James’s Comments (group member since Apr 24, 2022)

James’s comments from the Self-Published Only Club group.

David wrote: "I love this concept, however, it would be interesting if someone could post questions for other author's characters to answer. It doesn't matter what the question is, the character will answer in c..."

Greetings, David.

Luna says she’s game for whatever questions you have, as long as they don’t ask her to spoil the ending or denouement.

... PASS THE BECHDEL TEST

The Bechdel Test, created by cartoonist Alison Bechdel in the mid-80s, (albeit on a small scale), seeks to examine how women are depicted in film. Simply put, if two named female characters talk to each other about something other than a man, the movie passes the test as not being sexist ( https://filmlifestyle.com/what-is-the... ).

Since many authors dream of cinematic adaptation of their works, would your book [self published, of course] pass The Bechdel Test? If so post them here.
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I will start with 2 of mine:

The K-Frost Caper
The Diamond Head Deception

Luna Nightcrow is the Native American insurance fraud investigator heroine-- or perhaps an existential antagonist, depending on your view of the insurance industry--of my fledgling mystery series. She interacts many times with major and minor female characters throughout each book about solving the core insurance frauds comprising the plot. She also talks with them about career goals, hobbies, and other life pursuits outside work.

In K-Frost, Luna speaks with Miami Police Captain Mikhailah Alexander and Computer Forensics Chief Deputy Analyst Nicole Takamatsu at length about the caper. Luna also interviews female suspects Bekka Noon, Sharkie Sayles, and Quinn Wu. And, she also speaks with other women in supervisory or proprietary positions.

In Diamond Head, Luna speaks with the claims company CFO Evelyn Grace about the case. She is also assigned a female partner, jewelry appraiser Nani Nyoko, with whom she investigates the disappearance of a rare red diamond and befriends off duty. Luna also teams up with the Honolulu Police Department and its contact Detective Sergeant Earnesta Valerosa. And no mystery is complete without suspects; thus, Luna grills secessionist leader Ailani Haku and Alsia Aapt, Chief of Security aboard the sunken Indian luxury liner The Shilpa. She also works with a female Indian interpreter and, in the opening Iowa federal sting operation, an undercover government female special agent. The book also features female characters other than Luna interacting with each other.

I find the character interview technique of self-promotion a break from the banal buy my book by its blurb approach, in that potential buyers might be enticed after they get to know your character (whether major, minor, protagonist, or antagonist) in a bit of a laid back atmosphere.

It’s sort of a version of the old Steve Allen show “Meeting of Minds,” where the entertainer interviewed often deceased historical figures over tea.

Anyone can participate. I'll lead off with ...

GET TO KNOW LUNA NIGHTCROW OF The K-Frost Caper and The Diamond Head Deception.

Interviewer: Today, I'm thrilled to talk with Luna Nightcrow, an independent insurance investigator. Luna Nightcrow, that's an interesting name. Are you Native American, by chance, Ms. Nightcrow?

Luna: Please, call me Luna.

Interviewer: Okay.., Luna.

Luna: Yes, I'm Cherokee. Born and raised in Oklahoma.

Interviewer: Please tell us more about yourself.

Luna: Sure. I'm in my early 40's, with raven-colored hair, dark brown eyes, and skin that's the shade of cinnamon. I should have been named Luna Clotheshorse because I like dressing to the nines (in skirt suits, pantsuits and short, red silk robes). The red silk is for when I type up my deductions and reports at the end of a long day. Charming, huh?

Interviewer: So if you begin deducing, we might see a wardrobe change into the red silk robe now?

Luna: (grins) Nice try. That’s for “the end of a long day.” But I don’t anticipate our little talk becoming a soirée.

Interviewer: Touché. How did you become an insurance investigator, Luna?

Luna: I spent 6 years adjusting all types of insurance claims, and learned the ins-and-outs of the business that way. But being mostly in an office all day got to me. So, I left and began to investigate frauds on a freelance basis. After 4 years of legwork, I'm a free-thinking, sports car-driving, jumbo jet-flying player in the often complicated insurance game.

Interviewer: Wow! Sounds like you're what many women want to be, Luna: Smart, sexy, confident, independent...

Luna: But, still single.

Interviewer: That's not necessarily a bad thing, Luna. Or is it for you?

Luna: (sighs) Only on Valentine's Day. Oh, I can still bring a man to his knees...if only with my [[ASIN:B00AW0GAYS Yellow Jacket iPhone 4 Stun Gun Case Black]]. But, hey: You can't have everything, right? I'm pretty well-off. As a freelance gun-for-hire, so to speak, I set my own rates (which can be rather steep). Because owning a sports car and living in a downtown Oklahoma City loft ain't cheap!

Interviewer: Prospective clients may want to know why they should hire you.

Luna: Let’s not forget prospective readers who may want to read my adventures too.

Interviewer: Right. So, what are your sleuthing strengths, Luna?

