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Monday Blog: The Boys of Valentine & Valentine Apart

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New cover of Valentine

 

When you read the Valentine series, you may be under the impression the female characters are the most important. No offense to any of my male readers, but this is actually true. However, it doesn’t mean the male characters aren’t important, because they are. For one thing, the villain of the story is John Rafferty. It seems most of the problems in both the Valentine series and the Valentine Apart series, can be traced back to him. So, let’s meet the guys, shall we?

Vincent Entienne: He’s just a man, trying to take care of his family. Working for Rafferty is dangerous work, but it pays well. Vincent’s wife leaves him without any warning, and he finds himself alone with a young daughter to raise. He makes a poor decision, which has tragic consequences, which change the course of his and his daughter’s lives forever. But he means well. He only wants what’s best for his daughter Val and his nieces, Veronica and Victoria.  

Victor Entienne: You meet him briefly in Her Name is Lola Vencent , but I wanted to mention him here, because he is important to the series. Victor is the younger brother of Vincent, and he’s Veronica and Victoria’s father. Rafferty’s nephew Damien, placed a hit on Victor on Rafferty’s behalf, when he believed Victor was trying to cheat Rafferty by withholding money. His daughters weren’t raised together, because Veronica didn’t learn of Victoria’s existence until much later on. Why Victor kept Victoria a secret, is completely unknown.

Jacob Price: He’s been working for Rafferty since he was a teenager. He used to be Vincent’s partner, until Vincent left the Syndicate (the network of criminals, hitmen, mob bosses, etc). He always seems to have his own agenda when it comes to Val: Rafferty gave him specific instructions regarding Val’s drive to L.A. in the first book, and Jacob ignored his orders. He’s supposed to keep tabs on Val, but he seems to look out for her instead. He knows a lot of people in the Syndicate, and can always find out information.

Allan Avery: A hitman for hire, who freelances. Allan is protective of his little sister Mackenzie, loves Lola Vencent, and enjoys his job. Allan has creative ways to carry-out his hits. When he spends more time around Val and her family, he becomes attached to them, and becomes protective of them as well. He is known as one of the best hitmen in the Syndicate.

Michael Aldus: He’s a liaison to the Syndicate. He arranges meetings, and hires outside contractors, when necessary.  He, much like Jacob, seems to have a hidden agenda. He’s like a glorified assistant, but he has aspirations of becoming so much more.

Lorenzo Entienne: Vincent and Victor’s father. He approaches Val and offers to take her to Italy, where the Entienne family is originally from. He comes across as a loving grandfather, but he has plans to put Val and her reputation to use.

John Rafferty: The man at the top of the Syndicate. He doesn’t care who he steps on, destroys or kills in his quest to run the entire Syndicate. He sees Val as his archenemy: she’s the first person to challenge his power, and live to tell the tale. He’s involved in several criminal enterprises, including drugs (there’s a hint to this in the first book, when Val opens a box in Rafferty’s warehouse. He’s interested in having a romantic relationship with Lola Vencent, even though she makes it very clear, it will never happen.

Next week, the boys of Fortune’s Wing, and I’ll tell you all about my trip to Virginia for a reunion with the staff of my high school’s lit-art magazine, Polaris!

 

 

Monday Blog: Celebrating Jo Fuentes

JoFuentes_KDP

 

This month, Woolaston Entertainment is celebrating two themes: Male Character Month, and Pride Month. I’ve decided to begin with the later. This week’s blog post, is all about Jo Fuentes of the Valentine and Valentine Apart series.

Jo is the first LGBTQ character to be featured in a published Woolaston Entertainment book. She’s also W.E.’s first LGBTQ character to receive a stand-alone book, Jo Fuentes: The Black Queen. When I created Jo, I was thinking of a sort of alter-ego for Valentine.  The two of them do share a few characteristics: they’re tall, mouthy, and they don’t take any crap. Jo was never intended to be a soldier of any kind, but I had a dream about the scene in the second chapter of The Black Queen, where Jo takes out eight men in under sixty seconds. I thought, it would be cool to have a female character experience a James Bond moment, but I needed a reason. I decided, making her a Marine, would be the best reason.

Jo is a great character, because she’s a little complicated. She has a frightening set of skills, and she has no idea where she learned them. She’s gay, and proud of it. She values the friendships of the people who matter the most to her, and she’ll do anything for them.  She easily makes the transition from Marine to Hitwoman when she begins working for Kelly McCormick. And, she has a wicked sense of humor.

