Zoe E. Whitten's Blog, page 90

Sensu-Doll FAQ Pg 5

What options are available to customize my companion?

There are no limits! Sensu-Dolls can be configured in every range of skin tone and body type; pale alabaster to deep ebony; and waif-thin to "generously padded." We can make a doll with any hair color and style, natural or not, and any iris color/pattern as well.

But, this kind of custom work is VERY expensive, which is why most of our customers opt for one of the dolls from our prefabricated lines. So someone looking for a short and petite companion might look at the 4-foot 6-inch Asian Annie model, while someone looking for a tall and thick companion might try the 5-foot 5-inch Healthy Helga. And people looking for something in between may find the sweet spot with our 5-foot German Goldilocks model.

But these options still feel too limiting. Can I customize my companion myself?

Of course! In fact, there is an active online community of Sensu-Doll "modders" who make a hobby of creating exotic fantasy looks for their companions. Many have made elves with modifications to the face and ears, or with complete changes of the outer skin for exotic skin tones like light grey or frost white. And then there are "nekos," which are made by affixing cybernetic tails and ears to the companions. In some cases, neko modders even went so far as to make new iris covers with elongated slits instead of round pupils. So just with these examples, it's clear the only limit for your companion's appearance is your own imagination.

However, be aware that any modifications made to the hardware or software will invalidate your warranty. This is not to say Sensu-Doll Corp. will not service your custom companion. We will help to repair any Sensu-Doll to our customer's satisfaction, but for custom companions, we must charge for out of warranty work. This includes the cost of parts and the engineer's hourly fee.

How long can my companion "live?"

This depends greatly on the options you choose for your companion, and upon you, the owner. Many companions often have equipment malfunctions around 4-6 years, but if repaired, these same companions could have a useful service life of up to 20 years. Whether your companion has a long "life" is entirely up to you, but most owners who experience a mechanical failure of their companion opt for repairs. We're fairly confident that after you've owned a Sensu-Doll for a while, you'll feel the same way.

FBI Training Film Script – Lycanthropes and You Pt 2: How Not to Get Eaten

Agent A enters kitchen and hears growl. AA spins to look at kitchen island bar just as a wolf jumps onto the counter. AA crouches, and raises his hands.

AA: (Sounds scared) N-nice doggie.

The wolf leaps and begins mauling AA.

AA: Aaieee!

Agent B walks into foreground while the attack is ongoing. Agent B clasps his hands behind his back, looking appropriately grim.

AB: This, (gestures back) is a classic rookie mistake.

AA: Ow! Fucking shoot it! Gah!

AB: First of all, the agent entered the room unarmed.

AA: Aaaargh!

AB: (wags finger) Never enter a room without drawing your sidearm first.

AA: So where's–gah! Your–yah! Gun, assho–oooh, Christ that stung!

AB: But, he also attempted to reason with an enraged lycanthrope.

AA: You're monologuing my death scene? You dir-huuuurrrr!

AB: Had the agent at least drawn his weapon–

AA: I'd bust a cap in your monologuing–!

(Scene ends)

Sensu-Doll Manual, Pg 20

above all else, don't panic. Call emergency services and request a companion extraction. But this situation can be avoided if the companion's minimum battery level is 15% before copulation occurs. And remember: if in doubt, recharge first. You don't want to let a low charge ruin the mood, do you?

Refilling/Changing Lubricant

Your companion will need to refilled with liquid silicon lubricant once a week with normal sexual activity, and may need refills as often as three times per week for an "active" sexual lifestyle where copulation occurs more than once per day.

Additionally, you must perform a complete change of the companion's lubricant once every six months. This insures that the lubricant is clean and free from debris which might clog the companion's lubricant jets.

Depending on your model, you may find two methods for eliminating or voiding your doll. For the ultra deluxe models, which are considered "hot swappable," simply instruct the doll to enter maintenance mode. The companion will need an empty receptacle to regurgitate the fluids into.

