fucking King! We’re talking about stanzas 10 and 11 of Song of Susannah!

Discussion Question: What author would you want to write himself into his own book and why?

Day 1631: June 19, 2026

Finished off this episode from Kingslingers where they very much enjoyed King’s dorky portrayal of himself in Song of Susannah.

Song of Susannah (Part 4)

https://podcasts.apple.com

This week, it’s Stephen Fucking King! We’re talking about stanzas 10 and 11 of Song of Susannah!

Discussion Question: What author would you want to write himself into his own book and why?

Day 1632: June 20, 2026

I enter into a mad dash to finish off Song of Susannah over the next eight days. I’ve immensely enjoyed what I’ve read in the first 3/4. Will the final quarter remain at the same high quality?

I pick up with “Jake and Callahan: 12th Stanza” and look forward to reading about two characters who have had barely a mention so far.

“𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦!” 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥. “𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶? 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦!”

“𝘖𝘺!” 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮. “𝘖𝘺, 𝘓𝘖𝘖𝘒 𝘖𝘜𝘛!”

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘺𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥.

They’re back in New York City and I don’t think I want to read anymore.

𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘻𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘥 (𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘥-𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘠𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘊𝘢𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴. 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘥, 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘖 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬. 𝘖𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦’𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵. 𝘛𝘰 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥-𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘹𝘪. “𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦!” 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥

That was a helluva fake-out, Sai King!

𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘹𝘪 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘶𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘦.

WHO IS THIS JAKE???

“𝘐’𝘮 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘭 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘯,” 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴. “𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥-𝘉𝘰𝘮𝘣, 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘭𝘺𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢. 𝘈 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.”

Ah yes, the street preacher that Susannah had given a secret mental message to quite a few chapters ago.

𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘣 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵-𝘶𝘱, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘰.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦’𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯—𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. “𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳.”

“𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘨,” 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.

That goddamned Dixie Pig again…

“𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳,” 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘺, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘫𝘢𝘩, 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴, 𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘎𝘐𝘝𝘌𝘕 𝘉𝘠 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘛𝘌𝘛 𝘊𝘖𝘙𝘗𝘖𝘙𝘈𝘛𝘐𝘖𝘕, 𝘐𝘕 𝘏𝘖𝘕𝘖𝘙 𝘖𝘍 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘉𝘌𝘈𝘔𝘌 𝘍𝘈𝘔𝘐𝘓𝘠, 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘐𝘕 𝘔𝘌𝘔𝘖𝘙𝘠 𝘖𝘍 𝘎𝘐𝘓𝘌𝘈𝘋. ”

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘐 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘫𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭 […] 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥-𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘺-𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦.”
[…]
𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦’𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. “𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.”

With that out-of-the-blue vision, I stop reading for today. I am now 79% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1633: June 21, 2026

Continuing my final push through Song of Susannah. Jake, Oy and Pere Callahan have made it to Susannah’s where and when in NYC. Oy almost gets immediate squished by a car, Jake almost blow a cab-driver’s head off with his gun, and Callahan encounters a street preacher who has a message for him from Susannah.

The trio now heads to the towering hotel in which the rose is now encapsulated.

𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘬. “𝘊𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘰𝘯, 𝘮𝘢’𝘢𝘮,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘔𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘐𝘵’𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘔𝘪𝘢.”

“𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴?” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥.

“𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘮𝘢’𝘢𝘮.” 𝘚𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨-𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩-𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦.

“𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨.” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥. “𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳?”

WHAAAT? 🤯

𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘦𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱. “𝘈𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦!” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴’ 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴! 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯!”

Cute.

𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬, 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥: “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮?

“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸.”

𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳. “𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰.”

“𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦,” 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱. “𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰, 𝘵𝘰𝘰.”

𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘭. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳. “𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵.”

Black Thirteen! I’m actually quite surprised Susannah/Mia left it behind in the hotel while they went off to The Dixie Pig. The most powerful object in the universe just tucked into a hotel room safe?

“𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵?” 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥.

𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥.

“𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦,” 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘯. “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘺𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦.”

Yep – we’ve seen this image before!

“𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦?”

𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘹𝘪 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩.”

Jake & Callahan successfully survived the lure of Black Thirteen and now have it along with a bag of Oriza plates from Susannah’s hotel room. They’re now on their way to the Dixie Pig, but first made a quick stop.

