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Month: February 2023

Character Review — Greg Shapiro

Consider Greg Shapiro, One of My Original Characters

Who is Greg Shapiro?

I needed to have someone perform research for The Obolonk Murders. Once I started to create him, Greg turned into, essentially, Peri’s work BFF.

Where Did Greg Shapiro Come From?

The concept of a “work husband” is nothing new, although the terminology may be. Greg is quite easily, Peri Martin‘s work pal, her lunch buddy, and all that. And until Tommy comes around, he is one of the only people who she will ever confide in.

The Past is Prologue — Backstory for Greg Shapiro

Kinda short and losing his hair, Greg is just a regular guy from what used to be called Hamden, Connecticut. He’s unassuming and self-deprecating to a fault.

Description

I am a bit conflicted about his look. He could be a bit taller and darker, like the late Bruno Kirby. Or a bit fairer, like Jason Isaacs. I prefer to “cast” Jewish characters with Jewish actors whenever I can. But I do have to admit that it was Kirby I was originally thinking of when I started writing the character.

Purpose/Theme/Motivation

Unlike cops you would normally see in a film or on TV, Greg isn’t much for guns and chases. Rather, he’s a researcher. For all the clichés about someone not wanting to be a pencil pusher, that would likely be his dream job.

Quotes (Greg and Peri are discussing Selkhet 3000 and Dr. Tinerrian)

“Martin, haven’t you ever liked anyone who didn’t like you back?” She nodded, so he added, “Or get this: haven’t you ever loved someone who did not love you back?”

Peri was silent as she tried to figure out how to answer him. Her eyes were filling up, fast, and then they were brimming and threatening to spill over, a situation as precarious as the stacks of books on the library’s sole table. Her lower jaw trembled a bit, too. She swallowed a few times, in an effort to keep her response an even one. But her voice cracked. “I, well, yeah.”

“Oh, damn, I’m sorry. I put my big foot in it this time, eh? It was Hollis, right?”

“Yeah,” she managed to squeak out.

“Well, he was a total mook and a jerk and all of that, anything you want to call him, for being that way. You are rough around the edges and no one’s ever going to invite you to a ball at the Junior League on Dione. But my considered opinion, Detective Sergeant Peri Martin, is that you did not deserve to be treated that way. You did not deserve to be made to feel like this. I am not saying that you shouldn’t feel bad about Hollis being hit by a hot gun. The illegal ones are particularly nasty—you know this. And I understand that losing a partner is just a terrible thing for any cop to have to go through. And please don’t think I’m hitting on you when I say this.”

She smiled wryly, a lone, low chuckle escaping from her mouth. “I’m not a redhead.”

Relationships

Greg’s already been married a few times. He even admits to having hit on Peri when he was newly single.  But they are more pals than anything else. If anyone, he’s got an interest in Akanksha Kondapalli. But Akanksha is probably a bit young for him.

I don’t have an actual birth date for him, but Peri is 50 when the series starts. Greg is probably a year or two older or younger than she is.

Their friendship is truly Greg’s biggest relationship in the series. They joke and laugh and make fun of each other pretty much constantly.

Conflict and Turning Point

Greg has a few turning points within the overall story arc. He experiences a part of the first crisis in the first book, but it’s from a distance. And aside from presumably hearing about it, he doesn’t experience the second crisis at all.

Probably the time when he really gets to shine is at the end when he and Peri bring in a confederate—someone who they did not initially suspect was a perpetrator.

Continuity/Easter Eggs

Like every other Shapiro character I have ever written (Marnie, Eleanor, etc.), Greg joins a proud Easter Egg/Afikomen tradition in my writing.

Future Plans

He’s definitely going to show up in the Obolonk prequel! But after that, I confess I am not so sure.

Greg Shapiro: Takeaways

Once I got him going in The Polymer Beat, he was a joy to write. He and Peri come across, at times, like Tracy and Hepburn or, more likely, like Nichols and May. I really should find something else for that mook to do!

Greg Shapiro — because there will still be work spouses in the future!


Want More of Gregory Shapiro and the Rest of the Obolonk Universe?

If the story of the Obolonks resonates with you, then check out my other articles about how our society turns tripartite, with humans, robots, and Obolonks.

