the red house (the next novel, halfway complete, though it's probably bad voodoo to say so) contains lots of found text and images. old books, prints, banknotes, bus-tickets, maps, diagrams... some of it i haven't used but can't quite bear to abandon, so here seems as good place as any to share it. this was a book that my father (a very good swimmer) had as a boy:

... at last we are under way. as an old time warrior, i am looking round for signs of the weather, and, lo! i behold my old enemy, the tinge of red sky away in the distance. i call the attention of my trainer, and also of the pilot, who shrugs and says it is nothing.

but in my own heart i know that it is fatal to my success; yet i cannot turn back. ye gods! the press are on board, and the sea is dead calm and like glass. i should be called a shirker if i suggested turning back, as the conditions look so perfect to those who do not understand. so with a heavy heart i carry on...