I’m honoring Jo, by making Jo Fuentes: The Black Queen, available for FREE, June 4-June 6. If you’ve never read it, this is a great opportunity to become acquainted with Jo, and the rest of the Valentine Apart/Valentine series.

Jo Fuentes on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Jo-Fuentes-Black-Queen-Valentine-ebook/dp/B078TNHBRF/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528138515&sr=8-1&keywords=jo+fuentes+the+black+queen

Next week: the boys of Valentine and Valentine Apart

Monday Blog: The Ladies of Fortune’s Wing

haverdy

 

 

Fortune’s Wing was the first book I ever published, and it was the first book I had ever written which used human characters. The first edition was published in 2009, while the original handwritten edition was completed in 2002. I made a few changes before submitting it for publication, some of which I will briefly discuss towards the end of this blog entry. But first, let’s talk about the ladies of the Fortune’s Wing series.

There are “heroes” and there are “villains” in this series. Fortune sets out on a journey to either save or destroy the world, and he is accompanied by his sister, Haverdy, his girlfriend Esrieve, and his psychic friend, Narumi, along with his other friends Tony and Ringo. The group frequently finds themselves in a confrontation of some sort with members of the Winged Seven: powerful sorcerers who want control of Fortune’s Wings. They are led by Demetri, their strongest member and the one who is hell bent on gaining control of the wings, no matter what the cost.

Haverdy Oyama: Fortune’s brave tomboy of a younger sister. She’s not afraid to run head-first into a battle, and is even prepared to give her life for her brother. She believes in him, and is the first to volunteer when he sets out on his first journey.  She wears her hair stylishly short and prefers to dress in boys’ clothing, much to the dismay of her mother.

Esrieve Fullerton: Fortune’s girlfriend. She’s in the same grade as Haverdy, and while she would like to be equally as brave, she’s very afraid of all the dangers that lay ahead during the journey. Still, she stands by Fortune’s side. Esrieve can be a tad air-headed at times, but she always means well.

Narumi Hime: One of Fortune’s best friends. Narumi is half Japanese, and has a psychic ability, which proves to be very useful while she and the others search for The Wings. She’s very quiet, but feels things very deeply, and is often concerned for her friends’ safety.

Verdonna Onnashari, Oracle of Light: The one who chose Fortune to bear the Wings. Verdonna is a member of a very old clan of people who are fully aware of the Prophecy of The Wings. She lives in the woods with her people, in seclusion. She’s young, around Fortune’s age (BTW: Fortune is eighteen), but she is wise beyond her years.

Emery Holt: She’s a little girl who carries a special light, which reminds Fortune what he’s fighting for. She was the only survivor of an attack on her town by the Oracle of Darkness. She’s playful and sweet, as a child should be, and usually clings to Haverdy.

Kazumi Ogata: Haverdy’s childhood friend who moves back to the neighborhood after being away for a few years. She unwittingly becomes a part of The Winged Seven’s plan to defeat Fortune when she is abducted and used to lure Fortune and company into a trap.

Seynoma: One of the Winged Seven. Her power is the ability to creature fierce monsters from nature. It’s an ability she has had since she was younger. When Demetri found her, he convinced her to help him by making her believe they could create a better world.

Isabelle: Another member of the Winged Seven. Truthfully, Isabelle doesn’t want to be part of the fight. She’s a bit of an outcast: she’s a Goth girl who has never been about to fit in. She has the ability to manipulate people by using their fears against them.

There is a character missing from this list: Russia Proust. In my very first version of the story, Kazumi returns to visit Haverdy, and as the two of them begin to catch up, Haverdy asks Kazumi if she is seeing anyone. It is later revealed, Kazumi does have someone special in her life, and that someone is a girl named Russia, who looks suspiciously like Haverdy. When I made the decision to publish this book, I wanted it to be appropriate for middle school age readers, so I left Russia out of the story. I have thought about publishing the original version in its entirety, which would include Russia, and would be for the 17 and older crowd.

I also made a change to Narumi. Her original name was Nirogetai, and her friends called her Niro for short. I thought it would be silly for to have a made-up Japanese name, so I gave her a real one instead. Loosely translated, her current name means “roaring sea princess”.

I wrote a spin-off series featuring Haverdy, titled “Haverdy O”, which follows her as she begins attending college with Esrieve, Kazumi and Russia, and begins to explore her Japanese heritage and discover who she truly is. I’m planning to publish it, in the future.

Next week, the ladies of The Witch of Fulton Lane.

