Stu Jenks' Fezziwig Press: Sex

May 27, 2021

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.

Posted at 01:25 AM in 12 Step Fiction, Air & Gravity, Art, Books, Emotions, Family, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fezziwig Press, Fiction, Forgiveness, Friendships, Graphic Pen Images, Grief and Loss, Love, Photography, Recovery, Relationships, Sex, Sexuality, Step Zero Series, Step Zero: A Sober Love Story in 2076, Stu Jenks | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 22, 2020

Images from the Winter of 2020.

"Peter the Sexton, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Nogales, Sonora, Mexico" (c) 2020 Stu Jenks. (Peter led me upstairs, a few years ago, to help me shoot the photograph of the Virgin Mary that he holds in his hands. I brought him a print of Mary as a thank you, a couple of weeks ago. A very sweet man. A true man of God.)

"Wasp Nest and Christmas Ball, The Jenks Residence, Greensboro, North Carolina" (c) 2020 Stu Jenks. [Mark, from across the way, convinced me to not knock down this nest. Glad he did. It's a beautiful structure]

"Happy To Be Hiking With My Wife, Uwharrie National Forest, North Carolina" (c) 2020 Alexa and Stu Jenks. [I'm typing this on January 22nd, 2020 in Tucson, Arizona. Alexa is in Greensboro, North Carolina. I'm here. I miss her madly. The good news is she misses me terribly too. True love is a wonderful thing, a precious thing, but sometimes it hurts like hell.]

Posted at 09:28 PM in Alexa McColl Smith Jenks, Ancestors, Arizona, Art, Black & White Photography, Canyons, Christmas and Winter Solstice, Churches, Current Affairs, Emotions, Film, Fire, Greensboro, NC, Grief and Loss, Hardwood, History, Hope, Love, Marriage, Mountains, New Mexico, Night Photography, North Carolina, Paintings, Prayer, Public Art, Sex, The West, Utah | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: art, love, nightphotography, stujenks

September 09, 2019

Spirals, Gods, Love & Light.

Some new images are in the post, some old and a couple of my beautiful wife, just because. And yes, in the summer, it rains in Tucson and if we are lucky, we see rainbows.

It hurts to be temporarily away from my sweet wife. She lives in North Carolina, but I have to make a living and so does she. Just the way it is for now. But I'm grateful beyond words that I got to spend a week with her at my little casita here in the Tucson Mountains. Love you madly, baby.

An old image that I recently fiddled with, using new technology. Originally printed in a chemical darkroom.

Was clearing up some space on an old hard-drive and I found this RAW file. Made it all fancy and new and spiritual and shit. A magical night on the plains of England in 2013.

Nope. I wasn't in any danger of falling while photographing this. Not really. But my tripod bag blew over the edge into a hole that night. I thought of climbing down to get it, then realized I may not get back out. One of my rules: Don't die dumb.

Got lost in the fog that day. Found my way home but it was a little tricky. Another rule: Don't wander on the moors when it's fog as shit.

Bad road of mud and sand. A long hike from the truck, but worth it to see this little man petroglyph and a Gila Monster off to my left. The pudgy little fellow ran away before I could take a photo of him. Gila Monsters are fast.

These students are too far away to identify, which is exacted what I wanted. Don't want to get anymore in trouble. Marijuana is illegal in North Carolina, don't you know. I just thought it was a sweet photo of an activity I used to do. Hmm. How many times did I do drugs along the railroad tracks? A lot.

I used to hate LA with its traffic but no more. It's the land of 1000 villages. You just have plan your visits to the villages. Highland Park is one of my favorites, and Downtown LA too. This image makes me said. Not sure why. I hope Becca is OK.

One of my favorite young emerging photographers is Alexis Helms from Raleigh, North Carolina. She has chops. And I feel blessed to call her my friend. Keep seeing, Alexis. Keep shooting.

