LD for James Zaavy

I’ve neglected this site, as of late.  Not proud of it, but of the things in my life I’m not proud of, this doesn’t even make the list.  Nonetheless, I’ll be posting a lot more frequently, so stay tuned.

Earlier in the week I had a quick meeting with James Zaavy, not a big time celebrity in the national scene, but his name is a name that comes up quite a bit in the underground social circles I find myself in, while travelling in Chicago.  Apparently, to some people he’s all the rage.  I soon came to find out why.  He talked to me a bit about his book M6, and some other things I won’t write about.

Zaavy has the uncanny ability to take a general conversation and direct it towards a more intimate nature.  This wouldn’t be a problem, but not for is special talents in making complete strangers feel comfortable enough to indulge things they’d have trouble opening up to close friends about.  When I spoke, he listened.  I think that’s the major difference, without agenda or motive, he listened.  It was strange, but indescribably amazing.

Anyway, his futuristic adult fantasy novel M6  will be made available in parts, beginning near the end of this month.  He brought part of his manuscript for me to read, because one of our mutual friends told him that I’d worked in publishing for a few years.

Several of my friends have been pushing telling me about his commentary essays for some time, and I finally did while I was back in California, although it was extremely hard for me to find.  I finally had a friend send me some.  I was floored, immediately pulled in, and wondered if the problems of the world could be so easily understood, why they can’t be resolved.

He’s got an essay on that too, and it devastated me to the point of tears.  I found myself weeping for a world that I’d never seen through clear eyes before.  Strange, how one writer can move another person so much.  So, I had to meet him.  And, I did.  Just a few days ago.  Although he was described to me as a bit of a recluse, when I was finally face to face with him, I wouldn’t have been able to tell.

I was just more surprised to find out that Zaavy was a real person.  After reading some of his work, I sure he just a myth, the works of a compilation of other writers like the works of James Patterson or something.  To be clear, James Zaavy is nothing like James Patterson, and that’s a good thing, although I’ve both read and enjoy Patterson in his own right, but Patterson is no Zaavy.  Let me make that very clear.

I sat down with Zaavy for breakfast at the ALPS, a quaint little American breakfast and brunch establishment in Iriving Park, apparently not too far from Zaavy’s residence, although he never told me where he lived.  I almost asked at one point, but didn’t want him to think I was asking him back to his place.  Partly because if I would’ve asked him that, I think part of me would’ve secretly hoped he asked me over.

As I entered the ALPS and looked around, James Zaavy was sitting in the back corner by a window, but he would’ve been the last person I thought I was going to meet.  My friend told him that I’d be wearing a red hat, but I wasn’t sure what I was looking for.  My friend told me he was attractive, but I thought he’d be more ‘author attractive,’ than actually attractive.  I was wrong.

He was also younger than I thought he’d be.  The words that he strung together made me think he’d be an older man, but he isn’t.  He’s young, maybe even my age, or a little older.  I did ask him how old he was, but his answer was subtly evasive, he simply answered, “in years, or in lifetimes?”  And he smiled, cutting his sausage links into little pieces.

He was fun to be around.  I thought I’d feel uncomfortable being around him, but he was too humble and too normal for me to feel anywhere else but at home, sitting in the booth across from him.  I almost wanted to get up and sit next to him, and I think he would’ve just rolled with it.  He’s that kind of person, easy.

He was mysterious, because I never did get a straight answer from him, but what I got I think was much more than that.  He was so charming.  The kind of charming that catches you off guard so much that before you know it, you’re following it anywhere it’s willing to lead you.

He brought me a portion of his manuscript M6 to read later, but I began reading it at the table.  I couldn’t help it.  It wasn’t like his essays, but it was just as compelling, more if that’s possible.  The parts I read were filled with profundity threaded through great dialogue, adult language and a very erotic scene, that moved me in places I wasn’t prepared to be moved at a brunch establishment, but I didn’t stop.  I couldn’t.

He didn’t ask me if I liked it when I finished, instead he asked me if I liked my eggs.  As I stared at him, I couldn’t answer him right away.  I’d forgotten where I was, and for a moment it was only him and I, and I couldn’t think of anywhere else I would rather be.

“Can I read the rest of it?”  I asked him.

“After you finish what’s on your plate.”  He said, laughing.

M6 was like dessert, but it filled me up like a full meal.  We talked for another hour, without him talking about himself or his work, he was more interested in me.

“The words I write, you’ll always be able to get to, when you want to.”  He said at one point.  ”But you and I sitting across from each other, with the aroma of fresh sausage links and the scent of over easy eggs, well this place is a lot harder to get to, no matter how hard we want it.”

