Category Archives: Books

“Kept” Character Biography: Vi Gamble

Here’s another in the process of the writer’s preparation of character biography – here, Violet Gamble (Vi) of “Kept,” one of the more fun characters to play with.

Out of all the characters in the book, this one morphed probably more than the rest. I had originally envisioned her as a small-time meth dealer, but as I wrote the screenplay of KEPT (which preceded the novel) the phenomenon of “Breaking Bad” happened, and I didn’t want to have similarities to the TV show’s story, so I made her an unsuccessful dealer of pills ‘n pot.

Who was inspiration? Originally, it was characters like a rough Linda Hamilton, as well as the actress who played Danielle Rousseau in “Lost” (Mira Furlan) and Katharine Ross (at least her look) in any recent movie or TV appearance (so I guess sexy, long haired, truthfully-aged beautiful actresses not afraid to show who they are).

Linda Hamilton

Mira Fulman

Katharine Ross

Violet Gamble – Drug dealer. Incestuous. Who do I see as inspiration: Danielle Rousseau (Mira Furlan), from LOST. Katherine Ross. Linda Hamilton. She drives a pickup truck. Old, dinged. An F150. 1995.

Sex, Age, Ht/Weight: Female, 50, 5-6, 125

Hair: RED, dyed redder than it would ever be.. Blue eyes. Nice skin, very tan, a little leathery — she lives in the desert.

Posture: good, not fantastic

Appearance: she looks like she’s been in the sun too long. She is very tan, very red but does not look like she belongs shopping on El Paseo.
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Defects: She’s had a bad nose job. She has psoriasis. She’s malnourished, cause of the meth and other drugs, so she has a few bad teeth and she has bad breath. But ironically, she still can get guys.

Heredity: nothing comes to mind – the worse thing is her name, Okie background in the 1930s.

Sociological:

“White trash with illusions” background.

She’s a drug dealer and a meth lab operator. She’s worked in the underground cash economy basically forever, from prostituting to being a con-woman to dealing drugs, that is the only thing she understands. The rest of the world’s conventions are unknown. She keeps cash in places like shoeboxes, safety deposit boxes, etc.

Education: she got a high school diploma. Lot of good that did! She’s a veteran of the military, was there for a couple of years so she knows her way around the soldiers a bit, (helpful near 29 Palms!) speaks their language. She’s retired from the Navy.

Home Life: her parents are dead. They died young, they had such hard lives. But they weren’t crooks. They were also divorced. She’s got a few brothers and sisters in different places, mostly Arizona, Vegas, some New Mexico and Texas. All of them like drugs. Violet has been married and divorced twice. Once she was widowed. Her husband died under mysterious circumstances and Violet might have been the one who murdered him. (Three boys have two different fathers) Her divorced husbands are still around, still alive somewhere. One’s in Reno.

Religion: She’s an atheist

Race, Nationality: Background is Anglo-Saxon

Place in community: an outcast. They live on land out in the middle of fuckin nowhere. They are shunned by their neighbors. The only exception is a few of the men, who Violet fools around with. She’s still kind of hot.

Politics: She does not vote.

Amusements, Hobbies: Young Service men. She has odd dreams of learning how to ski. She looks up at the mountains sometimes and wonders what if…. But not for long.

Psychological:

Sex life, moral standards: she’s a whore by most standards. She has fucked her own son, for Chrissakes! She likes sex, likes younger men. She is straight.

Personal premise, ambition. Like everyone else, wants to be rich. Wants to be INDEPENDENT. Does not really trust men, just likes them for sex.

Frustrations, disappointments: She’s remarkably ok with her lot in life. She knows she’s been dealt a bad hand but does her best to deal with it and is proud in her own way of what she’s accomplished. She has a very different yardstick.

Temperament: volatile, has an explosive temper.

Attitude: Wakes up cheerful and it goes downhill from there. She’s been around long enough to know that things change a lot and what is true today won’t necessarily be true tomorrow.

Complexes: Obsessed with her nails and hair. Likes fashion magazines. Is a smoker, has to have her cigs, lighter, etc always close by. She’s a real addict that way.

Extrovert: Yes, she’s outgoing

Abilities: Has a way with men. Actually knows some Spanish. Has some aptitude with things like car engines, she has been so self-reliant for a really long time. She can fix the plumbing, etc.

Qualities: She has western tastes. Pretty much simple things, tied to where they are. She’s really not grandiose. She does the drug stuff because she’s a user herself, but also because it was the most lucrative thing available

IQ: surprisingly high.

“Kept” Character Biography: Jacy Martin

Jacy Martin – Crooked Native American Guy, 30s. Who do I see: Gollum, Moocher from “Breaking Away,” Michael J. Pollard character (C.W. Moss) from “Bonnie and Clyde.” A snarky, somewhat devious and shady sidekick kind of guy.

The person who serves as proxy, to bring the battle of the Grecos vs. Connor and George directly to them.

Jackie Earle Haley as Moocher in “Breaking Away”

It’s Gollum! (Andy Serkis and CGI)

Michael J. Pollard as C.W. Moss in “Bonnie and Clyde”

Sex, Age, Hgt Weight: Male, early 30s, 5-7, 145.

Black hair and eyes.

Dark, Native American skin.

Posture – he can be slightly stoop shouldered, “squirrelly” describes him.

Appearance – Shifty-eyed. Ok presentation, but he sweats a lot. Always looks like he could benefit from a change of clothes.

Defect – one shoulder slightly higher than the other one.

Heredity: prone to alcoholism and high blood pressure.

Drives an old and beat-up car – it’s a Toyota. It was green at one time.

Social:

Lower class upbringing, middle class present but desperately wants to be upper class.

Work: at the tribal casino. Various jobs on the floor. He resents that he’s not making the kind of money his cousin Andreas is. Moonlights working for the Grecos on their home “remodels.”

Education: Grade school, Not a great reader. Hated it! Favorite subject was girls. Dropped out of Palm Springs High School.

Home life: his parents are members in good standing of the tribe. He’s a huge embarrassment to them. Both parents are active but functioning alcoholics. Jacy is not married, but he has a girlfriend. Long-suffering Kaya Belardo.
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Religion: Catholic, schooled at the reservation school and church. Doesn’t buy it.

Race: Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indian Tribe

Place in Community: he is somewhat of an outcast, not a popular guy. But then he’s not alone in his dislike of Andreas Alvarado.

Politics: Democrat, but he doesn’t really follow politics.

Amusements, hobbies: Watches football a lot. Sports fan. Likes to look at shopping channels, too, and plan what to buy. Loves road trips to Vegas.

Psychological:

Sex Life, moral standards: totally straight. Is pretty faithful to his girlfriend. Doesn’t have many women interested in him.

Personal premise, ambition: to be rich and to eventually push Andreas off his pedestal and run the casino himself.

Frustrations, disappointments: Is frustrated that he doesn’t have one of the big positions at the casino, which makes him a ripe target to pal up with Connor and Sy. He’s also bitterly disappointed and angry at his parents for taking him out of school after the 8^th grade where he was forced to work on the dusty land of the reservation. Though he did not like high school, let’s be honest.

Temperament: He is annoyingly cheerful with a reservoir of anger underneath.

Attitude toward life: He’s optimistic that he will come out on top, but it’s his hatred of Andreas that largely drives him.

Complexes: He has an obsession with numbers. So he checks everything against the numbers.

Extovert or introvert: More extrovert, I see him as a huckster.

Special abilities: Can speak the tribal language, otherwise, no. Has a Spanish last name but does not speak Spanish.

Qualities: he’s very middlebrow with what could be called middle class educated tastes, by that I mean he’s a sucker for advertising, for the materialist/consumerist messages. For the stuff he wants.

IQ: average. More street smart than book smart.

Kept Character Biography: Pilar Galindez Greco

Another in the series, to add to last week’s Sy Greco, and others are here (George), here (Connor) andhere (Nancy Argento).