 

Preview for “Biologicals”

I recently released my 21st published book, Righteous, which is the fourth book in the Our Lady of Righteous Rage series. This book follows the band on their tour across America, as they go from city to city, state to state, playing shows and meeting new fans…and narrowly avoiding fights with Mick, David, and the rest of the band, Stereotype. When I wrote the final few chapters, I developed an idea for yet another book.  This time, I decided to focus on Jon, Amy’s son. During the story in Righteous, Jon’s birth parents contact him, much to his alarm. He doesn’t want anything to do with, but he decides to be diplomatic and try to spend time with them. My next book, Biologicals, will focus on Jon’s attempt to reestablish a relationship with his birth parents, aka his “biologicals”. Here’s a sneak peak from the first chapter:

  1. The Delivery Room, The Couch, and Onward

            “It’s a boy!”

            I imagine that’s what the doctor said in the delivery room, on the day I entered the world. I can picture myself, tiny and naked, and silent, until that first smack on the ass, which caused my lungs to open up, giving me the opportunity to take my first breath. I’m sure I must have started crying. Then I guess the doctor or the nurse handed me to my mother, so she could count my fingers and toes, and give me a once-over, just to make sure she hadn’t given birth to some freak show kid.

            But, like I said, I can only imagine all of this. I don’t remember any of it, because I was just too young. The memories I do have of my birth parents, aren’t the most pleasant memories I have. To put it frankly, my birth parents—or biologicals, as I prefer to call them—are assholes.

            Yep. I just did that. I called my biologicals assholes. That’s what they are. You’re probably wondering why I feel that way. Sure: most teenagers hate their parents. Most of their reasons for hating their parents are completely unfounded: not being allowed to go to parties, drink, stay out past curfew, etc. My reasons for feeling the way I do, are totally legitimate.

            When I lived with my biologicals, I didn’t have my own room. I didn’t have any brothers or sisters to compete with; I just didn’t have a room. My room was the living room, and my bed was the couch. I lived with Michael and Leora, my biologicals, in a one bedroom apartment. So, naturally, the one room went to them. This was interesting, especially when they had company. They would quickly clean up the area known as “Jon’s space”, and pretend we were a normal family. Bullshit artists.

            They managed to pull this off, until my uncle told them, he was going to take steps to have me taken from them. I was eventually sent to live with my cousin David, and his girlfriend (later, wife) Amy. I had been spending time with David ever since I was two. He would babysit me whenever my biologicals went out (which was often). Amy was the best. She was the only one outside of my family who was allowed to pick me up. When I was really little, David started seeing this girl named Gina, before he and Amy were dating. I hated Gina. She smelled like she had soaked herself in an entire bottle of perfume, and not even a good fragrance. And, she was a bitch. To this day, I have no idea what David saw in her.

            But, Amy and David got married, and adopted me. I wasn’t sure of what to call them: Mom and Dad, or Amy and Cousin David. David went out of the country when I was younger, and left me and Amy alone for the first time. I came down with a case of pneumonia. I was a little nervous, but Amy kept it together. She was barely eighteen, and acting just like a mother. She took me to the emergency room, got my medicine, and took care of me. From that day forward, she wasn’t Amy. She was Mom.

            But, David, on the other hand, couldn’t handle the whole Dad-thing. Mom can sing and play the guitar, and she and her friends were in a band. David was jealous from the very beginning.  He started criticizing Mom and her friends, saying she needed to focus on being a wife and a mother instead of a rock star. But I was watching her juggle both with no problem! At no point did I ever feel like she was neglecting me.  I was sad when they got a divorce…I was even sadder when I had to go and live with David. We’re biologically related, so the judge gave him custody of me…asshole. Mom is a fighter, though. She went back to court, and got custody of me. So, I got to go and live with the one person in this world who truly loves me.

Monday Blog: The Ladies of “Our Lady”

 

Hello! Welcome to the first official blog post of the month of May! To kick off one of the two themes of the month, Female Character Month, I decided to start with the ladies of the Our Lady series. Her we go….

The Ladies of Our Lady of Righteous Rage

While there is a pretty long list of female characters in the Our Lady series, I’m going to focus on the most important ladies, who appear across nearly every book.

Amy Edwards: Amy is the lead character of the series, and she handles most of the narration.  She grew up in a single-parent home, with her two brothers and her sister. Raised in Bayside, in New York, Amy falls in love with Punk Rock when she receives a copy Green Day’s Dookie album. From there, she decides to learn to play the guitar. She and her friends start playing, and eventually form a band, Our Lady of Righteous Rage, named after a poem Amy wrote. She’s also a mother: she and ex-husband David Sarconi adopted his cousin Jon when he was little, and despite the divorce Amy and Jon are still extremely close.