I’ll have to see what that is tomorrow. I am now 82% through Song of Susannah

Day 1634: June 22, 2026

I finish off this chapter about Callahan and Jake in Song of Susannah. They have just retrieved Black Thirteen from Susannah/Mia’s hotel room and are heading to the Dixie Pig to help her. But first, they make a quick stop:

𝘓𝘖𝘕𝘎-𝘛𝘌𝘙𝘔 𝘚𝘛𝘖𝘙𝘈𝘎𝘌
𝟣𝟢–𝟥𝟨 𝘔𝘖𝘚.
𝘜𝘚𝘌 𝘛𝘖𝘒𝘌𝘕𝘚
𝘛𝘈𝘒𝘌 𝘒𝘌𝘠
𝘔𝘈𝘕𝘈𝘎𝘌𝘔𝘌𝘕𝘛 𝘈𝘊𝘊𝘌𝘗𝘛𝘚 𝘕𝘖 𝘙𝘌𝘚𝘗𝘖𝘕𝘚𝘐𝘉𝘐𝘓𝘐𝘛𝘠
𝘍𝘖𝘙 𝘓𝘖𝘚𝘛 𝘗𝘙𝘖𝘗𝘌𝘙𝘛𝘠!

𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 (𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘴) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵-𝘢-𝘤𝘰𝘱 𝘥𝘰𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭…

But what about Jake’s gun?

“𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?” 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘣 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸-𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴.

“𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘯,” 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.

So they stuck the single most powerful object in the universe, Black Thirteen, into a public storage locker in New York City. What could possibly go wrong with that?

𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘰, 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘵.”

“𝘖𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵,” 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥.

𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. “𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯.”

Had to verify when this book was published. It was 2004. Could you imagine, though, if he had written this line in 2000?

𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥. 𝘖𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘭𝘺. 𝘕𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵. 𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮: 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

Ugh – I don’t want to hear this now!

𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘦𝘹 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘺-𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵. 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘋𝘐𝘟𝘐𝘌 𝘗𝘐𝘎 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨’𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨.

𝘖𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘬, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘵.

“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?” 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥. “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵?”

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴,” 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘖𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘯—𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭.”

𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺. 𝘏𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘹 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯-𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬-𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭.

Oh yeah – the stupid hypno-turtle!

“𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸,” 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘰̈𝘭𝘥𝘱𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘢, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘶𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘨. “𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶?”

“𝘖𝘩 𝘺𝘦𝘴,” 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘭𝘺. 𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘰̈𝘭𝘥𝘱𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘢, 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵. “𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘐’𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦, 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘯-𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵.”

“𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴.”

Corny!

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘖𝘯𝘦…𝘵𝘸𝘰…𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦.” 𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘬.

And I stop here with Jake, Oy and Pere Callahan launching a surprise attack into the Dixie Pig.

I am now 84% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1635: June 23, 2026

Heading now into the final full chapter of Song of Susannah, “Hile, Mia, Hile, Mother: 13th Stanza”.

Jake and Father Callahan have just burst into the Dixie Pig to rescue Susannah or die trying. Susannah/Mia had arrived there on orders to deliver whatever it was they were carrying in their belly.

Roland and Eddie? Still in Maine 20 years prior as far as I know.

It’s going to be a wild ending, for sure!

𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘹 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘬 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯…

The audiobook narrator said 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘳 instead of 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘹.

I wonder why he made that change?

𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝙉𝙤𝙬.

𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘨𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬…𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦.

That’s the entire content of Section Four in this chapter. What an interesting line! As far as google is telling me, it’s a King original.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘚𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝟣𝟫𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦, 𝟣𝟫𝟨𝟦.

𝘖 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢!

Now this is a reference I DID know.

Murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner – Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org

On June 21, 1964, three civil rights movement activists, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, were murdered in Neshoba County, Mississippi by local members of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘢. 𝘈𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘖𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯.

𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳; 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦.

𝘈𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘺, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘥.

Mia is taken for a memory ride as a street guitar player evokes some powerful moments in Susannah’s past. Seems like this is having an impact on Mia. How will this play into their relationship just before they enter the Dixie Pig?

