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Author: Janet Gershen-Siegel

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A Crash Course in Copyright Law, Part 2Legal, Creative Commons, fanfiction, crash course, copyright law, exceptions, Practice Law, Avoiding Common Legal Mistakes, Transitioning, cyber infidelity,

A Crash Course in Copyright Law, Part 2

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 13, 2022

Check Out A Crash Course in Copyright Law, Part 2

Want to learn more about copyright law?

How about infringement?

We are artists and that means we are copyright holders, even if we never assert our rights and never file with the copyright office. According to American copyright law, you own it if you made it. You don’t have to mail it yourself.

But to defend a case, in the US, you’ll need to register your work.

Infringement

However, I will only talk about American law. If you assert copyright in another country, the law will most likely differ. Furthermore, if you have any questions, ask me in the comments section. I will try to research and answer you in a timely fashion.

Or ask a copyright attorney. This area, like many areas of the law, has nuances and there can be changes. This blog is no substitute for good advice from an experienced lawyer. If you think you need to protect your rights, then do so properly. And that means hiring an attorney.

The United States Code

According to Title 17 of the United States Code:

§ 501. Infringement of copyright

(a) Anyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner as provided by sections 106 through 122 or of the author as provided in section 106A(a), or who imports copies or phonorecords into the United States in violation of section 602, is an infringer of the copyright or right of the author, as the case may be. For purposes of this chapter (other than section 506), any reference to copyright shall be deemed to include the rights conferred by section 106A(a).

As used in this subsection, the term “anyone” includes any State, any instrumentality of a State, and any officer or employee of a State or instrumentality of a State acting in his or her official capacity. Any State, and any such instrumentality, officer, or employee, shall be subject to the provisions of this title in the same manner and to the same extent as any nongovernmental entity.

But what the heck does that all mean?

The American Bar Association explains it better. It publishes a Young Lawyers series intended to help newly minted lawyers understand the nuances of complicated sections of practice. So the ABA explains:

An action for copyright infringement may arise where a third party violates one or more of the exclusive rights granted to copyright owners.  To establish infringement, the plaintiff must prove:  “(1) ownership of a valid copyright, and (2) copying of constituent elements of the work that are original.”

Ownership of a valid copyright consists of:  “(1) originality in the author; (2) copyrightability of the subject matter; (3) a national point of attachment of the work, such as to permit a claim of copyright; (4) compliance with applicable statutory formalities; and (5) (if the plaintiff is not the author) a transfer of rights or other relationship between the author and the plaintiff so as to constitute the plaintiff as the valid copyright claimant.”  A copyright registration certificate from the Copyright Office serves as prima facie evidence of elements (1) through (4).  If the defendant rebuts the plaintiff’s prima facie evidence, then the above elements of valid copyright ownership become essential to the plaintiff’s case.

So what is the ABA is saying? Registration with the US Copyright office isn’t necessary to successfully bring an infringement claim. But it’s awfully helpful.

If you think your work might be infringed upon, if you feel it is a danger and you are concerned about it, then get some peace of mind and register it with the US Copyright Office.

Next up? Exceptions!Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

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A Crash Course in Copyright Law, Part 1Legal, Creative Commons, fanfiction, crash course, copyright law, exceptions, Practice Law, Avoiding Common Legal Mistakes, Transitioning, cyber infidelity,

A Crash Course in Copyright Law, Part 1

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 8, 2022

A Crash Course in Copyright

It’s time for a crash course in copyright law. Don’t worry; no one is going to make you practice law.

Seriously, you’re good.

Me, on the other hand? I’m a retired lawyer, admitted to the New York state bar, 1986. I never worked in the copyright field. However, I have read plenty about it, and of course I have my own legal training and experiences to fall back on.

If you have questions, I will try to answer them. Or contact a copyright attorney if you know one, and ask! Your questions won’t offend me.

Disclaimer

Do not infer or imply representation. If you’ve got a copyright issue, and you’re defending, or you think you should bring a lawsuit, I urge you to get legal representation as soon as possible.

American Copyright Law

For the purposes of these blog posts, I will only look at American law. The law differs outside the United States, it will be different. Copyright law is Federal, so jurisdiction rests with the Federal courts. It is a civil matter; no one goes to jail for copyright infringement.

Copyright Search

The United States Copyright Office exists as a part of the Library of Congress, founded in 1870. Want to find out if something has a copyright? Click the search page for the copyright office and be sure to select Other Search Options. If you think your search will pull up a lot of records, select 100 records per page from the pull-down menu to the left.

Make sure to be as specific as possible, but you might need to go less specific in order to be truly diligent. For example, a search for Sally Field’s character, Sister Bertrille, might not bring up anything. A search for Bertrille might give you something, but a better search would be for the television program the character comes from, The Flying Nun.

Here’s the copyright for the theme song to that series.

But most people could guess that Field’s role or at least the series has or had some form of copyright. But what, exactly, is copyright?

The Elements of Copyright

According to the US Copyright Office,

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S.Code) to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works.

Per Section 106 of the Copyright Act of 1967, a copyright holder can:

• reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords
† prepare derivative works based upon the work
• distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending
† perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works
• display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work
† perform the work publicly (in the case of sound recordings) by means of a digital audio transmission

Hence copyright holders have any number of rights in their own works. Can they allow others to use them? Absolutely! We call that a license.

When do copyrights expire?

Not surprisingly, the US Copyright Office has something to say about that.

Works Created on or after January 1, 1978 The law automatically protects a work that is created and fixed in a tangible medium of expression on or after January 1, 1978, from the moment of its creation and gives it a term lasting for the author’s life plus an additional 70 years.

and …

Works in Existence but Not Published or Copyrighted on January 1, 1978 The law automatically gives federal copyright protection to works that were created but neither published nor registered before January 1, 1978. The duration of copyright in these works is generally computed the same way as for works created on or after January 1, 1978: life plus 70 years or 95 or 120 years, depending on the nature of authorship. However, all works in this category are guaranteed at least 25 years of statutory protection. The law specifies that in no case would copyright in a work in this category have expired before December 31, 2002. In addition, if a work in this category was published before that date, the term extends another 45 years, through the end of 2047.

What does this mean? Well, the short answer is that you generally do better to publish your work! After all, you can’t expect anyone to guard against copying it if they don’t know it exists.

The other important takeaway: you don’t need to assert copyright or mail it yourself or anything like that. Does it help to register your work? Absolutely! And you’ll need it to defend a lawsuit.

If you ever doubt have concerns, do the legwork (or have your lawyer do so), and register your work.

More of the crash course later …

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Working With a Beta ReaderBeta Readers, Editors, Beta Reading, Editing, Beta readers, Beta Reading, Reading, How to Edit a Manuscript, editing part 1, Editing Part 2, choosing, Editing Tips, Beta Reading and Editing, beta reader,

Working With a Beta Reader

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 1, 2022

What’s It Like, Working With a Beta Reader?

A beta reader is somewhat different from an editor.

How different? Well, for one thing, beta reading is generally something that people do for free.

Beta Readers

Beta readers are people who read over your work and evaluate it before it goes to a publisher. They might read for typos, spelling errors, grammatical issues, and punctuation problems, but that is not a very good way to work with them. Work with an editor for that.

Instead, you want them to help you with flow and continuity in your writing. If your main character is male and 6’3″ and owns a farm on page 14, then he should still be male, 6’3″, and the owner of a farm on page 204, unless there is some on-page reason why he isn’t. E. g.:

† They are transgender, and successfully transitioned (with or without surgery) to male. Or the character no longer identifies as female or male.
• The character had some sort of a growth spurt and is taller, or has osteoporosis, and shrunk, or maybe her legs were amputated (sorry, character!).
† He gave away the farm, or it failed, or was destroyed by a natural or man-made disaster, etc.

The last thing you want is for your beta reader to wonder why there’s no farm any more, particularly if that particular setting isn’t a big part of the story.

How Can You Start This Relationship?

The best way to get a beta reader is simply to be one. So offer a trade with another indie. Be kind when you’re done, and either recommend your beta reader friend or at least donate a little something to one of their three favorite charities. If the work is absolutely abhorrent, at least you can say you did that.

Lead with kindness, always.

What Should You Expect?

You’re working with a volunteer. So, things might be slow. You cannot be overly pushy. However, setting an expectation as to the overall deadline (be generous with the time frame!) is helpful. E. g. if you want the beta reading to be done in ten months for a 100,000 word document (very possible, even for a busy beta reader), say you need it done in nine months and try not to be overly anxious about it.

What Are Some Practical Tips?

Use Google docs in order to avoid version control nightmares. Create a schedule and a set of expectations. Hence for our hypothetical 100,000 word work, a nine month time period gives the beta reader about 39 weeks to get it all done. If each chapter averages about 1,100 words long, then you want a beta reading turnaround of about 2 – 3 chapters per week to make it in nine months.

Do you now see why I’m talking about giving yourself a one-month cushion? You’ve also got to account for vacations, illness, the other person being busy with other stuff, and even a lack of motivation on their part.

And give yourself that extra month, just in case things really go badly, and you end up scrambling. Better to scramble 31 days before the manuscript is due, than one day before. Of course, no scrambling is ideal. But sometimes, sigh, it just happens that way. Ah, well.

How Many Beta Readers Do You Need?

For a 100,000+ word work, you’re probably going to want more than one beta reader. In fact, I would recommend that for any work longer than what most people would call a short story. You need some give and take and a consensus.

If three beta readers tell you a chapter is dull, then it’s dull. If two say you need to use the word ‘whom’, and one says to use the word ‘who’, look it up on a trusted authority, such as Grammar Girl. Majority does not rule here.

Demographics and Working With a Beta Reader

Good beta readers are in the demographics of the people you’re trying to reach with your novel. They like your genre or at least are willing to read in it and offer feedback. They don’t tear you a new one when they don’t like something, but they are also unafraid to tell you if something isn’t working for them.

Some Standard Questions

Ask them:

• Are the characters believable? Are they distinguishable?
† Do you think the situations are plausible?
• Are the settings well described? Can you picture yourself where the characters are?
† Do the transitions work?
• Are the conflicts plausible?
† Is the conclusion a satisfying one? Or could you see it coming from a mile away?

Make sure to also ask about genre-specific issues, such as whether your mystery was too easy or difficult to solve, if your horror story was scary enough, if the technobabble in your science fiction novel was credible, etc.

Practical Tech for Beta Reading

Google docs is particularly useful for multiple beta readers, as they can see each others’ suggestions. Just set everyone to ‘suggesting‘ and not ‘editing‘. Google docs will also inform them when changes have been made, so they are reminded that you’re still out there, and you still need their help. Be sure to make corrections on the page so the beta readers can comment on them if they want to.

Don’t like Google docs? Then use Word and turn on its editing features. Use Dropbox or the like if your documents are too big to practically email back and forth.

Manners Count With Your Beta Reader!

Be gracious about the corrections; these people are trying to help you! But if it’s important for your character to be Lithuanian or eating pretzels or whatever, then stick to your guns and explain why. Do so without rancor, of course. Be kind and your beta readers will be so in return to you.

Establish a really good relationship, and you could be reading for each other for years.

PS… Beta Reader Rewards

Not 100% necessary, but nice to do all the same. I’ve gotten and given gift certificates. And if your work makes it to publication, send them a signed copy. For free.

Seriously. You should cherish a good beta reader to writer relationship. Just like any other good relationship!

Your time with a beta reader is a unique writing relationship. So make it as good as it can be.

Want More on Beta Reading and Editing?

If you want more on beta reading and editing, check out the following posts:
• Beta Reading for Indie Writers
† Beta Reading, Part 2
• Working With a Beta Reader
† Beta Readers and Editors

Editing:

• Writing Needs Editing, Part 1
† Writing Needs Editing, Part 2
• Choosing an Editor
† Editing Tips

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Character Review — Lex FeldmanCharacter Review, Josie James, Greg Shapiro, Jazminder Parikh, MD, Johnny Barnes, Dalton Farouk, Peri Martin, Carmen D’Angelo, MD, Dr. Devon Grace, Tommy 2000, Lex Feldman, Velexio, Character Reviews are Coming, Ixalla, Elise Jeffries, MD, Frances Miller Ashford, Marnie Shapiro, Ceilidh O’Malley, Dr. Mei-Lin Quan, Trixie LaRue, Tathrelle, Nell Murphy, Craig Firenze, Adger, Astrid Hennigsen, Benjamin Chase, Bobby/Jerry Brodie, Cyndi Mendez, Dez Hunter, Eileen Bragin, Eleanor Braverman, Judge John Lowell, Keisha Darnell, Minka Lopez, Nell Murphy, Noah Braverman, Olga Nicolaev, Peter Ray, Rachel Gifford, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sally Bowles/TSTO Tiles, Shannon Duffy, Student #17, Tad Lewis, Ginny Carey, TSTITO, Selkhet 3000, complex evil characters, Emma 1000, They Say This is the One, Elston Young, Trinity Hawthorne, Character Creation

Character Review — Lex Feldman

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on November 29, 2022

Consider Lex Feldman, One of My Original Characters

Who is Lex Feldman?

Lex Feldman is a kind of nervous but ultimately good person who gets Marnie to loosen up in some ways—and straighten up and fly right in others. He is an important character in the Enigman Cave Universe.

Where Did Lex Feldman Come From?

I went with Lex because I was watching reruns of The Tribe! The characters, of course, are rather different. For one thing, my Lex isn’t a jerk.

The Past is Prologue — Backstory for Lex Feldman

Competition for spots on wedge ships like the Valentina Tereshkova was fierce. Lex tried for the Chief Veterinarian job, but lost out to Tom Ciorciari. He was also breaking up with his last truly serious relationship before Marnie. For Lex, getting away to space is a way to heal.

But he can also spread his wings and become his own person.

Description

I see Oscar winner Adrien Brody here. It’s important for me to, in general, have Jewish actors playing Jewish characters. So, here we are.

Adrien Brody, who I see as Lex Feldman, DVM
Adrien Brody, who I see as Lex Feldman, DVM. Image is for reference purposes only.

He’s attractive but not 100% conventionally. I also love the idea of him being this twig of a person—in love with Marnie, who is anything but a twig.

Purpose/Theme/Motivation

For Lex, most of his motivation is to be there for Marnie and support her in everything she does. But he testifies for the side seeking to prove Enigmans are not intelligent.

When she chooses him to come along for First Contact, part of it is for moral support. But he’s also there to essentially represent the animal side of things. Even with Enigman sapience essentially proven, there’s always a smidgen of doubt.

Quotes

The scene: the hearing to try to prove Enigman intelligence. Here, Lex is cross-examined by Counselor Terry Lynn Shull. Hunter Garcia is serving as a magistrate.

Terry Lynn said, “Tell me, Doctor, do gorillas make gestures?”
“They do, and they can make gesture sequences, too.”

“Do they have a language?”

“We’re not sure.”

“Doctor, what’s a gorilla’s IQ?”

Lex motioned to his tablet and Hunter nodded. Lex clicked around a little. “Maybe seventy to ninety, but that’s just Koko, a gorilla who was taught to use American Sign Language. Gorillas without known sign language don’t necessarily have a measurable IQ, and Koko could have been mainly making herself look good.”

“How so?” Terry Lynn asked.

“She may have figured out that making gestures would get her what she wanted, but she didn’t necessarily truly comprehend much of what she was signing. If she signed for juice, let’s say, and she kept getting juice, she probably learned making a particular sequence of hand gestures meant she would get a cup of juice. But it might just be like a dog barking to ‘speak’ and then getting a treat. Both animals realize that if they do X, then Y happens. But it does not necessarily mean Koko understood that her sign for juice really designated juice. It’s not possible to tell if Koko understood it was a representation for the concept of juice.”

“What’s a dog’s IQ, Doctor?”

“Dog intelligence isn’t really measured like ours. It’s measured more in terms of problem solving, learning, and thinking. Cognitive processes, as it were.”

“Are Enigmans smarter or dumber than dogs, Doctor?”

“I have no idea.”

Relationships

Amy Allenby

Lex and Amy knew each other as children, and were on and off again for years. Marnie is particularly surprised when Amy writes to Lex and refers to him as Alec.

But Amy wants to stay in the Solar System, and she wants children. So, she and Lex part ways.

With very little on her, even I can only conjecture. But he does at one point say she really did a number on him.

In all honesty, though, I have no idea of the specifics—and I created these characters!

Marnie Shapiro

When Marnie first walks into the Veterinary while he’s on duty, he’s nervous and clumsy, dropping a paper towel roll multiple times. For a junior guy used to working the night shift, a visit from the captain is a novelty. And, he already thinks she’s attractive.

When they go to Enigma (Tom is too shocked by finding chlorophyll and feels it’s all too much), they get overly excited when they first life. And that leads to kisses.

Conflict and Turning Point

As with the other characters in The Enigman Cave, Lex feels the change come when Carter takes over in the Solar System in a bloody coup d’etat. But unlike many of the other characters seen in the book, he doesn’t get a chance to declare his stance.

In that way, I treat him like Sharon Townshend and Charlie Hill. But his stand should be obvious—he’s as appalled and angered as Marnie is.

Continuity/Easter Eggs

I don’t really have much continuity for him. He’s basically just a solid, dependable love interest.

Future Plans

Since he won’t be in the prequel, I don’t rightly know if/when I will bring him back. But he is quite literally a supporting character. I don’t see him as being the stuff of his own stories. But I can be persuaded by the right idea…

Lex Feldman: Takeaways

Caring, smart, nervous, and in over his head, Lex gives Marnie someone in her life who will give back all the caring she exudes to the crew. Because Ben Chase sure as hell never did.

Want more character reviews? Stay tuned!

Lex Feldman — the character who lets the main character shine.

Want More of Lex Feldman 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

† Marnie Shapiro
• Trixie LaRue
† Jazminder Parikh, MD
• Lex Feldman
† Benjamin Chase
The Enigman Cave Universe
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Character Review — Tommy 2000Steven Culp, who I see as Tommy 2000 AKA Tommy McFarland

Character Review — Tommy 2000

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on November 22, 2022

Consider Tommy 2000, One of My Original Characters

Who is Tommy 2000?

Tommy 2000, AKA Tommy McFarland, is the kind of police officer you want on your side. A powerful genius who cares about people.

Except he’s not a person. He’s a robot.

Where Did Tommy 2000 Come From?

At first, the original Obolonk Murders was written about 20 years ago and I was utterly winging it.

