The GOP and the Vagina

The presidential election of 2012 has the pundits scratching their heads. The second guessing will go on for the next four years as all of the Republicans who guaranteed a solid victory for their candidate, Governor Mitt Romney, looked at numbers that proved otherwise. What went wrong?

With unemployment numbers still high and a chronic feeling of discontent in the country, the election was a major coup for the incumbent Democrat. President Obama’s staff correctly played the geography and demographics and an amazing GOTV strategy. They maximized their ability to garner a super majority of votes in the major metropolitan urban areas and just enough votes beyond that.

The analysts stated that a phenomenon of contradiction existed in this election. The exit polls indicated that the voters were deeply concerned about the direction of the country, but stayed the course. The exit polls also revealed that many of the voters thought that Mitt Romney would be better for the economy, but the voters stayed the course. So, was this election nothing more than a very expensive popularity contest?

Obama’s re-election was especially beneficial for many groups. Black voters, gays and lesbians, abortion activists, Muslims, unions, welfare recipients, feminists and illegal immigrants came out winners.

During a phone call with a good female friend just after the election, I was told, “The GOP needs to learn how to stay away from a woman’s vagina. We want to do what we want with our bodies in 2012. We’ll decide if we want to have an abortion or not.”

But what about morals? What about what is stated in the Bible?

“We’ll decide what is best for us. We don’t need some conservative politician telling us what to do and making decisions for us.”

Hmmmm. Thanks for being blunt. In a close election maybe the moral majority isn’t as strong as once believed. A few more female votes certainly could not have hurt the Republican cause in 2012. It might be time for that party to alter its stance to accommodate the modern woman.

PLEASE Mark Your Calendars

Internet dating. Teens with special needs. Court corruption. Insurance fraud. An unethical attorney. A secret society and more ---

James Ross has designated 12/12/12 as a specific date to buy his latest book - PABBY'S SCORE - from Amazon in an attempt to move up the Best Seller list. Please purchase it here!

Check out this YouTube trailer about the novel!

Available in paperback and eFormat.

All participation is greatly appreciated!

Mark #12_12_12 as a Date for #Book Lovers

Numbers play a significant role in our lives -- anniversaries, birth dates, holidays, and more are marked by certain dates on our calendar. Some of us have a lucky or favorite number and even make decisions based on these affiliations.  This year we have a date that only comes around once a century and I’d like to take advantage of this quirk in the calendar. 12/12/12 is rapidly approaching.

December 12 is the second Wednesday in December this year and falls almost exactly between two of our most cherished holidays – Thanksgiving and Christmas. And, to be blunt, right in the middle of our annual shopping rush.

This year I want to market 12/12/12 as a special date for one of my books and ask that everyone mark their calendars to get a copy of Pabby’s Score from Amazon on that date. The effect of having a push for this particular novel, the fifth in my series to take place on the Prairie Winds Golf Course, to be bought on a single day will get it noticed in the way that could have long-lasting effects.  To accomplish this, I need your help.

In Pabby's Score, two teenagers with special needs become unwittingly entangled in a web of bogus lawsuits, unethical lawyers, a corrupt court, thoroughbred horse racing, savage falcons and Native American customs. Aren't you curious to learn how these distinct details work together to create a storyline?  Turn the pages, connect the dots, and a well-protected secret is revealed.

Please help to push this book to the best seller lists. Mark your calendars and spread the word to friends, relatives, e-mail lists, reading groups, book clubs and anyone else who might have an interest in my story about two kids whose time on a golf course give them an education in areas they never imagined.

Get Pabby’s Score, published by Nightengale Press, from Amazon on 12/12/12.

The Challenge Ends with One Who Started It All

It’s fitting that the end of the A to Z blog tour features a character that started my career in writing as I feature the letter “Z” today and bring this fun month-long challenge to a close.

Lewferd E. Zerrmann is an unethical businessman, con artist, control freak and lowlife scoundrel. He is featured in my first novel, Lifetime Loser, and is the inspiration behind the story line.

Every appealing plot needs a good villain. Zerrmann more than adequately filled that role in my initial foray into writing. The master manipulator swindles an elderly widow out of her inherited property. He schemes to bring an unsuspecting young man into his web as a business partner--think of Tom Cruise in The Firm. By using references to the KKK and Hitler, he intimidates and stuns those who cross his path. Zerrmann successfully derails a government investigation and an IRS probe.

While Zerrmann's life might seem like an evildoer's dream, all is not rosy in his world. Some who are victimized have vengeance in their blood. Will Zermann get through his deeds unscathed? If not, how will he fall from his despicable heights?  Lifetime Loser is a book filled with intrigue, only part of which involves the memorable Lewferd E. Zerrmann. I hope that readers just discovering my work should enjoy my first novel, which is now in eBook format.

Who is your favorite villain that you've discovered on the pages of a book?


Thanks to all of those who have come along on the A to Z Blog Challenge and best wishes for a great May! 

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

Why Did YOU Do It?

As we approach the end of this great A to Z Blogging Challenge, I'm going to jump around a bit in my exploration of the letter "Y."  Enjoy!

Yuuto Chikuda is a Japanese businessman who is introduced to readers in Tuey’s Course. The immigrant arrived in the United States and wasted no time finding a place to work on his golf game.  He walked into the clubhouse at Prairie Winds and soon acquired the nickname YouWho from the wise guys who are the place's regulars. His presence adds to the eclectic bunch of characters who hang out seemingly every day.

