Urban Vampire now available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

The saga of Kim, Paul, Tony and Alexis begins...

AVAILABLE NOW

Now available at Amazon/Kindle and Barnes and Noble

Pep's Wicked review

So I just returned from seeing Wicked. It was FANTASTIC! The music, storyline, actors, sets all superb! Would I recommend you go see it? Ah...now that is the question. 

You see, Wicked isn't for all audiences. Some would never be capable of appreciating the storyline and message. We have a girl that has long  been looked down on because of her appearance. Her own family doesn't really accept her. And when she goes to college she meets more of the same. But the thing with Elphaba (the wicked witch) is that she doesn't try to hide within herself. She's outspoken, talented and stands up for the rights of the downtrodden. When Galinda gives her a hideous hat she wears it despite the fact that she is the laughing stock of the dance. And then she gets out on the floor and begins to dance alone, looking very freakish. Sometimes we all have to do that...

That one scene epitomizes what I loved about the book as well as the play. Strip away everyone's outward appearance and then judge them on what is on the inside. Then you will find the true person, whether ugly or beautiful. Not the first time you've heard this coming from me, but it bears repeating.

If people can't FEEL the intent of the story and only see a bastardized rendition of the Wizard of Oz then don't even bother going to see it. But for you that will see the deeper message of acceptance, friendship, betrayal and love then DEFINITELY this is the play for you!

Oh, second thing, you must enjoy musicals. That would help. If you dislike people just jumping  up into song and dance then again, not the right play for you. 

A PROSHOT of Popular (which means it's okay to share!)

Wicked

Daughter and I are on our way to see Wicked!

I'll tell you how I liked it when I get back!

Juicy; NOW AVAILABLE!

Juicy Robinson was the color of sweet black licorice, of a charcoal briquette soaked in lighter fluid and no one was going to make her feel like she wasn’t the sexiest thing around—not the white people that her mother had taught her to distrust and certainly not the homeless white man that watches her from the alley.

This is the story of a woman that spent much of her adolescence being bullied because of her dark skin and weight until circumstances forced her to stand up for herself. Now, as an adult, Juicy has grown into a woman that is filled with anger and a distrust of whites instilled in her by her mother. After an altercation, Juicy finds herself rescued by an unlikely individual; a white, homeless man that she has thoughtlessly nick-named; ‘Mr. Cracker.’ After exploring mutual stereotypes and attempting to understand their differences, Juicy and Mr. Cracker find themselves drawn to each other. Out of a sense of loneliness and true friendship the two outcasts finally find something deeper than friendship and their journey to self discovery begins.  

Excerpt: 

"Don't, Juicy. We can talk without getting mad at each other. I like you...and I just want you to understand me." When she didn't answer he slowly released her hand and took a step away from her. "I guess it doesn't matter." Troy rubbed his hair, ruffling the damp ringlets. Then he shrugged. "There are two worlds. I live in the invisible one and you live in the real one." He raised both palms up in defeat. "Those two worlds don't mix."

Juicy thought before speaking. "I agree with you that there are two worlds, maybe even more. I don't know exactly where I fit in. I'm not really a part of either. Maybe I'm crazy. I guess I am. But I'm trying. I'm trying hard not to judge you. You saved my life-"

"Now you want to save mine?"

She nodded slowly.

Troy secured the fold in his towel then pulled her into his arm. "I don't need to be saved, Juicy, because I'm okay with me."

She closed her eyes and relaxed against Troy's warm body. He squeezed her firmly and carefully nuzzled the side of her head with his chin.

"I can take care of myself..." He paused. "...and if you need me to, I can take care of you, too."

"What does that mean?" She lifted her head quickly to look at him.

He stared at her for a long time before answering. "What do you want it to mean, Juicy?"

"I don't want it to mean anything, Troy." She backed away from him…

 Word count: 83, 560 

Available: Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble

Juicy the novel; the next e-book

I've decided that my next e-book will be Juicy. Several months ago I presented Juicy here on the blog for your feedback. I appreciated all the comments because it let me know that the more 'hardcore' version of Juicy is the best. When I had submitted it to a publisher, they would only accept a version that was a bit more sanitized. that's the version that I presented to you guys here. 

But, there is another version and that is the one that is NOT sanitized. All of the sexy scenes are included along with some other edits...

Thinks for your suggestions on which should be the next ebook to publish. It really helped. It should be out in time for Thanksgiving!

New Book coming out

Hey guys, I'm coming out with a new book. Wow, that feels weird to say that. It's a collection of 3 of my favorite stories. If you want to know more than click the link!

