Prologue - I'm an Entertainer
I’m not a novelist, though sometimes I paint with words. If I were on stage
right now, strolling out from the shadows into the footlights, I would be
wearing a long black cloak. Imagine, in your mind’s eye, me standing on stage
in front of you, playing the part of the Prologue. Atop my head is a black hat
accented with outrageously large feathers and fantastically proportioned
gems.
I’m an entertainer.
I’m an artist.
Yes, I know that most artists wouldn’t categorize themselves as
entertainers and I would admit that entertaining you is little on their minds.
Indeed, the worst of them entertain abstract theories alone as they move
silently through hallowed places, breathing the rare air of art galleries and
museums. Not that I’m against either museums or galleries, mind you; it’s just
that I like to make people laugh, and both places tend to frown upon this
activity.
I’m an entertainer. What does this mean? Well, we entertainers, truth
be told, are an unusual bunch. We don’t like to share much of our personal
selves—our real selves. We tend to hide behind our roles as if they were
masks. We’re practiced liars. We live in a world of illusion and frankly don’t
know sometimes when reality starts and the stage stops. Even so, you still
like us because we entertain you. We make you smile and laugh, sometimes
cry, and if we’re real lucky we might make you think.
I’m an entertainer, standing on stage, wearing a long black cloak and an
outrageously out-of-date hat. I’m the Prologue, here to tell you not to believe a
whit of what you are about to read—that is unless, like most people we
entertain, you find it presented well enough to believe that it just might be
true. After all, no matter how outlandish the story, there’s always a grain of
truth there somewhere to be found. That’s what makes the story so
entertaining, and, since I’m an entertainer, there’s nothing I want more.
Now, without further ado, let the show begin…
-Tessla Queen, the Prologue
