A to Z Blogging Challenge Begins This Weekend!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am experimenting with new ways to market my fifth novel, Pabby's Score.  I've released a promotional video, distributed copies of my book to reviewers, and, of course, I am meeting with all of you regularly through my posts and your comments on this site.

In relation to that last point, I am excited to share that I will be participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge beginnining this Sunday, April 1.  The point of this challenge is to have bloggers from around the globe write on a topic for each letter of the alphabet throughout the month of April.  You will see new posts from me every Monday through Saturday next month (April 1 will be the only Sunday with a posting, in order to kick off the event).

As of my writing of this post, there are more than 1300 writers signed up to participate in this challenge!  I think this will be a great way to increase the frequency of my own writing and to get to learn from some other bloggers as I hop around and visit their sites.  I hope you will stop by here regularly during the month of April to see how I am using each letter to share something about me, the characters I've created, or the craft of of writing.

If you have a blog, maybe you want to consider taking part as well.  It's not too late to sign up and work your way through the alphabet on your own blog!

James Ross
Author of Lifetime Loser, Finish Line, Tuey's Course, Opur's Blade, and Pabby's Score
jamesross@authorjamesross.com
Website: http://www.authorjamesross.com/
Publisher Websites: http://www.xlibris.com/ and http://www.nightengalepress.com/
Blog: http://www.authorjamesross.blogspot.com/
Purchase: http://golftwitt.com/46ey

Teen's Death in Florida Shows that Divisions are Still Strong

I am sure that most, if not all, of you have heard about the shooting death of seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida late last month.  As a quick recap, the teenager was walking through a gated community on the way to his dad's home, having just stopped at a local convenience store for some candy.  George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain in the area, deemed Martin to be suspicious for some reason and called 911.  Despite the dispatch office telling Zimmerman not to chase down Martin, he proceeded to provoke a confrontation.  What exactly happened in the next few minutes isn't totally clear, but it ended up with an unarmed young man dead.

George Zimmerman has not been charged with any crime, stating that he acted in self-defense, and the protests against the way law enforcement has handled this case are growing.  Crowds gathered in New York and Florida yesterday and online petitions have been circulating internationally in an effort to at least bring Zimmerman before a judge to explain his actions and to criticize police for their lack of thorough investigation at the scene of the crime and thereafter.

At the heart of the issue is the matter of race and the discussion of how young black males are viewed in our country.  Did George Zimmerman make assumptions about Trayvon Martin due to his skin color?  We can't say for sure.  Would the police department have handled this case differently if a white teenager had been shot?  Some are arguing that.  Is the furor that this case has caused coming to an end anytime soon?  Hardly.

While I realize that my works of fiction are hardly comparisons for real-life violence, the writer in me is drawn to events such as this one as they reveal how we interact with one another on the most basic level.  I explore issues of race and stereotyping in all of my books, and particularly in my third novel Tuey's Course I dig into the institutional power in government and how it deepens the racial and socioeconomic divide that exists in so many towns and cities throughout our country. 

I hope in this instance that the true timeline of what happened that night in Florida can be told and those who need to be accountable for their actions or inaction will be brought to light.  I also hope this becomes a moment that creates conversations that somehow help us in moving forward with how we look at and react to one another. 

Cyberbullying Reaches the Courts

I've never shied away from tackling controversial subjects in my novels.  I want readers to be entertained by my work, but I also want them to close the pages and perhaps start a conversation prompted by one of my characters or the scenarios in which they find themselves.

In my latest release, Pabby's Score, I bring the phenomenon of Internet dating into my focus.  However, there is another type of interaction through social media that is much more negative in its intentions and the entire country was talking about it thanks to a New Jersey courtroom this past week.  I'm referring to the epidemic of cyberbullying.

Former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi was found guilty of invasion of privacy and bias intimidation, as well as multiple other offenses, after he spying on his roommate using a webcam and witnessed the student having sex with another man.  The roommate, Tyler Clementi, took his own life by jumping off the George Washington Bridge in New York City, after he discovered that his sex life was now the source of amusement for Ravi and his friends.

Ravi now faces up to ten years in prison and possible deportation to his native India.  His sentence will be determined in May.

I am sure that most of you have heard about this case and probably have your own opinions about it.  Was the spying and subsequent "tweeting" just the act of an immature college student, as Ravi's attorney argued, or malicious and criminal behavior, as was determined by the jury?  How does this case reflect a larger issue about the impact that technology is having on this young generation to interact with others appropriately?

James Ross
Author of Lifetime Loser, Finish Line, Tuey's Course, Opur's Blade, and Pabby's Score
jamesross@authorjamesross.com
Website: http://www.authorjamesross.com/
Publisher Websites: http://www.xlibris.com/ and http://www.nightengalepress.com/
Blog: http://www.authorjamesross.blogspot.com/
Purchase: http://golftwitt.com/46ey

Couple Guilty of Fraud Leave Kids on School Bus While in Prison

As I've noted in previous posts, my new release Pabby's Score covers many topics that are hot on today's news radar.  Among them is the prevalence of insurance fraud that seeps through our hospitals, pharmacies, home construction services, and many other areas, leaving many ruined reputations and creating its fair share of criminals.  And, sadly, there are plenty of innocent victims of insurance fraud as well.  It's not just a matter of manipulating numbers and records.

