Dreams of Grandeur in French America

Typing in the last of the notebook on Napoleon III's thoughts on his life.  Just got up to Mexico today, then it stopped, at, I believe 59 hand-written pages.  He did spark off some odd thoughts, though, about how deeply France had been involved in the New World since Cartier and La Verendrye.  The Louisiana Purchase is probably still regretted by some Frenchmen.  Who knows where that would have led?  Combine it with the Mexican Empire under French control and you've really got something.  Almost justifies the Monroe Doctrine.  I'll have to look in Google Books to resurrect my sources 

Much more Napoleon

A lot more than I thought of Napoleon to transcribe.  Probaby another couple of days.  Lots of good quotes.  Napoleon had a lot of ideas, not all of them good.  Mexico, for example.

More direct Napoleon

Transcribing this old material, written in the first person by my concept of Napoleon III, shows how my understanding of the history has not changed much.  But some of the notes I found I have no idea where they came from.  But I'll track them down.  I haven't been working on this book for six years or more to worry about a few references whose acronyms I don't remember.

Wondering about CreateSpace for publishing.

Transcribing Napoleon

Transferring Napoleon from pen and paper to electrons is a step forward,and not as burdensome as writing from scratch.  Ideas are still relevant, even fom several years ago.

First blood in the Commune

The Commune launched itself in massive confusion.  I tried to pick up all the good stuff from each of my sources.  And maybe add some cool insights.

Book to book

A new insight bubbles up from in between the stories told of the same events by three books, one in French.  Heck, they  quote from each other, why should I not quote them?  

The trick I am beginning to get is to see everything that happens the way that each character sees it.  And not to worry about who's right.

Starting the Commune

I didn't start the Commune!  Hey, that's Billy Joel, right?! (fake interrabang)  Ah, Billy Joel, the worst piano player who never should have started to sing.  And there's some competition there, believe me!

I think I'm getting the idea of this blitz writing, though.  Shifting from one source to another in between phone calls, pretty good.  Fact-based, entirely.

Bismarck is the guy who always pokes his head up wherever in 1870 I go.  Maybe my next book needs to be about him.  Or BY him!  There's the ticket!

History does get in the way of building a narrative, though.  It always horns in with, "No, that's not the way it really was!"  At least when you're writing about the future it never kicks over the traces to say, "That could never happen in a million years!"  And if the future did stick its busybody nose in like that, you could always change things to start out, "A miilion and one years from now ... "   Am I right?   !