Evelyn's Intro

Welcome to In A Different Place; Documenting Katrina's Misadventures in Dystopia, her online journal, her writings about Liberal Socialism, and a mag called Alters

Hi. My name is Evelyn. I am Katrina’s channel (or ghostwriter, if you’re a sceptic). I will hand over to her soon enough, but it occurred to me that if I don’t do an intro of my own then you may end up being hopelessly confused. So I decided I would get my opening gambit in first – I don’t think Katrina would mind.

K: Nope, I don’t mind.

Ev: Glad to hear it. May I…?

K: Be my guest.

Ev: Thanks.

Right. So, as I was saying, you will be finding all this becoming exceptionally postmodern, so for the avoidance of too much cognitive dissonance, this little intro of mine should set some scenes, provide a little framework and, well, set you on your way with at least a little guiding light. Not much, for sure, but at least enough so you don’t stumble at the first dischord.

So, the reading misadventure on which you about to embark, ‘In a Different Place’ is essentially Katrina’s online journal (what you might call a ‘blog’ – although you’ll notice how she avoids that term – I will too for what it’s worth). Sub-heading, something like ‘Katrina’s adventures in dystopia’.

Rather than telling you anything about Katrina, I will shortly be handing over to her and she’ll do it. Again for those who are sceptical about these things (or who simply don’t get postmodernism) you will quickly assume that Katrina is a fictional character in a soon-to-be-forthcoming series of books (‘Serial-K’) with the overriding title ‘What to do about Katrina’. Personally, though, I’m going to remove that word ‘fictional’ and let your own perception do the rest. It doesn’t, as it happens, bother me (or her) in the slightest if you decide to believe that she’s fictional, or if she exists for real in some alternate, but virtually identical historical timeline. As we both know, humans don’t see things in terms of facts, they see only information, which is not always true. Indeed, in this distinctly purgatorial dystopia, it very frequently isn’t. Especially when it comes from the ‘epistemic authorities’ (self-appointed, naturally). In other words, humans see things in terms of stories, or narratives. There will, I am guessing, come a point when you get so into it that the question of whether it’s true or not will no longer occur to you. It simply won’t matter.

That’s my hope, anyhow.

So, to briefly explain a little framework for what you are about to receive. Katrina’s online journal will be complementary to the series of books (potential publishers and/or agents, if you’re interested, get in touch; likewise illustrators - for Katrina, think a young Modesty Blaise, without the pouty red lips). Some – most, probably – of the content will be free, the rest will be paid subscriber-only. Although we are both something of a socialist, I am the opposite of the richest girl in the world and, well, quite frankly, I need the money. Naturally, in order to justify the monetised aspect I’m going to have to work damn hard to make it worth it. There is, however, another reason for doing it, which is simply the avoidance of spreading too many spoilers around. The subscription stuff, then, will make far more references to the books, although at the top of each article I will, where necessary, insert the obligatory spoiler alert. Another aspect of the paid-for stuff will be the more classified subject matter. The word ‘controversial’ also springs to mind. So don’t say you weren’t warned. Hmm, if that doesn’t intrigue you nothing will.

Anyhow – maybe I should at least give you an intro to the series? The kind of thing a review might do if it’s intending to catch your interest. Ok. It goes something like this. Katrina arrives in Paris with no money and no identification and does what any sensible girl would do in such a situation, namely she heads for the British Embassy. Where she calmly informs them that she is from a parallel world. Their reaction is, predictably, scepticism. And yet Katrina does appear strangely rational, albeit a tad stressed and just a little manic. Which, let’s face it, you would be too if you’d been rudely snatched from your utopian homeworld and unceremoniously dumped in a dystopia. The following day, however, they make a startling discovery which puts a whole new take on the matter. And that’s the point where they take the whole thing a lot more seriously. And to be fair to our anti-heroine, she did tell them she’d be a national security issue. And so, given that Katrina’s mere presence in this world can’t help but be iconoclastic, for everyone she encounters it gives rise to the eponymous question, ‘What to do about Katrina?’

There you have it. That’s my pitch grab thing, or whatever booksellers call it these days.

And that’s pretty much it for my little intro. Katrina will be taking over shortly, where she will be delighting and entertaining you in the midst of her misadventures with, amongst other issues, her observations on your dystopia, elucidating the intriguing parallel world differences, whilst regaling you with tales from her own homeworld and, well, educating you all in the utopian ideas of what they in her world call ‘Liberal Socialism’. Those of you with ears to hear will quickly come to understand that it is, really, the cure for all your ills. Katrina is a genius. And she’s gorgeous. Or is she actually the product of something far more sinister and conspiratorial altogether? The fucking whore of Babylon, perhaps? Eventually you will find out. And whether you end up loving her or hating her, at the very least, never let it be said that you will ever find her being boring.

But to warn you in advance, for those of you susceptible to triggers, it’s going to get very dark before too long.

Please also check out what Katrina has to say about the system that governs her world now, Liberal Socialism, in theory and practice.

And then, have a browse through Alters, which I hope will develop into a magazine for weirdness and wonder. Or something. We’ll see how that goes, for sure. And if you think you might want to submit something for that, let me know.

So that’s me done. I may pop up from time to time for a little meta-slash-postmodern-slash-irony commentary. That includes the comments section, where I will clearly indicate whether it’s me [Ev] or Katrina [K] talking. You may also notice the date of each of her articles – at the current time of writing this we’re about two years into her sojourn in this world, so we’ll have some catching up to do. Still, your own meta-knowledge might add a little amusement into the mix. We shall see.

But for now, I’m going to shut the fuck up, and start channelling. See you later.