Character Reviews: The Obolonk Murders

Humans

Robots

Obolonks

Character Reviews: Time Addicts

The Good Guys

The Bad Guys

The Obolonk Universe

Self-Reviews: Obolonk Trilogy

Self-Reviews: Time Addicts Trilogy

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Self-Review – A Kitten

Review – A Kitten

I like A Kitten, and I think it’s one of the cuter short stories I have ever written. At some point, I would love for it to have a home… somewhere. But I imagine it may not. So, it is entirely possible it will become a free giveaway.

Background

I wanted to write something which would be sweet and very all-ages friendly. But because of the kind of writer I am, I could not resist a little surprise…

Plot

This story has very little plot. Rather, its charm and its uniqueness come from the twist ending.

But the story is, essentially, that Suzy will be turning six years old very soon. So, the entire plot essentially revolves around deciding whether it is such a good idea. And, when it is decided that it is a good idea, getting Suzy her heart’s desire.

It is a gentle story, and the surprise is nothing in the vein of jump scares in the dark, or anything.

Characters

The characters are Suzy, and her two friends who she associates with. Oh, and there’s also Smoke.

One thing a reader who is paying attention may realize is… something is odd here. Who are these people? Why are they in charge of whether Suzy can get such a gift? They are clearly not her parents. So, how do they fit in with her? Why are they even necessary in her life at all?

Also, everyone uses American Sign Language. There is only one scene where people are actually speaking out loud to each other.

Memorable Quotes from A Kitten

We entered Suzy’s room and she came over. Ever the gracious hostess, she signed, “It is good to see you, Scott. Do you want a cup of water? Do you?” she turned to me.

“I’m good.” Scott asked, “Suzy, do you know how to take care of a kitten?”

“I think so,” Suzy replied after a while. “You feed and give water and play and they get a comfy place to sleep.”

“There’s a litter box, too,” I explained. “A kitten will need a place to poop.”

“I understand,” Suzy replied.

“That’s very good,” Scott praised. “Do you think you could be responsible enough to care for a kitten?”

“Oh yes! Oh yes!” Suzy got excited and started jumping a little.

“Do you understand, Suzy,” I pointed out, “that a kitten will grow up to be a cat? And that a cat might not want to play as much?”

“I understand,” Suzy replied. “I will be sure to remember and be careful. And I will love a kitten just as much when it grows up to be a cat. I promise!” To emphasize her point, she crossed her heart.

“We will think about it,” I stated cautiously.

Rating

The story has a K rating.

A Kitten – Takeaways

Suzy is one of those characters that I have no future plans for. But I sometimes think I would like to. After all, how does she get along with Smoke? Does it all work out? In all honesty, I do not truly know.

Doesn’t every vaguely described child want a kitten? #amwriting”


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Writing about Technology

Background – Writing About Technology

When we think of writing about technology, inevitably a lot of us think of computers and such. But if you go back in time, what’s the cutting edge tech? And if you’re writing about a primitive people off earth, their development should probably be similar.

So, instead of looking forward, let’s look backward for a moment. Because even that can inform writing about the future.

Types of Technology

Writing about technology inevitably means going into a few basic categories. Of course, there are plenty of other types of tech. But the earlier you go, the more basic they become. You can divvy them up more or less this way.

Agriculture and Animal Husbandry

When we go very far back, your writing about technology may very well involve paragraphs about domesticating animals. The creation of towns (and, eventually, cities) goes hand in hand with agriculture. For hundreds if not thousands of years, the most sophisticated tech people knew about was probably grain milling.

Communications

When does language come about? How about writing? What happens when people start to carry messages for each other? How about when they start telling and writing stories?

From the telegraph to the walky-talky, communications tech is some of the most familiar tech to many people.

Medicine

Do your characters have antibiotics? What about anesthetics? Do they use leeches, or pray for cures? Are they bleeding people, or beating the so-called demons out of the mentally ill? And do they realize the importance of hygiene?

Also, take into account the differences between midwives and doctors, from about 1850 and earlier. Why did so many higher class women die in childbirth? Because (in general) doctors would go from autopsy to birth and not wash their hands. But midwives were specialists who did one thing very well—and they would wash their hands.

Metallurgy and Toolmaking

Of course, tools predate metallurgy. But eventually, someone starts to notice that there are some rocks which give off shiny substances when they get too close to the fire. Who made the leap of logic to melting those shiny substances down and making something from them?

