Character Spotlight: Fer

Hey, everyone! So, I've decided to a series of blog posts spotlighting the characters in my books. I'll talk about things you know about them, things you don't know about them, and share some illustrations.

I've been with the crew of Fort Thomas for a long time... some of them since I was 14 or 15-years-old  (that's 1995/96, people) and I know them as well as I know my best friends. So, to kick this series off, let's talk about the solid fan favorite, Fer.

Fer as drawn in 2010

Fer is your standard military synthetic. He was born on an assembly line with about 100 other synths who look kinda like him, but not quite. Mirth is one of those other synthetics... they are described as looking like siblings or close cousins if they were human. He's the best marksman at Fort Thomas and knows it. He's snarky, grumpy a lot of time, and likes to drink and smoke.

After the Jane Virus infected him and made him sentient he was assigned to Section's Rho Squad.

Sooo, Rho. Yeah. The Rhos were basically the proto Omegas back in the day. They were the special ops of Section who would go into extremely dangerous situations and put down corruptions or rescue Janes in distress.

It was his first year as a Rho when he got his name. Despite his superior, Sgt Victor 'Hem' Hemingway, insisting he go by Iron Man, Fer opted for the far more subtle and elegant term his Captain used: Homme de Fer, or just Fer for short--Fer is French for iron. Homme de Fer is basically Iron Man. Captain Fabron was a French immigrant with a thick accent who would often slip into his native language... especially if he got riled up. It was his time with Rho where he developed his smoking and drinking habit, thanks to Hem. Even though neither alcohol nor nicotine do anything for him, he continues to do both to this day... mostly to just remember Hem, his first real friend.

The Rhos all met a very unfortunate end during a mission in the Western US. They were out on a search and rescue mission when the Western military ambushed them. Every one of them perished, save for Fer.

Fer after the attack on Rho

Fer had a really hard time coping after the loss of, what he considered, his family. And, let's face it, no one really knows how to help a machine cope with grief. Janes are very similar to humans, but they're not the same. They can't forget things. Their memories don't fade. When Fer remembers the attack that took his squad, he remembers it in such clarity that it's like reliving it all over again. Rho's destruction is what fueled his intentional distancing from humans. To him, they are too fragile and too easy to lose. It's why he won't support humans on the Omegas and why he was so angry when Alpha and Nix went against his advice and accepted Hector Mendoza to the squad... only to lose him. 

 It was during this time, after Rho, when he happened to meet Melissa Park, who we know as Paige's Taekwondo instructor. She helped him learn to cope with his loss through martial arts, meditation, and by giving him a much needed shoulder to lean on. He loves her and she loves him, but their relationship is complicated at best. The biggest issue being that Fer is literally government property and will be until the day he's scrapped. This means he's never really off duty. He can have his free time and a life, but when Section calls, he listens. He can't pick and choose where they send him or when.

The second biggest issue is that he's obviously not human. Human/Jane relationships are still a relatively new thing in this world. I mean, holy shit, people still freak out over inter-racial relationships or homosexual relationships. Can you fucking imagine people reacting to an inter-species relationship? Yeah. It can get ugly sometimes. They sometimes have to endure ugly glares or words when they are in public together--yeah, even in the progressive East. Thankfully, no one has tried anything physical on either of them... because Fer and Melissa would probably kick the ever loving shit out of them. 

As I said, Fer's not entirely big on humans... except for Melissa. So when Paige happened to cross his path he was less than pleased. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, their paths kept crossing and because of this, Paige went from a major annoyance, to more or less tolerable, to (in book 2 and 3) one of his best friends.  

Fer has a very acute sense of right and wrong and he knows Janes are treated like shit, no matter how much better they have it in the East than the West. He knows the world is one giant shade of gray. He knows it and he hates it, because he's not sure how what to do about it. After all, he's a scrapper. His job is to put down his own kind when they get violent. He's very thoughtful but his constant thinking and mulling over his lot in life makes him come off as brooding and unapproachable. 

In all seriousness, he's got a huge heart-- despite not physically having a heart-- and he will always be there even when things are at their worst. 

