Open Book 8Open Book 8

The characters in this week's book, based on a true story, prove the old saying that truth is stranger than fiction: a smart-mouthed transvestite, a voodoo priestess, a lawyer who usually finds himself on the wrong side of the law, and an inventor who glues threads onto the wings of flies.

Excerpt: "Jim Williams's Christmas party was, in the words of the Georgia Gazette, the party that Savannah socialites 'lived for.' Or lived without, for Williams enjoyed changing his guest list from year to year. He wrote names on file cards and arranged them in two stacks: an In stack and an Out stack."

A second online-only excerpt: "Ordinarily, an inmate serving a life sentence would not have ready access to a telephone; however, Williams's cell housed not only convicted criminals but men who were still awaiting trial and therefore had a need--and also the right--to talk to lawyers and family. The phone was set up to make outgoing calls only, and all the calls had to be collect. It would have been unthinkable, of course, for Williams to make business calls that began with an operator announcing bluntly, 'I have a collect call from Jim Williams at the Chatham County Jail'--but he got around that easily enough. He would make a collect call to Mercer House, and then his mother or Barry Thomas would accept the charges and use three-way calling to put his call though. By routing his calls through Mercer House, Williams stayed in touch with major figures in the world of antiques without ever having to reveal that he was calling from jail."

Two clues in the story: The main character once hung an 8-foot Nazi banner from his balcony to disrupt the filming of a TV movie.

An 86-year-old man continues to "walk" a dog that's been dead for 20 years in order to collect the $10 a week the owner willed to him to care for the animal.

To win an information goody, E-mail [email protected] by noon ET Thursday with the author, title, and narrator's occupation. Two respondents will be chosen randomly from correct answers.

Dec. 10 quiz: Jack Whyte's The Skystone; third question: Gaius Publius Varrus leaves his smithy because he fears for his life after wounding Seneca. Winners: Leland Larson and Ken Odom.