Stu Jenks' Fezziwig Press

Circles and Spirals: Stu Jenks' Newsletter #6: 6/3/2022

"Rain Approaching, Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia" (c) 2022 Stu Jenks. 

1) Good news, bad news. The CyberKnife radiation treatment for the tiny bit of prostate cancer I still have is unavailable and ineffective, so say the good folk at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill. So I'll be getting old-school-hopefully-it-doesn't-tear-me-up-too-bad radiation here in Greensboro. Shit. I was really hoping to get the less invasive radiation but alas. I did hear though that Dr. Matt Manning here at Cone Hospital is one of the best radiation oncologist in the country, so I have that going for me. Fingers double crossed. 

2) Went to the races in Charlotte over the Memorial Day weekend. The ARCA cars and the trucks on Friday night were something, literally shaking the ground as they passed the start-finish line on restarts. And there are some up and coming black NASCAR drivers now too, and there are some black folk in the stands in Charlotte Motor Speedway. Made me very happy to see a more diverse crowd than what you might see at the little tracks in rural Virginia. Things have changed, a little bit.

3) Reluctant capitalist plug: The ebook of the 10th anniversary edition of Step Zero is now up on Amazon. Just click this link and it'll take you there. It's free if you already have the Kindle Unlimited or $2.99 is you buy it. Baby needs a new pair of shoes, so hit those buttons. The paperback edition will be coming out soon. If you want to pre-order the book book or be put on the list for a copy, just email me. [email protected]

4) Finished up the remainder of the Arizona images from my recent trip. The Painted Desert Project in particular is one of the best public art projects I've seen in years. Real, gritty, beautiful, meaningful. You can see it if you are driving from Flagstaff to the eastern entrance of The Grand Canyon, in Gray Mountain. It is stunning. 

"The Painted Desert Project, Gray Mountain, Arizona" (c) 2022 #vyalone and many more. Image capture by me. 

"Saguaro near Topowa, T.O. Reservation, Arizona" (c) 2022 Stu Jenks. 

"The Virgin Mary near Kitt Peak, T.O. Reservation, Arizona" (c) 2022 Stu Jenks. 

5) I visited dead relatives over the Memorial Day weekend. Mom, Dad, & Pamela. Dad's parents and my murdered great aunt Bertie too. (To read the sad story of Aunt Bertie and her children, clink on this link). At Bertie's grave in Richmond, the candle I placed there months ago was still there. I had an extra U.S. flag with me and I placed it at her grave. She wasn't a veteran of the armed services, but she certainly was a veteran of sorts, of the violence against women. I know it's a stretch but it seemed right to decorate her grave with something. It was nice to visit Stuart, Mary and my sister in Lancaster County. Sit on the OK-God-Let's-Do-It bench. Play a couple of songs for them on the bouzouki. Walk through the woods. Reminding myself that I have forgiven them (mostly) for what they did or didn't do. It's different everything I see them. They haven't changed. They're dead, but I'm different each time. This time, I really embraced what my mother Mary Jenks did for me. Of all my family members, Mom and her mother Nannie were the only two who really got the odd little boy who was me. I really appreciate them for that. Yes, it was $125 in gas just to hang there for a hour or so, but it was worth it. Life is short.

"Great Aunt Bertie's Grave, Richmond, Virginia" (c) 2022 Stu Jenks. 

6) So that's it for now. I'm slowing healing up from COVID. Still have some congestion but the sinus headache has mostly gone away. If you want to help me out financially, buy the new Step Zero e-book, or some music or prints or sticks or whatever. Alexa is doing well. It's hot and sticky here in Greensboro, but we have a bunch of bunnies in our backyard, and birds, birds, birds. Alexa figured out if she put vegetable oil on the bird feeder pole, it makes it so the chipmunks can't raid the birdseed. Smart woman, my wife. Love you all, Stu. 

"Me at Stagsville Plantation, North Carolina" (c) 2022 photo taken by another visitor to this historical site. 

