It's hot as the hinges and hub in my neck of the woods. What's worse is the A/C is on the fritz. My laptop keeps overheating. I'm sweating lots of bullets, taking lots of cooling showers.

So, I thought about heat waves in books and movies. The opening monologue from the film noir classic Laura came up:

"I shall never forget the weekend Laura died. A silver sun burned through the sky like a huge magnifying glass. It was the hottest Sunday in my recollection."

Heat adds to its stress to the characters' raw nerves. Body Heat, of course, took the idea and ran even further. I envision the brand of heat epitomized by Kathleen Turner as sultry.

One of the early titles in Ed McBain's 87th Precinct cop procedural series occurs during a heat wave locked on the city. Everybody is miserable and short-temepered. On top of that, the cops are hunting down a killer. I hate that.

Some writers embrace the heat for inspiration. I heard once the writer Harry Crews used to write his first drafts while holed up inside a sauna. So that's how he wrote all those top-notch Southern Gothic novels.

Hopefully, the HVAC technician will show up today on schedule. Until then, I'll just keep on writing.

Ed Lynskey
@edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles