Author Archives: JimArnoldLA

Character Biography: Sy Greco from “Kept”

Adding to the list of Character Bios from Kept, others are here (George), here (Connor) and here (Nancy Argento).

So here we have Sy Greco, one half of the pair Greco & Greco, along with his wife, Pilar. A criminal, a real estate agent, a remodeler, a civic booster. There’s a lot to like, there’s a lot to hate. I purposely made him about 60 – my age when the book was finished, last year, as my own subtle protest of ageism in the arts. Sy is anything but “done.” If there ever was a movie, I’d imagine guys like Bruce Willis, Bryan Cranston, even Travolta in this role. Or, how about Gus Fring himself? (Giancarlo Esposito) They’re all about the right age.

Bruce-Willis

Mr. Willis

Bryan-cranston

Mr. Cranston

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sy Greco (I picture: a Scott Glenn type, a classy-looking 60-ish type of man)

Sex: Male, 60, 5-11, 175, gray hair, blue eyes, lightly tanned skin – looks rich.

Appearance: regal. Still very handsome and must have been knockout when younger. Very fashionable; doesn’t scrimp on details. Goes to the expensive stores. Would not be caught dead at Wal-Mart or Target.

Physical Defects: has a mole somewhere on his face. Makes him look a little evil. Bad eyesight, he wears glasses or contacts. Usually contacts since he’s so vain.

Heredity: at risk for prostate cancer. Otherwise, relatives have longevity.

Sy’s personal car: Lexus SUV – not sure which model, just know it’s expensive and pristine. We usually see him driving the Greco company trucks or SUVs, however.

Socio: Sy’s a middle-class person who has done very well in recent years, both legitimately and illegally.

Occupation: real estate/developer. Mastermind of scams to convince elderly homeowners to sell their properties at a low price rather than make needed repairs. He buys them then flips them. The repairs he or his team require are all bogus or concocted. Preys on little old ladies! Might also have his hand in some meth lab stuff.

THEY LIVE IN DEEPWELL in Palm Springs. On OCOTILLO ROAD, near MANZANITA. GRECO & GRECO office is on N. Palm Canyon. Near Tamarisk or Tachevah. GRECO OFFICE IN LAGUNA is on OCEAN AVENUE, Between Beach and Pacific Coast Highway. You can walk to the beach from there. There’s a one room apartment in back, with a little fridge and a hot plate microwave. He remodeled all that himself on weekends.
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Education: State college grad, business administration. He’s very good at that. Also plays piano, not well though.

Home Life: Married to Pilar. They had one child, a boy, Angel, who died as a teenager in a car/skateboard accident. His parentage: He’s from a middle class Los Angeles family. Valley. He was born into that first baby boom wave in the southern California post WWII generation. So this guy is classic Beach Boys, car-centered, California Dreamin’ kind of life that the rest of the world idolized. Sherman Oaks? Parents were kind of boring, had cocktail parties and all that. Sy always wanted a more interesting life. Now he has it.

Religion: Sy’s a non-practicing reform Jew.

Nationality: Italian, but this is several generations. He’s thoroughly American and doesn’t speak a word of Italian.

Community: He’s a well-known businessman, active in the Chamber of Commerce or local realtor group. Film Festival Board. Member of a country club where golf is a focus.

PS Chamber of Commerce - where Sy would hang out.

PS Chamber of Commerce – where Sy would hang out.

Politics: moderate Democrat who doesn’t vote much, except for president. Would be a Clinton supporter, not Sanders. But he’s too selfish to vote, anyway. He lies about it to whoever he needs to. Conservative “Democrat.”

Amusements, hobbies. He golfs, He does play tennis. He swims. Out of all the characters in “Kept,” he’s the one who makes most use of the incredible climate of Palm Springs.

Psychological:

Sex life: he’s bisexual. He is married to Pilar, and has an affair going on with Connor. He’s really not more one way than the other, though he is male-oriented in many ways. He is very conventional so if push comes to shove would ALWAYS choose Pilar over a man.