He started off as just a cool robot, able to morph. But then I learned, as I was writing him, that he would be a lot more than that.

The Past is Prologue — Backstory for Tommy 2000

When we first meet him, he’s being fully activated for the first time. But he does tell Peri that he recalls a few brief earlier moments during programming. Peri quite literally is his entire world.

This makes her loss, between the original Obolonk trilogy, and Time Addicts, all the more devastating.

Description

I have always seen Steven Culp when I think of Tommy 2000.

And that is exactly what I was thinking of when I originally wrote his description. Tommy is meant to look like a character actor. Someone who is known but not known.

You know.

That guy.

Purpose/Theme/Motivation

Tommy’s sole purpose is to help and protect Peri. He will do anything for her, including potentially give up his own existence.

For her part, Peri initially finds this annoying. She rather pointedly and specifically tells him to stop conceding every single point to her.

… And she’s right!

For them to work together well and efficiently, they need to have differences of opinion. She does not need a reflection of herself.

Evolution

When the original trilogy ends, Tommy is more of a partner to Peri. When we get to Time Addicts, he is her widower.

And, he has a position in government. Much like the Obolonks’ own They Say This is the One (TSTITO), Tommy is the only ‘ruler’ of sapient and semi-sapient robots.

Because, so long as he has access to replacement materials, he can theoretically never die. So, he just stays on in a leadership capacity.

For the third of the trilogies, I will probably change him up again. But I am not so sure how I will do that just yet.

Quotes (original Obolonk trilogy; Peri and Tommy are discussing a terrorist organization, HEART, run by an anonymous person they call the Farm Boy)

“Yeah, there’s also the plastics from Carolbots. And you probably don’t want to transport a completed bomb so maybe you ship the parts or maybe they’re even developed on site. That means infrastructure, and it also means training. This all spells a rather expensive long-term operation.”

“If that is occurring,” Tommy said, “then there may be issues with all robots that were repaired or manufactured within the preceding ten-to-thirty-month time frame.”

Peri was silent for a moment. “Then that includes you, and possibly also Selkhet, right?”

“It is not outside the realm of possibility.”

Peri swallowed hard. Have I just fed a bunch of our plans to the Farm Boy? “Would you even know if you’d been at all compromised, Tom?”

“I am unsure. The thought is rather … unsettling.”

Quotes (Time Addicts trilogy; Tommy and Josie meet for the first time)

“Why don’t you tell me about yourself.”

“I don’t think there’s much to tell, Mr. McFarland.”

“Oh, God, don’t call me that. Please do not call me that.”

“What should I call you, then?”

“Tommy is fine. In return, can I call you Jolene?”

“Josie, actually.”

“Oh, this wasn’t in my briefing materials.” He looked up again. “Ah, there it is. You’ve had this nickname since second grade.”

So you’ve got access to my elementary school records. I bet you can see everything else.

Who am I kidding? Of course you can. You’ve got Alpha-1 clearance. I bet you know when I got my wisdom teeth taken out.

“Since you probably know all about me, isn’t this kind of a pointless exercise?”

“Not really. I can get information from the cloud, as you can see. Or I can get it straight from you. And what you say, and how you say it, and the order in which you say it—all of this confers a lot more information than just your words. And what you leave in, and what you leave out; those are also vital clues about you as a person.”

“I don’t think a Juliebot would quite get into this level of detail.”

“I know they wouldn’t. Selkhet and I put together their programming protocols ourselves. And then those were agreed to by the Chief Governor, the head of the OIA, and an older Obolonk called We Say This is the One. It had to be unanimous.”

“Just when did this happen?”

“May 14th, 2182.”

“Wait, that was 345 years ago.”

Tommy 2000: Relationships

For a being made up on plastics and polymers, he has any number of relationships over time.

Peri Martin

With Peri, he grows from a hovering, deferential, almost-nosy servant to her loyal and equal partner. Tommy gives her stability, love, and the kind of intellectual banter she craves. He experiences true grief when she passes on.

In return, she loosens him up. She gives him tools to get along in society. Like in any good partnership, they make each other better.

David Shepherd

For Tommy to really be a mature creation, he needs complex emotions. With Dave, he feels jealousy. As Peri puts it, he’s supposed to be like a loyal dog. But he doesn’t like it when she plays with other dogs. He never gets violent or anything. But Tommy is clearly wounded and he is short with Peri when she tries to talk to him about it.

In Time Addicts, there are a few timelines where the relationship between Peri and Tommy does not advance, or Tommy does not get to the next level. In those, Peri marries Dave.

Dr. James Tinerrian

What is anyone’s relationship with their creator? Jim is father, instructor, programmer, and creator to Tommy, Selkhet, and the rarely seen Emma 1000. And with Tommy, Jim has succeeded well beyond his wildest imaginings.

Selkhet 3000

Made a bit before Tommy, Selkhet also has emotions but hers are more advanced than his. However, she is also more prone to breaking down.

By the Time Addicts period, Selkhet and Tommy aren’t dating. But she is generally his plus-one for any functions.

Josie James

During Time Addicts, they work together, although he’s no longer a cop. But he has a unique perspective. And, with her display tied to data chips he can interface with, she can effectively share at least some of her memories of other timelines with him.

This gives them a strong, non-romantic bond. Even beyond Carmen, he is the person who, without doubt, question, or reservation, believes her.

Tommy 2000: Conflict and Turning Point

Like with Peri (and Dave, really), the turning point is when they get to Sedna. He sacrifices nearly everything for her. And in return, she does the same for him.

In addition, his basic internal structure changes. Perhaps it’s a bit of deus ex machina, but I wanted for him to evolve almost randomly.

You know, like us humans do.

Continuity/Easter Eggs

Since I also see Jake Radford as Steven Culp, there is a bit of continuity with (of all things) The Real Hub of the Universe.

Future Plans

I don’t have him in either the prequel for Time Addicts or for the original Obolonk trilogy. His earlier life isn’t much. But his life in between the trilogies, and then between Time Addicts and the third trilogy, should prove interesting. Will I ever write that? I have no idea.

Tommy 2000: Takeaways

I strongly resisted turning this character into a latter-day Pinocchio. Far too many writers do that with android/robot characters, and that was not my plan for him. But he does change and grow. And, while he doesn’t necessarily become a “real boy”, he becomes, in a way, a better person than most human beings.

