The Caddyvac.

If you've been following the Dust Bunny Facebook Page, you've probably seen a snippet from the below excerpt which marks the beginning of an 11-page car chase sequence.

During the pre-production of this book, I knew that I wanted to give Dust Bunny's ride - The Caddyvac - its own 15 minutes of fame. After all, what's a detective story without a solid car chase? Akin to The Blues Mobile, Ecto-1, or the Delorean, I wanted the Caddyvac to become a character in its own right; to exude some form of personality without resorting to the overt gimmicks of Kitt or Herbie. One of my favorite quotes from Henry Gibson (the head nazi in The Blues Brothers) when referencing the famous car chase scene from that film was, "Those cars were dancing, man." What a fantastic visual reinforcement to the story which is, in fact, a musical.

I mean, how many short seconds do you really need to absorb that signature, yet haunting wail before registering it as Ecto-1? And how could the Delorean breathe without its flux capacitor; without its heartbeat? There's a voice to these vehicles.

Originally, in 2006, Dust Bunny drove a (barely) modified handheld vacuum cleaner that resembled a spacecraft more than a car. Granted, these never left the drawing board, but I think they served a greater purpose some 5 years later when I would decide that heavy modifications were needed to make the Vac feel like it belonged in Basement City, and that our dirty detective would actually drive it.

The other incredibly fun concept for this chase sequence is that the secondary and tertiary characters also reinforce their respective personalities a la their rides. As well, all of the makes and models of these cars are pulled from completely different decades, which adds a layer of variety and visual interest to the scene itself.

Technically speaking, the perspective and curvilinear components to these pages are proving to be the most challenging piece of the book yet. It's forced me to come off of cruise control in some ways, and grip the wheel a little firmer. But in doing so, the payoff is extremely satisfying when I do get to sit back and read the pages sequentially.

That being said, I'm even more eager to finally share this story with all of you. Whether it be a roaring muffler, or an expository monologue, my hope is that what's under the hood of this story resonates just as clearly as the detailed exterior atop the pages...