Personal Premise, ambition: Wants money AND power. Power is very important, he likes the control. The money seems to naturally flow to him, infuriatingly.

Frustrations, disappointments: Frustrated with the LAW, which constrains him. Hugely disappointed that his son died. Probably hasn’t suitably grieved. Connor is somewhat a substitute, as well as are the other workers.

Temperament: Explosive temper. Don’t cross him. He can be really mean and nasty and entitled. Also, he can be a charmer. But more the former. Employees are wary.

Attitude toward life: He feels he has the power to control it.

Complexes: Phobias: snakes. Is freaked out by car accidents because of what happened to his son, the light of his life.

Extrovert: he’s an ambivert – can be outgoing when necessary, for business or social reasons. Otherwise, he’s more plotting and internal.

Abilities: Speaks Spanish fluently. Knows how to work a gun.

Qualities: Devious. Plotting. Exquisite taste in furniture, houses, clothes, cars. In this way he’s somewhat of a god to George and Connor.

IQ: Also high. A very smart man.
KEPTcover1

 

 

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“Benediction” Sequel is in the Works

Bndctn_Cvr_R3_2_2 OK, so I finally finally started on the sequel to “Benediction” over the weekend. Timeframe: 2017. What’s it about? It is up to you to find the right viagra no prescription fast kind of product. check that now online levitra So make sure you have the doctor s prescription over there but there would be the required knowledge one will need before having the medicine. Hence, men with diabetes usually have discover that cheap online levitra other associated clinical conditions including overweight or obesity. Actually, two decisions that have consequences on each other. on line viagra I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you, and that would be no fun, now would it?

I will give a hint though: #BenSchmidtLives. Stay tuned.

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KEPT Blog Tour, March 21 – 25, Day 5

Kept

Day 5, and last day, of the Blog Tour! Today’s stops include:

Man2ManTastic (blog)

Shey’s Book Cave (blog)

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perhaps more today. Will post as I see them!

The desert, looking toward San Gorgonio Pass

The desert, looking toward San Gorgonio Pass

I’m not saying bodies don’t get buried out here in the desert in KEPT, but then I’m not going to deny it, either.

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KEPT Blog Tour March 21 – 25, Day 4

Kept

It’s already Day 4 of the Blog Tour week for KEPT.

Today’s stops include:

Eskimo Princess Book Reviews (blog) and (Facebook)

Wicked Faerie’s Tales and Reviews (blog) and (Facebook)

T&L’s Book Reviews (blog)

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Actually a shot from my old house in Palm Springs at dawn

Actually a shot from my old house in Palm Springs at dawn

 

Yet there’s likely foreboding in that dawn glow; Someone in KEPT is up to no good. In fact, they all might be up to no good.

 

 

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KEPT Blog Tour, March 21 – 25, Day 3

Kept

More blogs featuring KEPT! On Wednesday, March 23, blog stops include:

Steamy Book Momma (facebook page) and Steamy Book Momma (blog) 

Bloggers From Down Under (facebook page) and Bloggers From Down Under (blog)

Booklover Sue (blog) and Booklover Sue (facebook page)

Possibly more later today, I’ll update.

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Top of the Tram observation area

Top of the Tram observation area

The Palm Springs Tram gets some top billing in KEPT – check it out!

 

 

 

 

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KEPT Blog Tour March 21 – 25, Day 2

Kept

Day 2 of the week long KEPT blog tour. Stops today include:

Books Are Love (with review)

The Bookworm Lodge

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Check ’em out.

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The Dinosaur Park at Cabazon makes an appearance in KEPT.

 

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KEPT Blog Tour, March 21 – 25

Kept

KEPT launched yesterday, and today (March 21, 2016) the one-week blog tour (arranged via BookEnthusiastPromotions.com) begins.

