Virtual Book Tour & #Giveaway for Let's Stalk Rex Jupiter by Allison A. Spector

Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Book Tour, presented by Goddess Fish Promotions, for Let’s Stalk Rex Jupiter by Allison A. Spector.  Please leave a comment or question for Allison to let her know you stopped by.  You may enter her tour wide giveaway, where Allison will be awarding a signed copy of her book with original plot outline notes (loose sheets of paper) inside and additional notes at end or in margins of story (US/Canada only) to a randomly drawn commenter, by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You may follow all of the stops on the tour by clicking on the banner above.  The more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning. 

Rex Jupiter and the Russian Nesting Doll by Allison A. Spector

One of the most interesting questions that have emerged during my Rex Jupiter Book Tour is about the message and meaning behind my novella. 

What inspired me to write this strange little farce that takes place in the Pacific Northwest?  What am I trying to convey to my readers?  What’s with all the crazy people?

It’s a great question because there a several layers to my answer.  Let’s call it the Rex Jupiter Russian Nesting Doll.  Some of the layers are very easy to address, and some are a little more difficult.  But since the question intrigued me, and inspired me toward navel-gazing, I decided to explore the answer in some detail below:

#1 – I write what I love, and I love farce.

I write what I love, because I couldn’t imagine not actively expressing myself through the written word.  Tackling topics and genres that make me smile is as natural as breathing. But the specific format I choose to express my feelings really depends on my mood.  When the Summer Writing Project began, and we were challenged to craft a novella one chapter at a time, I had an overwhelming sense of whimsy and nostalgia on the brain.  So I decided to play with one of my favorite genres—farce!  Farce is wonderfully loud, and over-the-top and thrives on absurdity— glued together by its own internal logic.  The best part about the genre is that there’s room for a little bit of magic, a LOT of crossed wires, and there’s ALWAYS a happy ending.  So it didn’t take much to inspire me to move forward in this style.  Every word I typed brought a smile to my face, and mad echoes of laughter across my home.

#2 – I felt homesick and wanted to share something beautiful with my readers.

Everyone has a place that if they close their eyes, and click their heels together, they know they’ll return (at least in their hearts).  For me, that place is the Pacific Northwest.  Portland, Seattle, Bellingham, and all the wonderful little towns in-between- those are the well-springs of my soul.  The entire region is filled with kindred spirits with open minds and hearts. 

And while I have deep gratitude and appreciation for my friends and colleagues in other parts of the country, I know there’s one place on Earth that I belong, and that’s the land of waterfalls and evergreens. Like Frederick the mouse from the children’s story, I needed to take all the bits of sunshine, all the scraps of hope and wonder that I had stored in my heart during my six years in the Northwest and fill up my cup, and the hearts of my readers, with all the wonder I had gathered.

#3 – I have a radical agenda… to spread ideas of reason and unity wherever possible.

Call me an insufferable Pollyanna, but I believe that there are ways to reconcile our human differences that don’t involve screaming, name-calling, and the deployment of heavy weaponry. In fact, I strongly suspect that most humans come into this world in a neutral-state, with a desire to do good (or at least to not mess things up too badly) and to live their lives the best they can. 

One of the main themes of Let’s Stalk Rex Jupiter is about how any belief, on any topic (taken to extremes) leads to absolute madness and chaos.  It’s amazing how formally benign subjects like the weather and kids’ shows, can totally spiraled into an out-of-control swampnado of undifferentiated loathing.  Rex Jupiter reflects that madness and offers a lifeline of silliness and redemption for fellow moderates, in order to chase away the gloom of reality with some lighthearted fun, supernatural silliness, and over-the-top pursuits!

***

Thanks for exploring my Russian Nesting Doll with me.  My strange little story was a pleasure to write, and I think there are fun little tidbits for many different types of readers to enjoy. 

Let’s Stalk Rex Jupiter

By Allison A. Spector

Publisher: 1888/Blackhill Press

Release Date: November 19, 2015

Genre: Literary Fiction

Format: eBook/Print

Length:  224 Pages

ISBN: 978-0692566787

ASIN: B0188MUKWE

Buy Link:  Amazon

About the book:

Trouble’s brewing in the Evergreen Jungle. When controversial author Rex Jupiter plans a visit to a Bellingham bookstore, news of his arrival attracts the attention of the mysterious Paladin, who plans on leading a mob of rioting housewives against him. But the Paladin has competition. Sleuth-extraordinaire Marian Krause has her own bone to pick with Jupiter as she scrambles to solve the death of a woman who has stolen her identity. Rex may think he has the situation under control, but when the wrath of the local Druids is incurred, pitchforks and torches may be the least of his concerns.

EXCERPT

Marian’s lungs shuddered against the fumes of the organic, locally sourced, native-friendly tobacco as it passed from the long-stemmed cigarette holder through her lips and into her body. It was a dirty, messy habit. And it was hers. The smoke floated in the air, letting forth a wave of guilty pleasure. She carefully measured out her puffs, since theauthorityoneverything.com told her that for every cigarette she smoked she would lose 5.5 minutes of her life.

Thus, she made sure that she only sacrificed 1.375 minutes at a time. She found the pleasure-to-life-lost ratio to be acceptable as everyone knew that all detectives smoked. And they did so in darkened rooms, with shades drawn, and only the light of a low-watt desk-lamp to illuminate the wisp of airborne tobacco trailing off like a faded dream.

Also, it made her feel badass. So, there.

Of course, there were disadvantages to sitting in a darkened room, the greatest of which was that it made her extremely susceptible to her husband’s Tokens of Affection, which usually fell into three categories:

(A) Crimes Scenes: composed of stolen police tape, ketchup, and teddy bears

(B) Fan Fiction: of a most Adult variety, written about Marian, and cleverly slipped in between her meticulously organized case files and resumes

(C) Brazen Thievery: which meant that her Second-Most Favorite Fedora would be missing, and she could only retrieve it following an Elaborate Series of Clues

The very thought of his categorical attentions made her want to climb down from her attic office and pay him a Conjugal Visit that instant. She would bring the Special Trench Coat and the magnifying glass and…

She slapped herself on the cheek. Love would have to wait.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Allison Spector was born and raised in the hedonistic playground of the Jersey Shore, but finds herself oddly allergic to spray tan.  She is a proud graduate of Goucher College, and started her environmentally-focused career in Washington DC in 2005.  She moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2008, and fell in love with its beauty and people.  Allison is currently on a Midwestern Adventure and is determined to live as much life as possible—to accomplish her dreams one at a time—and to nurture her loving family, and blaze a trail of wit, whimsy, and eccentricity wherever she goes.

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/inspectorallie

Website:  http://www.allisonspector.com

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