We Make You Feel Sane had its origin in a short story I wrote in 1995. My writing professor posed an interesting question during my workshop: who is the main character? It’s a harder question than it sounds. Our protagonist Jack is a stand-up, responsible guy. He could easily become a Dr. Watson to the dynamic Fusilli. Indeed, Jack finds himself musing over this point in a different story.
“I realized at an early age that I was too straight-laced for my own good. Unwilling to settle for a boring life, I surrounded myself with mayhem. I grew into a straight man bearing witness to the absurdity around me—Nick Caraway reporting on circus clowns instead of Gatsby.”
Fusilli introduces himself below, a half-British, half-Italian, all-American agent of chaos. He’s as likely to save your life as get you killed, and he knows it. In fact, he revels in it.