Tommy 2000 — because a sapient robot should be more than a wannabe Pinocchio.

Want More of Tommy 2000 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
† Peri Martin
• Greg Shapiro
† Rachel Gifford

Robots
† Tommy 2000
• Selkhet 3000

Obolonks
† TSTITO

Character Reviews: Time Addicts

The Good Guys
• Josie James
† Carmen D’Angelo, MD
• Dalton Farouk
† Tad Lewis
• Cyndi Mendez
† Bobby Brodie
• Keisha Darnell
† Vera Travers

The Bad Guys
• Peter Ray
† Dae Ou Xiang
• Elston Young
† Corwin Zachary

The Obolonk Universe

Self-Reviews: Obolonk Trilogy

• The Obolonk Murders
† Self-Review: The Polymer Beat
• The Badge of Humanity

Self-Reviews: Time Addicts Trilogy

† No One is Safe
• Nothing is Permanent
† Everything is up for Grabs

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Community Management Tidbits – AnalyticsCommunity Management, Scale. Freshening, Get Together, Love, Small Things, Without Management, True Community, Party Started, Terrible Netizen, Snakes, Circle Game, Look, Netizen, Corralling, Wandering off Topic, Facebook versus Forums, Superstar Users, Analytics, Community Roundtable, Community Management Haikus, Life of a Community Manager, Social Media Job Descriptions, Superstar Users, Community Roundtable 2010

Community Management Tidbits – Analytics

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on November 18, 2022

Community Management in the Context of Analytics

So, the truth is, analytics are a term that scares a lot of people. But don’t panic.

Let’s back up for just a second, all right?

You’ve got a community. And you’re working hard on it. It’s growing. But you have no idea whether what you’re doing is having any sort of an impact whatsoever. This is where analytics comes in.

Now, don’t panic if you don’t have a data analysis background. It’s not strictly necessary. What you do need, though, are (a) a means of measurement (preferably you should have a few of these) and (b) the willingness to measure. Really, it’s that easy. You do not need a degree in Advanced Statistics.

Google Analytics 4 (replacing Universal Analytics)

First of all, the primary measurement stick you want is Google Analytics. And it is free and very easy to use. It’s also a rather robust measurement system, capable of showing trends in Visitors, Absolute Unique Visitors, and more.

In addition, it shows, among other things, where your traffic is coming from, where your users land, and where they departed your site from. It also shows Bounce Rate, which is defined by Measurement Guru Avinash Kaushik as, “I came, I saw, I puked.” In other words, the visitor only visited one page of the site.

Keep in mind, though, that it’s entirely possible your visitor loved your site but got everything they needed in just one page. So, while they may have bounced right out of there, it might not have been due to any fault or failing on your part.

So, try not to take it personally, okay?

AHRefs

Thank God for AHRefs. While free website measurement tools have come and gone (apart from Google Analytics), AHRefs will review whatever is out there.

So, one thing to keep in mind is that as this post is updated, I keep finding new yardsticks. And then they go away after a while. At least AHRefs is still hanging in there. Whew.

Also, consider SEMRush and Ubersuggest.

Analytics From More Yardsticks

Furthermore, there are also measuring websites specifically designed to help you comprehend how you’re doing on Twitter and elsewhere, namely:

• HootSuite – count the number of clicks you receive on shortened URLs, to supplement your Google Analytics click counts
† HubSpot – measure how influential you are (with a hugely helpful diagnostic) and
• Tweepsmap – analytics and info on who unfollowed or followed you on Twitter/X.

Facebook also has its own metrics, which you can see if you have a page.

Using Your Findings

So what do you do with all of this information once you’ve amassed it? Why, you act upon it! Does one page on your site have a far higher Bounce Rate than the others? Check it and see if the links on it are all leading users away from your site. If that’s not the culprit, perhaps its content just plain isn’t compelling enough.

Got a series of links you’ve tweeted that have consistently gotten you the most clicks? Then check to see what they all have in common, and offer similar links in the future. And maybe even build some onsite content around those subjects.

Has your HubSpot grade tanked in the past week? That might be due to external factors beyond your control, but check to see if any of it is within your purview. Perhaps your server was down.

Finally, small fluctuations over short time periods are perfectly normal and are no cause for concern. However, much larger hikes and drops, or trends over longer time periods, are more of an issue. But you’ll never know about any of these things unless you start to take measurements, and read and use them. Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

Want More About Community Management?

If my experiences with community management resonate with you, then check out my other articles about how online communities work.

Community Management Tidbits

• A Day in the Life of a Community Manager
† Analytics
• From Small Things
† Get Together
• Going From a Collection of Users to a True Community
† Handling Yourself as a Good Netizen
• Let’s Get this Party Started
† Look at Me!
• Risks of a Community Without Management
† Snakes in the Garden
• Superstar Users
† The Circle Game
• Wandering off Topic

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… And Facebook for All Your Account SettingsFacebook, advertising, account settings, Profile Page Part, Home Page, Working, Facebook, Rest, Facebook versus Forums, Company Pages, offsite sharing, Facebook Page, demystifying Facebook, Facebook Video Ads, Facebook to Allow Users to Login with Less Info, Facebook video ads, Facebook Ads vs. Google, Organic Reach Decline,

… And Facebook for All Your Account Settings

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on November 17, 2022

… And Facebook for All – Your Account Settings Explained

… And Facebook for All – Your Account Settings – in Facebook, how to do you change your account settings? When you pull down on the Account section of Facebook, you see a few choices but they change.

Keep in mind that Facebook is continuously testing its format. What worked a year ago might not work now, but these are pretty close to being right although some of the parts have moved around on the page or might now have new names.

• Privacy
† Notifications
• Account Settings
† Security and Login
• Ads
† Support Inbox, and,
• Videos

Privacy Settings

Control some aspects of the sharing experience here. So this includes who can see your photographs, religious and political views, etc.

Notifications

You can decide on which notifications you get, with separate settings for desktop and mobile. Which is rather helpful.

Account Settings

This is a part of Facebook that always seems to be changing. It is entirely possible that, by the time you read this blog post, these instructions will be obsolete. I’ll keep everything at a high level and won’t get into too many specifics. So it is divided as follows:

† Name
• Contact
† Ad Account Contact
• Identity Confirmation

Security and Login

This section indicates if you are using Facebook Protect. It shows if you have two-factor authentication set up. You can also change your password here, and see if there have been any unauthorized login attempts.

Account Settings: Ads

This isn’t to run Facebook ads. Rather, it’s to make it clear what your preferences are. If you keep getting ads for stuff that you don’t care about—or find offensive—you can take action here. Is it a perfect system? Of course not. But the more signals you can give Facebook about what you want, the more likely you will get an experience you love.

Support Inbox

This area is undoubtedly going to continue to evolve as questions come up and the increasingly complicated Facebook system breaks in all sorts of interesting and as-yet unexpected ways. Here, you can see the status of anyone or anything (such as a group) you’ve reported.

You can also get to their Community Standards.

This kind of section used to have a space for questions. And it may have such a space in the future.

But keep in mind: Facebook won’t answer 99%+ of any questions you have for them. Why? Because they are running an enormous site with a surprisingly tiny number of employees. Hence many of the judgement calls come from bots.

Account Settings: Videos

In this section, you have some control over the quality and volume of videos you see on the site.

Accounts Center

All the way at the bottom (currently), click on it and you’ll be able to manage connected accounts, such as on Instagram.

And … that’s it.

For now.

Want More About Facebook?

If my experiences with Facebook resonate with you, then check out my other articles about the largest social network on the planet, by far.

… And Facebook for All

• Demystifying Facebook
† Creating a Facebook page
• Working with a Facebook Page
† … And Facebook for All — Your Profile Page, Part I
• … Your Profile Page, Part II
† Home Page
• … Company Pages
† Offsite Sharing
• All Your Account Settings
† … And Facebook for All
• All the Rest of It
† Advertising on Facebook
• Facebook versus Forums

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Almost Everything But the Tweet – Conquering Twitter (offsite connections)Twitter, Twitter Stream, offsite connections, visual elements, Twitter followers, Optimizing Twitter, Professionalism, Demystifying Twitter, metrics, verbal elements, Amazoncart debuts, Optimizing Twitter, Professionalism, metrics, verbal elements, Bruins denounce Twitter hate, Twitter bigots, lost dogs, using Twitter to track, Shift in Twitter Trends

Almost Everything But the Tweet – Conquering Twitter (offsite connections)

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on November 10, 2022

Almost Everything But the Tweet – Conquering Twitter (offsite connections)

Are offsite connections possibly via Twitter? The semi-surprising answer is: yes. Because Twitter is so bare bones, any number of applications have sprung up around it in order to help you manage it and become as great as you can be.

Understanding the people you tweet with is, of course, a great way to determine if offsite connections are going to be worth it. After all, offsite connections that are hundreds of miles away are not likely to be easy, cheap, or even possible.

Other Software

Here are some more sites to check out:

• HootSuite – a tweet scheduling service (and more) whereby you can track stats and import your lists.
† Social Oomph (formerly TweetLater) – time tweets and gather simple metrics on shortened urls. You can set up more than one account this way.
• Tweet Stats – a graph of, among other things, daily aggregate tweets, your most popular hours to tweet and who you retweet.
† Tweepsmap – analytics and info on who unfollowed or followed you.
• Twopcharts – look up clout, followers, etc.
† Twiends – ways to grow followers responsibly
• Legal Birds – find lawyers on Twitter.
† Twitter Packs – find like-minded Twitter users (since this is a wiki, it depends on users to keep it up to date).

Offsite Connections: The Upshot

As Twitter continues to mature as a business tool, I predict that more and more of these off-site services will spring up. But understand that a number of older ones from just a few years ago are gone.

The most successful one will, in my opinion, combine the best features of all, coupled with ease of use and an ability to show trends over time.

And finally, Twitter changes things almost as much and as fast as Facebook does. So keep in mind, these instructions may need some tweaking.

Oh, and if you do actually see or even meet your Twitter connections, you’ll get to see if their imagery accurately reflects who they are!

Want More About Twitter AKA X?

If my experiences with X resonate with you, then check out my other articles about Twitter/X. While it’s now got a new name, and has changed considerably, a lot of these tips will still work—and often with other social media platforms as well.

Almost Everything But the Tweet

• Starting a Twitter Stream
† Demystifying Twitter
• Twitter, Social Media and Professionalism
† Conquering Twitter (verbal elements)
• Conquering Twitter (visual elements)
† Optimizing Twitter
• Conquering Twitter (metrics and timing)
† Conquering Twitter (offsite connections)
• Getting More Twitter Followers

And, if you’re a fellow writer, you may want to check out:
† PitMad on Twitter

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Character Review — Craig FirenzeCharacter Review, Josie James, Greg Shapiro, Jazminder Parikh, MD, Johnny Barnes, Dalton Farouk, Peri Martin, Carmen D’Angelo, MD, Dr. Devon Grace, Tommy 2000, Lex Feldman, Velexio, Character Reviews are Coming, Ixalla, Elise Jeffries, MD, Frances Miller Ashford, Marnie Shapiro, Ceilidh O’Malley, Dr. Mei-Lin Quan, Trixie LaRue, Tathrelle, Nell Murphy, Craig Firenze, Adger, Astrid Hennigsen, Benjamin Chase, Bobby/Jerry Brodie, Cyndi Mendez, Dez Hunter, Eileen Bragin, Eleanor Braverman, Judge John Lowell, Keisha Darnell, Minka Lopez, Nell Murphy, Noah Braverman, Olga Nicolaev, Peter Ray, Rachel Gifford, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Sally Bowles/TSTO Tiles, Shannon Duffy, Student #17, Tad Lewis, Ginny Carey, TSTITO, Selkhet 3000, complex evil characters, Emma 1000, They Say This is the One, Elston Young, Trinity Hawthorne, Character Creation

Character Review — Craig Firenze

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on November 8, 2022

Consider Craig Firenze, One of My Original Characters

Who is Craig Firenze?

For Mettle, the first character I came up with was the anchor. Craig is the linchpin of the piece and of the group.

He came tearing into my mind, swearing all the way, Southern accent in full swing.

Where Did Craig Firenze Come From?