Note: Be sure you have at least two quarts of clean lubricant on hand before requesting a companion to enter maintenance mode. Without the liquid lubricant circulating through their limbs, the companion cannot move without risking severe heat damage in their joint motors.

On standard deluxe companions, the owner must shut down the companion using the remote stylus to perform the recycling operation manually. This is done using the tool end of the stylus, and the maintenance flap can be accessed by inserting the stylus in

FBI Training Manual of O.T.H. Relations Pg 53

should not be underestimated even if grievously wounded due to their superhuman strength and speed.

Lycanthrope

A breed of skinwalker, lycanthropes are notable from their werewolf cousins because they require a tanned wolf pelt to merge with their animal totem and transform into a wolf. Among the O.T.H. categories, lycanthropes are often the hardest to classify as "good" or "bad." Certainly, there are dangerous lycanthropes who have gone feral and will eat anything or anyone. But these feral beasts cannot live in the human world and are usually encountered in deeply wooded areas.

Before finding their pelts, lycanthropes are not contagious. However, once they've completed their first transformation, their saliva carries a new organism similar in shape to rabies. This organism is what transmits the infection when skinwalkers of all races bite a victim, and there is no known vaccine for eliminating the infection, although government labs remain dedicated to searching for a cure.

When encountering a lycanthrope in human form, the first task is identifying whether or not they've found their pelt. This is evidenced by the body odor of the lycanthrope. Young lycanthropes without a pelt will still smell strongly of human, and their animal odor will be difficult to detect unless one is standing right next to them. On the other hand an adult with a pelt will positively reek of wolf, even for agents with weaker human senses.

Once the lycanthrope has been identified and classified, an agent's next priority is

Sensu-Doll Manual, Pg 1

Thank you for your purchase of one Sensu-Doll deluxe self-lubricating Asian Annie model. Enclosed in your packing crate, you will find a remote stylus. Please apply the soft silicon end of the remote in the navel port to activate your companion. You will hear a beep, and then your companion should "inhale." This expansion of the chest cavity draws in cool air, and from your companion's first exhale, they will appear to breathe warm air.

Please note that during initial setup of options, you may opt to set your doll for "learning mode." This option allows your companion to catalog and adapt to your preferences.  While a doll without learning mode turned on can perform many of the same tasks, these actions are the default mode positions, and may not be comfortable for users of varied height ranges. Additionally, many users find learning dolls pick up their "romantic patterns," allowing them to know when the best times are to flirt with their owners.

During the first night of operation, all Sensu-Dolls by default will enter query mode, in which the companion will ask for basic information such as the name of its user, the unit's given name, and the location of a power outlet where the companion may recharge from. Once this basic information has been given, the companion will next determine the sexual interest of their new owner and adjust their kernel parameters accordingly. This is true whether you opt to use learning mode or not.

If you find you are not satisfied with the performance of your companion's present personality, initiate a factory default restore by attaching a data-link cable behind the companion's right ear. The data port is covered by a flesh-plug, simply draw the small lump of silicone out of the data port and insert the link cable, pushing until you have heard thee distinct clicks.

Once the data-link cable is inserted, attach the other end to your computer and

Introducing Peter the Wolf

Today, I'd like to present you with an early preview for the cover and two blurbs for Peter the Wolf, which I will be releasing July 29 in both print and ebooks on the same day. This is the start of a new dark fantasy series which should appeal to fans of Anne Rice or Maggie Stiefvater. It's unrelated to my Mystical World Wars series, but fans of Little Monsters and Blood Relations will probably also love this story as well.

