Spotlight on The Rasere Awakening Series and launch of book 3- The Bounding Main by Author R.Lacques aka GoSpeed Rasere- Lanai Jarrico Reporting...

Author R. Jacques (aka- GoSpeed Rasere) launched Rasere’s War. The first book in the Rasere's Awakening Series. Based 500 years into the future,  mankind finds lasting peace but using emotions excessively is shunned. Many human Users visit the virtual world of Simvie Loko to fully express themselves, but the world ruling Artificial Intelligence, Gaiana, is seeking to shut it down. Will GoSpeed and her fellow NPCs survive this virtual conflict or be erased forever? Will they face extinction or prevail with such norms? If you’ve read Rasere’s War, you will want to read the 2nd novel in the Series; We built this City.

 Gospeed goes on a quest to Bay City where opportunities await, but a new evil raises its ugly head and threatens her new home. She decides to fight back, but at what cost? but on her way she meets Simvie a criminal who threatens peace.

On March 30th,  GoSpeed launched the 3rd book in the Rasere Awakening  series; The Bounding Main.

This novel is based in the futuristic virtual world,  Simvie Loko. It is a free world for NPCs (non-player characters), once a virtual playground for human users. In this 3rd installation, GoSpeed Racer is starting anew and trying to live down her past sins. She sets off on another adventure on the high seas of Simvie Loko where she ultimately finds redemption. putting her past behind her for redemption.

Much like Second Life it sounds like an adventure! Without spoiling the plots and twists in the series, The SL Enquirer had the pleasure of meeting up with GoSpeed Racer to talk more about The Rasere Awakening Series and maybe get some more details about her character’s  journey of a lifetime.

SLE: Gospeed Racer, it is great to have this opportunity to talk about series and give our readers some behind the scenes insight and your inspiration  behind your novels. Can you tell our readers what inspired you to write the series?

Gospeed: Thank you Lanai. It's a pleasure to speak with you! My inspiration came from a few sources. About ten years ago I blogged about what I would feel if Second Life were to shut down. It wasn't a pleasant at all, that's for sure. Even by my second rez day I felt an affinity for my avatar. A couple of years later I started writing short story about GoSpeed magically appearing in the real world and visiting my at my house. I never finished the story. Fast forward to 2015 and my favorite podcast novelist (Scott Sigler) did a couple of episodes on how to write a novel. Soon after that I began writing my series.

SLE: In the series, your avatar GoSpeed Racer is the main character. With the adventures and experiences you have in the novels, do they related in anyway with your SL avie’s adventures and experiences?

Gospeed: In my early days in SL, circa 2006 to 2008, I was very active in the SL Sailing community and sailed all over the grid. I've also done some minor roleplaying and the emoting and dialog exchanges were very helpful for my creative writing. Of course the Bay City community here in Second Life was a great source of material and inspiration. I've been affiliated with Bay City since 2010 and I was crowned Miss Bay City 2018!

SLE: Wow you have been an active SL community member for a long time. Congrats on being crowned Miss Bay City. How would you describe your character’s personality compared to your own?

GoSpeed: They are like the difference between my real self and my avatar. Some elements of my real personality  come through, and some do not. Second Life acts as a filter of sorts. In this futuristic virtual world many of the NPCs (virtual citizens), to include GoSpeed, are sourced from old social media archives. The creator uses images, videos, and blog posts and then run them through an algorithm to generate a personality. As the old saying goes, "A picture says a thousand words." In fact, there have been articles recently stating the possibility of recreating a virtual identity of a recently deceased family member by using their online digital postings. I doubt anything useful could be created with today's technology, but in 500 years? Possibly.

SLE:  That’s an interesting concept. Through the Series, your character faces many obstacles, can you give our readers an examples of the difficulties she faced on her journey?

GoSpeed: In the first novel she is forced to take up arms to protect her world, then she falls in love for the first time ever. In the second novel, she takes the law into her own hands  and must face the severe consequences of her actions.

SLE: Are you a published author of other novel besides The Rasere Awakening Series?

GoSpeed: This is my first series. I plan to write more in this "universe" in the future. My next book will be an anthology containing short stories and vignettes from Simvie Loko.

SLE: Without giving too much away, what else would you like to share with readers about The Bounding Main?

GoSpeed: TBM is the conclusion of the series and as such wraps up a lot of the longer story arcs. In this story GoSpeed must live and work in a community that sees her as either a criminal or a saint. With these same people, she goes on an extended journey to investigate a mystery facing both communities. Together they learn more about their shared world and the possible threats they may face.

Additional Information

Purchase the series: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/R-Jacques/e/B078VDDXC5

Web : http://rjacques.net/

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/R.Jacques.Author/

Twitter:https://twitter.com/Author_RJacques

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/byseries/32582

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-bounding-main

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/113058216

Blio: https://tinyurl.com/yynczqv2

Apple: Via their apps.

Print copies can be purchased now at Amazon.

Read More

The Story of O in Second Life - Pen Dragon Reporting...

