Here’s a current list of my books, which I publish through Eureka Street Press.
Category Archives: Kept
Stickers Have Arrived!
And who does not like stickers? From your first gold star in kindergarten, a sticker on your work signified something really special. And so it is with the Reader Views Literary Award, which “Kept” has won for 2017 (for books published in 2016) in the Gay/Lesbian/Erotica category.
KEPT and Award Stickers!
Kept is available at amazon here.
If you’d like a copy with a sticker, please contact me here: Email Jim Arnold Communications
KEPT Reader Views Book Award Sticker
I got my sticker (digitally; soon to be actual sticky stickers I can put on books) for the award KEPT won — First Place, Reviewers Choice Gay/Lesbian/Erotic for 2016/2017. Pretty cool! Thank you, Reader Views!!
KEPT, by Jim Arnold
KEPT wins Reader Views Literary Award
Hey blog readers and book readers! I’m thrilled to announce that my novel KEPT has won First Place in the 2016 Reader Views Literary Awards, for the Gay/Lesbian/Erotica category.
Here’s a link to the list. Congratulations to all the winners and runners-up. It’s quite the chore to be the one-stop shop for all in the world of self-publishing, and I have great respect for all who entered into the award contest, too. OK, now back to writing the sequel to Benediction.
KEPT, by Jim Arnold
KEPT Review: Elisa Rolle (Reviews and Ramblings)
Reader Views’ KEPT Review
KEPT: Two Truths and a Lie
Herewith: Of the following statements, two are true and one is false.
To figure out which is which, you’ll have to read the book. (or just send me a message and I’ll respond!)
Nancy Argento is an second-rate reporter from Cleveland trying desperately to redeem herself with a new job in Palm Springs.
Jacy Martin is part of the rich family that owns the Native American casino in Palm Springs.
In a fit of absolute and horrid rage, studly contractor Connor Hurst strangles former TV star Carol Blair Rosen.
Why KEPT? The Inspiration and the Notes. . .
I had the pleasure of re-watching the 1946 version of “The Postman Always Rings Twice” again last night. This wonderful example of early post-war film noir stars the luminous Lana Turner (how does one get that silky platinum hair?) and the quite studly John Garfield, (as well as Hume Cronyn, Cecil Kellaway and Leon Ames in supporting roles) in the James Cain story.
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Like in his “Double Indemnity,” this story involves getting rid of an inconvenient third wheel who happens to have some money. These two stories, as well as Cain’s fabulous “Mildred Pierce,” are all basically about greed and our susceptibility to letting it drive our actions. This is usually at the hands of someone who uses sex as a convincing argument, if you have or had any scruples to begin with. Traditionally, this role was played by a woman, who became known as the femme fatale.
So these Cain movies/books and the additional “After Dark, My Sweet” – a similar type of noir story, set in the SoCal desert of around 1990 and from a book by Jim Thompson, are the inspiration for the screenplay I wrote of “Kept,” which I turned into this novel.
Having spent so much time in Palm Springs myself, I wanted to set a crime story there. Also, I wanted to remake the femme fatale role into an homme fatale, and make male-male gay attraction the driving force behind the greed this time around.
I’d often felt that the Palm Springs area was a crucible – where people from many backgrounds mixed. You had your gays, your old white Republican retirees, retired movie stars, Mexican immigrants, Marines from 29 Palms, the Native American Tribes, tourists from all over, real estate speculators, and everyone else as well. I thought there’d be lots of stories and potential for dramatic conflict in them.
And there is! It’s all in KEPT.
KEPT: The story of the cover art
When you self-publish a book, one of the crucial decisions you make is approving the cover art and design. For most writers, this is counterintuitive, as our strengths generally (at least we hope) lie in the realms of words and storytelling, not so much in imagery.
Which makes this process even more nerve wracking.
Because – there’s this thing out there called the Internet now. Where everybody goes for books. And usually they’re bombarded with a screenful of pixellated book covers, all of them vying for the opportunity to catch the browser’s eye. Decisions are made on the basis of interest in the cover. There’s no table full of books to flip through. There’s no physical shelf showing all the new books in the genre. It’s a much bigger and confusing landscape and of course, it’s all virtual.
And what is it that catches the browser’s eye? Color, for one thing. Red is more eye-catchy, than say, brown or yellow. Hello stop signs! Also strong graphics, I think, especially considering small screens.
And of course, naked men, for this genre, which is a gay mystery/suspense/thriller. The one action the cover is designed to elicit is a click further – basically that’s it, stop and find out some more.
So I did have an image in mind, which I gave to the cover designer at that point — it’s this:
I found it on the internet, on Flickr. I didn’t take the photo and I don’t know who the subject is. But I do know it’s an image of the desert near Palm Springs, and also has a hot looking half-naked guy who looks vaguely Latin as the subject.
One of the main characters in KEPT, if not the main character, is a guy named Jorge who anglicizes his name to George. This would be my cover image.
The cover designer at CreateSpace (the company Eureka Street Press uses for actual book and ebook publication) came up with this image based on the idea of a man in the desert:
So, a different desert (it looks more like Joshua Tree to me, and well, it’s close enough) and a different man, obviously, someone from their bank of usable images. Yeah, he’s got better abs, too, that never hurts, right?
Simple typography for a very simple title, and my name as the author. I think it sticks out on a page full of busier titles (though I was unable to get much red in this image). What do you think?
KEPT Character Biography: Andreas Alvarado
Another in the series of character bios for my novel KEPT. Here we have Andreas Alvarado, the corpulent and criminal manager of the tribal casino in Palm Springs (Montana Grande).
Who inspired me for this, who was I thinking of or who did I have in my mind’s eye while writing? James Gandolfini, Joe Mantegna, they come close. If they were Native American and lived in Palm Springs and were devious and bossy.
James Gandolfini
Joe Mantegna
Sex, Age, Ht. and weight: Male, 45, 5-9, 200+ lbs.
Black/gray hair and black eyes.
Posture: good, pot belly though.
Appearance: dresses very nicely in the tribal executive style.
Has no visible deformities other than that he’s heavy.
Heredity: prone to alcoholism, high blood pressure. This means he could have a heart attack at any moment.
Social:
He was lower middle class, now with the tribal casinos, he’s upper class in income.
Occupation: he’s the tribal manager of the casino. He’s the big boss. He knows the governor!
Education: he’s a college graduate, a local college (San Bernardino) liberal arts marketing degree. His favorite subject was California History. He also did well in math, surprisingly. Good for counting money.
Home life: his aged mother is still alive, she’s revered in the tribe. The parents were also tribal leaders. His father is the person they named Andreas Road after in Palm Springs. Andreas himself is divorced and has 3 grown children. Two of the girls work at the casino, and the boy is away at Stanford. He’s so proud of his boy. (which is just another reason Jacy Martin hates him).
Religion: Roman Catholic with some of the tribal beliefs thrown in.
Community: He’s head of the tribal council. Also a member of many local civic organizations that have nothing to do with the tribe.
He is a Democrat, but has a lot of successful dealings with Republican congressmen and the former governor, etc.
Amusements: he’s very much a businessman, so he reads those kinds of magazines. He likes going to the movies. He’s odd that way, an independent film fan, who goes to arthouses. He also has a girlfriend (on the sly) who lives in Joshua Tree. She is an artist, a white woman. She makes jewelry, and he wears a lot of it.
Psych: He’s straight.
Premise, ambition: The face he shows to the public is very much a straight shooter, believes in doing what’s best for the tribe. Wants to build up the tribal holdings in Palm Springs to be very lucrative for the tribe — and himself. Works well with the white folks in town.
Frustrations, disappointments: Andreas is one of those people who are actually quite contented at his successes, legitimate and otherwise. He’s a little arrogant because of that. It’s only when Jacy starts trying to fuck him up that he has to go on the defensive.
Temperament: generally optimistic
Attitude: very militant. He gives orders, he is in charge.
Complexes: Superstitions. Andreas has a whole complement of superstition from the tribe. Gods on the mountain, of the desert plain, etc etc. He really believes in this stuff, as opposed to Jacy, who knows it’s bunk.
He’s an ambivert.
Abilities: Very good at math. He, unlike Jacy, does speak Spanish. And French. And Italian, and German. Even Swedish (for those Scandinavian tourists)!
Qualities: he has a really good business sense (as in new opportunities) and a low tolerance for bullshit. He can smell it a mile away. Distrustful of Jacy, as he should be.
IQ: High
Email
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
You must be logged in to post a comment.