Free Giveaway: Child of Orcus

Let's face it. There isn't a lot of free shit in the world anymore. Everything costs something. If it's not your money, then it's your time, pride, and dignity. Reality TV, telemarketers, and Mormon missionaries are proof of that. As for the shit that is free, it tends to be just that. Shit.

Well, for the next five days, I hope to take that concept and kick it in the balls. As part of my ongoing efforts to actually make a living writing books, I'm going to be giving away my first ever published book, "Child of Orcus," for free. Not at a discount. Not in exchange for a review or a picture of your tits. Free.

You literally cannot get a better deal than this without resorting to prostitution. If you have an Amazon account, which half the population does to some degree, you can read my first book. If you enjoy X-men Supreme or any of my other writing, you'll likely enjoy the shit out of this. It's full of teen drama, magic, betrayal, and emotional upheaval. It's basically everything Marvel and DC tries to thrust into their comics lately, but they still charge for their shit. I'm not charging for this. So please, my wonderful audience, take advantage of this! Read "Child of Orcus" and let it brighten your summer!

Child of Orcus

By Jack Fisher

Bear in mind, this offer is limited. This offer will last for only five days. I need beer money at some point. The purpose of this offer is to help build my audience and share my work. It is my sincere hope that those who enjoy this story will check out my other stories. Like I said, I want to make a career out of writing. This is just a step in a much larger process. Enjoy!

Jackpot by Jack Fisher ON SALE NOW!

Anyone who has followed this blog in any capacity knows I like to stay busy. I don't restrict myself to one project or one kind of project. I always want to be working on something, refining my craft and becoming a better writer. I always want to be improving. One day, I'd like to be able to make a living writing. That day has yet to arrive, but I'm going to keep working towards that goal.

A part of that process involves getting my non-fanfiction work out in the world for others to see. To date, I haven't secured an agent or a publisher to back my work. So I've been relying on self-publishing to this point. So far, I've self-published three books since the end of 2012. I have several other completed manuscripts that I'm shopping around, hoping to get published in a more comprehensive form. Today, I'm adding to my writing resume by posting another self-published work. This one isn't as big or as elaborate as some of my other books, like Skin Deep. But for those who enjoy my sexy side-projects, there's still plenty to love.

This book is called Jackpot. Calm down, Spider-Man fans. It's not exactly what you think, but I'd be lying if I said my experience with romance in comics didn't inspire it on some levels. This is a book I worked on earlier this year. It's an idea I had brewing and one that reflects my love of Las Vegas. If you haven't gone, what's you're excuse? If this book doesn't convince you to give it a try, nothing will. Enjoy!

Jackpot

by Jack Fisher

Jonathan Jackson Daniels knows a thing or two about luck. He came from a no-name town. He worked a dead end job. He lived his whole life seeing few get lucky breaks and even fewer make something of that luck. Then, in the luckiest break anyone could get, he won the lottery. He has the chance of a lifetime, but is scared to death of squandering it.

So before he tells anyone about his big break, he takes a trip to Las Vegas. He goes not knowing what to expect, only that he's going to indulge in the fruits of his luck. That's where he meets an enchanting woman named Janine “Jani” Jasmine. She makes it her mission to give him the time of his life, pushing his newfound luck to the absolute limit. But can a small-town guy like Jonathan handle her? Is he destined to squander his jackpot like so many others?

New Book by Jack Fisher - The Final Communion

I know it seems like at times I put all my energy into drunken comic book reviews and an endless stream of fanfiction side-projects, but I try not to monopolize all my energy into one particular venture. As I've stated before, I am pursuing a serious career in publishing. I'd like to be able to make a decent living with my writing one day. Writing comic book reviews and X-men Supreme is just one of the many ways I refine my craft. And in addition to these ventures, I do try and craft stories that I can sell to those who seek more of my craft.

To date, I've already self-published several books. None are on the best sellers list, nor do I expect them to be. But it's part of the process. I write these books so that I can keep getting better. I want it to show in my reviews, as well as my subsequent works. And today, I've added another title to my growing list of published works.

It is entitled the Final Communion. Of all the books I've written to date, this one is probably the most unique. First and foremost, it's written in a first-person point of view. The entire story is told through the eyes of a single character. With this character, you'll enter a strange yet colorful world. And yes, by colorful I mean sensual. This is another story with heavy erotic themes. But don't expect the same themes I've written about in other stories. I've tried to break new ground with this story. And for the price of a cheap comic, you can enjoy it and all its intimate glory.