"North Topsail Beach at Desk, North Carolina" (c) 2022 Stu Jenks. 

Circles and Spirals: Stu Jenks' Newsletter #3: 4/21/22

"PTSD" by Clarence Heyward, acrylic and gold leaf on canvas, 2020. Image capture by Stu Jenks. 

 

Hello everyone,

1) Currently some of Clarence Heyward's work (pictured above) is being shown at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University in Durham, NC. This show is shunning, presenting the work of 30 emerging artists. Entitled, "Reckoning and Resilience: North Carolina Art Now", it'll be up until July 10, 2022. I've been three times already to visit this show. I can not recommend it highly enough. 

The featured painting is very large, guessing 5 feet tall at least. And yes, that is the Pledge of Allegiance in gold leaf behind the figure. 

2) Maundy Thursday service at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, here in Greensboro, was as good as it gets. Washing of the feet. Reminding the congregation of Jesus's last commandment, "... to love one another...", the stripping of the altar, all very nice. (And to be clear, I'm not a Christian but I was raised in this Church. I do believe in a God of sorts, cosmic muffin or intuitive thought, but I don't believe in the Risen Christ. I'm more Buddhist and Deist than anything else. And yes, I believe in the ghostly presence of my ancestors in my life. Got that belief from a Native American friend years ago.) But what made me cry was a professional singer, a lovely baritone, singing "Where you there...", that old powerful slave song from almost 200 years ago. Just wonderful.

3) Not so wonderful, my prostate cancer has returned, but only a little bit. Probably the size of the head of a pin. It's a long story but the type of radiation that one cancer center planned for me was very destructive to the good surgical work of Dr. Juan Chipollini 2 years ago. Currently, I don't poop nor peed on myself and everything is working great down there, if you know what I mean. The shotgun blast radiation would change all that, possibly making me permanently incontinent, messing up my colon, and destroying my current sexual function, also maybe for good. This depressed me a lot as you can imagine. Until I remember that great medical school at my alma mater, UNC-Chapel Hill, just an hour to the east. There, I found a new urologist and radiation oncologist who does a very pinpoint radiation using a machine called the Cyber Knife. Great name. Appointment is in early June for this second opinion consultation but I'm already sold from what I've read. And my new doctor is more patient oriented in her care. I'm much more hopeful. Quality of life, baby. Quality of life.

4) The tenth anniversary edition of my first novel, Step Zero is completed and being converted to e-book-ness and soon to be uploaded to the book printer. I'll be making some book-books, but they are expensive. Soon, you'll be able to buy the e-books for either $1.99 or $.99. Attached here is the new cover art for the book. (Thanks to Michael Joplin, for turning me on the the null set symbol. That was brilliant.) 

and 5) lastly, here are some images from recent print sales of mine. I have a big inventory but I'm always, always interested in what people buy. Perhaps you are too.

Love you guys.

Thinking about y'all, and holding you in white light, as the Woo-Woo man says.

Stu. 

All images (c) Stu Jenks 2022, except for "PTSD," (c) Clarence Heyward 2022.

 

 

“Eowyn/Miranda Otto, Dogwood, North Carolina” © 2021 Stu Jenks [Extended Family Series]

“Eowyn/Miranda Otto, Dogwood, North Carolina” © 2021, $175

Price: $175, shipping included. Simply contact me via my email address at [email protected] or Facebook message me, if you would like to purchase one of my pieces. Payments can be made with Paypal, Venmo or credit card with Square. All pieces are signed with its title, and can be hung from the wall. Love y'all, Stu.

 

Eowyn is a character from Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings. She is a noblewoman of the Rohan, played marvelously by Miranda Otto in Peter Jackson's films. I admire this character a lot and Ms. Otto as well, for the depth of her portrayal.

I recently re-watched The Two Towers again. It still holds up.