First, here's the cover art by Karen Koehler:

Very nice, huh? And now here's the blurbs, the "long" version for Lulu, and then the Smashwords version, which has to be limited to 400 characters, with spaces. (Because despite online claims to the contrary, everyone working at Smashwords really, REALLY hates writers. A lot. Sigh, I digress:)

Peter Holmes is a troubled teen still grieving the death of his sister. A victim of long term abuse, he escaped his parents only to find life as a foster child was another form of torture. Now living with his fourth family after a stint in juvenile detention, Peter's view of his future is bleak until he meets Alice Culpepper and learns about the world of competitive gymnastics. But as Peter trains in the Culpepper gym and tries to get his life on track, the distance between Alice and Peter shrinks until it threatens Peter's new life, his family, and even his freedom. As if things couldn't get any worse, Peter's insane mother has just escaped from prison after eating a guard…

Peter Holmes is an abuse victim living with his 4th foster family after a stint in juvi. His view of his future is bleak until he meets Alice Culpepper and learns about gymnastics. As Peter tries to get his life on track, the shrinking distance Alice and Peter threatens Peter's new life, his family and his freedom. As if things couldn't get any worse, Peter's mother just escaped from prison…

I'd really like to find some new approach to sell this story, and maybe even to break into some new markets if I can. To make that happen on my end, I'll be attempting to make a book trailer for YouTube, and I'll be covering the usual bases with blog posts and links on social sites. As there's a print copy available, I'll be able to do a Goodreads book giveaway this time, so that's one potential plan for making new impressions.

But beyond that, I'm drawing a blank, and I know I need a LOT more exposure if I'm going to get this new series off the ground. The thing is, I don't want to do something if it's been demonstrated in the past not to work. For instance, I'm not going to bother investing in banner ad space because they've never worked in any situation. (As a forum signatures, a paid Project Wonderful banner, or a banner exchange.) There may be some situation where it could work for others, but blinking or non, banners consistently fail to generate sales for me.

So I'm turning this over to my readers. First, you're welcome to critique the blurb or cover if you think it needs something cut or added. But if you know of any social groups, forums or blogs where a story like mine would find a receptive audience, I'd also like to request your counsel.

I'm extremely proud of Peter's story, but to make this work, I know I need to do something different. I just don't know what that's supposed to mean. So, if you've got any idea that might help, please send them in. To help encourage feedback, I won't reply to anyone in this comment thread. So I'll thank you in advance for any ideas or feedback you provide, and then shut up and wander away to give the floor to y'all.

Enough with the posing!

Folks, I had a whole other post planned for today, and was even running through the second round of edits. But then I read this article revealing the full extent of the lies being told by a white male writer to convince people that they were really a gay girl from Damascus.

Now I'd just finished a spirited debate with @KeyboardHussy, AKA Evelyn LaFont about our differences on the matters of requesting reader participation and ethical marketing, but I'd no sooner finished when here comes an example of REALLY unethical marketing.

And folks, I want to be brief for once. (You're welcome.) I'm a writer of fiction, and I bill myself as such. Every story I send out is a lie, and I will never try to convince you, "No, this really is based on true events." I will never take on a new identity with the objective of tricking you into thinking my next book really happened just to bump up sales. That is shitty behavior and if I ever did that, I would understand people developing humongous hate boners for me real fast.

Now I know I've got my own flaws and problems, and god knows my promotional approach could use a lot of work. (Not to mention my market targeting could use a lot of practice at the marketing rifle ranges…or something) But I promise you, there are limits to what I will do to get you to buy my book. And this is way, WAY out past my limits. No way would I try to claim that I was really a Hispanic woman just to sell you a book about a migrant farmer's recovery from a rape. If I wrote a book about a woman like that, I'd just sell you the book  as fiction. Done. And no ethical conflicts arise for appropriating someone else's struggle because I'm not claiming it as my own fight. I'm acting as an advocate, and, if my portrayal of the woman is sincere and has the "ring of truth," I believe that will make it even more effective as fiction. But I have nothing to gain by lying and claiming that the events in my story really happened.