Transportation

This dovetails, at least in part, with domesticating animals. Transportation speed is also vital because it can get materials to people faster (or more slowly). This might make a difference in other inventions. Imagine an inventor dying because the medicine didn’t arrive in time.

Warfare

Like it or not, it’s an enormous part of our lives. When people graduated from rock throwing to spears, what did they dream of making?

You will need to do much more in-depth digging than I have done here. But these should get you started in writing about technology in history. These are down and dirty, mostly from Wikipedia (yeah, I know, I know. This is for illustrative purposes and not scholarship!). You should go to primary sources instead.

But let’s go back in time and see what the tech was like.

In the Year … 1900

If you’re writing about technology at the turn of the last century, then you’re probably writing about trains. Penicillin doesn’t happen until the 1940s. Cars and airplanes are from the first decade. And in the 50s and 60s, we even start to go to space.

Of course, computers are invented during this time, and they start off being the size of a room. Allegedly portable phones come about, but they’re often clunky and heavy, with little to them beyond simply making and receiving calls.

Writing About Technology In the Year … 1800

It’s the start of the nineteenth century. President Washington has just died. What sort of tech are people using? The horse and carriage (or wagon) is like the family car. To communicate, they are writing letters or sending messages with people. Pony Express? Not until 1860.

The US Civil War is probably the first truly modern war. There was trench warfare, and they invented the submarine. But soldiers with crushed limbs would get field amputations. At least ether existed, and it was already used in the 1840s. But if you think they had enough to go around…

In the Year … 1600

Let’s skip a century. The further you go back, less happens and there are fewer inventions. So, Queen Elizabeth I is nearing the end of her reign and life. But hey, how ‘bout that Italian Renaissance?

The first known opera premiers. In about 1606, Galileo invents a thermometer based on the expansion of gas.

In the Year … 1200

This is just after the Renaissance of the 12th century. It’s the end of a period called the High Middle Ages. In the 1210s, Genghis Khan mobilizes his troops, preparing for war with China.

In the Year … 1000

We’re just starting the High Middle Ages. And one vital piece of tech has been invented but isn’t in wide usage yet—the compass.

In the Year … 700

We’re around 47 years before the birth of Charlemagne. And about 18 years after the Eastern Roman Empire started using Greek Fire in warfare.

In the Year … 500

It’s not too long after the Roman Empire collapses in the west. It’s about 8 years after Aryabhata, an Indian astronomer and mathematician, calculates pi to the fourth digit.

Writing About Technology In the Year … 200

The Roman Empire is threatening to split up (and it does, in 286). It’s about 10 years after Greek astronomer Cleomedes teaches that the moon’s light is a reflection.

In the Year … 1 BCE

The Emperor Claudius takes a wife named Livilla (spoiler alert—it doesn’t go well). It’s about 10 years after the Aeneid is published.

In the Year … 400 BCE

Greek engineers invent the catapult! And London is just about being founded.

Writing About Technology In the Year … 700 BCE

In China, the minister of agriculture is teaching crop rotation to the peasants.

It’s been less than 50 years since the founding of Rome. And money is starting to become a thing. As a result, wealth starts to become more portable.

In the Year … 1000 BCE

David is about to become the king of the United Kingdom of Israel. This is when the Phoenician alphabet was invented.

In the Year … 2000 BCE

Horses are first being tamed. And the last woolly mammoth goes extinct.

In the Year … 5000 BCE

In China, people are starting to cultivate rice. And in Africa, herders are starting to move into the Nile Valley.

Writing About Technology In the Year … 6000 BCE

Cultures are starting to make wine. And in Poland in 5500, people start to make cheese.

In the Year … 7000 BCE

Some people are starting to domesticate pigs (although the earliest period is about 6,000 years before this). They are making bread.

Jericho becomes a 3,000-person settlement—probably the biggest ‘city’ of the time.

In the Year … 8000 BCE

About 10,000 years ago, people were planting crops—but the potter’s wheel hasn’t been invented yet.

In the Year … 10,000 BCE

Agriculture is starting. But pottery is already pretty old. Jericho is founded in about 9600 BCE.

Writing About Technology In the Year … 12,000 BCE and Earlier

The goat is first domesticated. Sheep are domesticated about a thousand years before. The first evidence of warfare is from 2,000 years previously. Right about then (14,200 BCE), we have evidence of the earliest known domestic dog. In about 20,000 BCE, pottery is invented in China.