Today’s stops are:

Maari Loves Her Indies (facebook page)
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Here Is What I Read Blog

Diana’s Book Reviews

There’s book excerpts and other information about the book (and many other books) at these sites. Take a look! Back tomorrow for the next stops on the tour.

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Kept: Self-Publishing Update #7

In the weeds, I am – but the big date is getting closer all the time. Kept still launches March 20, with e-book sales already listed on Amazon to begin that day. I’ll pull the plug, so to speak, on all the parameters I still need to decide on for the regular paperback version and do my best to make it available the very same day.

KEPTcover1 But here’s some new information, especially for those going the self-publishing route and following this marketing saga. I’ll just update you with the tactics listed in Self-Publishing Update #6 from a few weeks ago:

Advance Review Copies: The formula I’m using said to target 3x the number of opening-day reviews you’d like to see on Amazon. I thought 20 would be a good number, so I requested 60 friends/readers to help with this effort. I actually got 35 people to agree to do it. So even if half of those actually post, I’ll be pretty pleased. If all of them do, I’ll be ecstatic.

The Blog Tour, still scheduled for that week, M-F, March 21-25. So far there are 17 blogs participating — where there will be book information, excerpts, a review on some, other ancillary information I’ve provided. It’s a first for me, not sure these blogs are my audience and I’m guessing I’ll find out. The publicity could be really awesome – of course, that’s what I’m hoping and for a continual web presence from it.

The Goodreads GiveawayThe giveaway is complete and I’ve sent all 10 books out. Most went to folks in the U.S., and the rest went to Canadians. The giveaway was available to worldwide goodreads members so that result was a bit unusual, but I’m not complaining because: postage. To mail the book to Canada cost 3x the cost of each book. The hope is that those who receive the free book will rate and post a review on goodreads. Also, there is tremendous visibility for the title as it’s listed on the giveaway page. Everybody likes free stuff!

The Reading Tour: Probably will not do many of these. In fact, I’m only pursuing one local reading in Palm Springs (as that is the location of the story in KEPT) at this point. I’m waiting for more review blurbs to come in which will hopefully be positive and help “sell” the book event/signing. I plan to pitch it at the end of the month, for a date in late April or May.
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Targeted Traditional Press: I have a couple of feelers out for this. Realistically, this is a location specific genre book, so I think the best bang for my traditional publicity buck is to again stay local to Palm Springs-area press. We’ll see who bites — if anyone!

Social Media Updates:  I have photos and blog topics enough to last for a year’s worth of posts. I’ll start doing that in earnest on March 21, hopefully one a day to 5x per week, and it will last a year.

Contests: Haven’t really started this yet as it’s for books published in calendar year 2016 and we’re still pretty new to the year. I’ll be doing Foreword’s Book of the Year Awards and the Reader Views awards, where I’ve done well in the past, and will be looking for some new venues to pursue.

What else should I be doing? If you have ideas or comments, I’m more than happy to receive them.

 

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Hey Buddy, Wanna Free Book: Goodreads Giveaway for KEPT

GIVEAWAY FINISHED. Never fear, there will likely be a Kindle free day coming up. Stay tuned.

Hey, from today till February 21, you can enter to win one of 10 paperbacks of “Kept” (my novel to be released March 20) on Goodreads. Just click on the enter button! There’s no catch. It’s all free.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Kept by Jim Arnold

Kept

by Jim Arnold

Giveaway ends February 21, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

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Expo Line This Much Closer to an Opening

Really, time for a post on something other than “Kept.”

Here is the latest I’ve seen about the imminent opening of the extension of the Expo Line light rail to Santa Monica. As the tweet says, not today but soon. It’s done. It’s just testing now.

The Blogger at an Orange Line stop, waiting patiently.

The Blogger at an Orange Line stop, waiting patiently.

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I realize it’s a transport nerd post and not much more. But the truth is, for a city that has long been defined by the automobile, Los Angeles is continually making great strides toward being transit-friendly.

It makes me happy.

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