Dee Seybrook: Amy’s best friend, and the wife of Our Lady’s bassist, Aidan Sirci. Dee is petite, but she has no problem standing up for herself, and refuses to be pushed around. She’s a singer, and a drummer; she discovers she has a natural talent for drumming and develops it very quickly.

Nyda Summit: Dee’s cousin, and Nick Lianetti’s wife. Nyda is soft-spoken and tall, and an artist. Photography is her passion, and she has even taken pictures of the members of Our Lady for their album covers.

Vanessa Vance: The woman with the plan. Vanessa comes up with the idea of running a business with her friends in high school. She’s the co-founder of the Urban Collective: the store she and her friends created in order to sell their books, music and artwork. Vanessa is ambitious and a handworker, and will do anything to help her business and her friends succeed.

Carmen Portez: Carmen went to school with Amy, Dee and Vanessa. She’s a talented painter, and she began selling her artwork while she was still in high school. She eventually opened her very own art studio, Portez Art Studio, where she shows her artwork, and the work of other local artists.

Erin Michaels: Erin goes from quiet girl who likes to read, to a Punk Rock/Emo chick with a passion for music. She meets the band, and begins to work for them, after a tragic experience with her family brings her and her mother to New York. She later becomes the band’s social media expert. She’s particularly fond of Amy, and thinks of her as a big sister.

Olivia Midkiff: One of Jon’s friends and a really talented drummer.  Olivia is upbeat and generally in a good mood. When Dee takes her under her wing, the two form a big sister-little sister relationship. Olivia is sometimes unsure of herself, but she’s learning to be more confident. 

 

I created all of these characters years before I wrote this series. I used bits and pieces of my personality, and my mother’s personality, when I developed them for the Our Lady series. There’s a lot of Mom in Dee and Nyda (especially Dee). Amy and Erin represent my punk rock side. One of the reasons Our Lady is written using stream of consciousness, is because I wanted to give watch character an opportunity to grow and change. You meet Amy, Dee, Nyda, Vanessa and Erin, as teens, and you get to watch them “grow up”, so to speak. And, it was important to have a female character in the lead role. Amy’s talents as a guitarist, song writer, and artist, reflect my personal belief that girls can do anything. She’s a challenge to the status quo.

If you haven’t read Our Lady of Righteous Rage, I hope you decided to pick it up and see what its all about. I think you’ll enjoy it. 

Monday Blog: May Promotions!

EnosCivilianPosterValVerLola

 

It’s April 30, but to me, it’s MAY!!!! The weather is finally warming up, Spring is in full swing, and I have wonderful news to share with you! This month, W.E. will have a dual theme: Female Character Month and Our Lady Month. I’ll explain why.

Female Characters Month

In honor of Mother’s Day, I decided to focus on the female characters in my books. Mother’s Day isn’t just about honoring mothers; it’s about honoring all of the special women in our lives.  Sisters, aunts, cousins, grandmothers, etc, should be celebrated during this holiday. My characters are mothers, daughters, and more, so each week, I’ll pick a series, and discuss the importance of some of the female characters from that series.

Righteous Cover

 

Our Lady Month

I can’t tell you how much I’ve been looking forward to this! I began working on the manuscript for Righteous in June of 2017. Then, I put it on hold, because I just wasn’t sure of where the story was going, and I did have other projects to work on. When I resumed working on it, I had a direction, and I found myself working on it nearly every day. I finished the draft earlier in April, and revised it and the final edition will be available to the public within the next few days, in May. I’m looking forward to introducing readers to this arc of the story: Amy, Nick, Rob and Aidan hit the road and go on tour, meet new fans, play a ton of gigs and may get into a fight or two.

In honor of this new release, I wanted to give my readers an opportunity to catch up on the rest of the series, if they haven’t already read the other books. Ebook editions of Our Lady of Righteous Rage: Extended and Uncensored and Your Fame Will Destroy You, will be on sale on Amazon, from May 1-8. The ebook version of Rowdy will be on sale May 17-24. The sale price is 99 cents! So, if you haven’t read the Our Lady series, May will be a great time to start!