And in about 50,000 BCE we have the first evidence of sewing needles.

Not too much earlier than this, and we modern humans are hanging around with Neanderthals.

Writing About Technology: Takeaways

All of the little things we take for granted were dreamt up by someone. Do your research when writing about technology, so you don’t accidentally introduce anachronisms. And have some fun with it!

Writing about technology means going way past computers and the present day! #amwriting


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Character Review — Jazminder Parikh, MD

Consider Jazminder Parikh, One of My Original Characters

Who is Jazminder Parikh?

Like in the original Star Trek series, the top three characters are the captain, the first officer, and the chief medical officer.

In short, Marnie, Trixie, and Jazzie.

I see actress Aarti Mann as Jazminder Parikh.

Where Did Jazminder Parikh Come From?

It was not until Star Trek Discovery that I actually saw anyone from the Indian subcontinent anywhere in the franchise. And that is just ridiculous! I mean, India is the second-most populous country in the world. And it has been for years. There are a good four times as many people there as there are in the United States.

So, why weren’t any of them seeing the stars?

Therefore, I took the old idea to heart. If you don’t see someone in fictional media, then write them yourself.

Of course, this is not my personal experience. But I still wanted this character to get on screen.

The Past is Prologue — Backstory for Jazminder Parikh

Jazzie is from a wealthy family in Hyderabad. But she attended school in Leeds, England. Hence, her accent is a lot more posh British with a mix of Indian.

Also, she does not join the crew of the Valentina Tereshkova until later. At the time of The Enigman Cave, she’s already been ensconced for years. But she doesn’t come out of the same school as Marnie and Trixie.

As for family, the only person she ever mentions is her father. This leads to the conclusion that her mother is likely to be dead.

Description

A bit short, and with very long, dark, straight brown hair, Jaz is younger than Trixie and Marnie. Since Marnie is 53 when the book starts, Jazzie is what, … forty? Maybe. I confess I never gave her an actual birth year. Oops.

She is also a bit of an alcoholic. While she, Marnie, and Trixie get drunk in the first chapter, that’s not the only time for Jazzie. In fact, she even drinks to the point of passing out. As a doctor, of course she should know better.

But it’s also the future, so she has plenty of ways to cure a hangover.

Purpose/Theme/Motivation

Much like for the rest of the Val‘s crew, Jazzie’s main motivation is to explore space and find multicellular life. And, at the same time, assure that everyone stays healthy. Once the crew discover the Enigmans, her purpose shifts, as does everyone else’s. Now, her motivation is to protect the Enigmans at all costs.

Jazzie even goes so far as to perform an emergency c-section and even an autopsy. She ends up invested in their fate.

Quotes

Jaz drained the dregs in the bottle. “Superb. Can I tell you something? I would tell Ginny but she’s not here. Pity, that.” She was starting to slur.

“Just how much wine have you had, Jaz?”

“There may have been an earlier bottle. But I am not going to tell you that.”

Marnie had to smile at that. “Your statement, Doctor?”

“My, oh my but we are formal! As I was saying, you are the best damned boss I have ever had.”

“I am?”

“Absolutely. The other captains? They are all a bunch of sticks-in-the-mud, so far as I am concerned. And they may very well be playing along with that awful Carter. But you! Look at you! You’re strong and capable and I won’t say anything about your dodgy knee, and your preference for much younger veterinarians and your poor dye job.”

Marnie held a lock of her hair for a second. “Gwen did this, not me. How much of that other bottle did you have?”

“Oh hush, you.”

“C’mon, Jaz, you shouldn’t be drinking this much.”

“I am off shift, and am perfectly capable, young lady. Now, as I was saying,” Jaz slurred more, “You are an incomparable supervisor.” She clumsily hugged Marnie and patted her hair a few times.

“Jazzie, are you hitting on me?”

“No, you stupid cow!”

“What?” Marnie started laughing. “If you call me any more nasty names, I’ll stop believing you think I’m the greatest boss of all time.”

“No, no, you are the best damned boss I ever had. Now pay attention!” Jaz swayed and dropped to the floor.

Relationships

The only romantic relationship I have for her is with Ginny Carey. But when the book starts, she reveals they have broken up.

