Today's Characters are Brought to You By the Letter "B"!

The letter "B" takes center stage as the A to Z Blog Challenge begins its second day. When it comes to sharing characters from my novels who can claim this letter as an initial, I have no shortage of options.  Here are just a few.

Every fairway needs a dog as its faithful mascot and Prairie Winds Golf Course on the east side of St. Louis has one named Bogey. The bull terrier with a long snout and black marking over one eye is a friend to every regular who plays the course as well as to those who choose to spend their time drinking and gossiping in the clubhouse. In Lifetime Loser, the head pro, J Dub Schroeder, and Bogey are the best of friends and the canine plays an essential role in the story.  Bogey is there as for constant comfort and support through J Dub's ascent in his profession and then through a emotional downward spiral that causes him to question everything.

Tuey’s Course features the (hopefully!) memorable character Big Bertha. This satire mocks hypocrites and stereotypes as its plot weaves between the moral criminals at City Hall and those who occupy our communities and streets. Big Bertha is the local meter maid who shows up to harass Tuey for a truck that is parked in an unsanctioned spot. With a large frame and a dose of sympathy, she faithfully follows the orders that are given by her superiors in the police department.

BowTye, aka Tyrone Munroe, was created to fill an important role in Finish Line. The short black man, who religiously wears a long-sleeved white dress shirt and burgundy beret, is a transplant from New Orleans. He migrated up the Mississippi following the Hurricane Katrina disaster and landed in the St. Louis area through a church program. Earlier in his life, BowTye played the honky-tonk bars up and down the banks of the mighty river until he reached prominence as the king of the rockabilly blues under the stage name of Peel It Backe. He’s a regular in the clubhouse, a jack-of-all-trades and a fixture in many of my novels.

Until tomorrow, and the letter "C," have a great day!

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

Let's Start at the Very Beginning . . .

Welcome to the kick-off post for the A to Z Blog Challenge in which I am participating throughout the month of April!  For the next thirty days, I will be featuring many of the characters I have created over the past several years, as well as some of the controversial social issues that are featured in my novels. To start things off we’ll take a look at Aieshia, Alley Cat, and Tanner Atkins.

Aieshia is a character I created for Pabby’s Score. She is a strong woman with an imposing presence, being tall and rather large, but who shows a softer side through her chosen profession. She found her calling in life as a special needs instructor at Footprints of Hope foster home. Her principal assignment is to watch over Pabby, who is an autistic teen and a main character in the story.  The relationship between Pabby and Aieshia is a cornerstone for the storyline that unfolds.

Alley Cat is the nickname for a jockey who had a small part in Finish Line. Originally from Mexico, the diminutive man's real name is Alvarez Catamaran. He is the number one jockey at Hoof and Bridle Park. He has quite a reputation for tipping the bottle and womanizing around town.  The stereotypes embodied by Alley Cat are meant to create some controversy and hopefully start discussions about the work I've created.

Finally, an unethical attorney (can you imagine??) by the name of Tanner Atkins was created for Pabby’s Score. His is the principal partner in the ABC law firm, which is known in the community for unscrupulous dealings. His connections with an unjust judge set into motion a number of questionable decisions.

As I've already mentioned, one of the topics that I feature in my newest release, Pabby’s Score, is autism.  The entire autism spectrum is receiving much more attention than it did a generation ago, and a recent report by the CDC now states that 1 in 88 children have some form of this diagnosis. Pabby and Shae are two teens who live at a foster home for kids with special needs but enjoy the opportunity for a more integration into society by spending a summer at the Prairie Winds Golf Course. Virtually everyone who comes into contact with the pair is affected by their infectious personalities.

You can expect that some of my posts in April will offer these quick snapshots of people and issues, to give you a glimpse into my writing.  Other times, I will present a more in-depth take on one specific character or topic.  I'm excited to have you along with me for this journey!

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

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