I was reminded by a dream last night that today is February 20th. The dream was a narrative about hidden connections in Hunter’s work. I found it very exciting, though in waking I didn’t quite understand the connections. But I did realize that it was the anniversary of that sad day in 2005. And in sleep I’d been busy with a dream about him.

The dream gave me lots of energy. And I sat down to work on the snags in volume 2 of KTQ. Kirkus Indie just posted a review for KTQ 1. An online description of the terrors of this journal writes: “As the scrappy runner-up to PW[Publishers Weekly], Kirkus has long had a reputation for lively, unpredictable reviews that are sometimes outlandishly harsh.” Authors await them in some trepidation. In the case of KTQ, it was primarily quite positive.

Kirkus defines the audience helpfully: “Memoir will likely please Hunter S. Thompson fans and appeal to readers with an interest in the beginnings of the post-modern era or the personal sacrifices involved in bringing serious written work to fruition.”

Also: “The reader comes to feel an affinity with the trio of writers in their attempts to achieve their iconoclastic visions of success, glimpsing them as individuals beyond their work, seeing how they think. Their genius, for Harrell, consisted of their being wholly themselves.”

Well, not “consisted of,” I would say. More like “depended on.” Hooray for Kirkus for liking the book! And not giving me a heart attack. And here’s a toast to this very special day.

One opening the review created for volume 2 is to quote from the 3 writers’ work. This will be possible in 2, after their careers took off. On the other hand, anyplace I can remember or took down conversation, I consider is a rare advantage.