Brian Kenneth Swain

At last, some actual writing. Just two pages, but the story is off and running. We begin with Miguel de Morillo (one of the original two inquisitors in Seville, appointed 1480, “questioning” Rodrigo’s uncle, a local craftsman and suspected converso organizer. The goal in the opening sections is to establish a tone of general terror throughout Seville, and introduce several main characters, notably Rodrigo (14 at this time), Morillo, and Torquemada, our main inquisitors. The uncle will survive this initial treatment, but will be damaged for life as a result, a fact that will become important later when we revisit him in 1492. ...

Spent eternity searching on-line for full text version of exigit sinceras devotionis affectus, Pope Sixtus’ edict authorizing the appointment of Torquemada as Inquisitor General for all of Spain. There is some inconsistency in the literature as to whether Torq’s appointment was the Pope’s or Isabella’s and Ferdinand’s, but this distinction is minutia and not critical to my narrative. In any event I would like to locate the original bull, if only to use portions of it in the story. I located as well a new source book that looks excellent – it is now ordered on Amazon (thank goodness they had it). It’s full of original documents and trial transcripts from the period. I added more details to the flow ...

Spent much of today outside in the coolness, which is wonderful, considering this is Houston. Worked at replacing my perfectly good driveway fence which the idiots at the homeowner’s association, in their unending power, deemed too pleasant-looking (i.e. stained). I find myself a bit conflicted about the whole thing though, for while it would be easy to simply let it all be about annoyance and superiority, it is true as well that I enjoy any projects that require working with wood, besides which the cedar smells nice. Of course the whole exercise will end up costing me $200-$300, so that part of it takes me right back to the annoyance. Anyway, darkness has come again (funny how it does that about the same time each day), so I will ...

Started to read the brief Columbus bio by Peter Riviere. I’ve determined that I ought to get a copy of the original Washington Irving biography of Columbus, published in 1828 (bidding on an early copy on eBay now). This will go on my reading list for this book, along with about 25 other books, mainly concerning either Columbus, the Inquisition, or both. I could spend my life reading in preparation for writing this thing! Also spent a bit of time thinking through the full scope of the story, viz, when to start and end it. I will begin with vignettes from the life of de Torres, de Triana, and Torquemada, all authentic historical characters with whom I mean to take prodigious fictional liberties. If I begin with the appointment of ...

I’ve just posted the first draft of an essay entitled “The Failure of Faith,” addressing an issue that has troubled me for some time, viz, how can intelligent people convince themselves to shut down their brains and believe the tripe that’s fed to them by religious leaders? It’s something I confess I will never understand, and I have no doubt I will piss off plenty of people with the sentiments and examples I’ve provided in the essay. Still, I think these are things that need saying, which is not to say that I’m the first or most prominent by any stretch of the imagination. I simply (and proudly) count myself in the company of folks like Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchins. Thing ...

I am intent that this book be of at least some historical value in addition to being a novel of entertainment. To that end, I mean to intersperse between the chapters historical documents and excerpts therefrom, e.g. letters between Columbus and Isabella, papal bulls, letters of appointment, etc. I am currently spending a bit of time with the Alhambra Decree, which is the bit of paper that expelled the Jews from Spain in 1492. I am, however, having rather a bit of difficulty locating a copy of the decree by which Torquemada (Inquisitor General) was appointed to that post by Isabella and Ferdinand (under Pope Innocent’s direction). I think these are critical documents for putting the fictional bits of the story into their proper ...

Just spent three days in Vegas with the family celebrating mom’s 75th birthday. Much of that time I discovered the continuation of what has been happening for many of these past weeks, i.e. plot lines and character attributes for my new novel “Outrun the Devil” (OTD) refuse to stop spinning around in my head. I am currently reading Steinbeck’s “Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters” in which he talks about the same phenomenon, viz the existence of two worlds for someone trying to write a novel, these being the real world and the world taking form in the book. At this point there is virtually no moment of the day or night when something about OTD isn’t taking form (or perhaps breaking down) ...

Just getting going this evening on an essay about faith and how destructive it is to the human condition. The stimulus for this came, I think, from reading East of Eden, and in particular some of Steinbeck’s more trenchant philosophical musings that are scattered throughout the novel. It is an excellent story so far, and I am particularly taken by the pure evil that is the Cathy character. She and Dominique from The Fountainhead would make an interesting pair. ...

I was moved—more like compelled—to write this essay in response to watching Houston Texans place kicker Kris Brown miss an extraordinarily high percentage of the field goals he attempted during the 2009 season, many of them from quite close distances, chip shots in the sporting vernacular. We are not talking baseball here, where the mark of excellence is failing to get a hit only two out of every three attempts. Place kicking in football has evolved to the point where it is now considered largely automatic, particularly for kicks of less than, say, thirty yards. And again employing the baseball analogy where hitting is but one of several tasks entrusted to the players, the field goal kicker does nothing else whatsoever for the team, ...

Our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness. Vladimir Nabokov Where am I? Why is it so dark? Jesus, my head hurts. I hope I haven’t overslept again. Weathers’ll have a conniption if I do. I knew I should’ve stopped at two glasses of wine last night. Now I’m gonna’ be miserable all day. Why the hell is everything so dark? Wake up, Rachel. C’mon girl, get with it. It is morning, early morning, or at least it feels that way insofar as it feels like anything, absent nearly all external cues. Rachel awakens after what feels like a fitful night’s sleep. A very dim gray light bathes her, the sort of light familiar to those who arise before dawn. Its source cannot be determined directly, yet somehow ...