I wouldn’t be doing service to the letter “Y” if I failed to mention a marketing tool that has been of great benefit to me in my writing efforts. I’ve created a video for each one of my novels and posted all of them on You Tube.  I've received some great feedback and I've enjoyed the opportunity to reach out to a potential audience in a new way. Feel free to visit my YouTube Channel link.

The final "Y" I have today is You!  If you are reading this blog post, chances are you are participating in the A to Z Challenge.  What make you decide to join in the fun?  How has the experience been for you?  I've loved the exercise.  It's been a great trip down memory lane as I review my characters and story lines.  I'd love to know your thoughts as well.

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

What's Your X-Factor?

So, we finally have arrived at the letter that most participants in the A to Z Blog Challenge have been thinking about since early April.  How can you develop a blog post that is focused on the letter "X"?  The answer . . . with a little creative license.

First, I would like share with you a character I created whose name ENDS in X, as that will have to do.  Monique St. Roux is an on-camera television personality who is introduced in Opur’s Blade. Hailing from France, the good-looking broadcaster gained prominence and celebrity status as one of the best players on the ladies’ golf tour. After her playing career ended, she entered the media world and became the color commentator on the men’s tour. Known simply as Monique, she transferred her success in the world of golf into ventures in cosmetics and fashion as well.  How often do we see this happen in our celebrity culture?  A movie actress becomes a dress designer or a pop singer develops her own perfume.  This astute marketing plan is one that Monique understands well.

I also would like to share an "x-factor" that plays an important role in all of my books.  Without it, the story lines and the physical environment on which the Prairie Winds Golf Course is laid out just wouldn't be the same.  I'm referring to the Mississippi River.  It's been a character in countless American novels, perhaps most notably as the venue for Huck Finn's travels, and inspired many great songs.  The characters in my novels enjoy the gambling and entertainment boats that can be found trolling up and down its waters and one even earned his reputation in music by playing along its banks in New Orleans.  While the Mississippi River doesn't have a single line of dialogue in my novels, its presence is always felt.

If you are a writer, do you have an "x-factor" in your work?  Something that runs throughout the pages and influences people and their actions? 

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

The Whole of My Work

I am going to change gears today and instead of featured several characters in a blog post, I am going to use the letter "W" to feature the Whole library of my Written novels.

My first book was Lifetime Loser, which focuses on a character J Dub who must adjust his life goals when he falls just short of making the professional golf circuit. But, there are deeper and more sinister activities occurring throughout the pages of this book as well.  Criminal offenses and civil fraud occur as some small-time con men swindle an estate and steal a golf course. J Dub now has bigger problems than reflecting on one bad swing.

My second novel is Finish Line. To pay off an act of mischief, two teenage boys land a summer job on a golf course. There they come face-to-face with several middle-aged men who battle personal vices. However the biggest story here is the man who becomes these boys' mentor faces a struggle with cancer. In doing so, he teaches valuable life lessons about courage and a positive attitude.

Tuey’s Course is my third novel. A minority businessman is forced to deal with the power-hungry officials who work at City Hall and the consequences of this relationship are deadly.   I add some controversy by incorporating stereotypical dialect for several characters throughout the novel to demonstrate the differences we still perceive in one another.

Opur’s Blade, my fourth book, features a young prodigy. His golfing talent takes him from modest means to the pinnacle of golf’s grandest stage. Anyone who has been in the position of underdog will appreciate this journey.

In January of 2012 my fifth novel was released. Pabby’s Score features two autistic teens who visit Prairie Winds Golf Course on a regular basis so that they can develop some professional and relational skills. Unbeknownst to them a sinister undercurrent exists. Unethical lawyers, a corrupt court and a secret society swirl outside the confines of their foster home. An Internet dating site and online texting weave into the mix as well. Mysterious forces collide and lead to a dramatic conclusion.

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

Corruption, Compassion, and Beer

 Vern Morton is a wealthy real estate developer who made a fortune in St. Louis properties. His role in Lifetime Loser is short as we quickly learn of his death in the first few pages of the story. However his estate practically becomes its own character as it is a main focus throughout the novel. Several con artists swindle Vern’s widow by misusing a forged power-of-attorney document. The heirs to the estate lose their assets and file a series of legal challenges in civil court. This event serves as only the first example of many instances of corruption and crime in a book that shines a light on social injustice.

The readers meet Tina Ventimiglia in the pages of Finish Line. She is the attractive mother of Justin, a teen who has to pay off a debt that he incurred after a petty act of vandalism. Earlier in her life she dated Curt, the co-owner of Prairie Winds golf course. After their relationship fizzled she married another guy but Curt remained close to her son. The relationship between Curt and Justin is the focal point of the novel, as Justin works toward his debt at Prairie Winds while also learning some important life lessons that will last well past the summer.  Tina is opinionated and domineering but tremendously concerned about the well-being of her son.

Finally my readers will find Philippe Vaugh-Purdy in the pages of Pabby’s Score. The beer baron owned a large brewery in St. Louis before selling the business and starting a micro-brewery. The site of the business is three fourths of the way up the bluffs that line the Mississippi river. The readers take a harrowing trip up the river road to the site of the brewery. But a surprise awaits them. What secrets is Philippe Vaugh-Purdy hiding? Pick up a copy of Pabby’s Score to find out!

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