With over a thousand people on the Val, Jaz could conceivably find someone else if she wanted to. But I don’t have her do that. By the end of the book, Marnie is trying to get the two women to reconcile.

I like to think that they do.

Conflict and Turning Point

Much like with just about everyone else on the Val, her turning point comes when Carter emerges as a serious threat. This directly affects Jaz, as she loses contact with her father and fears the worst.

Continuity/Easter Eggs

There really are no continuities or Easter eggs with her. What you see, is what you get. She isn’t intended to be related to another Indian character of mine, Akanksha Kondapalli, from the first Obolonk trilogy.

Future Plans

She will not be a part of the planned prequel until it is pretty close to its end. Otherwise, I do not have plans for her.

Jazminder Parikh: Takeaways

There may have been some missed opportunities with this character. And I may end up rectifying them in editing and rewrites. She’s smart and capable, a lot more than a stethoscope, a bottle, or a failed relationship.

Jazminder Parikh — this posh doctor brooks no nonsense.


Want More of Jazminder Parikh and the Rest of The Enigman Cave?

If The Enigman Cave resonates with you, then check out my other articles about how our society handles first contact with a species that may be as primitive as Australopithecus.

Character Reviews: The Enigman Cave

The Enigman Cave Universe

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Character Review — Josie James

Consider Josie James, One of My Original Characters

Who is Josie James? And how did she get to be the main character in the Time Addicts sub-series (part of the Obolonk universe)?

Originally, I had wanted to name her Jodie James. But the character had other plans. When I could not “hear” her voice, I realized a change was necessary.

And then I quite literally made a mistake when I was writing down notes about her. Suddenly, she sprang into sharp focus. And so, Jolene Jordan James was finally born out of my imagination.

Another aspect of her which really defined the character was when I decided she would be a numbers person. I had never really written anyone like that before. She is, essentially, a person who today would be an actuary or a mathematician. This meant giving her an orderly mind and a fairly linear way of thinking.

Does she code as autistic? I think a bit. She does take a lot of things literally. But at the same time, that can be a function (ha!) of being a math person versus being on the spectrum.

Where Did Josie James Come From?

Much like with the Peri Martin character, I wanted Josie to be a kind of a wisecracking cop. But unlike Peri, Josie would be a somewhat younger woman in her mid-thirties. Furthermore, Josie would not have Peri’s trauma. But she also would not have an equivalent to Peri’s work husband/work BFF, Greg Shapiro.

I also wanted for Josie to have one thing which I had until that time not given any characters—a large family. Now, the letter ‘J’ is the tenth in the alphabet, so that worked for me.

And then, to make my life easier, I created a naming convention for the family. Everyone, not just Josie, would have the same first and middle initial. And they would all be in alphabetical order.

Hence, Aaron is the first-born, then Brian, and then Connie. Deb and Em are twins and come next. Then there’s Francie (Frances) and Greg. Haley and Ian come next. Also, because this can happen in real life, I wanted for Josie to have a niece or a nephew older than her.

This also meant giving the James siblings a big age gap. She’s kind of the ‘oops’ baby.

So Aaron is essentially a different generation from Josie. And it shows.

The Past is Prologue — Backstory for Josie James

A decent cop working in the Boston Meg’s Financial Crimes division, Josie has a secret.

Every morning, for a dozen years, without fail, she has started her day tossing her cookies. It does not matter whether she ate the prior evening, or drank, etc. Sick or well, well-rested or tired, it does not matter. Every morning, it happens.

And so she has fetishized it in a way. This was also, initially, a way to make my life easier. Plus, for NaNoWriMo, it makes for some excellent word padding (oops, did I just say the quiet part out loud???).

But then, because the sub-series is about time travel, the fetishizing started to truly make sense.

See, she follows the rainbow every week. Sunday is red, Monday is orange, etc. And along with the color of her clothing and even the corresponding flavoring added to her water, she has a bunch of buckets. But Josie’s are color-coded to the days.

Since indigo is tough to find, I had her use gray or black and white or patterns on Fridays.

But no matter what, if a reader is ever lost as to the day of the week, her outfits are a dead giveaway.

Her buckets and her continuous attempts to get a medical explanation are what make the Orb Intelligence Agency’s Department of Temporal Narcotics want her. Because her barfing is related to changes in time.