#eowyn, #mirandaotto, #stujenks, #extendedfamilyseries

“Hermione Granger/Emma Watson, White Ash, North Carolina” © 2021 Stu Jenks [Extended Family Series]

“Hermione Granger/Emma Watson, White Ash, North Carolina” © Stu Jenks 2021, 23 inches long.

Not for sale. In the collection of Alexa Jenks.

 

This is a coffee table piece, more magic wand and worry stick than anything else. My wife likes to play with it to relieve stress or just touch it because it feels nice. It can be hung from the wall too, as can all of my pieces.

Hermione Granger is one of the main characters in the Harry Potter series, played by Emma Watson in the films. She may be my favorite of all those Hogwarts folk, and I like a lot of those people.

Alexa initially suggested I am make smaller pieces like this. After sanding, oiling, and finishing this spiral stick, it ended up becoming a magic wand. Go figure.

I think I'll make more of these, the next ones for sale. Thin spiral branches are few and far between in the forest but I’ll keep looking. 

Love you guys.

#stujenks, #hermione granger, #emmawatson

 

Step Zero: The Special Illustrated Edition for free, right here.

Right here, a free pdf download of my novel Step Zero: The Special Illustrated Edition.

Yep, I'm giving shit away.

Sometimes I have to do that for people to buy my other work, but in this case, I just want people to have this. I worked hard on this, and I think this is a pretty good book. Plus the hardbound book is way too expensive for most people to buy, and the paperback Step Zero edition doesn't have the groovy graphic pen images in it.

So here you are. All 688 pages of images and words. Hope you dig the book.

P.S. This is a hard R-rated book, with drug use, graphic sex and brutal murder. Just so you know. It also has sweet songs, funny lines and touching relationships. It's not all rough, but parts of it are.

Love y'all.

Stu.

Again, here's the free pdf download of the illustrated Step Zero novel.

 

Samwise Gamgee/Sean Astin, Red Oak, North Carolina” © Stu Jenks 2021 [Extended Family Series]

Samwise Gamgee/Sean Astin, Red Oak, North Carolina” © Stu Jenks 2021, 56 inches tall.

Price: $125, shipping included in the price. Simply contact me via my email address at [email protected] or Facebook message me, if you would like to purchase one of my pieces. Payments can be made with Paypal, Venmo or credit card with Square. All pieces are signed with its title, and can be hung from the wall. Love y'all, Stu.

 

Ah, Sam. Frodo Baggins' gardener and his most loyal friend and protector. And thank you, Sean Astin, for portraying him so honestly and warmly in the three Lord Of The Rings films. A rugged, strong, yet imperfect red oak walking stick seems just right for Master Gamgee.

Finally, the last words in the Return Of The King film and in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy books, always makes me tear up. It's Sam who says them.

But Sam turned to Bywater, and so came back up the Hill as day was ending once more. And he went on, and there was yellow light, and fire within; and the evening meal was ready, and he was expected. And Rose drew him in, and set him in his chair, and put little Elanor upon his lap.

He drew a deep breath.

"Well, I'm back," he said.

 

#samwise, #seanastin, #stujenks, #extendedfamilyseries

“Galadriel/Cate Blanchett, Tulip Poplar, Virginia” © Stu Jenks 2021 [Extended Family Series]

“Galadriel/Cate Blanchett, Tulip Poplar, Virginia” © Stu Jenks 2021, 66 inches tall.

Price: $175, shipping included in the price. Simply contact me via my email address at [email protected] or Facebook message me, if you would like to purchase one of my pieces. Payments can be made with Paypal, Venmo or credit card with Square. All pieces are signed with its title, and can be hung from the wall. Love y'all, Stu.

 

I've been a fan of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy since college. I used to read the books every 5 years or so. And I was beyond thrilled when Peter Jackson made them into movies in the early 2000's

You'll see a few wall pieces in the coming days made in honor of some of those characters and the people who played them on the big screen.

Galadriel, The Lady Of The Golden Wood, is the first. And it was perfect casting having the wonderful Cate Blanchett play her.