I almost died.  It didn’t come out forced, or practiced.  He really meant it.  And we just talked about each other, me more than he.  I wish I would’ve asked him more about him.  Complete interview fail, but there was just something about him.

I’ve read so many books and essays in my life, but James Zaavy is the first of his kind.  There’s something about his style of writing, it’s raw and refined  in one, with such strong dialogue, and he takes a special care to develop his characters, still allowing for mysteries I couldn’t have predicted.  It’s poetic without being poetry.

I know I should be talking more about M6, but I’m afraid to spoil anything.  It’s just something that needs to be taken in by the reader.  You truly get a piece of James Zaavy that’ll make you want more.  Reading it made me want to hang out with him the rest of the day.  It made me want to live around him, just to watch him live.  To see what that’s like.  He was like a drug to be around.  And, writing that, I sound like an obsessed stalker.  lol.  It’s not like that, but it’s the closest thing to being that without being it.

It’s hard to explain.  When our meeting ended, I quickly reached out to him, handing him my card with my personal number on the back, hoping he’d give me his number as well.  I wanted more access to him, than having to go through my friend to set up another appointment to see him.  I don’t know, I swept away in a fantasy I guess.   He just smiled, taking my card and said, “most days, I enjoy the pancakes more than anything else about this place, but not today,”  and he dropped some cash onto the table and walked out the door.

At first I couldn’t believe he was gone, like I had attachment disorder or something.  Then I thought, is that what a real man’s like?  God I was confused.  I felt like running after him as the snow continued falling from the sky, but by the time I got my coat and red hat back on and found my way outside, the tracks he left behind had been covered up but the mutinous snowflakes.

I’m not sure if I would’ve actually followed him or not, maybe I would’ve for awhile, just to see him through my eyes a little longer.  I know it all sounds strange, it was.  The whole thing was strange.  I guess I’m writing this freely on this page, because that’s the kind of person he brings out of me.   The kind of person whose brutally honest about how she feels, unfiltered and uncensored, because otherwise I’m not being me, I’m only being the person I wish you to see because I think that’s what you want.

The hell with that.  Zaavy makes me want to be me, and not apologize for it.  There’s nothing more sexy than a man who can make a woman feel like that.  Besides, I doubt he’ll ever read this.  I don’t think he get’s on the internet much.  Maybe he does, I don’t really know.  But he doesn’t strike me as the type of person who’d ever google himself.  He strikes me as the kind of person who doesn’t care about the opinions of other people, especially regarding him.

“Some people, in desiring to value themselves more than they find themselves able  to, begin judging strangers, celebrities mostly, by a single action they perform.  Instead of judging them as a whole person, which they can’t do because they don’t know them, or merely judging the action for what it is, a solitary action not an aggregate of the person’s character.

The reason people often judge strangers, celebrities, on the basis of single actions they commit, is because it makes them feel as if they know these people better than they actually do.  The harsher they judge them, the closer they feel to them, because the more convinced they are that they really know them.

These people build a false association with celebrities, and strangers they hold in high-value because it makes them begin valuing themselves more, value by association.  But this is stupid.  Not just because judging a person based on a single action, in most cases, would be premature, but also because a value system based on association makes every person a zero when they find themselves alone.  Unfortunately, this is where most of the televised world has found themselves today.  This is why so many people dive in front of cameras with the hope that they become famous, and actually ‘become someone.’

Luckily, this is a cure for this rampant spreading disease, proliferating across the globe.  It requires that one, merely tell the world to fuck off from time to time.  The more infected with the disease a person is, the more telling the world to fuck off, and all the people in it, will be necessary.  You need to find your value, as well as your values, but the first value you should become acquainted with is the importance of valuing yourself, above and beyond any stranger, anyone.  The more you say fuck off, to the people’s opinion of the world, the more you’ll turn your television off, and embrace life and form your own opinions and measurements of values for things, instead of just waiting to discover your opinions and measurements of value based upon what everyone else says.”

That was a quote I typed out from one of his essays.  If there’s any typos or mistakes, blame muah.

I hope he publishes his essays as well.  His insight seems to come from another planet, it’s so on point, undiluted by the minds of others.   I don’t know, I guess that’s why I doubt he looks into what other people are saying about them, because he doesn’t care what people think about him, who’ve never met him.  I think he probably thinks it strange that other’s think about would think about him strongly, one way or the other.  He’d probably just prefer people who haven’t met him think, and judge his work, without equating that to who he is as a whole.

God!  Even I think I really know him when I’ve just sat down with him to eat once!  Yeah, the only reason I’m posting this is because I don’t think there’s a chance in hell he’s going to read it. That, and the fact to let everyone out there who doesn’t know about him, to know about him.  If you enjoy reading adult futuristic fantasy, read M6 when it comes out later this week.

On the off chance you’re reading this James Zaavy, here’s my unfiltered honesty, call me; you’ve got my card.

-LD

Chicago Philosophy

Chicago Philosophy regarding book publishing is changing, as one might expect from such a robust city with so many talented and creative people.  Although nothing truly compares to the smell of a new book, kindle direct publishing has made it possible for people, who otherwise wouldn’t, to become published authors.

On a mission to help local authors looking to publish their manuscripts,  BoHipChic.com is now venturing into the small publishing press business.  We are looking for others in the Chicago land area, at first, to work with.  We want to provide readers with Chicago based novels.

As we begin this venture, we’re starting with fiction only.  We’re looking for the top best fantasy books, contemporary fiction, erotica, just the entire fiction spectrum.  We want to help produce the next top urban fantasy series, contemporary fiction series, and erotica series, so we’ll be looking for good urban fantasy books, as well as other fiction as we begin.

Any works of fiction will be addressed immediately, and given serious attention.    The stories aren’t required to have a deep philosophical meaning, we’re looking for entertaining novels.  Not to say they’re mutually exclusive, but we are leaning more towards existentialism in the philosophical gambit.

There is nothing like a good piece of fiction to develop minds, and provide readers with personal growth and development and there’s no place like Chicago to harvest talent for this enterprise.

As stated earlier, Chicago-based authors will be our first locale.  There’s something special about the Chicago philosophy and way of live and we want to help bring that to the world.  But, we don’t plan on remaining Chicago exclusive for long, although we’ll always consider it our base.

We’re primarily concerned with discovering talent that the major book publishers have overlooked for whatever reason.  So, if you’re a talented Chicago-based writer or someone who’s been thinking about finally penning a novel, submit it to us.  We’d love to do everything we can to help you build your fan base.

Chicago Philosophy

Because there are so many stories out there, the focus of this website is to provide you with plenty of stories you may not be aware of.  This way, you can be the first to read what others haven’t even found.  It’s hard to say how often I will post on here for sure, but  I’ll try to publish a couple reviews every few days.

The following two reviews are geared towards erotic short story series.  Some people may like to invest in longer books to start with but, the truth is, short stories allow readers to decide to like a series enough to continue reading it without already committing themselves to 400 pages of garbage.

So, without further adieu, here are two short books for you to check out:

For those looking for three sizzling erotic short tales within a single book, Abbie Cole delivers again!

SENSUAL PLEASURES: VOLUME 1 [Kindle Edition]

Authored by Abbie Cole

Published in September of 2011

Once you start reading Sensual Pleasures: Volume 1 you’ll immediately be pulled into the naughtiness of it all.  If you’re looking for a few stories that will literally manifest as personal sexual stimulation, you’ve come to the right place.   Sex with a stranger is nothing but naughty. You’ll love the vivid descriptions and the realistic dialogue.

For those looking for a great new  erotica short story series, Dianne Wilson will keep you hooked.

ALEXIS’ SEX BOOK: BROKEN PROMISES [Kindle Edition]

Authored by Dianne Wilson

After spending some good time developing her main characters, and delivering an unexpected and pantie wetting tale about one night during her first semester in College, Dianne takes the readers back to Alexis’ senior year in high school.  This determined girl, hiding all of her sensually erotic secrets and pelvic pumping fantasies in a sex book of her own design, begins to have a crush on a mysterious older brother of a boy she babysits.

Elliot makes a lot of promises to Alexis, but waits until she turns 18 to act on his lusty intentions.  Despite making his moves on Alexis’, however, Elliot appears to have made another major promise and commitment that might get in the way of the ones he’s made to Alexis.  This makes Alexis begin ponder about promises she’s made to other people, without intending to see them through.

What I like most about Dianne’s writing is that she can tell a story, develop characters, construct masterful plots with well thought out dialogue, and still soak a girl’s panties while making any guy’s male parts throb.  If you start reading this series, you won’t be disappointed.