“𝘓𝘈𝘉𝘖𝘙…𝘏𝘈𝘚 𝘊𝘖𝘔𝘔𝘌𝘕𝘊𝘌𝘋,” 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘞𝘢𝘺𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. “𝘓𝘈𝘉𝘖𝘙…𝘏𝘈𝘚 𝘊𝘖𝘔𝘔𝘌𝘕𝘊𝘌𝘋.” 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘭) 𝘉𝘰𝘣 𝘋𝘺𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨: “𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘗𝘠 𝘉𝘐𝘙𝘛𝘏𝘋𝘈𝘠 𝘛𝘖 𝘠𝘖𝘜…𝘉𝘈𝘉𝘌!…𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘗𝘠 𝘉𝘐𝘙𝘛𝘏𝘋𝘈𝘠…𝘛𝘖 𝘠𝘖𝘜! 𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘗𝘠 𝘉𝘐𝘙𝘛𝘏𝘋𝘈𝘠…𝘋𝘌𝘈𝘙 𝘔𝘖𝘙𝘋𝘙𝘌𝘋…𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘗𝘠 𝘉𝘐𝘙𝘛𝘏𝘋𝘈𝘠…𝘛𝘖 𝘠𝘖𝘜!”

This is all happening in Susannah’s head. How absolutely twisted!

“𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘍𝘐𝘙𝘌…𝘐𝘚 𝘖𝘜𝘛,” 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥. “𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘍𝘐𝘙𝘌…𝘐𝘚 𝘖𝘜𝘛.” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩, 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘺 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘏𝘢𝘸-𝘏𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵:

“𝘐 𝘚𝘈𝘠, 𝘑𝘖𝘓𝘓𝘠 𝘎𝘖𝘖𝘋 𝘚𝘏𝘖𝘞, 𝘚𝘌𝘞-𝘡𝘈𝘕𝘕𝘈𝘏, 𝘈𝘉-𝘚𝘖-𝘓𝘜𝘛𝘌𝘓𝘠𝘉𝘙𝘐𝘓𝘓𝘓𝘓-𝘐𝘈𝘕𝘛! ”

The Rise And Fall Of Lord Haw Haw During The Second World War

https://www.iwm.org.uk

William Joyce (‘Lord Haw Haw’) was a radio personality who broadcast German propaganda to the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Although initially popular with British audiences, his popularity declined as the war progressed.

“𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦!” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦. “𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥!” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘱. “𝘑𝘢𝘬𝘦! 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯! 𝘞𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺! 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭!”

With this I end reading for today. Looks like I’ll be two more days in this chapter – so a lot more action to happen!

I am now 88% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1636: June 24, 2026

I was expecting to read all about a huge gun battle, but instead I was treated to some of the most exquisite prose King has ever produced as Susannah was awash with memories of her racial justice days in the 60s and her experiences with the Mississippi Three. It was lyrical, emotional and downright beautiful writing. In my opinion, the best of the series so far.

But today, surely, there will be a battle at the Dixie Pig!

“𝘖𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦,” 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. “𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭.”

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴.

𝘖 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯!

It’s the continued poetry of memory, this time Susannah recalling her own mother at Mia’s insistent request.

𝘈𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘴. 𝘛𝘰 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘥, 𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘢-𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴—𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵

Low men and vampires! What a welcoming committee they encountered as they walked into the Dixie Pig to give birth!

𝘙𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘺𝘳𝘦—𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘮, 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦-𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭-𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥-𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘺—𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. “𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘔𝘪𝘢!” 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥.

“𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘔𝘪𝘢!” 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥.

“𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳!”

“𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳!” 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥…

So utterly creepy!

𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸. 𝘐𝘵𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘐𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸—𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳-𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘺—𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴.

“𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘔𝘳. 𝘚𝘢𝘺𝘳𝘦…𝘴𝘢𝘪 𝘚𝘢𝘺𝘳𝘦…𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱. 𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘰! 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘐 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘥𝘰.”

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳,” 𝘚𝘢𝘺𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥.

That description of Richard Sayre with the hole in his forehead – so primally disturbing!

𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴—𝘔𝘪𝘢’𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘫𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘴. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯.

“𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰-𝘰𝘰𝘰-𝘰𝘰𝘰 …𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘉𝘈𝘉𝘠! ” 𝘚𝘢𝘺𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦-𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸-𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘮.

I pray I live to see Mike Flanagan bring this scene to life in his Dark Tower adaptation!

𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘺, 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵, 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘻𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘕𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘣, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘵𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳…𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬.

OMG!

𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳! 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥.

𝘜𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳.

I have to end for the day right here. Tomorrow, I finish off the book proper (save for the author’s Coda). I don’t think I’m going to be getting a big shootout in this book after all.