Just watched parts of The Two Towers recently. It still holds up after almost 20 years. Really happy I was alive to see those films. Happy to be alive to re-watch them today.

And yes, Cate doesn't know me from the Man In The Moon, but Galadriel feels like family to me. Is family to me. Some characters in some books feel that way, don't they? I know to some of you avid readers out there, you feel that way too, about some fictional characters. Feel free to tell me in the comments, which folk feel like family to you.

Love and light, Stu.

#galadriel, #stujenks, #extendedfamilyseries. #cateblanchett

My current art, book, and music resume...

Stu Jenks
Born: Richmond, Virginia, USA, 1954

Education:

1997, Photography Studies, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona.
1979, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Studio Art: Sculpture, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Selected Solo Exhibitions:

2016, “20 Years: 1996-2016,” Wee Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2015, “The Little Ones,” Wee Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2014, “The Ancients,” Wee Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2009, "At-One-With," Jewish Community Center, Tucson, Arizona.
2008, "Nine Prayers," Hotel Congress, Tucson, Arizona.
2007, "A Very Large God," Unity of Tucson, Tucson, Arizona.
2005, "If There's a Heaven...," Endicott West Art Foundation, Tucson, Arizona.
2004, "Mystery And Magic,” Metroform Limited Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2002, "Circles and Spirals," Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Arizona.
2001, "Analog and Digital," Safehouse, Tucson, Arizona.
2001, "Circles and Spirals," The Image Gallery, The Screening Room, Tucson, Arizona.
1998, "Sacred Spaces," Hercules Florence Gallery, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona.

Books:

2016, Victor Mothershead: U.S. Secret Service by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press
2015, Step Zero (The Special Edition) by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2014, Balthazar and Zeeba: A Christmas Novella by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2014, A Rolodex Of Haikus by Tunafish Smith (Edited by Stu Jenks), Fezziwig Press.
2014, Air & Gravity by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2013, Pamela’s Baby Rocking Chair by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2012, Step Zero by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2012, The Fatal Figures (Or How I Got In Trouble With The Law In Art School),
by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2011, The Transpersonal Papers: 1861-2010 by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2011, Bozo In Love by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2011, Dementia Blues by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2009, Hoop Dancing: More Journeys Through Nocturnal Photography,
by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.
2008, Flames Spirals: Journeys Through Nocturnal Photography by Stu Jenks, Fezziwig Press.

Music And Audiobooks:

2003: The Three Surrenders: Soundtracks for Photographs, Vol. One, Fezziwig Press.
2005: West Of The Fires: Soundtracks for Photographs, Vol. Two, Fezziwig Press.
2008: Gladstone Mothershead: Soundtracks for Photographs, Vol. Three, Fezziwig Press.
2010: Hoop Dancing (The Audiobook), Fezziwig Press.
2011: Deaths & Injuries, Fezziwig Press.
2013: Pamela’s Baby Rocking Chair (The Audiobook), Fezziwig Press.
2014: Balthazar & Zebba: A Christmas Novella (The Audiobook), Fezziwig Press.
2015: Angel Ghosts, Fezziwig Press.

Selected Group Exhibitions:

2016, “Into the Night: Contemporary Art and the Nocturne Tradition,” Tucson Museum Of Art.
2016, “In Full Bloom,” Tohono Chul Park, Arizona.
2015, “Small Works,” Tohono Chul Park, Arizona.
2015, “Dia de los Muertos,” Tohono Chul Park, Arizona.
2015, “The Photographers,” Contreras Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2015, “The Sky Above,” Tohono Chul Park, Arizona.
2014, “The Trees: Myth, Symbol and Metaphor,” Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Arizona.
2012, "Vicios y Virtudes" (Vices & Virtues), Raices Taller 222 Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2010, "Night Moves: After-Dark Images," Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Arizona.
2009, "Print Pop," Lulubell Toy Bodega, Tucson, Arizona.
2009, "Curious Camera," ArtsEye/Photographic Works, Honorable Mention, Tucson, Arizona.
2008, "La Celebración y el Sufrimiento," Union Gallery, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
2008, "The September Show," Point Of View Gallery, Raleigh, North Carolina.
2008, "Big Ideas, Small Frames," Dinnerware Artspace, Tucson, Arizona.
2008, "Darkness, Darkness," Three Columns Gallery, Harvard University,
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
2007, "Salon Des Refuses," Dinnerware Contemporary Arts, Tucson, Arizona.
2006, "Big Deal 13," SOMarts Gallery, San Francisco, California.
2006, "Transcending Boundaries," Point Of View Gallery, Raleigh, North Carolina.
2006, "Tough Lovelies: Agaves and Yuccas in Art," Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Arizona.
2006, "The Art Of Photography,” Lyceum Theatre, San Diego, California.
2005, "Día de los Muertos: Contemporary Expressions," Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Arizona.
2004, "Hotshoe Salon" Studio 455, Tucson, Arizona.
2004, "Wildfire!", Tohono Chul Park, Tucson, Arizona.
2003, "First Annual Winter Group Exhibition," Metroform Limited Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2003, "Small Works Invitational," Metroform Limited Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2003, "46th Annual International Awarded Exhibition," San Diego Art Institute, San Diego,
California.
2002, "Rocky Mountain Biennial," Museum of Contemporary Art, Fort Collins, Colorado.
2002, "Spite: Ten Years of The Toole Shed," Museum of Contemporary Art/Hazmat Gallery,
Tucson, Arizona.
2002-2004, "Saguaro: Popular Image and Cultural Icon," Arizona Commission of the Arts
Touring Exhibition (with Tohono Chul Park), Arizona.
2001, "Response," Tucson/Pima Arts Council, Tucson, Arizona.
2001, "In God We Trust," Zahorec Hughes Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio.
2001, "Michael Cajero, Stu Jenks, and Rudolph Nadler," Jewish Community Center's Fine Art
Gallery, Tucson, Arizona.
2000, "La Petite VIII," Alder Gallery, Coburg, Oregon.
2000, "44th Annual International Awarded Exhibition," San Diego Art Institute, California.
2000, "Visions VI," Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, Kentucky.
2000, "Nocturnes 2000," Pacific Media Arts, San Francisco, California,
Curator's Choice Award.
2000, "Tucson/Pima Arts Council Fellowship Exhibit," Tucson/Pima Arts Council, Tucson,
Arizona.
1999, "43rd Annual International Awarded Exhibition," San Diego Art Institute, San Diego,
California.
1999, "La Petite VII", Alder Gallery, Coburg, Oregon.
1999, "Visions V", Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, Kentucky; Jury's Award.
1999, "Arizona Biennial '99," Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona.
1999, "Photowork '99," Barrett Art Center, Poughkeepsie, New York.
1999, "Miniatures," The Galleria, Bisbee, Arizona.
1979, “Bachelor of Fine Arts Show”, Ackland Museum, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Installations:

2012, “Open Circle for Pamela,” Glow Festival of Lights, Oracle, Arizona.
2009, "Open Circle Plus Seven," Metanexus Conference, Tempe, Arizona.
2004, "Ancient Spirit, Modern Voice: The Mythic Journeys Art Exhibition," The Defoor Centre
Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia.
2002, "The Open Circle Cairn Project," Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson, Arizona.

Grants & Fellowships:

2000, Tucson/Pima Arts Council, Visual Arts I Fellowship Awards (Honorable Mention).

Selected Lectures, Juries & Workshops:

2011, Juror, Third Annual Curious Camera Competition, ArtsEye, Tucson, Arizona.
2010, Co-Executive Director, "All Souls' Procession 4th Annual Photography Exhibition
Competition," All Souls' Procession, Tucson, Arizona.
2009, Juror, "Blue Nocturne," The Nocturnes, San Francisco, California.
2006, Presenter, "The Rhythm of Mythic Journeys '06," Mythic Imagination Institute, Atlanta,
Georgia.
2001, Juror, "A Little Night Music," TheNocturnes.com, Pacific Media Arts, San Francisco,
California.
1998, Guest Lecturer on Sepia and Selenium Toning, Photography Program, University of
Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.

Representatives:

Baker + Hesseldenz, Tucson, Arizona.
Fezziwig Press, Tucson, Arizona.

 

Image: "Callanish With A Plastic Brownie 127 Camera, Isles of Lewis and Harris, Scotland" (c) 2016 Stu Jenks.

Dear President Barack Obama, and First Lady Michelle Obama...

Below is a cover letter I sent to The White House with a handbound copy of my new book Victor Mothershead: U.S. Secret Service. Some of you will like this. Some of you will think I'm naive. Some of you will hate this letter. Do me a favor. Keep your negative internet opinions to yourself. I'm a sensitive soul who hurts easily, and when I get hurt, I get mad or sad. I'd prefer to just feel happy about sending a nice note to a President I voted for twice. If you want to talk politics with me in person or on the phone, great, but don't type shit to me, all right? All right. Enjoy the letter. Or not.

Dear President Barack Obama, and First Lady Michelle Obama and First Daughters Sasha and Malia Obama,

Enclosed is the fourth book in my Step Zero series in which I write about The United States in the years 2079-2080. In this and in previous books, I created a fictional character named Sasha Obama Fulbright. I’m simply honoring the good work you and Michelle have done for our country, by making that character, a tough, sweet, elder, female President who has helped America also return from very tough times. I’m not crazy nor dangerous or anything. I’m just a writer and an artist with a good imagination. Hope you like the book.

Thanks again for the thank-you note and the lovely photo of you all and the girls, that you sent a few years back when you received the first book. (By the way, Mr. President, you make a brief appearance in the first book, Step Zero, as a loving ghost. Just saying.) The photo and note are framed in my house and are one of my most priced possessions.

Maybe in 2017 you might be able to read this book, after you leave office, but it’s not a big thing if you don’t. What is a big thing is the true and loyal service you have given to our country. I too believe, like you, that change is incremental, that justice and progress often happen slowly. But you have done much, Mister President, to kick the can of American Goodness down the road. Thank you for that.

I’ll miss you a lot, Barack, come January. I think Hillary will be a fine President, but frankly, she can’t tell a joke as well as you. She just doesn’t have your timing.

Much love and thanks again for all you have done.

Sincerely,

 

Stu Jenks
P.O.Box 161
Tucson, Arizona 85702
[email protected]

 

All photos by Stu Jenks (c) 2016. Top photo is a kaleidoscope image taken in front of The White House. Bottom photo was taken off my TV of the President crying after another mass shooting, in which children were killed. Again.

Book design of Victor Mothershead: U.S. Secret Service by Gail Cross of Desert Isle Designs in Mesa, Arizona.

"A cautionary note from the author..."

Yippee-ki-yay, buckaroos.

Victor Mothershead: U.S. Secret Service is now for sale, both as a handbound book-book and as an e-book. E-books are at the low, low price of $2.99, at Apple's ibook store and on the Amazon Kindle (just search 'Stu Jenks' in those stores and you'll find me.) The hardbound editions can be bought locally at Tucson Touch Therapies and through my online store at https://squareup.com/store/fezziwig-press/.

Below is the introduction/cautionary note to the readers of Victor Mothershead: U.S. Secret Service. My previous Step Zero novels have produced, how can I say it, some interesting and unexpected emails. ("Stu Jenks, you suck."). This intro was written to help quell some of nastier emails, if that's at all possible in the digital online wasteland of people with personality disorders. But I try.

Enjoy this little excerpt and buy my books if you are a reading-kind-of-person. And if you want to simply support my creative work in general, just click on this link and go to the bottom of the webpage, and you can donate $5 or more to the cause.

