The Chef's Notes on Loose Canons

The Chef

The point of this column is to provide a little bit of commentary and background on Loose Canons. Don't expect any of the main characters' deep dark secrets, though. Instead, I'm going to provide a bit of insight into my thought processes and just where I get my ideas from. Hopefully you'll find it interesting enough to continue exploring the dark recesses of my brain. Expect this to be updated with each story.

• “A God For Hire”: Like most of the stories in this series, “A God For Hire” began with the title, which randomly popped into my head one day (I believe I was in the shower when it happened). This got me to thinking about what it would be like for a god to go into a job interview. I hate job interviews. Of these stories, "A God For Hire" has probably changed the most from its original version. This story introduces Chanticleer and my wisecracking, crotchety rendition of Thoth. Originally, Aurus was blatantly based on Bill Clinton, who seemed to be the epitome of the “flash over substance” syndrome that pervades both American politics and American religion. I toned this down in later revisions, then ended up with more Clinton than I wanted when I added Aurus's show of “power”. Aside from making the major mistake of mixing (but not mixing up) religion and politics, I think the story still works. And I do like to lord the literary references over everyone. Yes, Chanticleer is named after a chicken, and it wouldn't be the last time a reference to Canterbury Tales made it into the series.

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Comments

reaperman

August 27, 2008 07:30 PM

You are an interesting fellow, but I hate you. Why do I hate you? Because you made me imagine you in the shower.

The Chef

Everyone does.

August 27, 2008 08:42 PM

Apparently, everyone hates me.

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