Julia awoke alone among the glitter, empty bottles, and flaccid balloons. 

While her political opponents believed "sunlight was the best disinfectant" Priscilla preferred a good whitewashing.

They slaughtered beauty to gaudily adorn themselves.

When gravity began to fail for Brian it was at first a novel good time, but after he nearly sailed off over the East River and the Daily News dubbed him "the human air balloon" he soon tired of and then feared what was happening to him.

It was late in the summer when they began to find strange items outside their door: little offerings of food, votive candles, half-consumed bottles of liquor, dead flowers.

 The titular head of the company spent his days drinking and his nights carousing while his undisciplined underlings, taking a cue from the boss, stripped it to the bone.

She liked sad country tunes, cheap whiskey and bad men, but the order was usually reversed.