And if you steal the ebook online, by striping out the code and putting it on a pier to pier site, to hell with you. I ain't going to pray against you, but I ain't going to pray very hard for you either.

Bottom Line? The new novel is out, and I'd like you to buy.

Thanks guys.

Love y'all,

Stu.

A Cautionary Note From The Author:

You hold in your hot little hands, either as an e-book or as a real-live-book-book, the fourth installment in my Step Zero series, but I believe some polite warnings to readers are needed here, given questions and concerns I have received in the past.

This is a stand alone novel but if you haven’t read Step Zero, the first book, or Air & Gravity, the second book, some of the plot twists, suspense reveals and arch conclusions here may spoil some of your enjoyment of those two previous books, if and when you read them. (Balthazar and Zeeba, the third book in the series, is a Christmas novel with its own individual side arch, which will not be affected by reading Victor Mothershead.)

Victor Mothershead: U.S. Secret Service is a hard R rated book as are Step Zero and Air & Gravity. There is a ton of cussing and a bit of sex in this book. Victor himself is a polite, soft spoken man who rarely speaks profanity but in the Step Zero world of 2079, particularly in the American Southwest, folks cuss like sailors on drunken leave and have sex like they will never ever screw again. It’s just how my characters roll. So if foul language and hot sex upset you, thanks for buying this book but you might want to give it to your college nephew to read. (Regarding the age appropriateness of this book, 17 years old and above seems about right. Use your best judgment. You know your kids.)

Many of my characters in the Step Zero universe believe in a spiritual force called God-Goddess-All-There-Is or GGATI. It’s a made up higher power by me, not affiliated with Wiccan or Pagan faiths (Not that there is anything wrong with those.) I was simply trying to expand the spirituality and religiosity of 2079 to include a specific feminine side as well as the masculine and universal aspects.

The politics of many of these characters is progressive and in some cases, specifically Democratic. The Presidents mentions in the Step Zero series are all Democrats. If you are a Republican or an Independent, and don’t agree with some of the policies mentions in this book, relax. It’s OK. This is speculative fiction. It’s the United States in the year 2079. I’ve just made this stuff up. Sasha Obama of course is a real young women today, but President Sasha Obama Fulbright and Vice President Florence Biden are completely made up people. You don’t have to agree with the politics here to enjoy this read. The characters are fun, the story I think is strong, and did I mention there is sex in this book?

Lastly, 12 Step fellowships play a major role in many of the characters’ lives in Victor Mothershead, U.S. Secret Service; one, a real program, Alcoholics Anonymous, the other, a fictional one, Mormon Tea Anonymous. None of the characters here represent any living or dead members of Alcoholic Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, Al-Anon or any other 12 Step groups. That being said, I have talked with many clean and sober members of these fellowships over the years and I have attended a few 12 Step meetings myself, but I will neither confirm nor deny if I personally belong to those groups. There are by-laws regarding anonymity of members speaking publicly. The problem is, if you thought I was in A.A., or C.A., or N.A., and you hated this book or disliked me personally or think in any way I poorly represent a particular recovery program, you might feel reticent to seek help from those 12 Step programs if you ever needed it. They tell me these by-laws or ‘Traditions’ are there to protect the fellowships from its own members’ mistakes, yet recovering people want very much to be available and to help everyone, regardless of gender, race, color, creed, economic situation, and political leaning. Bottom line is no one in this book is any one person in A.A., but the views of some of the characters do reflect the beliefs of some members of those Fellowships.

I truly hope you enjoy this book. I’ve enjoyed making it for you.

Keep your lamp trimmed and burning, and as President Fulbright often said: “Be nice.”

Stu Jenks
Spring, 2016
Studio BR-549
Tucson, Arizona

All photographs by Stu Jenks. Book design and layout by Gail Cross of Desert Isle Designs, Mesa, Arizona.