Fer dragging Anji from her burning house.

If you're just now stumbling across Fer for the first time and want to learn more about him, please check out my novel, Paige's Story over on Amazon available in paperback, ebook, audiobook, and on Kindle Unlimited.

Let's Talk About the 'S' word

Hey everybody! Long time no see! I know, I'm terrible at keeping this blog up to date. I'll try and be better. (Let's be honest. No, I won't. Enjoy this post while you can, suckas!) Today we're going to talk about the 'S' word. Not sex. No, not swords either. Sales. We're talking about sales and marketing.




But first, a bit a news.

--The audiobook of Paige's Story has been up for a little over a month now. It's doing great. I mean, I think it is. The ratings are good and it's selling so I'll call it a win.

--My husband, Benjamin W. Bass has just released his debut novel, Alone in the Light. People.People. Listen to me. It's a fucking great book. It's not zany, or action packed, or funny like mine. It's also severely lacking in robots. But if you want a one-of-a-kind love story that's an emotional roller coaster, boy-o he's got your back. The book deals with the post deployment life of two veterans who are struggling to return to normal and finding that there's no normal to be had. It deals with mental health, PTSD, love, grieving, and hope. Seriously. Check it out.

--There are some updates to my online store coming soon. There will be stickers and bookmarks for sale. I'm also considering adding coffee mugs... but I haven't decided yet.

--Fort Thomas Book 2 is still in the works. It has some complex story lines that I'm having trouble ironing out, but it'll get there.

So, enough with the newsie bits. Let's talk. Let's talk about sales or lack thereof.

Writing a book is one thing. Selling a book is a whole different animal. Everyone, including myself, has this glorious vision of publishing their book and then just sitting back and watching the sales roll in. Unfortunately, I'm not Stephen King. Neither are you... unless you really are, in which case, HI MR. KING I LOVE PET SEMATARY!

No, no, we don't have the level of street cred to just publish and wait... not yet. So. what do you do? Well, you school yourself in the necessary evil that is marketing. I moseyed on over and downloaded a copy of William F. Aicher's Indie Author's Guide to Self Publishing and educated myself on what to do next. My husband and I also had a nice conversation with Nick Smith via Facebook or Twitter... maybe both... Anyway, he stressed that now that I'm published, I really need to establish a brand and market things for it. Since he's ridiculously successful, I figured he knows what he's talking about. Ben and I began working on the Fort Thomas brand. We made up T-shirts, stickers, bookmarks, and all that. We also put our art school degrees to work, made ads, and bought ad space. Yeah, it costs money, but not much. A boosted post on Facebook can be as cheap as $10. We also contacted our library, our town Facebook pages, and newspapers and we basically said, "Hey, we live here and we just did this thing. You should maybe interview us."

Well, maybe not with that level of smarminess, but you get the idea. We put ourselves in the spotlight to get local exposure offline as well.

So far, all this work has been paying off. When my first round of audiobook royalties get in, I'm using some to buy a dishwasher... because I'm a sad, sad, adult and I want a new dishwasher. One that's not 20 years old and... gross.

Look, being a self published author means you wake up and think of new ways to tell the world about your book. You have to do it every day because no one else is going to do it for you. You pester readers for reviews, you give away bookmarks and stickers, you have raffles for free books, and you blast every corner of the internet with this info until the algorithms force you to take a break. Then you fucking do it again.

This is your life now. I mean, not really, but is sure seems like it and that's good. I like this life.

What I'm saying is, you absolutely can't just publish and expect to sell. The market is way too oversaturated. Yay! You published a book! So did 400 other people today. If you don't market it, your baby will get lost in the crowd never to be seen by anyone. Big fat zeros in your sales report is discouraging. It's why so many talented authors give up, and that's a damn shame.

I'm not trying to discourage anyone. I just know way too many authors who quit too soon. I'm not going to be one and I don't want you to be one either.

Mental Health Revisited

Welcome to the party. You're gonna hate it here.