 

Get Off Your Phone And Talk To Me

I completely agree!

ebunnygirl's avatarebunnygirl

I don’t have many pet peeves, but the few that I do have, have validity (at least,  think so). One of them, is people who don’t know how to hold a conversation without their phone in hand. I work a desk job, which requires verbal communication skills, and the ability to look people in the eye and speak to them. I can do this, with no problem at all. But, the people I need to communicate with, can’t seem to do it. At least seven out of every ten people I see, will walk up to my desk, and ask a question, without ever looking up from their cell phone. Don’t get me wrong, I love my phone too. I’m constantly talking and texting on it. But, I know how to put it away and have a face-to-face conversation with my fellow humans. It’s rude behavior, to be on…

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Monday Blog: Reading Changed My Life (Guest Blogger Ebunnygirl)

Great news, everyone! Today I have a guest blogger! Ebunnygirl will be posting today’s edition of the Monday Blog. Please enjoy!

I had a revelation the other day. While there weren’t any sparks or canons blasting, it was still an important moment for me. I realized, reading changed my life.    Discovering books and the places they could take me, literally changed everything for me. Yes, I know: I sound like a corny afterschool special. But it’s the truth! I learned just how big the world really was, and the variety of characters I read about, showed me how diverse people are. Girls don’t always have to be princesses and damsels in distress. Boys can be strong, or they can show some emotion. And as for nonfiction and fiction, I learned to appreciate both: facts about things in the world I was unaware of, and worlds created from the minds of creative authors.

Nowadays, I see people reading books on e-readers and tablets, but it’s always nice to see people reading physical books. I’m thankful for that. I’m considering writing a book of my own, I’m just not sure of what to write about. I have received a lot of encouragement from Nicole Woolaston, for whom I am blogging today. Reading opened so many doors for me, and made me feel as though anything is possible.

(thank you to Ebunnygirl for this blog post! You can find her WordPress page here: https://ebunnygirl.wordpress.com/)

 

Monday Blog: Drawing Inspiration from Nostalgia

 

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope all of you had a good weekend. In keeping with this month’s theme, I wanted to talk about drawing inspiration from nostalgia. I’ve been having a lot of nostalgic dreams lately, and thinking about things from my childhood. One such memory, is related to my desire to want to learn to play the guitar.

I thought this desire began when I fell in love with punk rock, but I recently realized, it started waaayyyyyy before that.  When I was about seven years old, I had a large plastic boat, which was a replica of Noah’s Ark. It came with pairs of animals and everything. I used to dump the animals out of the ark, and stretch rubber bands across the top of the ark, to make a guitar.  Then I moved up to using shoeboxes and rubber bands.

Of course, years later, I did acquire a real guitar, and then I began learning to play. This, combined with my love of punk rock, led to the creation of Our Lady of Righteous Rage.

I watched a lot of anime throughout my childhood, and started reading manga (or graphic novels, if you prefer). Shows such as Sailor Moon and Revolutionary Girl Utena, and Neon Genesis Evangelion, inspired me to write Fortune’s Wing and Valentine. I’ve mentioned this before, but if either of those series ever become films or TV series, I want them to be animated.

Then of course, there’s The Witch of Fulton Lane. You’re probably wondering what inspired me to write that story. I’ve always been interested in the paranormal, and The Craft is one of my favorite movies. I’ve been reading tarot cards for the past few years, and when I came up with the concept behind Fulton Lane, I was able to take all of my interests and knowledge, and work them into the story.

If you look carefully at what you’re creating now, you may find little bits and pieces of your own childhood weaved into your creation(s). This can be intentional or unintentional.  Nostalgia can be very inspirational.

Until next week…

A little something from “Righteous”

I’m still working on Our Lady of Righteous Rage #4: Righteous. Here’s a little sample from Chapter 62. Enjoy!

           “Think about it,” Nick said. “If it wasn’t for Our Lady, would any of us visit Kansas City or Chicago? Albuquerque or Scottsdale? Would any of us even venture out this far? We were just kids in New York, learning to play guitars and writing songs here and there. Now look at us! We’re playing gigs across the country. We’re just a little indie punk band, and people in Arizona and California and Illinois actually want to pay to hear us play! How’d that happen?”

            We were silent. It made me think about where I was, just a few years ago. Graduating from high school. Moving around with Mom. Homeless and living in a hotel room. Then, working in a bookstore. Working at Urban Collective. Making friends with rock stars. How did that happen?

            “It happened because it was meant to,” Mike said, standing up from his chair. “I don’t want to get too religious and freak anyone out, but I believe there’s a plan for everyone. Call it God, or the Divine, or the universe, or whatever, but there’s a higher power out there, that creates a purpose for all of us. I didn’t really know what my purpose was, until you asked me to be your manager. I didn’t think I could do it. But you had faith in me, so I just put my best foot forward, and did what I thought was the right thing. We’re here, because we’re supposed to be here. You feel me?”