Luna: A considerable strength is that I'm a woman. I know that sounds sexist, but I've found that being a female investigator has many advantages. People often find it easier to talk to me--the whole nurturing thing, I guess. Second, suspects usually tend to take me lightly, when it comes to being a physical threat. Sure, I'm pretty tall (for a woman)--about 5 foot 8 or 9. But, I'm still just a woman to the average guy: Someone they can take down in a fight or ignore outright. So, I'm great at surveillance...as long as I remember not to peep from my sports car! Insurers, big and small, call. So most importantly, "my smartphone NEVER sleeps!"

Interviewer: Sounds like you never sleep, Luna!

Luna: And, alas, there is a weakness for you, dear.

Interviewer: Wow! You are sharp! That was my next question.

Luna: Yeah, day or night I'm yours, if the price is right. And in my personal life, that tends to attract the wrong type of lovers. Which explains why I'm still single, I guess.

Interviewer: You mentioned carrying a stun gun in your smartphone case...

Luna: ...and sometimes, a .38 caliber handgun in my [[ASIN:B00H374W3O Flashbang Bra Holster By Looper Law Enforcement]].

Interviewer: My goodness, Luna! Is being an insurance investigator that dangerous?

Luna: It can be. After all, my specialty is looking into fraud cases. These are desperate times, with people looking for any way to make more money. And when you come after it, they tend to get defensive. I know of three insurance investigators who were brutally murdered when they tried to uncover insurance scams.

I finished a case some years back that put my life in danger over a stolen Cherokee talisman that was insured for well over a quarter of a million dollars. It lead to another that involved identity theft in South Florida and even required me to work with the Miami PD. and a debonair detective named Tiago Toussaint.

Interviewer: Well, on a lighter note, readers always want to know what guests do for fun. So, Luna, share with us what you do in your free-time.

Luna: (takes a swig of iced tea) and reclines) What little "free-time" I have, you mean? Well, I love swimming--used to even swim competitively in high school. I like smooth jazz, steamy espresso, and I'm a history buff. When I'm travelling from one case to another, I'm usually reading stuff: Everything from Sun-Tzu's The Art of War to the poetry of Chief Dan George.

Interviewer: Here's a question from out-of-the-blue. If we were to look under your bed, we would find...?

Luna: (laughs) No one's boots but mine, a size 10 wide.

Interviewer: Clever. You mentioned one of your cases that involved a Cherokee artifact and what sounded like a dashing police sidekick…

Luna: The K-Frost Caper.

Interviewer: Right. Are there other interesting or exciting cases that you've handled?

Luna: Several.

Interviewer: Care to illuminate, Luna?

Luna: Funny. I'm sworn to secrecy on some. But, there was this case in …(smartphone rings) sorry. (After a few mintutes) Well, looks like I have an interesting offer. My author wants me to fly all the way from Iowa to Hawaiii!

Interviewer: On vacation?

Luna: Probably on a case, since he mentioned something about involving The Diamond Head Deception. Well, gotta go see what witty banter, sexy sidekick, and wardrobe James Blakley has picked out for me.

Interviewer: I guess that does it for Luna Nightcrow. Thanks for stopping by. Time certainly does fly.

Luna: And with a name like Nightcrow, so do I. Bye.

What song best describes your main character’s plight? Or, what might his or her personal anthem be?

I’ll begin.

For my independent insurance investigator extraordinaire Luna Nightcrow, the protagonist or perhaps antagonist (if you disdain the insurance industry) of The K-Frost Caper and The Diamond Head Deception, the 90’s dance tune “Independence,” sung by British pop star Lulu, fits perfectly.

After years behind a desk, adjusting claims, Luna’s finally on her own, solving insurance fraud and setting her own costs and conditions. In case you’ve not heard “Independence” in a while, or perhaps never, here’s where to give a listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Tf3o...

And for my down on his luck, LA-LA Land detective Sonny Busco from The Steel Deal, I could hear him belting out The Allman Brothers’ “blue-eyed soul” ballad “Whipping Post,” after he’s duped by one femme fatale and almost done in by another.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfrSI...

This exercise challenges you to use creative verbs and nouns instead of relying on adjectives and adverbs.

James will begin.

This writing game is supposed to exercise the right brain-- as if most of us need to jog that side's memory more -- and involves creating sentences with the first letter of each word starts with the next letter of the alphabet.

Here's mine (which sounds a bit like a news headline I might have written in my cub journalist days):

Abe battled Confederate defenders effectively from Gettysburg hills in July.

While not historically accurate (as The North defended Gettysburg from advancing Southern forces), you get how this works, right?

Here’s an interesting article on the subject…

https://kindlepreneur.com/ebook-piracy/

In my chosen genre of fiction writing, mystery and suspense, journalist-turned-author James M. Cain wrote the novella Double Indemnity, based on a late 1920's murder-for-hire insurance scam that was foiled.

When his book became famous decades later (largely through the 1940's Oscar-nominated movie adaptation with Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck of the same name), other movies and novels obviously sprang up about femmes fatale hiring dupes to do away with their husbands or boyfriends for the insurance money to be gained. Author Eddie Muller ( Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir ) alleged that Cain, through The Writer's Guild of America, tried to sue anyone who wrote a story or made a movie about murder for life insurance gain as being ripped off from "Double Indemnity."