I'm sure you know this by now, but I have anxiety and depression. I've always been anxious. I'm

pretty sure it really, officially set in when I was in high school. After my son was born 7 years ago I had some pretty wicked postpartum depression and I finally got medication to help. It was a decision I wish I had made much, much sooner.

Depression is a fickle bitch. Anxiety is just as bad. They're like the dynamic duo of bullshit and they

basically come and go as they please. Bright sunny day out? Feeling good? Here comes anxiety kicking in your door like the goddamn Kool-Aid Man. You're on edge. You're scared. You feel like something bad is about to happen, but you don't know what or why.  Or in the case of depression, you just don't feel much of anything. The song Mr. Blue Sky could literally be playing out in real life, right in front of your sad-sack face, and the most you'll be able to muster is a weak, "meh." Or maybe some low key snark, if you're feeling saucy.

World: The sun is shining in the sky!
Me: Yes. If it wasn't, we'd all be dead.
World: There ain't a cloud in sight!
Me: Yeah? And?
World: It's stopped raining!
Me: 'Bout goddamn time.
World: Everybody's here to play, and don't you know, it's a beautiful new day!
Me: I'm going to bed.

Now, as far as I'm concerned, there are two types of people in the world. Those who understand mental health issues and those who need to shut the fuck up.

...And I mean that in the nicest way possible. You can always tell someone who doesn't get it by how they respond to the situation. They think depression will magically go away if you count your blessings, or smile more, or... ugh... tell yourself you don't have any real reason to be depressed.

Bitch, my brain physically cannot make the proper cocktail of smiley chemicals and neurotransmitters to keep me on what is considered to be a socially acceptable level of  happiness. I can't possibly think of any reason more real than that. Throw in some shitty genetics on top of it (Thanks Granny D!), and tell me again to count my blessings.

The people who understand things like anxiety and depression are, more often than not, people who also suffer from it. They're the ones who will hand you a bottle of water during a panic attack, say, "You are slogging through shit valley, my friend. Hang in there, it'll be over soon." and then send you funny cat pictures once you're calmed down. They don't ask you to explain why you're freaking out or feeling down. They know there isn't often a reason beyond the fact that your just brain decided to kick you in the mental balls today.

And that's cool. Just make sure that you get back up. Take your meds. Talk to your therapist. Visit

your doctor. Practice some fucking self care. And don't be so hard on yourself. You're doing everything a regular person is doing with the added weight of your brain arguing and screaming at you like the grumpy, sleep deprived toddler it is.

Good for you, dude. Good for me! Yeah bitches! We're slogging through shit valley with a backpack full of everyday life to look after and we're still moving! We're slapping our freeloading junk heap of a brain with some medication and talking about our goddamn feelings to people who get it and get us! We're taking a break in shit valley to regroup when we get tired and we don't give a fuck if people look at us and wonder why. Then, when we're rested, we'll pick up our backpack full of everyday life, and get back to slogging... but maybe a little more steadily this time.

Slog on, bitches.

Jenkins, Get Me My Groove Back

Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in.

Surprise! It's me!

So, guys. It's been a long winter. A long, dark, cold, awful winter, and Spring is really dragging its

feet to get here. Unfortunately the seasonal affective disorder is strong with me... actually the everything affective disorder is strong with me and the winter just makes it worse. Something about rain, clouds, and other unpleasant weather for weeks at a time, on top of hating my day job with the fire of a million suns really gets to me. Can't imagine why.

Yeah, the ol' mental health has sort of been tanking again and I've been spending more time screaming into the void of existential dread and self loathing than I have been writing. Granted, I have been writing, just not as much as I'd like. But, with the sluggish dawn of spring and warmer weather my motivation and spirits have picked up.

I've got big plans for book two and even bigger plans for Paige's Story.

For my next trick, I'm turning Paige's Story into an audio book! I've been in contact with Phil Thron, check him and his work out here, and he's graciously agreed narrate it. It's very exciting as he's such a great narrator, and his dialogue delivery is perfect for the irreverent and sometimes crude interactions between Paige, Fer, and the rest of the cast.

