The Crimson Blueprints — Kim Ekemar

When published in 1971, Paul Crimson's war novel Velvet Nights became an instant success. Coaxed by his editor to write a follow-up, Crimson eventually accepted to hibernate in a New England fishing town to cure his writer's block. Prodded by commercial interests, he began writing his second novel with no idea how it would end. By fusing keen observations of people in tranquil Harbor with notes from his editor and his soldiering past in Vietnam, he launched The Ship - a terrifying scenario of snowstorms, survival and soul searching. Then Crimson's unstableness provoked events to spin out of control, while he let his work in progress mirror his perceptions of them. This is a multi-layered narrative about manipulation, the impacts of war and the creative process. Only months before his own death, Crimson's editor handed over all unpublished documents in this strange affair to Kim Ekemar. His compelling compilation - replete with ice and fire, chilling violence and searing psychological drama - explores the complex boundaries of reality and human experience.