The Final Communion

By Jack Fisher

Like everyone at Camp Salvation, Grace Maria Goodwin has lived a life of hardship, toil, and strict discipline. It's a life ordained by the Church of the Army of Heaven. It involves heavy repression, strict morals, and an emphasis on avoiding fleshly pleasures of any kind.

For the past 13 years, Grace has been living this life. She and everyone like her live apart from their families, training to be soldiers for the Church in preparation for the End of Days. Her life and the lives of all those around her have already been laid out.

But for one night, Grace and her fellow adherents get to abandon their obligations. For one night, they get to indulge in all the sinful desires they've been told to avoid. This night is the Final Communion. And Grace has every intention of embracing these decadent desires.

However, she also seeks more than just indulgence. She's looking for someone special...someone she must find before the night is over. Can she find him? Or will her desires consume her?

To all those who wish to support this blog, checking out my book is an excellent way to do so. For anyone interesting in discussing this book or various publishing opportunities, please feel free to contact me at any time. Until next time, stay warm and thank you for helping me become more awesome. Nuff said!

Announcement: THREE New eBooks by Jack Fisher

Today, I have another important announcement to make. No, I’m not shutting down this blog. No, I’m not going to stop Nuff Said just before Uncanny X-men #600 and Extraordinary X-men #1 come out. I’m that cruel. Instead, I want to announce something that I don’t talk about much on this blog, but is every bit as important to me.

In addition to writing awesome reviews and kick-ass X-men fanfiction, I’m actually an aspiring writer. I really do want to make this more than just something I do to be more awesome than I already am. I want to make a living with my writing skills. I’m not talking about a Stephen King or Chris Claremont type living, but a living none-the-less. And while I’ve been working on X-men Supreme, I’ve found time to work on other projects.

However, like Jennifer Lawrence’s panties, publishing is a hard business to get into. I’ve been submitting letters and manuscripts to dozens of publishers and agents. To date, I haven’t gotten any major offers. It’s become clear that some of my manuscripts are just gathering digital dust at this point. So while I work on more, it doesn’t make sense to just let them rot.

Enter Lulu, a self-publishing service that I’ve started using. This company is not a publisher like Marvel or Random House. They’re basically a self-publishing service. They’ll publish your manuscript through their channels in exchange for a cut of the sales profits. And after exploring this service, I decided to make use of it.

So with that, I’m proud to announce the publication of three books:

The Escort and the Gigolo

Behind the endless fantasy that is Las Vegas, Shawn Stevens makes a comfortable living as John Steadman, a professional gigolo and male stripper. Jane Jefferies makes a similar living as Charlotte, a stripper and high-class escort. For years, they’ve navigated an illicit criminal underworld run by Las Vegas’s unofficial queen of vice, Felicity Ramero. Within this world, they’ve fulfilled many fantasies while maintaining the lowest possible profile. But over time, they have become jaded and disillusioned with this world.

Then, on one fateful night, Shawn and Jane come in a moment of reckless passion at Club Oasis, the most popular club on the Strip. However, their passion does not go unnoticed by Felicity, who just happens to be in need of a couple of patsies to take the fall for her many crimes. In the face of increasing pressure from the law, she plans to blackmail Shawn and Jane by having them play a part in an elaborately decadent fantasy.

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The Secrets of Sadfur Island

In a not-so-distant future, Reverend Simon Grant inspired a new generation of repression to oppose decades of moral liberalization. The two main characters of this book, Peter Watson and Scarlett Hunter, embody that struggle. They are two of the most successful Hollywood stars who fell in love on a movie set. They come from humble roots and do their best to embody the morals of restraint and chastity that they were taught. However, their passion for each other proves to be too strong.

Because of this passion, Reverend Grant invites them to a secluded island in the Mediterranean called Sadfur Island. This island is reserved only for men and women of great influence, but it’s no luxurious getaway. While on this island, Peter and Scarlett are exposed to a world of harsh truths that expose the struggle between repression and expression for the lie it is. In doing so they’re opened to a world of decadence that will test their bodies, souls, and hearts. Can their love survive such upheaval?

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Holiday Heat

Emily Masters hates Christmas. She has hated it ever since the fateful Christmas Eve where her best friend, Jennifer Graves, stole the love of her life, Sean Sanders. And it only seems to get worse every year. She has failed in love, school, and work while Jennifer and Sean are now engaged to be married. In a desperate effort to reconcile, Jennifer and Sean attempt to help heal Emily’s wounded Christmas spirit. And in the process, things get very emotional and very heated.

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If you’re a fan of X-men Supreme or my various side-projects, then I’m confident you’ll enjoy these. They’re not expensive. In fact, the ebook versions are actually cheaper than the $3.99 you’ll pay for most comics. These three books will join Skin Deep and Child of Orcus as my growing list of publications. And make no mistake. I have plenty more in the works.

So if you wish to support this blog and my various writing endeavors, please check out these books and tell me what you think. I’m always open to feedback. I’m always happy to hear from readers and discuss the merits of a story, be it X-men or anything else. I hope to publish more moving forward. I still have several manuscripts that haven’t been published. And I want to keep putting my material out there. It’s the only way I can add to my overall awesome. Nuff said!

My First Published Book: Skin Deep is Available on Amazon!

Hey guys, I'm taking a break from the usual comic book news to make a big announcement. Today is a big day for me! My first self-published book is officially available on Amazon.com! I’ve been looking forward to this moment. Everyone writer has to start somewhere and today, this is my official beginning. For anyone out there who is interested in stories involving drama, romance, and sex then I strongly encourage you to check this book out! Here’s the full Amazon description:

Skin Deep - By Jack Fisher

What would you do if you could be as beautiful as you wanted to be? And what would you do when that beauty opened the doors to a new world of opportunity, pleasure, and indulgence? 

Benjamin Prescott never had that choice. He was a nobody, born into a frail body that was weak, sickly, and unattractive. Conversely, his childhood friend, Mary Williams, was blessed with a natural beauty that granted her a great many opportunities. Throughout high school, Ben watched Mary as she made friends with other attractive girls, drew attention from equally attractive boy, and indulge in the various pleasures that her body afforded her. Now as their graduation approaches, she seemed destined to drift away from him while he is doomed to a life of obscurity. But that all changes on a fateful school trip to Genetix Lab, an up-and-coming company that boasts great advances in biotechnology. In a horrific accident, Ben is seriously wounded and faces a grim prognosis. Neither his frail body nor jaded spirit is capable of healing. It leads him to cross paths with the mysterious Dr. Warren Irvine. He offers Ben a radical new treatment that promises to not only heal him, but make him as attractive and healthy as he wants to be. In the span of a few weeks, he goes from being an unattractive nobody to a very attractive somebody with a body worthy of an athlete or male model. It affords him new opportunities for indulgence that he never had before and promises to change his relationship with Mary forever. 

But in accepting Dr. Irvine’s offer, he unwittingly becomes involved in a series of lurid experiments that will test the human capacity for indulgence. It’s a story of beauty, lust, love, sex, and pleasure. How much can Mary, Ben, and all those who take advantage of their beauty handle before it consumes them? Is beauty truly skin deep? Or is the human drive for pleasure too powerful to overcome?

I'm very excited about this book. While I have every intention of continuing X-men Supreme, I still have a dream of making an actual living off my writing. This is my first step towards doing so. If you want to support X-men Supreme in another way, please buy my book or tell others about it! If you're a fan of X-men Supreme, teen drama, erotic fiction, or 50 Shades of Grey then I strongly recommend my book. Thank you and I hope you all enjoy it!

Jack

Bad Romance - X-men Comics and Valentine's Day

Well I know I usually have a review on Mondays or some other post. But this time I'm simply going to use this blog as an outlet to rant a little. I'm sorry, but I need to get this shit off my chest. Today is my least favorite day of the year, Valentine's Day. It's the day where Hallmark has an orgy at the corporate headquarters because they've convinced an entire country to go out and celebrate a love that they could just as easily celebrate on their own without the bullshit marketing ploy. Now I have my reasons for hating Valentine's Day, personal reasons that I'd rather not share with the internet. Let's just say I've had my Peter Parker moments with women and I have no superpowers to make myself feel better.

So as a result of my hatred of romantic holidays, I often find myself following the romance of fiction. Call me sappy, but I actually like love stories. Anyone who has followed X-men Supreme knows I don't shy away from love, romance, and everything in between. Why would I? Some of the greatest stories ever told are love stories. Comics have told some epic love stories that bring me comfort to this day. I can still read stories about Spider-Man and Mary Jane, Superman and Lois Lane, Cyclops and Jean Grey, Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman, and Wolverine and whatever girl he happens to be interested in at the moment. Heck, there are even gay couples like Rictor and Shatterstar or Mystique and Irene from X-men. It's a beautiful thing, romance in a fictional world. Real life sucks. You get old and you die. But stories live forever. Superman and Lois Lane have had it going since 1938. It's been an amazing ride that has become part of pop culture.

However, every so often comics (like fiction in general) will try to tell a story that's horribly fucked up and makes you equate love to the same disgust you get when you eat bad cheese melted atop rotting meat. There have been stories about Superman marrying his cousin, Professor Xavier having the hots for Jean Grey (when she was a teenager mind you), and Mystique getting freaky with Iceman. This is the kind of shit that's more disturbing that provocative. Lady Gaga's costume at the Grammy Awards was provocative. Courtney Love's visit to her gynecologist is disturbing.

I get that Marvel, DC, and other writers have to do shit to keep people interested. Romance is a great way to do so and that helps get other audiences besides the testosterone laden male demographic interested. However, there's a fine line between being creative and being disturbing. Sometimes that line is walked skillfully by good writers. Other times they stumble over that line like Charlie Sheen on a three-day drinking binge.

Keeping in line with the X-men theme of this blog, I cite the issue that I haven't been able to shut up about: Cyclops and Emma Frost. Most X-fans know the story. After Cyclops had his soul corrupted by Apocalypse, it fucked up his marriage with Jean among other things. It didn't help that Jean was getting in touch with her Phoenix side again so he went to Emma Frost for help. Emma took advantage of him, had a psychic affair with him, and ended up falling for him. Then Jean dies, Cyclops rejects Emma, a horrible future happens as a result, and Jean has to push Cyclops to be with Emma from the future so that the world is saved. Okay, so it's a fucked up story, but it's not a terrible story.

The premise of this move makes sense on paper. Cyclops and Jean Grey were seen as getting stale. Then again, whose fault is that? It's not like the writers did anything to spice things up between them. It seemed the only way to do so was for them to be torn apart. Now that's a problem. If the only way to make a relationship interesting is to start tearing them apart, then Ike Turner and Tina Turner had the most interesting relationship ever. At least with Cyclops and Jean Grey, the story was fleshed out. Cyclops didn't physically cheat on Jean. Even during the psychic affair, Emma mimicked Jean. And he didn't go with Emma the minute Jean died. He rejected her. Jean had to push him, knowing it sucked for her. But it worked.

For a while, Cyclops/Emma continued to work. Under Joss Whedon they were one of the most interesting romances Marvel ever put together. What made them interesting was that they were so unlike Cyclops and Jean Grey, yet there was still chemistry. Emma was cold, snide, and crass. Cyclops was stiff, brooding, and overbearing. Some fans go so far as to hate Cyclops because he became permanently tainted by cheating on Jean with Emma. That's pushing it because it was psychic in nature. And second, it does help balance out all the lip-locking Jean Grey did with Wolverine. But cheating or not, Cyclops and Emma Frost did work. Then something happened. Joss Whedon left. From then on the Cyclops/Emma relationship has become more annoying than every Justin Long movie ever created.

Cyclops and Emma went from being something quarky and different to being pretty much the same what Cyclops/Jean was. And that, my friends, is what we logical folk call pure whale shit. I get the whole notion of shaking up an iconic relationship. It's been done with every romance ever. But the way Cyclops/Emma has played out makes all the positives it once had seem like the decent drink some mysterious guy bought you before he drugs and date rapes you. Now Emma is essentially a more sexuality Jean Grey. While most men won't argue with an overly sexualized woman in comics, Emma Frost makes it more goofy than hot. She does just what Jean did, standing by Cyclops as his arm candy and supporting him no matter what he does. She even pushes him when he does something that is clearly batshit stupid. Even Jean Grey never went that far. Maybe I'm missing something here, but if you break up an iconic couple like Cyclops/Jean because it got bland only to replace it with a pairing that turns out to have the same problems then why the fuck do you break them up in the first place?! Is it just because someone at Marvel has a preference for blonds instead of redheads? This is the 21st fucking century. We have Photoshop now. You can turn Jean Grey's hair blond and Wolverine's hair pink if you want. You can do that shit without fucking up the characters.

Sorry for my string of curses, but it does piss me off. Cyclops/Jean have something that Cyclops/Emma will never have. They're iconic. Their love story has spanned 40 years. Cyclops/Emma will never be that iconic. Even if it ends up lasting 40 years, it will never escape the fact that it was because of Cyclops/Jean that they got together in the first place. They're only an item because Jean Grey pushed it. Yet some writers like Matt Fraction have the stones to say that somehow Cyclops/Emma is more mature? Does he or anyone even know how to use wikipedia? Cyclops and Jean Grey actually got married, something that hasn't even been mentioned with Cyclops/Emma.

And their marriage worked, regardless of what detractors say. It worked pretty damn well in comic time. They were together for over 12 years if you count the time they spent in the future together. They raised baby Cable during that time. And pretty much every major medium from the cartoons to video games to the movies have Cyclops/Jean together in some capacity. When they don't it causes issues. Remember a joyless little clusterfuck movie called X3 that so many fans hated? Well in that movie they killed Cyclops in the first 15 minutes and tried to replace him with Wolverine. Keep in mind that Wolverine in the movies only knew Jean for a few days yet somehow their love story is supposed to be greater than the love story of Cyclops and Jean, who were together long enough to get engaged? If you think any self-respecting X-men fan would accept that then go back to your meth dealer, cut off his balls, and step on his face for selling you the worst quality shit he had.

Ever since Whedon left, Cyclops/Emma have become the sacred cow that the writers and fans used to love criticizing. They won't do jack shit to shake them up. They always have to be written as being lovey dovey, which was completely the opposite of the relationship Morrison and Whedon developed (which also happened to be the more interesting relationship). Now Emma Frost has essentially been neutered. She's about as witty as Keanu Reeves on Ritalin and about as deep as Adam Sandler's acting. Even when stories that could potentially change things come along such as Emma's past with Namor or her joining Norman Osborn, it doesn't do shit. It always ends up getting swept under the rug so Cyclops and Emma go back to the way things were. Nothing changes, yet this is exactly the kind of bullshit that writers and fans hated Cyclops/Jean Grey for.

So with this in mind, I have to say MAKE UP YOUR FUCKING MIND PEOPLE! If you want to replace Jean with Emma, just say it. Don't take a big steaming dump on a plate and serve it up as chocolate mouse. If you just don't like Jean Grey over Emma Frost or vice versa, fine. But that's no excuse to fuck up a story or a romance that was 40 years in the making. You're not going to replace it and have it be believable. Just as you're not going to undo the stories that have been told. It's not Ultimatum or the fucking Clone Saga. It doesn't involve fucking an entire series up. If that's what you want to do just to force a character or story you want, then you're a douche-bag.

The characters come first and then the stories come second. Biases are third. We all have them. I have them. I don't hide from them nor do I deny them. But whatever my biases, I never sacrifice the story for it. A personal bias can fuck an entire series. Look at One More Day in Spider-Man. Just because some assholes don't like writing a married Spider-Man, they changed it. They didn't just end the marriage. They fucking retconned it. That's like giving someone a pill saying that it'll cure their cancer and all it does is make them shit uncontrollably for 10 days straight. If you like a pairing fine. If you don't that's fine too. It's not an excuse to go at it with a bazooka. There are other more creative and less insulting ways to get what you want in a story. You think Peter Parker asking for a divorce is crossing a line? How about making a deal with a fucking devil? For that alone, Spider-Man is not a hero. He's a shithead. At least Cyclops had the decency to wait for his wife to die before going back to being single.

So in closing, I'll just say that there will always be a place for romance. I enjoy it and will continue to utilize it in X-men Supreme. However, here on the unholiest of holidays known as Valentine's Day I'm compelled to rant a little on all the bullshit that bad romance stories can lead to in comics and fiction in general. We all love the power of love, even if we're too macho to admit it. When love stories are fucked up, that tends to piss people off more than usual. I'm pissed off it's Valentine's Day and I'm also pissed off at how certain relationships are handled in the comics. I do hope it changes. One good thing about comics is the limits of reality aren't in place. All it takes is one good story to bring everything together or make it awesome.

With that in mind I say happy fucking Valentine's Day everybody. Again, sorry for the bitter rant. Just needed to get it out of my system. Nuff said.