If this dude had wrote the book as fiction and either published it or self-published it, that would be one thing. But what he's done is nothing short of an act of fraud, and it's only by the grace of…someone, that he isn't already in court facing some kind of charges. And, because of people like this, I feel I need to take a moment to say that there is nothing I've told you about myself that isn't true. I don't really need to "juice up" my life story, and in fact most people prefer if I try and reduce the impact with a little cotton padding. (Not the same thing as candy coating, which is almost impossible for me.) Yes, I had a rotten life, but, it got MUCH better. Then it got sucky again cause my health went kaput. Meh, that's life, and nobody gets a true "happily ever after" unless they die mid-orgasm during their honeymoon sex. (And then it's not so happily ever after for the survivor, yo.)

I could probably sit down and write a tell-all non-fiction book, but I'd really rather not. I'd really much rather let the past go and focus on a future of making up lies, creatively. Then I put those lies in little cheaply-priced packages online, and all over the outside, I use labels like "fiction" and "fantasy" to make it clear: "none of this is real."

What I'm saying is, I'm always going to lie to you in my books. But I'm never going to lie to you about me. And writers, if you have a great story idea about an oppressed minority, sell it as fiction. Do not, under any circumstances, try to pass your work off as genuine truth. Because you WILL get caught, and you will be humiliated as a liar. And I personally feel no pity for you when you mess up and get caught.

Why I'm staying silent…

Yesterday was a bad day for me. Weather shifts had me blurring through erratic mood swings every few minutes, and for whatever reason, the whole chorus of voices in my head decided to go on the attack. It got so bad that by early morning, I was already pacing the house and screaming "shut up, shut up, shut up!"

And, I couldn't breathe. No clue why, but my nose just starting making extra snot so fast that I couldn't blow enough to clear my head. And since I was breaking into sudden fits of sobbing, you can be sure that wasn't helping the sinus problems either.

This was not the worst day of my life. That was back in Austin, when I laid in bed for four days without eating in an effort to die by starvation. Obviously, it didn't work. And you know why I tried something so pathetic? Because I'd woken up to discover the first 200 pages of my first real novel had vanished from my computer without a trace.

Crazy? You betcha, and I've only been pointing out the truth for a few years now to a chorus of denials from friends and family. "No, of course you're not crazy! You're FINE!"

No, I am not fine. I never was. Weeks like this…no, months like this remind me why I've chosen to give up on my goals of writing as a profession. I'm simply too unstable for the job.

In fact, that's why the voices have such an easy time picking me apart. They only tell the truth. They say things like "You write books that nobody reads," or "You haven't sold over 10 copies on any title since 2009," or "No one cares if you release another book or another 20. You'll die childless, unloved, and obscure as the day you were born."

All true, and there really is no counter argument. I don't expect my fortunes to change any time soon, because I have no new plans to push, no new lucrative market that I'm eyeing. I've lost faith in my writing ability as much as my promotional ability, and now, I'm just spinning my wheels.

There is no plan, and no goal. I'm just…taking up space, waiting around for my body to get tired of life and shut off. I'm so sick of being told to have hope too. Hope walked out on me during 2010.

I can't have kids. Even if could, I shouldn't. I can't be a parent, or a foster parent, or adopt. I can't hold a full-time job, and even normal social interactions can stress me out and cause me to suffer MS relapses or sudden mood swings.

All of this has been true for a long time, but now, I'm adding to the pile of failures because I can't write a book good enough to deserve real attention. Despite having a large vocabulary and the ability to filibuster with the best, I've never convinced anyone on any issue from the most mundane to the most vital. And setting that aside, I can't sell people on my work. I can't transfer my passions through my writing to other people. I never get through their outer layer of cynicism during the sales pitches.

I don't suppose there is a point to this post, aside from to explain why I'm remaining silent for longer periods of time. I'm falling apart, and I got nothin' left in me to keep me moving forward. There's nothing to stock faith in, nothing left to hope for. I don't have a single dream left that I care to pursue.

I'm the walking dead, unable to lay down and stop moving, and unable to keep pushing forward either.

Maybe some of this will clear up after the weather stabilizes, but my improved mood won't change my circumstances. I'll still have no clue how to promote my stories. I'll still make 4-7 sale for each new release no matter how or where I try to promote, because I'm just not good enough to deserve attention, for anything.