I still take the PBRC out and about. It was a lovely little hike last weekend. Good place to watch the light fade. RIP Pamela, Mary and Stuart Jenks.

And if you are interested, there are two Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair books out there: Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair (The Deaths of Pamela and Mary Jenks), Fezziwig Press, 2013 and Cherry Picking Leviticus, Fezziwig Press, 2018. You can purchase them at the usual places online or from me at www.stujenks.org.

A few times a year I travel an hour south to Mexico, to get my teeth cleaned, to buy my medications for half price and to pray at this humble Catholic church a few hundred yards south of the border. I love Mexico and its people. They remind me of my southern brethren: Polite, kind, humorous and religious. Via con Dios. Go with God.

Another place I go to pray. I tell people often that you don't have to believe in a God to pray. Just think loving thoughts about the people you cherish, and maybe throw in a few prayers toward the people you have problems with. I can promise you, you'll feel better for it.

We don't really need another photograph of saguaros in the world, but the light was awfully nice yesterday, the angle was great and yes, they are kind of magical plants, aren't they. Fun Fact: I first hiked to this spot in December, 1982, soon after moving to Tucson from North Carolina. Yep. That's almost 37 years ago. I was 28 I think. I'm 64 now. And not much has changed, at all, on the primitive trail heading up to this hill. Most people go across the road, to walk, kiss, screw, drink, and lollygag about. Not over here, and that makes me happy. I try to find gratitude in many things, both big and small. This is both a big and a small blessing to me, the peace and beauty of this place.

Love, light and luck, y'all. Keep the faith, however you do that, and keep your lamp trimmed and burning. Your light in the world matters. More than you know.

Stu

Posted at 03:14 PM in Arizona, Art, Black & White Photography, Chagford, Fire, Flame Spirals, Good Folk, Love, Mountains, Nature, North Carolina, Other Artists, People, Raleigh, Religion, Sex, Sexuality, Sky, Stones, Stu Jenks, The Arizona Trail, The West, Travel, Trees | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 02, 2018

Welcome to North Carolina.

Well, Alexa and I are here in North Carolina now. My studio is all set up upstairs. My art work hangs in the same house as a Rembrandt, an Utrillo and a Whistler. I'm looking for fuller employment. Alexa has a job she likes. I'm getting my bearings around town. Beautiful town, beautiful wife. I'm loving this small city of Greensboro.

My new P.O. Box is 10583, Greensboro, NC 27404. Email, phone, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, my store, my bandcamp, my patreon, all the same. Fezziwig Press is back open for business.

And look for my 14th book for sale later this month.

Cherry Picking Leviticus (Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair, Vol. 2). Here's the cover for the premium paperback. It'll also be available as an affordable ebook.

I'll keep you post on it's release. You'll have it in your hot little hands by Christmas. Promise.

And vote on Tuesday, November 6th, my birthday. Give me the gift I really want. A Democratic U.S. House of Representatives, no Republican super majority in the North Carolina General Assembly, and good Progressives down ballot in many states.

Below are some recent images.

Have a great Autumn.

And keep hope alive.

Posted at 05:34 PM in Arizona, Art, Beachs, Birds, Black & White Photography, Books, Callanish, Canyons, Christmas and Winter Solstice, Churches, Clouds, Current Affairs, Deserts, eBooks, Family, Fezziwig Press, Flora & Fauna, Forgiveness, Good Folk, Highways, Installations, Los Angeles, Love, Mountains, My Grandmother Nannie's Mirror, Nannie's Mirror, Nature, North Carolina, Other Artists, People, Photography, Pictorialist Photography, Prayer, Relationships, Religion, San Francisco, Sand, Sculpture, Sex, Sky, The Border, The Four Directions, The Moon, The Road, The Sky, The South, Travel, Trees, Tucson, Valleys | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 06, 2018

"Two Newlyweds: 1948, 2018"

“Two Newlyweds: 1948, 2018” © Stu Jenks.

