Anton‘s Bark - Two

The Otto Loser Mysteries

Otto in Flames is being read to us by the real Otto Loser. Chapter One is about the dream he is meant to have been born in. The action begins in the UK, during the early hours of 17 February, 2019. The fictional Otto is on his way to Vienna. He wants to be reunited with his estranged wife and children there. Because this is a story Anton is writing, it is something the real Otto can’t escape. But he can talk about it. Having read the first chapter, the real Otto describes Anton’s attempts to write Chapter Two. As the real Otto sees it, Anton believes Urania is sending him inspired messages about his third novel, which leads to the troubling question: Who is in charge of the writing, anyway? As well as observations about Anton’s predicament, trying to write creatively in difficult circumstances, the real Otto mentions the writer’s long suffering wife, Oksana. Early in February 2019, shortly after Anton began drafting Otto in Flames, Oksana decided to paint a portrait of her husband, which would land the writer in the greatest quandary of his life.