The first of the second batch, we have Teresa Bouchard, John's adoptive mother. Having found Jean Louis alone, abandoned and alone as a baby, she brought him into her home, into her community, into her family, a mixed crew of Creole, ex-slave, Cajun, American Indian, mixed blood, and the differently abled - those who would be gawked at in a sideshow in the world and time she lives in. An intelligent, pragmatic, worldly and world weary leopardess, Teresa - Tessa - raised John for the first sixteen years of his life, teaching him to juggle, to handle fire, to shoot, acrobatics, to throw knives, and other tricks of the carnie and performing life. She even taught him to read and write in two languages, his numbers, about the world the best she could. But, she was also overprotective, not letting Jean out of her sight, even as he struggled to make friends, struggled with loneliness, and struggled with his sexuality. A voodoo caplata, she is knowledgeable in the arcane arts, something Jean only acknowledged as something used to scam tourists and yokels, even though the magical tarot cards given to him at his departure he knew were magic, but she is much more than that. Much more than that...

Done by the wonderful with whom I've done work in the past. I'm working with him to get references for all of my characters, as well as hopefully working on a graphic novel/comic adaptation of the novel, too. For now, though, I'd like to introduce the character as well as give a free preview of the novel itself. Once published by Thurston Howl, it has now migrated to Fenris to be republished, so if you're interested in getting a copy, you can find it here: https://fenrispublishing.com/product.php?id=1167.

BUT! THE MANUSCRIPT HASN'T BEEN UPDATED. IF YOU PICK IT UP, LET ME KNOW AND I'LL GIVE YOU A .PDF OF THE UPDATED VERSION!!! (The updates are more style than substance, but still. >.>)

You can also LISTEN ( :D ) to the prologue and first chapter of the novel here, read by Carrazo on the Voice of Dog: https://thevoice.dog/?episode=aces-.....ps-part-1-of-2

The second is also out!: https://thevoice.dog/?episode=aces-.....ps-part-2-of-2