Two children were found living in a school bus in Texas and apparently had been there for a long period of time, ever since their parents were sent to separate federal prisons following their convictions on fraud  charges after they stole money from victims of Hurricane Ike in 2008.  The five-year-old boy and eleven-year-old girl were reported to be living in squalid conditions by a postal worker who reported the situation to authorities.  They had been home-schooled by their parents through the mail for the past year, making them essentially recluses from adults who could have noticed the problem much earlier. 

In interviews from prison, the parents insisted their children were well-cared for, as they had an aunt staying with them at night and the bus had been converted to provide running water, heat, and toilets.  The mother shared that she is being released next month and looks forward to taking care of her kids and moving forward.  That goal may be in doubt, though.  The kids are in the custody of child protective services and I doubt authorities will be particularly anxious to hand them back over to mom considering what she thought would be appropriate living conditions in her absence.

It just goes to show that there often are more unusual people in real life than we ever could create for a novel.  Let's hope that once these two finish their time for fraud against others in Texas, the guilty characters in this instance face the consequences they deserve for the way they left their children.  

Finding a Good Read

With the release of my most recent novel finally here, I've decided to try several new marketing options to promote my work.  I've shared with you my YouTube video and my efforts to get the book in the hands of those who are willing to share their review with others.  I'm also returning to an idea I've used before and hope to improve my approach this time.  I will be giving away two copies of Pabby’s Score through the popular book review website Goodreads. From now until the end of March, these free copies of my fifth release will be given away to readers who frequent that site.

I've tried this marketing tactic before with mixed results. A previous release, Opur’s Blade, was given to a reader who did not care for the story and therefore published a lukewarm review.  I'll be honest -- that made me a bit hesitant to share my work for free again.  It's disappointing to give a copy of a book to someone who does not like your writing style, characters or plot. Ouch!  Every reader is entitled to his or her own opinion, of course, and I want to hear from everyone.  But, it's not what I had hoped.

At any rate, I've rebounded and I want to give it another try.  Obviously, I hope for better feedback for Pabby’s Score, but we'll see what happens. It is a story that features two special needs children, Internet dating, insurance fraud, a sleazy law firm, and a secret society. I am excited to share that the early reviews have been very promising. We’ll see if the readers on Goodreads share those positive opinions!

Please visit Goodreads and sign up for the program. Maybe you’ll be getting a freebie copy in the mail in at the end of March!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Pabby's Score

by James Ross

Giveaway ends March 31, 2012.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

James Ross
Author of Lifetime Loser, Finish Line, Tuey's Course, Opur's Blade, and Pabby's Score
jamesross@authorjamesross.com
Website: http://www.authorjamesross.com/
Publisher Websites: http://www.xlibris.com/ and http://www.nightengalepress.com/
Blog: http://www.authorjamesross.blogspot.com/
Purchase: http://golftwitt.com/46ey

Bring Back Orphanages?

As has been the case with all of my novels, my new release Pabby's Score confronts a variety of social issues and places a mirror in front of the readers to gauge their true thoughts on some difficult moral questions.  Of course, my characters always have a little fun along the way, but I like to think the political commentary that I include is relevant and a consequential part of my work.

In my latest book, readers are introduced to a couple of a young boy and girl who are products of a special needs home . . . essentially an orphanage for those whose parents are unwilling or no longer able to provide for them. 

Orphanages are mostly a relic of a time past; perhaps we think of Oliver Twist or Annie when we picture a group home.  We envision a dreary environment with gruel for supper and uncaring guardians who had hoped to do something different with their lives.  But, some think that stereotype isn't fair.  In fact, one presidential candidate promoted the resurgence of orphanages when he was Speaker of the House in the mid-1990s.

Newt Gingrich advocated loving, stable orphanges as an alternative to transient foster care and a possible way to end the welfare system as it then existed.  He wanted to move kids out of homes in which parents couldn't afford to care for them without government assistance and into these group environments.  The idea never really caught traction and was derided by many child and family advocacy groups, but his new spotlight as a candidate for the White House got me thinking about his previous agenda, especially since an orphanage of sorts is highlighted in my book.

What do you think of the idea of placing perhaps not children whose parents are struggling financially but maybe those who otherwise would be moved around to numerous foster homes instead into orphanages in which they could live for a long period of time? 

James Ross
Author of Lifetime Loser, Finish Line, Tuey's Course, Opur's Blade, and Pabby's Score
jamesross@authorjamesross.com
Website: http://www.authorjamesross.com/
Publisher Websites: http://www.xlibris.com/ and http://www.nightengalepress.com/
Blog: http://www.authorjamesross.blogspot.com/
Purchase: http://golftwitt.com/46ey