Description

I really love the actress Anna Kendrick, and she works well as a stand-in for Josie in my head. It was a truly serendipitous find to learn that Kendrick is left-handed! By also making Josie a lefty, it worked well with some of the dramatic elements in the story.

Although Kendrick can sing, Josie really doesn’t. But her brother Ian does.

Purpose/Theme/Motivation

Josie’s purposes drive the sub-series. She first wants to know why she gets sick. Then, she wants to catch the bad guys and save the Obolonk race. But she also wants to take the next step in her life. Her illness has held her back and left her in a kind of young twenties limbo.

But to get serious about herself or about anyone else, she can’t just be puking all the time.

Quotes {Josie and Dalton Meet After He’s Gotten Her Suitcase Off a High Shelf}

The dreamy chivalrous suitcase retriever stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Dalton.”

“Er, hi. I’m Josie James.” His hand was smooth, as if the only physical labor he did was in a gym.

“You sound like a dance hall girl or an outlaw. Definitely something from a western movie.”

“You sound upper crust.”

“I was born in the Philly section of the Washington Meg so, yeah, kinda. You?”

“You want to know where I was born?”

“Well, yeah, seeing as we’re not supposed to be hinting at roles and responsibilities yet.”

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot that. Man, oh man, the OIA sure has some strange protocols. Still, I figure there’s a kind of a method to their madness.”

“Oh?” asked Dalton.

“Yeah, they get to continually test us on secrecy and on following instructions. We screw up, and they can boot us. You know, like it says in our contracts. I am assuming you got the same contract that I did, er, Dalton.” Why the hell was the dreamy chivalrous suitcase retriever just going by his last name? How weird, she thought.

“I’m sure I did. And yeah.” He seemed to be staring at something for a second, as if he was mentally flipping the pages of the contract, in electronic or paper form. “You’re right; it does say that. But you didn’t answer my question, outlaw Josie James.”

Relationships

Josie’s condition makes it difficult to form romantic attachments. But then there’s…

Dalton Farouk

Not just another pretty face, Dalton Farouk is a genuinely caring person. Dalton has a very real gift called hyperthymesia. But it turns out Josie has a gift, too—she can remember timelines, even as they change. So, they aren’t just paired by me because I wanted her to have a love interest. I also pair them together because they are both quite literally all about memory.

And, Dalton almost blows it the first time they go on a date. Then again, Josie yells at him. So, I suppose they’re even.

Tad Lewis

Tad is not a romantic partner to Josie. Rather, he is her work partner. The sharpshooter of the team is a great choice to look out for her. Because Carmen realizes immediately—Josie is valuable. And vulnerable.

Tad and Josie often have to play at being married. They get along well enough that he would be a reasonable choice for her. In fact, if anyone wants to ‘ship them, well, I won’t stand in your way or anything.

Carmen D’Angelo

Josie’s relationship with her boss is complicated. While Carmen is cordial, Carmen also keeps nearly everyone at arm’s length. But Josie trusts her. And as everything else changes, Carmen points out that if she (Carmen) ever does, then it’s all gone to hell in a hand cart.

Without having had a mother for the second half of her childhood, siblings like Connie and Deb have filled in the gap. But, at times, it’s Carmen who kind of, sorta, fills it in as well.

Wing AKA 42753

The idea of little flying robots came to me although I suspect I’m not the first person to ever dream them up. They are, at bottom, a natural descendant to drones. But they have a fairly good degree of sapience and they have personalities. But they are also programmed to love cleaning and orderliness.

Wing, like all other wingbots, has some limited morphing capabilities. Hence, it, too, is a part of the constant color parade. Wing colors itself like a parrot, a blue jay, a cardinal, and more.

Wing is, easily, one of her closest friends.

They Say This One Can Floss Human Children’s Teeth Carefully

AKA Flossie. A lot like They Say This One Can Tile Bathrooms Adequately, Flossie is an intersex alien but identifies as female. This alien has had surgery to be able to smile like a human, and uses she/her pronouns.

Flossie is also one of Josie’s main reasons for trying to restore the original timeline. It’s not just because it’s the right thing to do. It’s also because someone like Flossie can never, ever be her friend in many of the newer, worse realities.