Both of their right arms are straight.
Both of their left arms are bent.
Both were raised and educated in The South.
Both were born into the Episcopal Church.
Both are lifelong Democrats.
One is cooking one of her first meals for her husband.  
The other talks worriedly on the phone to her lawyer.
One deeply loved her husband til the day he died in 2001.
The other fiercely loves her husband today.
One photograph was taken 70 years ago.
The other was taken last month.
One is my mother.
The other is my wife.

February 6th, 2018.
Flame Spiral Studios
Tucson, Arizona.

Posted at 06:51 PM in Arizona, Art, Black & White Photography, Current Affairs, Emotions, Family, Love, North Carolina, Sex, Stu Jenks, Tucson, Virginia | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 28, 2017

I'm getting married and moving to North Carolina...

Yep. I'm getting married to a wonderful woman named Alexa! (As a writer, you're not supposed to overuse exclamation points, but this is the time for them!)

You can donate to our wedding registry at www.stujenks.org, to help me move my studio and my life to North Carolina in early 2018.

We will be getting married very soon, and neither of us are rich people. If you would like to give a cash wedding gift, you can do so at www.stujenks.org. It will really help. The money will go for things like a washer and dryer, a rented Penske truck to get my stuff to North Carolina, and resources to help us begin our life together. No gift is too small.

And if you would like to give a physical wedding gift or write us a check, just send it to P.O.Box 161, Tucson, Arizona 85702. Make the check out to me.

Thanks y'all for all your help, now and over the years, so I could be a working artist, writer and musician. It means the world to me.

You will like Alexa. I sure do. Photos of us will be forthcoming, on this blog and on my Facebook page.

I'm so happy to soon be Alexa's husband and she's very excited to soon be Mrs. Alexa Jenks! I'm joyfully misty-eyed much of the time these days.

Again, thanks for your help. And don't forget to give me your snail mail address so I can send you a thank-you card.

www.stujenks.org

Photos from top to bottom: "Alexa Reading, Mark Hewitt's Studio, Pittsboro, North Carolina", "Alexa Walking Away From the PBRC, Lake Brandt, North Carolina", & "Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair, Lake Brandt, North Carolina" (c) 2017 Stu Jenks.

Posted at 12:59 PM in Ancestors, Arizona, Christmas and Winter Solstice, Emotions, Family, Flora & Fauna, Forgiveness, Home, Hope, Love, Money, North Carolina, Pamela's Baby Rocking Chair, Plants, Sex, Sickness & Health, Spirituality, Stu Jenks, The South, The West, Tucson, Water, Women | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 06, 2016

"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.

Posted at 01:57 PM in 12 Step Fiction, Ancestors, Angel/Ghosts, Arizona, Current Affairs, eBooks, Emotions, Faith, Family, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fezziwig Press, Fiction, Good Folk, Guns, Humor, Love, Mountains, Novels, Sex, Speculative Fiction, Spirituality, Step Zero Series, The South, The West, Trains, Tucson, Victor Mothershead U.S. Secret Service, Virginia | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 23, 2016

Life imitating Art, in the most tragic way...

"The Abyss, Rockwell Kent, 1930, Woodcut at Tucson Museum of Art's Into The Night show." Photograph 2016 Stu Jenks.

23 years after this woodcut was made, a friend of Rockwell's and his wife came to stay at their home on Monhegan Island in Maine. Sally Moran was going through a messy divorce from an ad exec and had lost her apartment in New York City. Sally had been a model of Rockwell's back in the day and perhaps his mistress too. (Rockwell seemed that have fooled around a lot.) Rockwell and his wife, also named Sally, were away from Monhegan in early July, but their eldest daughter and her two children were home at the time. On the night of July 9th, 1953, Sally Moran went for a walk before dinner along the cliffs. She never returned. Three weeks later her body was pulled from the ocean. Months after that, the Kents sold their house.

Life imitating Art, in the most tragic way.

"A Dale Nichols at the Into The Night show at Tucson Museum of Art, Arizona." Photograph 2016 Stu Jenks.