And this is why I'm not online these days.

At long last, the weather breaks…

The chaotic weather shifts that were giving me mood swings have finally gone, and I'm no longer too unstable for excursions back into the social world again. This was one of those times when I was glad hubby wasn't home this week, so he didn't have to suffer through my crazy shifts from happy to sad or enraged for no reason. Well, there is a reason, the weather, but it doesn't help me keep calm when the mood swings are overwhelming me.

First thing I'd like to cover this week is the reminder that Belfire Press is right about to release The Life and Death of a Sex Doll. Maybe you noticed me pimping this often last month, and I'm telling you, I'm going to keep with the pimping even after it's released this month. There is nothing I'd love more than to hear from Jodi that they sold out the print run, and to get those kinds of numbers, I know I have to be a bit annoying with the pimpage.

The other thing I want to mention is links. In recent previous posts, I've started requesting that people add links to my Lulu store at http://stores.lulu.com/zoe_w or my Smashwords store at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/zoewhitten. This week was the first chance that I had to go into my own links and add the stores to my blogroll, so I expect it's going to take a while before y'all get around to adding these links to your blogs.

But, what if you don't have a blog? Well, if that's the case, you can still post links to my stores in your status updates for Facebook or Twitter. If you'd prefer to just promote one title instead of my whole library, you can also update your status with a link to your favorite stories instead. I've already talked often about how important reviews are, but Becka reminded me a while back that links are just as important. Every link you share is another chance that I might make a hook up with one of your friends. Yes, I'm totally using you to get to your friends. But seeing as how my paid editing gig already ended before I could secure funds for an X-box, I'm reduced to begging for help in whatever ways you peeps feel fit to spare.

In other news, I've released a lot of new books during my quiet time. There are now 24 ebooks and 14 print books. That's a big enough selection that I should have a book for just about everyone, and I'm still hot on the plan to do one release a month. Only now, I'll be putting out print and ebooks at the same time.

This is impressive output, but it still does not address my promotional problem about every release having no "buzz." I can ballyhoo all I want for every book, but if there's no excitement generated among regular readers, my sales will remain consistently flat. I'm open to suggestions on how to get readers involved, but thus far simply socializing online has not done much to improve my sales.

Closing out with the two g-news groups, the garden is looking nicer after a few days of steady sunlight. A lot of the plants went into stasis because of the weather shifting, but hopefully the extra daylight will convince them to do something besides look pretty. On guitar practice, I'm still working my scales and speed drills. I should be doing more practice, but the weather shifts killed my focus there too. Now that I'm stable again, I hope to get back into some longer practice sessions.

And that's the news for now. With luck and stable weather, I hope the next update won't be in another 3 weeks.

Bran's in the can…

For those of you worried that my starting Red, Redefined meant that I wouldn't be finishing Bran of Greenwood and the Scary Fairy Princess, you just don't know me very well yet. Today, I finished the rough draft at 26,648 words and a rather silly/squicky ending which is also a happy ending, and a porno ending. Aside from maybe three interlinking chapters, every chapter had a sex scene, thus allowing this novella to qualify for a proper porn definition. It is a fantasy setting without humans, so there is a lot of sex between the mains, a half-orc and a half-elf, a scene with the half-elf masturbating a nightmare, as well as a menage a trois with the half-orc's half brother. (There's a lot of halves in this book. Clearly, this book is not a halves-not.) And then just to be really different, the half-orc hero has sex with a dragon. (I had a blast making up how dragon sex works. I know I say it all the time, but man, I love writing weird shit!)

So, yay, I finally wrote my first fantasy porn. Given that it also has a huge focus on food, little in the way of scene or character description, and an almost gleeful use of cliches, I'm not going to call this "good porn." I'm just going to say "It satisfies the basic requirements to meet the label." (And boy, that's a GREAT book-selling quote, isn't it?)

In other writing news, I'm up to 29K in Red, Redefined, and this is turning into a culture clash story where Greta, the character from the past, has to adjust to life in a modern world. Greta came from a time where a large gathering of people was 20 or 30. Coming to a future world where a large gathering is now defined in the millions, she has to get used to the isolation of being one of billions of people.

Additionally, Greta is a loved child, someone who was the darling of two villages. She's used to people treating her as something special and noteworthy, and in the future, no one but Charles has time for her. It doesn't help that in the future, normal people think Greta looks "fat," even though she's not really overweight, just a little healthy due to a diet with plenty of snacks and long hours of casual games in her old timeline.

I suspect that people will say I'm being heavy handed with this one, but Greta's questions about the future lead to Charles answering in some very pessimistic ways, consistent with his role as an evil person. In his world, even good people are jerks, and his answer sound like moral grandstanding even if he's really just stating the facts.

His brand of evil doesn't really stand out until he takes Greta on a field trip to the future, and then he reveals what a wicked little wanker he can be. Anyone thinking at the start "Oh, this is a mad scientist with a heart of gold" will be sorely disappointed in Charles during part two of this book, fer sher. what he does to one lady is just…she walks away without so much as a scratch afterward, but damn, Charles is an evil little wanker. I know I said that already, but it bears repeating because he's just that evil.

Where the muse wanted to go with this was that through a paradox, another Greta was created, and then killed by "the wolves of time." Despondent over the second Greta's death and over the terrible people living in the future, Greta chose to go back to her time, but move to Britannia to avoid creating another paradox and siccing the wolves of time on herself. Then Charles would choose to stay because he couldn't leave her even if it meant living in the past.

I nixed this plan for many reasons. One because it would have called for a gruesome death scene on-camera for the second Greta, and second because I didn't like the "wolves of time" idea. It made a fantasy element for a story I've kept pretty firmly as sci-fi. Plus with all the other wolf references already used, this was one reference too far. Finally, I really didn't want the story to end with Greta wanting to move to an ancient and dreary past because the future was somehow worse to her mind. So I put my foot down and told the muse no.

However, rather than debate the issue, she proposed an alternate route, one which would completely change the ending and result in Greta and Charles remaining in the future. I won't explain how that works, obviously, as I don't want to spoil this before it comes out.

But I do have to say how surprised I am at where this story has gone so far. The muse has shown me enough to know that Charles will remain in character throughout the next two parts of the book. (Which is to say, evil.) But the point of the story really isn't about Charles, his evil plans, or his sexual deviance. The story is looking at how technology and our higher populations are resulting in people evolving to be less empathic and capable of handling confrontation. Greta, despite being young and inexperienced, is still better equipped to deal with conflicts and adversity than most of the modern people she encounters.

Which is not to say that all people in the future are bad. But until part three of the story, Greta won't be able to see any good examples of people. So in a way, this is something like Brave New World meets Lolita.

After I finish Red, Redefined, I need to regroup and take off a few days to decide what to write next. I have a lot of open projects started that I can go back to, but I've also got a lot of potential projects that me and the muse are both itching to get into. There's another short story for Vicky the vampire brewing, a cruise ship mystery for Lucas and the Colby sisters, a short story with Dimitri, another novel for Wendy Stoffel and her friends, a sequel to NINJAWORLD, the fourth and final Peter, the Wolf novel, and a sequel to Sandy Morrison's book.

Yeah. Some writers worry about running out of ideas. I just wonder if the muse will ever shut the fuck up long enough for me to take a vacation.

Oh, one last thing, for those not keeping count, my completing Bran's book means I've written 43 books. I might not publish them all, and yeah, I'm sure some of my writing is pure crap. But while some people still talk about how they'd like to write a book "someday," I'm making steps toward the middle of my first epic fantasy series. Along with that, there's a few smaller series, trilogies, and a lot of standalone fluff. So, maybe I'm not quite good enough to go pro or earn a steady check. But I have totally got the productivity part of writing down pat.

Now, if only I could sort out how to hone my promotional skills…