Josie James and Her Siblings

Josie has complex relationships with her various siblings. Aaron treats her a lot like his own child and can often be overbearing if not condescending to her. But at least a little bit of that is to be expected. After all, she’s younger than his first born child.

With Brian, she has a more cordial relationship although they don’t spend a lot of time together. He is usually not the first person she thinks of when she needs something. But at least Brian doesn’t talk down to her.

Connie is more of a mother/kindred spirit figure to Josie, particularly as they are both single and childless, and are both numbers people. Connie is just plain easier to talk to.

The twins are night and day to each other. Deb is warm and maternal, whereas Emily is all business—literally. It isn’t until the third book that Josie realizes the reason Em never married is because she loves the people who work for her.

Francie is another sibling who Josie doesn’t really get to know until the third book. Greg, on the other hand, is the first person Josie thinks of when she needs a place far from the group.

Hayley is often the punchline to Josie’s jokes, because Hayley is modern Orthodox and Josie is horribly lapsed. And Hayley actually keeps Josie on the straight and narrow a lot of the time—even if it’s just Josie saying she can’t do X because Hayley would have a coronary.

Ian is closest in age to Josie, but is such a flighty free spirit that they have only a little in common.

Avalon

Without giving away too many spoilers, Loni (Avalon) is a character who comes into the books later. She serves as a kind, maternal person to Josie, but not in the first timelines.

Conflict and Turning Point

Josie’s conflict and turning point are the ones for this sub-series. For the most part, rather than there being one big conflict, it’s a relatively slow burn. Writing scads of different temporal universes meant that life changes for her, in ways that are subtle and not so subtle. Until things get really dicey, she doesn’t notice some of it.

In that way, both her realization of the issues and the reader’s (and the invisible hand driving the plot, too) is a lot like putting a lobster in a pot of cold water and setting it to boil. Once things start to feel hot, it’s already too late, and you’re already cooked. But it can take a bit to get there.

For Josie, a lot of the bigger time changes go off like loud alarm bells, particularly in the last book of this sub-trilogy. Life before might not have been perfect. But it was hardly the dystopia that many of the later time changes cause to come about.

Continuity/Easter Eggs for Josie James

Josie, just like Noah Braverman from the Mettle Universe, lives in my house! In a bit of crossover continuity, the house has been in her family for generations. But there is a tenant the family has to buy out before she can live there. That tenant is Kelly Braverman.

Josie is also a Jewish character; their surname was originally Jacobson. As a result, she relates, however loosely, to characters like Noah Braverman, Marnie Shapiro, Lex Feldman, Greg Shapiro, Eleanor Braverman, and even Herschel Taub. She’s not too strict, but her sister Hayley lives in what used to be Tel Aviv.

Also, being a person experiencing time changes and understanding them while others around her do not, makes her something of a twin to Tathrelle. But I never actually explain Tathrelle. With Josie, I give something of an explanation of how she’s known to be temporally sensitive. But I never actually get into why.

The truth is, even I have no idea!

Future Plans

Well, one thing that may be a bit of an issue is that Josie was not a part of the Time Addicts prequel, The Dust Between Our Stars. But I like her quirkiness and her overly orderly mind. I’ll try to find some place for her. Much like Peri, she may even get the occasional shout out in the next sub-series. I don’t know.

Josie James: Takeaways

One of the things I love about her is that a lot about her represents a departure from what I have written before. Her methodical nature, her familial relationships, and her fetishizing of her condition make her unique and a lot of fun to write.

You don’t just want her in your corner. You also want her help if there’s a math test!

Josie James — why should she let her chronic illness interfere with saving the timeline?


Want More of Josie James?

If the story of the Obolonks resonates with you, then check out my other articles about how our society turns tripartite, with humans, robots, and Obolonks.

Character Reviews: The Obolonk Murders

Humans

Robots

Obolonks

Character Reviews: Time Addicts

The Good Guys

The Bad Guys

The Obolonk Universe

Self-Reviews: Obolonk Trilogy

Self-Reviews: Time Addicts Trilogy

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Are You Promoting Your Writing With Social Media?

Let’s Look at Promoting Writing With Social Media

Promoting Writing is important! So let’s say you’re an amateur writer. You know you should be promoting writing with social media. But how do you get started?

Not to worry; I’ve got you covered, whether you’re looking to sell your work or just get your unsellable fanfiction noticed.

