Messalina: Devourer of Men (41 page)

People may criticize me for walking away from a career in education, especially when being offered permanent employment and a  freedom of expression not afforded in other careers. To those people I say: yeah, whatever. My life, my choice.

I have cheerfully given up concern about what people assume to be “me” and have started being true to myself. Fortunately for me, I have friends—and family—who support me and, with Jared’s help, I am expressing myself in an artistic manner.

“You have a good eye, sugar,” he said one day as I hung up my prints in the darkroom he built for me out in the backyard.

I’m enjoying witnessing how Jared and Trey take
Messalina
to another level. Production and promotion for the series is now being handled by Howling Moon, leaving Jared with more time to create. He’s also been a panelist at comic book conventions and when he does a gallery show, he includes some never-before-seen artwork from both comics.

I usually go on these tours or conventions with him, and no longer feel uncomfortable when people look at me after he proclaims my involvement with his work. In fact, some of the loose-flowing dresses I’ve found in various Goth shops that Piper recommended make excellent maternity wear and the evidence of my fertility has won many admiring, sometimes longing, glances.

Yes, I’m feeling much more at ease in my skin these days.

The old Evadne Cavell is dead.

Long live Messalina. 

About the Author

Zetta Brown wrote her first novel at the age of 10. She is the author of several short stories and a regional first-place winner for The National Society of Arts & Letters (NSAL) Award for Short Fiction in 1998. Her work has been published in literary journals produced by Tarrant County College in Hurst, Texas, Mary Hardin-Baylor University and Southern Methodist University. In 1999 and 2000, her stories were adapted for performance in
Letters Live!
at the Craft of Writing conference in Denton, Texas. Currently, Zetta lives in Scotland with her husband, author and publisher Jim Brown. She is currently working on her next novel, “Malice.”

            Visit her website at
www.zettabrown.com

Messalina – The Soundtrack

I’m inspired by music. I think it was Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys who once said, “Music is the soundtrack of life.” I couldn’t agree more.

As I wrote this story, certain songs seemed to fit the mood I was trying to create within a chapter leading me to create the “soundtrack” of Eva and Jared’s life.

I’ve listed the songs and the artist for each chapter. Some chapters were inspired by more than one song. If you want to get an idea of my taste in music and perhaps a deeper understanding of Eva and Jared, I encourage you to find and listen to a recording of the following tracks *:

And here are a few extras that helped to keep me motivated:

“Samson & Delilah”
– Bad Manners

“Right Side of a Good Thing”
– The Fleshtones

“Right Here”
– The Go-Betweens

“Temple of Love ’92”
– Sisters of Mercy

“The Sensual World”
– Kate Bush

“Baby, You’re Mine”
– Basia

* Some of the groups listed above have disbanded and the only way you’ll find these songs may be off of a compilation. I’ve included the names of the CDs where I got the songs here, but even these discs may be hard to find. These can (usually) be found on Amazon.com except where noted. Good luck!

¹ 
 
Ska Heroes
(Amazon UK)

² 
 
Ska Down Her Way
(Vol. 1)

³ 
 
Skank Down Under

⁴ 
 
Moonshot! A Moon Ska Records Compendium

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