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Authors: Robert Reginald
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starting in 1969, the Catalog was filled with entries for a bunch of porn novels under that nameâand I didnât think from the subject matter that this could be the same writer.
In 1975 I found a strange entry for a gothic issued by Popular Library, Ned Pinesâs old imprintâa writer named Lucina Sharp, pseudonym of M. M. Tolley, had penned a novel called The Widow of Templeton Moor . A second novel under the same pen name for the same imprint was called Dreadstone Manor . Could this be a coincidence?
I found a brief description of Dreadstone on an internet site devoted to the modern gothic, and the plot sounded roughly similar to that of Castle Dred . But then, many of the elements in these publications were very much alike, deliberately so, since thatâs what the fans wanted. Curiously, the story line of Castle Dred was actually quite different from the later norm, when considered in that light.
Iâd never actually seen any of Margieâs early booksâat least, anything that she acknowledged as having written during her career as a paperback editor and writer. She usually dismissed her efforts during those years as not worthy of mention. I was aware of one later work she penned under her real nameâa cookbook devoted to berries (huckleberries, blueberries, boysenberries, dingleberries, and such)âit was a moderate success.
Just for the hell of it, I looked up that book on the Copyright Officeâs on-line database version of the Catalog , and found it registered there under âMargie Brittleback,â the name Iâd known her by for at least two decades. I also checked the Library of Congress on-line catalog, and The Merry Berry Book was recorded under her real name.
I noticed a cross-reference to an âAuthority File,â whatever that was, and clicked on the entry. The link took me to another catalog, which showed the authorâs full name as Margaret M. Brittleback, born 1945.
The berry cookbook had been published just over a decade ago as a spiral-bound trade paperback. I tried searching the other pseudonym and real names used by Margieâs friend in the LC databases, but although several were listed as part of the libraryâs paperback collection, none of these books had received full cataloging, and the names on the title pages were not cross-referenced to any other moniker.
All of this was very strange. I wondered then if Margieâs tale of separation from her former girlfriend had actually been true. Maybe she was still part of her life in some way, and maybe that woman was present here at the paperback show.
But if she was, how would I find her?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
âI WAS JUST TAKING A WALKâ
Sunday, March 27
âWhen Mr. Fredo Burgess of Bug Hollow announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventh birthday, there was much talk about his mental state in Bugganvillia.
âAnd when he disappeared following the piebald wizardâs gaudy appearance on February the 19 th , folks wondered about his stability as well.
âA hundred years later, after many and numerous quasi-adventures that we shall not detail here, since they mostly didnât amount to anything, Mr. Fredo walked into his old bungalow, now occupied by his cousin, Borgo, and announced, âWell, Iâm back.â
ââWhere have you been?â Borgoâs wife Buddleia asked.
ââI was just taking a walk,â Mr. Burgess said, and that was the end of itâat least for himâbecause they got an eviction order, and sent him packingâand good riddance too!â
âThere and Back Again ,
by Reginald Tolstoy (1955)
An hour or two later, I woke from a deep sleep to the sound of sirens blaring and the flash-flash-flash of red-and-white lights, and rushed to my window. The parking lot was filled with police cars, fire engines, and ambulances. I threw on some clothes, and headed outside.
When I leaned over the railing of
In 1975 I found a strange entry for a gothic issued by Popular Library, Ned Pinesâs old imprintâa writer named Lucina Sharp, pseudonym of M. M. Tolley, had penned a novel called The Widow of Templeton Moor . A second novel under the same pen name for the same imprint was called Dreadstone Manor . Could this be a coincidence?
I found a brief description of Dreadstone on an internet site devoted to the modern gothic, and the plot sounded roughly similar to that of Castle Dred . But then, many of the elements in these publications were very much alike, deliberately so, since thatâs what the fans wanted. Curiously, the story line of Castle Dred was actually quite different from the later norm, when considered in that light.
Iâd never actually seen any of Margieâs early booksâat least, anything that she acknowledged as having written during her career as a paperback editor and writer. She usually dismissed her efforts during those years as not worthy of mention. I was aware of one later work she penned under her real nameâa cookbook devoted to berries (huckleberries, blueberries, boysenberries, dingleberries, and such)âit was a moderate success.
Just for the hell of it, I looked up that book on the Copyright Officeâs on-line database version of the Catalog , and found it registered there under âMargie Brittleback,â the name Iâd known her by for at least two decades. I also checked the Library of Congress on-line catalog, and The Merry Berry Book was recorded under her real name.
I noticed a cross-reference to an âAuthority File,â whatever that was, and clicked on the entry. The link took me to another catalog, which showed the authorâs full name as Margaret M. Brittleback, born 1945.
The berry cookbook had been published just over a decade ago as a spiral-bound trade paperback. I tried searching the other pseudonym and real names used by Margieâs friend in the LC databases, but although several were listed as part of the libraryâs paperback collection, none of these books had received full cataloging, and the names on the title pages were not cross-referenced to any other moniker.
All of this was very strange. I wondered then if Margieâs tale of separation from her former girlfriend had actually been true. Maybe she was still part of her life in some way, and maybe that woman was present here at the paperback show.
But if she was, how would I find her?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
âI WAS JUST TAKING A WALKâ
Sunday, March 27
âWhen Mr. Fredo Burgess of Bug Hollow announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventh birthday, there was much talk about his mental state in Bugganvillia.
âAnd when he disappeared following the piebald wizardâs gaudy appearance on February the 19 th , folks wondered about his stability as well.
âA hundred years later, after many and numerous quasi-adventures that we shall not detail here, since they mostly didnât amount to anything, Mr. Fredo walked into his old bungalow, now occupied by his cousin, Borgo, and announced, âWell, Iâm back.â
ââWhere have you been?â Borgoâs wife Buddleia asked.
ââI was just taking a walk,â Mr. Burgess said, and that was the end of itâat least for himâbecause they got an eviction order, and sent him packingâand good riddance too!â
âThere and Back Again ,
by Reginald Tolstoy (1955)
An hour or two later, I woke from a deep sleep to the sound of sirens blaring and the flash-flash-flash of red-and-white lights, and rushed to my window. The parking lot was filled with police cars, fire engines, and ambulances. I threw on some clothes, and headed outside.
When I leaned over the railing of
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