I love his work; the palette, the forms, the exaggerations. Like those saguaros. No cactus are that tall or that smooth. Great stuff.

En plein air. French phrase for an artist who makes his work out of doors. Art curator Julie Sasse says I'm one of those artists. She's right.

Thanks Julie for selecting me for the show.

P.S. I'm two pieces down from a freaking Misrach and across the way from a Jeff Smith, a Tom Willett and a Bill Lesch. I'm in very good company. Shows up until July 10th.

Posted at 04:23 PM in Arizona, Art, Black & White Photography, Cactus, Death, Family, Love, Nature, Nocturnal Photography, Other Artists, Paintings, Sex | Permalink | Comments (0)

November 01, 2012

Step Zero by Stu Jenks is launched...

(Author Photo by Jeff Smith at www.jeffsmithusa.com

Step Zero, the novel, has been launched.

So where can you buy it?

For those of you with tablets and digital devices, you can buy Step Zero as an iBook from the Apple store, for your iPad and iPhone, or you can obtain it as an ebook for your Amazon Kindle device, via this link. (The Nook version is pending.) You can also purchase the soft-cover first editions at the Barnes and Noble online store and at the Fezziwig Press online store. And locally, you can obtain the soft-cover book at Tucson Touch Therapies at Pima and Alvernon and at Betty Blue's Junk Shop on South Plumer. Lastly, on, Saturday, November 10th, 2012, from Noon to 5 p.m., I'll be at my studio at 549 N. 7th Avenue, for an imformal book signing, in conjunction with the Tucson Open Studio Tour.

And as a special free treat to those who buy Step Zero, I'll send you a pdf of The Lost Images of Step Zero, a hundred plus images that didn't make the final edit, but are a nice adjunct to the Step Zero experience, whatever that means. Just send me a Facebook message or an email at [email protected] and I'll send the PDF right to you.

So push those buttons and buy those books, boys and girls, for baby needs a new pair of shoes.

From The Lost Images Of Steps Zero PDF:

Top to bottom, "A Rose For Chessie, California", "Matt Antone's Ginger, Arizona", "The 41 Nights, Arizona", and "Michael and Chessie's Moon, California".

Cover design by Gail Cross of Desert Isle Designs. Cover photograph by Stu Jenks.

Posted at 04:17 AM in 12 Step Fiction, Ancestors, Angel/Ghosts, Arizona, Books, Cactus, California, Death, Dementia, Dying, eBooks, Emotions, Family, Fezziwig Press, Fiction, Forgiveness, Grief and Loss, Horses, Love, Metaphysics, Oceans, Railroads, San Francisco, Sex, Sexuality, Spirituality, Step Zero: A Sober Love Story in 2076, The West, Trains | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

October 24, 2012

Step Zero, the softcover first edition, is here!!!

A very good day at Fezziwig Press. The softcover, first edition of Step Zero: A Sober Love Story In 2076 is now for sale, ahead of schedule.

The digital editions of Step Zero will hopefully be available on your iPad, Nook and Kindle and other digital platforms by November 1st. The files have been uploaded and we are just waiting to hear back when they will available for download. We'll let you know.

But you can buy Step Zero, the analog first edition book, right now. Just click on this link to Fezziwig Press's Step Zero webpage and follow the instructions to buy the book. Easy Peasy.

And if you live in Tucson area, you can buy the book at Tucson Tucson Therapies at Alvernon and Pima, starting Friday, October 26th, 2012, and you can purchase the novel, right now, at Betty Blue's Junk Shop at 262 S. Plumer. All books at Betty Blue's and T3 are signed and I'll be happy to sign and personalize any book purchased through The Fezziwig Press Store.

Again, the ebooks version will be up very soon. I love ebooks. I truly do. But there is nothing like holding a book book in your hands. And you can hold the first edition of Step Zero in your hands right now.

Love, light, and luck,

Stu