part three ... X. KROPTON ERNST ... page 199

"So... once I hit bottom, I began to realize that instead of trying to forget my past, I decided I would accept it. This was the turning point which suddenly gave me the freedom to move ahead by utilizing the resources available to me. Through the kindness of friends, I managed to get plane fare to return to USA and a place to stay in downtown Minneapolis. This was in 1988, twenty years ago, when I was twenty-nine. I started to reconstruct my life then, vicariously, through a character I had authored for myself; Kropton Ernst. I determined that this character, my alter ego, would become what I had always wanted to be; the author of intelligent, popular stories. As Kropton began writing, I became his vehicle; a medium channeling new stories, which had seemed to magically appear from the aether. As his agent, I began to send these stories to publishers, and in return, Kropton began to receive enthusiastic approval. And the more successful Kropton became, the more the writing had improved. His stories were beginning to sell, bringing him the financial rewards that I had always dreamed of. The success precipitated a return of my own self confidence, and when it did, I had the audacity to assume the role of my own nom de plume and to ultimately, finally leave my old self behind."