Villainess and matron, real estate agent, errant daughter (Scottsdale royalty), and adulterous wife (to go with the adulterous husband). Pilar Greco.

Who did I see here for inspiration when I was considering Pilar? Eva Langoria, Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Eva Langoria

Catherine Zeta-Jones

Sex: Female, Age: 47 Height and Weight: 5-6, 125.

Skin: light skinned Latina. Brown eyes, black hair. She dyes it to keep it really dark.

Posture: She’s very fit and regal-looking, impeccable presentation. She’s rich and has always had some money.

She’s a headturner, always smiling, at least in public. She has had breast augmentation. Dresses expensively and knows how to wear clothing. She’s a thin, southern California desert rich woman.

Defects: None apparent, physically. She’s had problems with depression in the past and takes Lexapro or some kind of anti-depressant.

Heredity: she’s also part Native American but it’s not noticeable and she doesn’t talk about it. She’s from a more patrician latin family that’s been in the US, the southwest for many years, perhaps from the time it was still Mexico. She’s more an Arizona/New Mexico person than a Californian. Her rich and influential father’s name is Rodrigo Galindez.

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Occupation: real estate sales. Very successful. She’s bubbly! Clients love her. She makes on her own at least 250K a year.

Education: didn’t finish college. She was studying to be a veterinarian but lost interest. She loves their dog, Candy. She studied French too, and occasionally uses French phrases. Her weapon of choice is a Glock 26, this is a 9mm pistol, very, very common, it’s the most common for concealed carry. Fits nicely in her purse.

Home Life: Parents still live in Scottsdale. She has siblings – 2 older brothers. She was the spoiled little sister. Parents are retired. Her mother never worked. To this day, she treats them really well. Her parents are quiet, church-goers. They have never ever really trusted Sy, though her father admires him for his money-making skills.

Race/Nationality: mostly Latin. Her ancestry is a combination of Mexican and Spanish and Native American ancestry. She tells everyone she’s European (Spanish).

Place in Community: She’s a member of a bunch of organizations. From the museum board to the AIDS Project, to the local real estate organization and she holds office. Past president, current treasurer. She’s good with money, She likes it, like to touch it, likes to count it.

Politics: She’s a Republican, but doesn’t like to flaunt it in increasingly liberal Palm Springs.

Amusements, hobbies: She’s really into girly things like waxing, nail care, etc. She’s flawless. She gardens. Flowering desert plants are her specialty, She really does have a green thumb. Takes after her father that way. She reads Vanity Fair.

Sex Life, Moral Standards: loves sex with Sy, but has also fooled around on him a few times. Mostly with younger men, it was like she was trying to get her son back, in a way. Always, they were mixed race types, white with a little latin thrown in. Often, teenagers having a first sexual experience with a hot older woman. Connor is a departure from this type.

Her personal premise: she’s happy with winning awards for selling real estate. Also working on her house, keeping Sy relatively happy and she has this other thing, this recognition that something’s not there, that things aren’t right. Something’s missing. Which is:

Frustration, disappointments: has never gotten over the death of her boy. His name was Angel. Looks at her parents’ lives and thinks, is that all there is? Angel died in a skateboarding accident. He was hit by a car, no fault of the driver. At the intersection of Rose Avenue and Vadera in Las Palmas.

Temperament: she has a typical latin temper if crossed. She can be very, very focused and has been a good partner to Sy because of this. She’s an optimist, cautiously.

Attitude toward life: militant. She believes she has the power to change things.

Complexes: She’s got that depression. Sometimes thinks (and rightly so) that Sy is putting things over on her. But she’s not really paranoid. She’s afraid of the dark.

Extroverted – yes.

Abilities: bilingual, Spanish English. Good public speaker.

Qualities: She has great taste and poise. She’s surprised that she’s also able to get down and dirty to hold onto what she has.

IQ: very high. She’s smart as all get out.

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.

Mr. Willis

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.

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.

“Benediction” Sequel is in the Works

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

The Dinosaur Park at Cabazon makes an appearance in KEPT.

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.