Best Erotica on Kindle

For those looking for a romantic paranormal erotica novel over 270 words, once comes to my mind right away:

Samson’s Lovely Mortal (Scanguards Vampires #1) [Kindle Edition]

Authored by Tina Folsom

Published in May of 2010 his book is an amazing example of what paranormal erotica should be.  From romance to wit, this book really has all the elements of a great read.  Tina is certainly talented at plot development and story lines. There are so many layers to this book, it will continually pull you under with it.  I was extremely happy to find that it wasn’t dry, and along with great characters the sex spills over on all of them like melted chocolate.  It’s very fun to read!

Without spoiling the plot, the basic theme of the story is how wealthy vampire, Samson, deals with impotency.    Read this, if you’re looking for a paranormal romance with just the perfect amount of erotica.  You’ll be glad you did.

For those looking for a college erotica short story, around 18 pages, I’ve found one that will blow your mind:

ALEXIS’ SEX BOOK: GIANT SPLASH [Kindle Edition]

Authored by Dianne Wilson

Although rather short at just over 18 pages, this story appears to be the beginning of a series of books that I hope never ends.   Despite it being a short story, Dianne Wilson is able to successfully create a well thought out character, Alexis, with an amazingly thorough back story, and allow enough time to include one of the most unique erotic scenes I have ever read.  The entire story makes me want to read more of Alexis and her sexcapades, not just because Dianne Wilson is amazing at writing erotica, but because the plot and her characters are so well thought out that I want to know what happens next in the story.

Without giving anything a way, this story is about Alexis who begins writing a sex book about all of her sexual experiences.  Alexis’ step-sister and best friend Rylee, is a great deal more conservative than her, so despite writing everything down, Alexis tries to keep her sexual experiences private to ensure she doesn’t rock the boat with Rylee.

Another girl, London, is introduced into the story and that’s when everything begins to get sexually interesting.   Believe me, I didn’t ruin anything.  This story is well worth downloading and when the rest of the series comes out… well, lets just say it won’t be the only thing coming [sic]. Giant Splash is no joke!

BEST KINDLE EROTICA OUT NOW!

• Motivate-by providing a new perspective to life
• Focus-our lives to those things that we find most important
• Move us forward-quotes about moving forward can help us build a bridge to point C from point A when point B seems to elude us

We can find some of the best life quotes all over the Internet, Goodreads is a really great place to start.  Nonetheless, the best place for anyone to find those particular quotes, those moving forward quotes, always derive directly from your individual life.  This is because the quotes that you find, that specific quote about life will be a quote about your life.

Don’t discount the people who live around you, people that may be close to you in your lives emotional or people that you may disregard but are nonetheless close to you physically.  Watch these people.  Listen to these people.  Sometimes the things that you hear will be like a silent bomb.  A mystical sweeping of a wand.  That may be all it takes to take you from where you are to that place forward that you want to go.  That place you deserve to be.  Start listening to the world around you and you’ll be there soon.

Quotes About Life

Kid Cudi can no longer be considered underground rap, but there was a time when only a few ears in Ohio heard his tracks.  I’m happy that’s no longer the case and often find myself jamming out to tracks like ‘The Prayer’ just to keep hope of other yet-to-be discovered talents riddling the streets of America.

Being from the Windy City I often try and search out Music in Chicago to wet my ears.  Chicago has a plethora of live music venues music lovers can travel to on their search to find those talented undiscovered artists.  The Metromix offers the seekers a great place to start looking for music the Chicago philosophy way.

Just FYI, if you’re looking to listen to the British legendary grunge band BUSH or want to find quotes for you blog head out to Cubby Bear tomorrow, they’ll be performing.

But alas, I digress.  Back to the main point.  If you have a favorite underground rap artist let us know.  Beyond Atmosphere, real talent is hard to find.

Underground Rap

As Underground Music would have it, a few key things have happened recently worth nothing.  Sugar Tongue Slim will be releasing ‘All The Lights‘ with K. West.  Although I’m not a big fan of Kanye West’s publicly displayed persona (I quite despite it actually) his music is still good enough for me to separate him from it.  I hope that continues.

I’m sure most of you know who ‘Jedi Mind Tricks’ are by now, but if you’ve been imprisoned on the death star or incapacitated in some other way check them out. Since 1996 JMT have been creating great underground music.

Perhaps the title of his 12th album, Jay-Z has released a snip-it of ‘Made In America,’ that everyone should tilt an ear towards.

Sadly, Adam Yauch (better known as MCA of Beastie Boys) passed away last week.  Another example of talent leaving the world decades before its time.  Click ‘Beastie Boys-Get it Together (Featuring Q-Tip)’ to travel down memory lane. Although no longer underground music, MCA never stopped affecting artists who were.