I had way too many proper-ish characters. But Craig, and really everyone in Mettle, has a potty mouth. And, in fact, the first word he says (the first word anyone in the book says) is an f-bomb.

He’s sarcastic and smart. Much like Trixie LaRue, his Southern accent may fool some into thinking he’s just a good ol’ boy. But Craig is far more than that.

The Past is Prologue — Backstory for Craig Firenze

The head of communications at NASA is a veteran, who attained the rank of Colonel. But he’s also got two degrees in civil engineering, and a Professional Engineering license. A PE license is hard to get, so it should be obvious: Craig is no dope.

This combination of qualifications makes him uniquely suited to talk to the press about the astronauts on the International Space Station. But he’s also the one who has to report the negatives with the positives. And the negatives are really bad.

At the same time, the negatives in his life are getting worse. He just wanted to marry a beauty queen. But instead, he got a bipolar wife who doesn’t always take her medication.

Description

Craig’s look is essentially Chris Cooper in American Beauty. I have always intended for him to be and look a lot like a middle manager or midlevel military guy. Someone who you would not really notice.

He’s the short, almost Napoleon-like guy who people underestimate, but who quietly and purposefully gets things done.

But I do have an alternative, as Cooper is currently a bit too old for what I am looking for.

I also like Gary Sinise, but only a bit. Essentially, I only see Sinise when he is in a skeptical or frowning kind of pose.

But either way you slice it, Craig is not meant to have movie star good looks. And I never mean for him to have the classic look of a hero. Yet he is one anyway.

With an accent that’s Texas by way of Georgia, he sounds like he’d be sitting on a porch and dispensing homespun wisdom. But he’s a city guy with two difficult-to-get degrees and a major role in front of cameras in perhaps the most well-known government agency: NASA.

Purpose/Theme/Motivation

The chief motivator for everyone in the Mettle Universe is survival. But before we get there, we have about nine or ten chapters of preliminaries. Yes, I should edit those. I get it!

For the preliminary chapters, Craig has the most screen time and you get the most detail about him.

He is essentially trying to keep above water in his personal life, and cover everyone’s tail (Craig would say something far earthier) at work.

Quotes (Craig Reads the Riot Act to Dez and Nell)

Dez and Nell got their coats and followed Craig out. “What the fuck do you want?” she asked as they walked.

“Just hold your horses.” Craig got them inside the front room. The room was cold, and the shadows had lengthened. He fumbled around for candles and matches while the kids waited. Finding them, he lit one and used it to scour the room. He pointed. “There’s a sofa. Now sit.”

Grumbling and still in their jackets, they sat down. “This blows,” Nell complained.

“Shut up,” Craig barked. “And listen, both of you. Now I know this isn’t a great situation.”

“Right, yeah,” she said. “Get to the fucking point.”

“You interrupt your pappy when he does this?”

“I don’t even know who my father is, so fuck you on that account.”

“Right, sorry. I didn’t know that. But honestly, kids. This is not a fucking country club we got goin’ on here. You gotta pull your weight.”

“What are you gonna do about it?” Dez cracked.

Craig ran a hand through his hair. “I won’t starve y’all, and I can’t ground you in any way. But you gotta understand. This power outage has gone on for, I don’t even know what fucking day it is anymore.”

“It’s June first,” Dez said. “Mink had a calendar and I’m still crossing off the days.”

“So, it’s been a good ten days. We’ve gotten nothing from nobody. No communications, no planes flying and dropping supplies, no tests of power, nothing. That tells me this power outage won’t go away any time soon. And those people who left—including your parents, Dez—are probably not coming back for a while, if ever. That means you’ve both gotta step up.”

“I’m only fucking fourteen,” Nell complained.

“Well, I’m sorry that’s so, Missy, but we can’t just wait around for you to grow up.” Craig paused. “There are only eight of us. Mrs. Braverman can’t help, and Olga is pretty much giving all of her time to her care. So, it’s more like there’s only six of us. You back out and you’re not only hurting yourself.”

“Don’t fucking call me Missy. I hate it.”

“I don’t give a flying shit what you like.”

Relationships

Craig has a relationship of some sort with all the major characters. But these four are the most significant.

Jeannie Scutter Firenze

At the start of Mettle, Craig and his wife, Jeannie, are moving from a relatively even keel to rocky, roiling waters. Craig and Jeannie have known each other since high school. She’s a former beauty queen—and he was just some guy.

But her parents in particular pushed for the union, because Jeannie isn’t what she seems on the surface. The gorgeous Alabama cheerleader has bipolar disorder. As a result, the Scutters did everything in their power to keep the marriage together. They hid the worst of Jeannie’s episodes.

But when they’ve both passed on, the truth comes out. And it is not pretty.

At the Start of Mettle

When Mettle starts, Jeannie is heading right into a manic phase, like a speeding train in the process of derailing. And Craig is finding out that he doesn’t want to tolerate it any longer.

Noah Braverman

I don’t write Craig with any siblings. But Noah is as close to a brother as I’ve got for him. Even though Noah barely knows him, he takes Craig in, all the same. While they aren’t exactly partners in crime (Noah and Elise are), they both get ‘er done. Craig helps everyone to survive. But Craig would not be able to do that without Noah taking him in.

Nell Murphy

When Craig and Nell start off, they get off on the wrong foot. Nell and Dez abandon the others to follow childish pursuits. This leaves Craig and Mei-Lin lost in Brighton. Dez leaves Elise and Noah when they’re foraging for food. Nell takes a nap and Dez does ollies on his skateboard.

Craig reads them both the Riot Act (see above).

But Nell warms up to him, and comes to realize that he is pretty much the only person standing between the group and utter starvation and despair. The no-nonsense middle manager gets things done.

Mei-Lin Quan, MD

With Jeannie, everything is a difficult slog. But with Mei-Lin, everything is easy. Although some of that may come from sharing experiences in a disaster.

She chooses him, and decides he will be the reason she goes on. But when she first comes onto him, he’s like a deer caught in the headlights. It takes him a bit to come around.

Conflict and Turning Point

Like with the other major characters, and really the book itself, the turning point is when they set off the fireworks. Until then, it feels as if Craig will be the strongest one. But he’s not. That honor, rather, falls to Dez.