Now, Phil's really reasonable with his pricing. But, I have a long book. After crunching the numbers, it looks like I'm about $1500 short of the approximate 4 grand I need. So, if you're feeling generous, I've set up a Go Fund Me to help raise the rest of the money. He's currently reading the .pdf of my manuscript and making his notes. As soon as he's ready and the cash is in hand, we can begin work.

 So, if you're interested, click on over and help a gal out

Stay tuned for more updates on book 2 and my first ever endeavor into audio books!

Antici....

We're just about to hit October and things are going to be pretty busy for me book/event wise. This is good,

for those of you keeping score.

First thing's first: Paige's Story was pitched to a literary agent and he's asked to read my manuscript. I'm not banking on him taking it, according to one of the more well-known, successful authors who works with him, the fact he's even looking at my manuscript is a big deal. So, stay tuned for further details on that.

Next, On October 19th, I'll be sponsoring the annual screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at The Gibson Theater here in Batesville. It's been going on for almost 5 years

now and used to be sponsored by the local comic and game shop. Sadly, they closed. Rather than charging admission to the event, or getting rid of it altogether, I decided to sponsor it. My friend Charlotte will be arranging for The Denton Affair, a local acting troupe out of Cincy, to come and do their shadow show. (They are the bomb diggity, guys. Trust me.)

On top of that, we'll be taking donations for Safe Passage, a locally run

women's shelter for women and their kids who are looking for a safe place to get back on their feet. And with all the bullshit going on in the news with Brett "he was just a boy" Kavanaugh, we figured this was a more than worthy cause.

So yeah, come on out. Doors open at 11:30. The show starts at midnight. I'll be there collecting donations,

and selling books and merch. I'd love to have you drop by and say hi. Maybe buy a sticker and donate some items to the shelter.

Then, on October 27th 11am-2pm, I'll be at Three Sisters Books and Gifts in Shelbyville signing books.

Somewhere in there is my birthday. I'll be NOT 40 YET! TAKE THAT, AGE!

4/5 Stars Would Blog Again

Contrary to popular belief, I am not a millionaire. I know, shocking. Actually, most authors aren't. People tend tothink of authors on the level of J.K. Rowling or Stephen King-- really fucking well off. Truth is, most of us are broke, some of us are comfortable, and a few of us are rich.

We Independent authors tend to lean toward the broke or comfortable side. Most of us have day jobs to keep us in the comfortable zone. Because of this, we will take any and every sale and all the publicity we can get.

Yesterday someone with 13k+ followers retweeted a link to my book. An hour later I sold a book. Was the sale from that RT? I don't know, but it sure didn't hurt. Like I said, we'll take what we can get.

Another helpful thing for us little guys is reviews! Doesn't matter if you leave a master's thesis or  a simple, 'Thumbs up. Good read.' Every review counts. When someone is on the fence about buying a product online, where's the first place they go? The reviews. The more the better-- even if they're varying in opinion. Those reviews are what will make the potential buyer commit or move on.

The final helpful thing is personal recommendations. You read this book. You loved it. Tell your friends. Tweet about it. Put it on the Facegrams and Instabooks, and that weird thing with the little ghost on the icon. Word of mouth is a powerful tool.

It costs you nothing and, believe me, we little guys appreciate it.

Getting Back to Normal

Aaaw, that's cute. That means I was, at some point, normal.

Paige's Story has been on the virtual shelves for almost a month now and things are going well. I mean, people are buying it, so, you know, could be worse. I'm no where near 'quitting my day job' levels of success, but still, I'm pretty happy.

My first book signing was a huge success and I'm considering having another one. I was also interviewed by the local paper.

I did my best not to bring dishonor upon my family (and the family cow).

I mean, it's hard to screw up questions like, "What is your advice for aspiring authors?" Answer: Get a cat, drink bourbon, and prepare for a lot of self loathing. (Kidding. I didn't say that. I should have, but I didn't.)

Right now, the biggest thing is promoting the book and keeping the sales up or, at least, existent. Existent is good. I'll settle for existent.

The OTHER biggest thing is getting to work on book two. .....which will be happening this week. I have a four day weekend coming up and it's time to sit down and get back to work.