I am now 91% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1637: June 25, 2026

I’ve reached the end of Song of Susannah. I remember speed-reading through this when it first came out, but I don’t remember it being this good!

It’s making me eager to get to the last book, but for now, I’m going to savor these last two sections in the Dixie Pig (which is one of the most hellish and nightmarish scenes King has ever portrayed!).

𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘨 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘺: 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘬.

Long pig – Origin & Meaning of the Phrase

https://www.etymonline.com

“human being eaten as food,” by 1848, in stories from the Fiji Islands, said to be a… See origin and meaning of long pig.

“𝘠𝘦𝘴,” 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥. “𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”

“𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦!” 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳. “𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯…” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘯. “𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘔𝘪𝘢’𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴.

“Mia’s Megrims” – now THERE’S a band name for ya.

megrim: fancy, whim

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵,” 𝘚𝘢𝘺𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥, “𝘐’𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. ” 𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯.

𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘨𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘥 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘪𝘦 𝘗𝘪𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘹𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥.

This is a rather shitty maternity ward!

𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩’𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵; 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘖 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘢), 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥.

Mia (Dark Tower) Origins – Stephen King’s Most Complex Female Character, Who Is A Monstrous Mother

𝘚𝘛𝘈𝘝𝘌: 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘢-𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦-𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘴!
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵!
𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘖 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭,
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴.

𝘙𝘌𝘚𝘗𝘖𝘕𝘚𝘌: 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘢-𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦-𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘴,
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥;
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥;
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵.

And with that, the story ends for now. I will formally finish reading the book over the next two days with a rather lengthy “Coda” from the author.

I am now 94% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1638: June 26, 2026

I start on the lengthy Coda from Song of Susanna titled, “Pages from a Writer’s Journal”.

It’s a 50 minute track on the audiobook, so apparently Sai King has quite a few things on his mind about this book I just finished!

𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝟣𝟤𝘵𝘩, 𝟣𝟫𝟩𝟩

𝘔𝘢𝘯, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘰𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 “𝘕𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯,” 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘖𝘸𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘣 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 (𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘥).

𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘐 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬.

Wait a minute… maybe this ISN’T just an author’s afterword!

𝘑𝘶𝘯𝘦 𝟣𝟫𝘵𝘩, 𝟣𝟫𝟪𝟢

𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘒𝘪𝘳𝘣𝘺 𝘔𝘤𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘺.𝘏𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘥 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵… 𝘋𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 (𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳). 𝘐𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵? 𝘔𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 “𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.” 𝘏𝘦’𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝟣𝟢,𝟢𝟢𝟢 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘴 𝟧𝟢𝟢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘳𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭.

I’m having a hard time discerning if these are true entries or made-up!

𝘔𝘢𝘯, 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘚𝘢𝘮 𝘝𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯 (𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘦𝘮, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳). 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘻 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘏𝘙𝘌𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘖𝘜𝘚𝘈𝘕𝘋!! 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬? 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘣 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘦𝘵 𝘚𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘥-𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥.

I have that EXPLICIT memory as a boy checking out Pet Sematary from the public library. I remember taking that book back to the librarian on duty and pointing out that “Also by author” page and she too was baffled by “The Dark Tower” reference.

I mean, if a librarian didn’t know, then who possibly could?!

𝘔𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢; 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘺. 𝘛𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵. (𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴 & 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴, 𝘨𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦.)

Wow – I’m so glad he went with a clown as a protagonist in IT rather than a chicken. Can you imagine?

𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺? 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨—𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨—𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺 (“𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺,” 𝘩𝘢𝘳-𝘩𝘢𝘳), 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭. 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘺; 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘺 𝘢 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘢𝘬𝘦?

𝘐’𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬.

Convinced now this is a mix of fact & fiction.

𝘖𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝟩𝘵𝘩, 𝟣𝟫𝟪𝟫

𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥—𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 —𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘉𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘌𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘖𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥, 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘦-𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦.

𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥-𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘨. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴.

I stop halfway through this chapter today. VERY CLEVER final chapter King wrote. I totally thought this was going to be a lengthy, folksy “Dear Constant Reader” ending, but no… It’s the continuation of the story post Roland & Eddie’s visit to a young King.

Very clever, indeed. I am now 97% of the way through Song of Susannah.

Day 1639: June 27, 2026

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Day 1640: June 28, 2026

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Day 1641: June 29, 2026

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Day 1642: June 30, 2026

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Day 1643: Jul 1, 2026

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Day 1644: Jul 2, 2026

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