My Background

I have my Masters’ degree in Interactive Media from Quinnipiac University. I blog, tweet, and go to Facebook pretty much every day. And I did all of that for grades and now a lot of that for work.

Furthermore, I have been in the social media space for years, long before the term was even so much as coined. I go back to Usenet.

Getting Started with Promoting Writing on Social Media

So it may be tempting to just plunge right in and start hyping your work on Facebook or Twitter or the like. After all, everyone else is doing it, right? It seems so easy. And it doesn’t hurt that it’s free. But I want you to take a step backward because we are going to do some basic strategizing. It’s called the POST Strategy.

P is for Personas

A persona, or a buyer persona, is the person who would typically buy your work. This is demographics, generally including gender, age range, and race. It can include highest educational level attained. It can also include marital status or sexual identity, time zone, and sometimes household income.

I know you don’t have the bucks to hire a team to build a demographic profile. That’s okay. You’re more or less covered online, if you don’t mind some vagueness.

In 2017, Pew Research investigated who in America is reading. You can also pull related data, such as this study on gaming. Google, as is often the case, is your friend.

Once you’ve got your general demographics together, write a short thumbnail sketch of a biography of them. E. g.

Steve loves science fiction as he enjoys the escapism elements. He’s in his thirties and lives in a small town where he has a technical job. Unmarried, Steve wants to escape into the strange worlds that are a staple of science fiction.

Because Steve is bi, and he’s in a small town where that might seem strange to his neighbors, he is semi-closeted. He wants to read about people like him or more or less like him. He enjoys action and adventure but doesn’t mind some romance in the storyline so long as it’s not dominant.

You are writing a description of your ideal reader. That person might be a lot like you. They might turn out not to be. Plus you might find more than one persona. That’s okay, too.

Naming them, and even giving them a face (just a pic from stock images is fine) will give you someone to connect to. What should you write to Steve? Or Annika? Or Keisha? Maybe Mei-Lin would respond better to different content. Hmm.

O is for Objectives

We’ve all got pie in the sky notions, where we want to be recognized for our art, published, get an agent, make a mint, and hobnob with the best writers we can think of. Or maybe that’s just me. But you’ve got to be realistic here.

What’s realistic? Breaking even, on a first novel, is probably not realistic. But selling at least one copy to someone you do not personally know? That’s a good, attainable goal. It may not sound like a lot, but you start this way.

Do some measuring, in order to know you met your objectives. Amazon shows sales data, and many places show read counts even if you aren’t publishing for $$ at this time. I personally use spreadsheets but I’ve got a data analysis background so this appeals to me.

You don’t need to go nuts! You can get by with just vague ideas, such as to see that sales have gone up, or you haven’t broken 1,000 reads, that sort of thing.

S is for Strategy

What’s your plan? First of all, allow me to suggest one thing right off the top – get HootSuite or the like and learn how to use their scheduling features. Don’t be tweeting in the middle of the night. So schedule stuff. Trust me; scheduling will save your offline life.

Scheduling and strategy also go together beautifully because you can collect a number of older bits of content (posts, landing pages, etc.) and combine and recombine them to see how they do. Maybe one order or one combo is better than another. You’ll never know until and unless you try, and test. And sometimes fail.

T is for Technology

So now let’s start thinking about platforms. And do some more research (Pew is awesome!). Where is your buyer persona going online?

Our mythological buyer persona, Steve, is fairly young and male. I bet he likes Tumblr and Twitter. Plus he’s on Facebook because many people are. Maybe he uses FB to keep in touch with older relatives.

While he might be on Pinterest (it’s not 100% female), the likelihood is greater that he’s elsewhere.

That elsewhere is likely to be Snapchat or TikTok.

So what’s your mission? To post your promotional links where Steve is. Maybe Betty. Or Lakeisha. Perhaps Hong. Or José. And change up to reach whoever your buyer persona is.

Want to know more about POST Strategy? Go to the source!

More Information on Promoting Writing

However, this barely scratches the surface when it comes to promoting writing. Because there’s a ton more to know! Where can you get started? I just so happen to have a book for that. And it also just so happens to be free.

Ask me anything, here or on Wattpad in the comments for that book. Am I missing something? And do you want anything updated or clarified? I gladly take requests to update the Social Media Guide.

Now go out there and knock ’em dead!

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