Continuity/Easter Eggs

Craig is one of the most easily funny characters I have ever written. He makes pop culture references effortlessly and relentlessly. But I don’t have a real continuity for him across the other universes.

Future Plans for Craig Firenze

There is no question that Craig will appear in the Mettle prequel story. That story will be a bunch of loosely-gathered vignettes, but they will all show foreshadowing of the main book. These vignettes will also introduce all of the characters, but as separate entities for the most part.

Craig Firenze: Takeaways

Before the disaster, he’s a mid-level government functionary. But afterwards? He’s the key to the group’s survival. The unlikeliest hero (and in that way, he’s a bit like Marnie Shapiro) is indispensible.

Craig Firenze — because sometimes your hero comes from middle management.

Want More of Craig Firenze and the Rest of Mettle?

If Mettle resonates with you, then check out my other articles about how changes in the periodic table nearly kill us all.

Character Reviews: Mettle

† Eleanor Braverman
• Noah Braverman
† Craig Firenze
• Dez Hunter
† Dr. Elise Jeffries
• Minka Lopez
† Nell Murphy
• Olga Nicolaev
† Dr. Mei-Lin Quan
The Mettle Universe
Self Review: Mettle

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Character Review — Carmen D’Angelo, MDAnnabella Sciorra, who I see as Carmen D'Angelo

Character Review — Carmen D’Angelo, MD

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on November 3, 2022

Consider Carmen D’Angelo, One of My Original Characters

Who is Carmen D’Angelo?

Carmen is a fun, take-no-prisoners kind of character. She is one of the most important characters in the Time Addicts universe.

Where Did Carmen D’Angelo Come From?

I wanted a smart, take-charge boss. At the same time, I also wanted to have someone who could intelligently relate to the characters. As a result, I made her a psychiatrist.

This did not just make it easier for the character to related to time travelers. It also created a separate application for time travel. Because apart from its obvious historian application, what can you do with time travel?

So, what if you could use it to help patients recall and work through trauma? Or, perhaps, help them be able to testify against abusers?

The Past is Prologue — Backstory for Carmen D’Angelo

Before the story starts, Carmen works as a psychiatrist. One of her patients, Robin McKenna, seems to experience life differently from other people. Other sane people, that is. Robin seems to be able to recall alternative realities.

When Carmen meets Peter Ray at a party, they get to talking and she explains she has a patient who can see alternate realities. Ray realizes that Carmen’s patient likely can tell the differences between timelines. That is, like Josie James, Robin is temporally sensitive.

Fascinated by Carmen and her unnamed patient, he hires Carmen. Carmen, in turn, hires Robin to be her assistant.

Description

Annabella Sciorra, who I see as Carmen D'AngeloMiddle-aged by our standards, smart, and driven, Carmen is a caring, creative boss. She listens to her employees, treats them well, and gets right into the trenches with them.

She’s also from a British enclave on Rhea. Saying it’s a Rhean thing, she calls everyone Mister or Miss or the equivalent. It keeps her apart from others.

And, she’s an alcoholic. But I confess I haven’t shown a lot of that.

She will also, at times, lapse into Italian. I see Annabella Sciorra in her.

Purpose/Theme/Motivation

Her primary motivation is to protect what she sees as the primary timeline. But since she isn’t temporally sensitive, her idea of that changes with every time change.

However, in many of the particularly nasty timelines, she believes Josie when Josie tells her things were better. And more importantly, how they were better.

Quotes (Carmen speaks first, and is talking to Josie)

“I can still deposit into your mental accounts book. Or, rather, I can at least not be the one who’s withdrawing from it all the time.”

“What do you mean?”

“I am making the conscious decision to believe you. I can’t speak for the others; so they may still be skeptical about your reports of changes. But I shan’t be. You have my word on it.”

Relationships

Without getting into her employer/employee relationships, here’s how Carmen gets along with others.

David Wesley-Smith

In the original timeline, they’re divorced. It’s not due to any sort of argument or wrongdoing. Rather, he wants to see the stars, so he leaves on an Obolonk-centric mission. They divorce before he departs.

In other timelines, she is widowed. And in at least a few timelines, they are still married.

In the timeline where Josie meets him, David turns out to be an anti-Obolonk jackass.

Robin Campbell McKenna

Apart from David, the only other person Carmen regularly calls by their first name is Robin. And so that has led me to wonder—did they have any sort of a romantic relationship? Did it go past psychiatrist/patient? I honestly have no idea, but the concept intrigues me. Perhaps I’ll visit it eventually.

Conflict and Turning Point

Carmen’s conflict and turning point match those of the overall story line. Her mission is to preserve and protect the original timeline as she understands it. And the biggest part of that is keeping Josie alive and well.

Continuity/Easter Eggs

The main continuity is a similarity to another time travel agency boss character I wrote. That was Carmen Calavicci, and she was a product of fan fiction. Are the two Carmens the same? Well, the Carmen of Time Addicts has more depth, and no time-centric surname to clue in a reader.

Future Plans

Because there will be a third trilogy in the Obolonk universe, there’s a possibility that her name will come up again. But it will take place a good century after the middle trilogy. So, even in a futuristic society where people live a lot longer than we do, she’s unlikely to still be kicking then.

Carmen D’Angelo: Takeaways

Carmen manages quite a bit like I do, in the sense that I try to be collaborative versus commanding. But she’s a lot more likely to head to a bar than I am—and I don’t call everyone Miss or Mister.

Carmen D’Angelo — because why the hell wouldn’t time travelers need psychiatric care?

Want More of Carmen 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
† Peri Martin
• Greg Shapiro

Robots
† Tommy 2000
• Selkhet 3000

Obolonks
† TSTITO

Character Reviews: Time Addicts

The Good Guys
• Josie James
† Carmen D’Angelo, MD
• Dalton Farouk
† Tad Lewis
• Cyndi Mendez
† Bobby Brodie
• Keisha Darnell
† Vera Travers

The Bad Guys
• Peter Ray
† Dae Ou Xiang
• Elston Young
† Corwin Zachary

The Obolonk Universe

Self-Reviews: Obolonk Trilogy

• The Obolonk Murders
† Self-Review: The Polymer Beat
• The Badge of Humanity

Self-Reviews: Time Addicts Trilogy

† No One is Safe
• Nothing is Permanent
† Everything is up for Grabs

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