E-book information

Hi everyone. It's exciting being a published writer. Now it seems that I'm always thinking about what to publish and ways to market my books. I decided that I would make a dedicated page devoted just to my books. There will be product information and how to get them along with previews.


It will also appear on blogspot and is called Pepper Pace Books. Yeah...not very creative. 


PEPPER PACE BOOKS

I'm published!!!

I have no words...Okay I'm lying. I am so excited! STRANDED! is published and for sale at Amazon. And this time by the rightful author; ME. It should be available on B&N in a few days so it can be viewed on both Kindle, Nook or your PC. Wow, If I knew I could do this in just a weekend...well...

Oh, and there's a bit of a surprise. I made some changes to the ending so it's not exactly the same story that appeared on Literotica. Check it out and leave reviews!

STRANDED!at Amazon.com

Which Pepper Pace book should be published first?

Things have happened lately to prompt me to move forward; namely having my story stolen and sold. There is probably never going to be the 'perfect' time to focus my attention on being published. So it's time to just do it. But I need help in determining the right 'breakout' story for me to publish. 


Help!

RIP Heavy D

TMZ reports:

Law enforcement tell TMZ ... Heavy D had just returned from shopping and walked up some stairs when he began having trouble breathing.  Adam Mills, a designer who was in the building and knew Heavy D, found him leaning against a railing and clearly in distress.  Adam tells us he cradled Heavy D in his lap as others called 911.  Adam says Heavy D was conscious and said to him, "I can't breathe, I can't breathe."  When paramedics took Heavy D to the hospital he had a pulse.  People in the building are saying he died of a heart attack, but we have not been able to confirm that.  Law enforcement sources tell us ... no foul play was involved and so far they only know the cause of death was "medical."

Wow, I had no idea that Heavy D was even younger than me. I recall one of my very first concerts had several rap artists; Kool Moe D, Big Daddy Kane, Heavy D and others. I was just 18 or so and that was when rap was fun. 


I'm saddened to hear of this man's untimely death. This is my favorite Heavy D song. RIP Heavy D.

plagiarism & copyright infringement

I had a harrowing weekend. It began Friday at 3:30 am while I was wide awake trying to determine if I should surf the net or stare at the inside of my eyelids for half an hour THEN surf the net. Once I was on the computer I got a big surprise. A reader had sent me an email (Yay to being accessible to your readers!) stating that she had just purchased a book from Amazon.com and that she had really enjoyed it--especially when she had first read it six months ago when it was entitled Stranded. 


She gave me the name of the book she had purchased as well as the name of the author and said, you have been plagiarized unless that author is you. Shocked I went to Amazon.com and indeed my story was written there word for word with a new title and the names of the characters changed. As I did more research on this individual, I discovered that he had not only ripped off my story but another author at Literotica. Luckily I had just read her story about 2 months before and recognized it. I contacted her and together we SHUT IT DOWN!


But it was nerve wracking. This individual was on Smashwords, Amazon, and facebook as well as Twitter. As of today his accounts have been deleted from both Smashwords and Amazon. I'm just waiting to see what Literotica will do.


So this is what I learned; Once your work posts on Literotica you will notice the small copyright symbol appearing. This means that you have given Literotica a non-exclusive right to publish your story. That's right. This means that you have granted Literotica the right to enforce the publishing rights of your story, which grants them the power to protect your work from unauthorized use. This is where the distinction between plagiarism and copyright infringement becomes very important. You see, plagiarism is very similar to copyright infringement...with one small exception; copyright infringement is a federal offense. 

Your kid will probably not go to prison for plagiarism, however, the possible penalties for copyright infringement are pretty steep. 


As a writer, I'm going to face this again. I'm not the first and I certainly will not be the last. It is not a 'badge of honor' that your work is 'good enough' to be stolen. No one that has their hard work stolen feels proud. That is almost like saying, "Hey your kid sure is cute. You shouldn't care that someone STOLE him." Ha.


My sentiment was very close to my daughters, "Mom, send him a message saying that if he doesn't remove the story you will kill him." To which I responded, NO. Then she said, "Well tell him that if he doesn't take down the story you will see him in court and it won't be for plagiarism but for murder!" Again I said, NO.


What I did was bite back tears when I read a raving review of the story by one of the Amazon.com reviewers. It was given 5 stars. The reviewer said that she re-read her favorite parts over and over and each chapter ended with a surprise. She said that she had not read any other works of the author but HE had not disappointed.


Sigh...That was hard; reading a raving review of my story and having it credit someone else. Oh yeah, and the fact that he was selling it and making money off something that I gifted to the readers! Well, it has definitely been an eye opener. 


I need to publish my work before someone else does!