However, the idea of murder-for-hire and insurance scams involving such methodology isn't "original"; thus, Cain didn't have much standing (as many claimed derivatives didn't use or were perhaps clever enough not to use the exact names or text from the original book).

Just a classic example of how an "idea" can't necessarily be copyrighted.

Here's a funny kind of writing exercise: An acrostic poem. An acrostic poem contains letters in each line that spell words or phrases.

In honor of upcoming Valentine's Day, try creating an acrostic poem from emotions the day represents (like heart, love, and, of course, Valentine).

Here's my funny little "acrostic" valentine to my insurance investigator heroine Luna Nightcrow of and :

Valiant
And alluring
Luna
Ensures
No
Type of
Insurance scam
goes oN the lam
Ever!

A little holiday haiku, anyone?

Present a Christmas, Chanukah, or Kwanza themed haiku involving one of your book’s characters (major, minor, protagonist, and/or antagonist).

Here’s one of mine for Luna Nightcrow: Insurance crime-solver extraordinaire of The K-Frost Caper and The Diamond Head Deception:

Can’t hold a candle
to Nightcrow’s solving scandal
A gift many want!

Anna wrote: "Here in the UK we have 'Remembrance Day' on 11/11 and I have always found it tugs at the heart because of all that veterans have endured for us yet inspires me with their courage."

Well said, Ms. Anna. I’m also reminded of a line from Lord Tennyson, a countryman of yours, regarding unswerving, supreme military sacrifice:

“Theirs Not to Reason Why, Theirs But to Do and Die…”

The Charge of the Light Brigade

Here’s an interesting program to perhaps help hard-hit authors too:

https://authorsleaguefund.org/about-h...

Sorry, I just returned to the site tonight. But yesterday was Veteran’s Day here in The States.
Nevertheless, it’s never too late to salute our veterans. So, if have a book that might be of interest to veterans, is written by one, or might help educate readers about veterans’ sacrifices or needs, please post them here.

Here is a link to my review of a Korean War historical fiction drama by prolific self-published author and retired United States Navy Lieutenant Peter Azzole called Hell to Pay :

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Abby wrote: "How is everyone doing? And what's the next book on your TBR?"

Perhaps it’s time for me to finally embark upon the bleak odyssey that A Canticle for Leibowitz purports to be, in light of the following unsettling scenario:

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/...

A heartening story from a writer whose mother lived directly in the path of Hurricane Ian:

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/cha...

While Ian has been downgraded from major hurricane status, it also did damage to and cost lives in The Carolinas. A fellow self-published author whose historical fiction I enjoyed reviewing, Hell to Pay, resides in North Carolina (per Goodreads bio) where thousands are reportedly without power and/or are experiencing flooding.

https://www.newbernsj.com/story/news/...

… THEN WHAT FOOD WOULD YOUR BOOK BE?

This unusual buy my book ploy came courtesy of the following article: https://paperfury.com/why-books-shoul... .

My books ( The Steel Deal , The K-Frost Caper , and The Diamond Head Deception ) would be like Baskin-Robbins ice cream (or Milk Train for our European audience). Not exactly 31 flavors of cinematically smooth and multiculturally cool characterizations, but still an exotic bill of fare featuring many different races, religions, and nationalities concocting or solving incredible crimes in mouthwatering, escapist climes.

This Labor Day Weekend, California and portions of the Inner-mountain American West (or roughly 40 million Americans) are asked to conserve dwindling water and power as temperatures soar well above 100 degrees for weeks on end. Some are even being forced to flee wildfires brought on by seemingly incessant droughts.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/04/us/wes...

Christina Hoag, a former Miami Herald and Associated Press journalist, calls Southern California home and is the self published author of many books. My favorite is her neo-noir police procedural . Check it or her other works out, as much of The Golden State endures historic weather.

WORD ASSOCIATION!

Rather than simply saying the first word that comes to mind, try thinking of the first book or author (preferably self-published or indie) that does. It might be a way to give them a helping hand or good “word of mouth.”

For instance …

Cave = Roger Cave

dead = Dead Links

room = The Blood Room

Major flooding and a damaged water treatment plant have left residents of Jackson, Mississippi (the state capital and largest city) without easy access to drinking water, and some without homes this month.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/30/us/jac...

For over nearly 20 years, Mr. Cyrus Webb continues to be a fabulous friend to traditional and self-published authors alike, by booking them as podcast guests on his CONVERSATIONS LIVE! radio show in Mississippi. As an Amazon Top 100 Reviewer, he has even generously added book review clout to indie authors’ efforts (including an interview and review of your truly when I started out)..

https://www.amazon.com/Cyrus-Webb/e/B...

You may want to look up Mr. Webb for some often free publicity or even ask if there’s anything you can do to help him during this time of historic weather in his home state and across much of the planet.

http://cyruswebb.com/category/reviews/

In light of devastating floods in Kentucky, if you know of any self-published author in an area hard-hit by historic weather events who might appreciate a review or rating, please post their book information here.

I’ll begin with Mr. WT Keaton, a Bluegrass State-based author of several clever detective and sci-fi/fantasy reads that I’ve enjoyed immensely. They include the following: