Special BOOK STORE edition

Book Two is now in the editing process and hopefully will be up and selling by next year. I've also finished book 4 which I think (for now) will be the final chapter. I say for now because when it comes to telling some one's life story, your story never really ends. You can always kill off a character and that can usually end a story but, in real life, when your parents die, if you're still living, there's still a sequel in there (No I'm not giving  hints for what happens to the main characters in the book) but I don't think  there should be these stupid fairy tale, wrap everything up in a bow ending unless it's a sci-fi or horror story where you finally blow up or killed that asshole that's been causing so much trouble.

I've also been prepping the first book for a special "Book Store edition" version because apparently, bookstores only deal with certain publishers and anything for sale on Amazon is frowned upon by the Hipster Dipster bookstores. So I had to re-do and republish the first book.On the plus side, I was able to add some bells and whistles to the cover such as a picture of Lashell on the back. I think I may do that to all of the books and add a side character in that spot because I have lots of illustrations of other characters.It also sports  the bad-ass little logo for Rabboks publishing (Rabbooks also has a web page in the works here: Rabbooks )If all goes well, I'll have a lot more muscle in the publishing world as this will be made available to a lot more channels than Amazon.

It's All About the Books

The First book is up and running and available for purchase on Amazon and Createspace. Either in regular book form or electronic style. My goal for the book is to get 1000 units out there.  I don't care if it's a regular book sale or the Kindle version (which are selling more than the book version) , but it doesn't matter. As nice as it would be, it's not about making lots of money and quitting my day job. That's the unrealistic dream of psychopaths living in castles in the sky. If the book sells a lot, of course I'd be happy but even with a great novel, there's no way you can guarantee  thousands of book sells and retire like those New York Times Best Seller people. Even most of them never make enough money to quit their day jobs unless there's a movie deal in the works. HBO, if you're listening, call me. Flaming Jackass would make a great series! No, my goal is to do art. If I can sell enough art or books to keep on doing it, THAT is my goal. to keep this thing going. 1000 units is a nice round number that says, 1000 people will probably buy the second and third and fourth books and make doing this worth it. This fan base is the most encouraging and in my opinion, appreciated people in the world. For someone to take a chance on an unknown artist or writer or even musician, and patronize them is an awesome thing and I thank you!!!

I have created a logo for my Publication company called Rabbooks Publishing. Now for some business cards:

 

Speaking of future books. I've already finished the cover art for books #2 and #3. The second book: In Love is in the editing process right now and hopefully will be out before Christmas. As for #4 (working title Detox), the first chapter is written and it's a big one that takes up 1/4 of the book. Here are the cover illustrations for #2 and #3:

Flaming Jackass; Book #2

 Book #2,  is due by Christmas 2016. This could be called the book when everything hits the fan that's already covered in shit.

Flaming Jackass; Book #3

You may have noticed her change of hairstyle on the cover of book #2. That's not the only change in that book. New characters and situations appear to further complicate Erin's life.

Character Files

Lashell Bronson

Lashell Bronson

Age: 21

Occupation: 

Cashier/Cook at F. J. Pizza parlor.
Student at Neopolitan Community College studying Medical Billing. 

Personality:

 Lashell is Erin's best friend and one of the few female fiends Erin has. She can always be counted on to tell Erin exactly what she's is doing wrong in an uncensored way. Lashell is a very resposible person and it drives her nuts with the idioic decisions that Erin makes. She also loves Erin and would do anything to help her out, especially get Erin and her out of the pizza parlor and into college.

Lashell has a temper, is impatient and argumentative. She lives at home with her mom, her single mother, sister and her niece. Lashell is closer in personality to her mother who, even tough they live in the rough part of South Neopolitan, has managed to provide for her daughters and made sure they never fell trough the societal cracks. Lashell is very clean cut: No smoking drinking or drugs creating, a complete contrast to Erin. In a way, Erin is like a social worker's project to her and she feels almost obligated  to do charity, but at the same time, she likes the way Erin makes her life interesting.

Cover is Did

Flaming Jackass is about 500 or so pages long.  Besides that, there is a sequel which is probably 500 pages also. Being a first time author, It's very rare for companies to use so much paper on you. This is why J.K. Rowling and other first books in a series are so small. So I ended up breaking the first book into two separate books and If I can keep putting them out, the second book can be broken down into two. That's four novels! I had no idea I wrote so much.  Usually when people write, I assume they think about this is where the story starts, then this happens and then it ends. Me, I know exactly what's going to happen but I like for the story to flow naturally and not have a feeling that a scene is rushed or–this thing happens here, because it has to happen here.  also like to make sure the story foes what's best for the characters or story and not what's best for the reader which is why I would have a hard time doing a crowd pleasing mainstream book. I mean I like a happy ending also, but life throws a lot of crazy shit in your way first.

Finished laying out the cover which I illustrated:

Cover of Book #1 of 4

I decided to call the first book: Sex, Drugs and Pizza. The second: In Love. The third: Returns and the fourth: Detox. Right now I'm doing a final proof check and once it's finalized, it will be available on Amazon in print and digital and hopefully in a bookstore. 

The Town of Neopolitan

NEOPOLITAN

Neopolitan is a city located somewhere in the united States.I never say where but I will say it's not located in the South or anywhere near Texas or anywhere that does not have rivers and lakes and most likely it's located near mountains and probably one of the oceans is a long but possible drive.  The population is around 2-3 million. 

 The size is about 12 by 14 miles, depending on who wants to be considered living in the city. 

 Racial makeup  is very mixed as I've tried to make sure Erin has to come in contact with a variety of characters.  It's history comes from a bunch of pioneers coming together to do their own thing and find a utopia. Sometimes I stick in a lot of French references which could make the town somewhere in Canada. But I think the people are too mean for Canadians.  

Weather wise: Beautiful  temperate Spring. Hot and muggy Summers, rainy and cold falls and snowy Winters.

The city used to be a hub for tuna canning and steel making but those business closed down and threw the city into economic despair. Thanks to a popular art and  music scene and what they call 'Grime' music, the city has become a hip mecca and is bouncing back.  Politically, the city is a mixed bag  between the Conservatives who want to turn the city in to a big banking city with loose restrictions and the Bohemians Liberals who want to focus on protecting the utopia parts. The mayor is usually conservative, whereas the city council are packed full of liberals creating an interesting political battle ground.

As you can see, the city is divided into North and South.  The hipsters all live in the North side and the South can best be described as the Walmart crowd with the exception of the industrial district which is getting very lofty and hip with artist and a club called the Acid Pit. Upper Heights area is full for gated communities and the Lake Charles, kind of  redneck. If you are young (21-28) the best area to live in the University Circle with all of the things that come with a college town, whereas older hipsters (29-33) prefer anything near Center City park which is the home for the pizza parlor that Erin works in. The 33- crowd or young people with money who still want to be hip live in the 10th street area or the up and coming East River valley.  Those that want to be left alone, live in lofts in the two downtown areas which also sport 4 star restaurants and tourist attractions. the Kenwood area is one of those neighborhoods in transition from ghetto to young hipsters. I believe all neighborhoods go in that direction, 1st the Whites move out because of crime or just to get out of the city. 2nd. Blacks move in then Hispanics. 3rd Artsy Whites and Gays move in for the cheap rent. 4th the neighborhood becomes interesting and White hipsters move in. 4th the neighborhood becomes the next big thing and Yuppies start to move in. 5th the Yuppies get old and have kids, now all of the hip places can't afford the rent and move out. Starbucks and chain business move in along with gyms, Zumba classes  and over-priced kids clothing stores. This is official the death of the neighborhood until the economy crashes, the stores go out of business, crime increases and the Yuppies move out started the process all over again.

The city actually has a pretty decent public transportation system. Buses run on time and they have an electric street car system simulacra to San Francisco's. In one part of the story, erin has to take advantage of the system: 

In front of the station she saw a girl walking toward the same entrance, another Toad clone in the Gutter Punk uniform of dirty parka, torn fishnets, one tuft of hair on an otherwise bald head, and patches with the names of underground bands. Erin nodded hello. The girl ignored her. They both stopped near the little booth and stared at the guard. He was reading a newspaper, not paying attention to anything. Erin and the punk girl looked at one other. They both knew what the other wanted to do. The punk girl looked at her watch, a big silver one made for a man. Erin wondered if it was stolen.
    The girl acted like she had a plan to get in, and Erin decided wait until she’d made her move: perhaps as they were arresting her, Erin could slip past. A black janitor rolled a bucket and mop past them. He propped the handicap gate open his bucket and started mopping around the booth. The guard looked up and they started discussing sports. The punk girl took the stance of a horse ready to leave its gate at the Kentucky Derby. Erin got ready as well. The guard left his booth and the two walked across the lobby, the janitor with just the mop, talking loudly about a TV show that had been on last night. When they’d entered the men’s room, the punk girl bolted through the gate. Erin ran after her.
    Her heart was beating faster than she could remember. She felt like she was running in slow motion. At any moment the men could come out and catch them, but then they were through the turnstiles and it was too late. The punk girl stopped running and Erin did the same. As they started trotting down the stairs to the platform, the guard and janitor came out of the bathroom laughing about a beer commercial. The punk girl looked unworried. The men ignored the two women walking calmly as if they had just paid to get in.
    Erin laughed nervously. “That was scary.”
    “Easier than last time.”
    “You’ve done this before?”
    “ ‘Course. Same time every day that janitor props the door open and they go into the toilet for whatever the fuck they do.”
    “Cool. I have to remember that.”
    The train was packed with people all wanting to get home at the same time, and Erin got onto the same less-crowded car with the punk girl. Erin didn’t feel like they’d bonded, as she had with Tracy and her group after sneaking into Jelly. Why do I feel so detached from her? Am I being a snob because she looks homeless? Maybe I should be friendlier. “Now all I have to do is figure out how to eat for free.”

Alexander G. J.

 

Welcome to Neopolitan

Where to start…

The Urban Dictionary defines Flaming Jackass as:

 A really huge dumbass. Who pisses someone off so bad that they scream: 
"Oh my god, you're a Flaming Jackass!"  
"Why'd you throw the ball at me? I wasn't looking, you Flaming Jackass!"

Flaming Jackass is also the name of the first novel in a series called Tales From Neopolitan

Flaming Jackass, the novel started out as a comic called…Strangely enough, Flaming Jackass Pizza. This comic which first appeared in 1996 in the the pages of a  magazine called Splunge Comix,  a Humor magazine aimed at Gen Xers. The story followed the fucked up life of a 21 year-old girl who I loosely based on a friend of mine I knew when I lived in Atlanta Georgia back in the 90s. Back then, her life was so chaotic, full of drugs sex and punk rock n' roll,  that I knew I had to get her shitty life on paper and imagine what her life would be like in situations I would create. The situation I created for Erin, is that she is in love with a handsome boy named Kevin Goldberg, who she has 0.2% chances with, in spite of her friends telling her what a dumb-ass she is. On top of that, Erin lives in the boring-ass burbs of the fictional town of Neopolitan and believes that life would be perfect if only she could move to the good part of town and date Kevin. An armchair psychiatric would say she suffers from perfectionism, but I  say she's an optimistic, dumb-ass. And I only mean that because I'm sure you've had a friend you've cared for and wants to see  succeed. 

An original panel from the comic book version of Flaming Jackass.

Adding color to the novel are at least 180 characters. That's fuck'n right, 180!  I filled the town of Neopolitan with characters based on the many people I've seen and known over the years (a lot I hope are dead). Sometimes these are friends and colleges of Erin's and sometimes it's a person who barely makes an appearance.  Any characters Erin deals with, I could probably tell you about them, what their background is and when the last time they  took a shit. I believe when you read a novel or see a movie, every damn character should be able to have their own novel or movie. Otherwise they're just a bunch of zombies for the main character to bounce shit off of. The town of Neopolitan has about 1 million people in it and I'm not going to write a bio on all of them. But, in this blog I will focus on some of the major ones in the story.

Let's start with the main character: 

 

Erin

Name: Erin Patricia Pierce
Age: 21
Height: 5,5
Job: Works as a floater at F.J. Pizza Parlor aka, The Flaming Jackass.
Lives in Riverview, South Neopolitan. 

Personality: As I've mentioned earlier, Erin is a bit of a perfectionist and because of this usually doesn't settle for anything less than that. This leads her to sabotage her happiness, sometimes resulting in a lot of personal bridge burning. Erin was originally from New Jersey where she spent part of her teen years. When her parents divorced, she became a juvenile delinquent and had had a run-in with the law (despite the fact that her dad is a policeman). 
When her parent divorced, she moved to Neopolitan to live with her mom, where she lives at the beginning of our story.

Erin is a a pain-in-the ass, stubborn,  foul mouthed, chain smoker who experiments with any drug except the ones that kill rock stars (unless it's free).  She also masturbates too much, but then again there's nothing really wrong with that one.

Erin, at her  best.

 
Erin is also very loyal, funny, usually a hard worker when there is incentive, friendly (to those that aren't yuppies or frat boys) and can surprisingly  be smart at times.  She has an artistic side, appreciates obscure films and is good at making her own  jewelry. 

A year before the story started, Erin traveled to Europe and this made a big impact on her.  She was also dumped by her boyfriend at the time, Peter, over the phone, while she waited for him to show up at the airport for their trip. This event, along with the parents divorce,  pretty much scarred her for life  and leads to a lot of stupid decisions and misadventures throughout the book.

Here is an excerpt from the novel version to compare it to the comic presented on this page:

    "Erin parked in front of the apartment and took a deep breath. This was it. She wished she had some coke to boost her confidence right now. She settled instead on a breath mint, pretending it was a magical confidence booster. She hopped up the walkway carrying the pizza with one hand. She had made it herself. She wanted it to be completely perfect, from the extra Canadian bacon to the well-placed Portebello mushrooms. She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. She tried to think of what to say and how to say it. She twisted her dreads. Everything had to be in place. The door opened. It was Kevin. She had forgotten how pretty his eyes were, or how tall he was. Her heart sank into her stomach. She wondered how she could have ever stopped chasing him. He was wearing a tank top and sweat pants. It appeared as if he had just got out of bed. That struck Erin as weird, because it was at least five o’clock.
    “What’s up?” His voice sounding like harp strings to Erin.
    “Er, ah...hi, Kevin.” She said it as if big hearts covered in sugar floated around her words.
    “Uh, what was your name?”
    “Erin!” she almost yelled. She handed him the pizza. She sighed and wished she had put her phone number on the box.
    “Erin. Twelve ninety-five, right?” He picked a ten and a five from an end table and handed it to her. In the process, his thumb touched hers. Erin’s head almost exploded from the over stimulation. She sighed. She stood at the doorway.
    Kevin wondered what she was waiting on. He had included her tip already. He backed away to give her the hint that the transaction was over. She didn’t move..."

Next blog: The town of Neopolitan!


A..James