The Story of O, maybe you’ve heard of it, maybe not. If not, it is a must read for those who are interested in Domination and submission. The book was penned in 1957 by French author Ann Desclos under the Pen name of Pauline Réage as a series of letters to her lover Jean Paulhan. It is an erotic tale of a young female photographer from Paris who is trained and educated by a secret D/s society to which her lover Rene belonged. It is quite graphic and detailed, causing a great deal of controversy when it was released. In fact, French authorities attempted to bring obscenity charges against the author, however; those charged were later dropped. That did not stop the popularity of the novel and it has survived, even today, as a classic book set in the BDSM lifestyle. It is from those pages, written over 60 years ago, that many have an understanding of the training involved in BDSM and how it exists today in Second Life. But to bring that novel, and it’s ideals, into a virtual world would seem almost counterintuitive and near impossible because of dynamic explicit and detailed training involved in both the book and D/s.

In the book the main character, named O, is sent to a chateau in Paris, near Roissy, where she is trained to sexually serve the members of an elite club. From there she is given to a new Master, Sir Stephen, and taken to another location, Samois. These two pivotal locations have inspired the long running sim called Roissy Val d'Oise. Taking many of the educational and training aspects of the Story of O novel and translating them into an immersive roleplay environment. But the question remains, how do the ideals and ideas of the Story of O remain relevant and still work in Second Life. To find that answer I interviewed Sir Thomas, the Roissy Supervisor. I asked what aspects of the Story of O were taken from the book and applied at the Roissy Val d'Oise sim.

Sir Thomas replied,“Our owner Rene Geir believes that the Story of O is a good example of submissive behavior and also what responsible Dominants are. He wanted to provide a place in SL, that both recreated the visual environment but also a place for submissives and Dominants to learn what it truly  means to be in the lifestyle. We believe in SSC (Safe, Sane, Consensual), D/s and protection of submissives and also the proper behavior of Gentlemen Dominants.”

This is a concept taken directly from the story. During her time at Roissy O underwent very particular training, especially in how to please a man was punished for not following the rules or being disobedient. The training was intense and intended to create a more obedient submissive. In the BDSM lifestyle such training is necessary and it helps to develop the submissive’s skill set and her behavior. This includes everything from sexual service and interpersonal skills to household management. Beyond that general training, each Dominant will train his submissive more specifically on his own personal preferences and to help define her personal goals as a submissive. Training and education isn’t exclusive to the submissive however. Many, but not all, Dominants began as submissives and have had similar training. The education of a Dom is just as vital as that of a sub. Roissy provides both Dominants and submissives with a mentor who can help guide them through their journey. This all culminates in both the Dom and sub being more well rounded and educated both socially and emotionally. This kind of training, both the general and specific, is something that is lacking, more often than not, in Second Life.

Continuing my conversation with Sir Thomas, I asked him how the training described in the book translates to Second Life. “We have training logs that dictate what the Dominant and Submissive must learn before advancing. The tasks are very similar to the Story of O or related to the Story of O. We also have Workshops and Discussions.”

This also corresponds directly to the erotic novel. All submissives were given specific tasks and were tracked on their performance. This, again, is another important part of the training of a submissive. Training can include tasks such as cleaning or be more elaborate like learning proper etiquette when setting a dinner table. Despite popular belief, not everything is sex in the BDSM lifestyle. Again this is lost on many of those who practice the lifestyle in Second Life, but is very intact at the Roissy Val d'Oise sim.

As an ‘Old School’ Dominant, I was very impressed with how well behaves, intelligent and courteous the submissives were at Roissy.

I also asked Sir Thomas about the difficulty in bringing the training practices from the Story of O into Second Life because of the lack of physical contact. He answered by saying, “We have to instruct and help them to understand that feelings are real here and so is pain, from punishment, etc.  So for example, whipping is very harsh in the real world and we need to not over due them, just since it's only sl. In short keep it real.”

Roissy Val d'Oise certainly pays attention to every detail in the training of it’s submissives, just as described in the book. But something the book doesn’t focus as much on is the effect this training has on the submissives. I wanted to know, from one of the Roissy submissives, just how the training has impacted her. I spoke with Jaymelie, a sister of Roissy who has been at the sim for 5 years, who was able to provide some very insightful information. I began by asking her what it was about Roissy that made her feel comfortable enough to stay.  She said “Its, family... It may sound corny, but I have been a Sister for nearly 3 years now, and I love to come back here and be a mentor, come back to a place the gives meaning to people. And so many amazing people find their way here, so I still experience new things, new feelings, by coming here - and for that, I am grateful.”

I continued by asking her how the training she received at Roissy has impacted her life.

“It's been a journey for sure.... I started the path back in 2013, but never finished - then I returned and started over, finally graduating in 2015.... And I have evolved as a submissive, found my weaknesses first, then my strengths - and that has definitely made me a more assertive person. In RL as well, Sir.” she explained. Her response sums up exactly the importance and purpose of the training a submissive should receive.

The Story of O, despite being written over 60 years ago, has remained relevant in the BDSM lifestyle and has even provided many with their first glimpse into that world. It’s a dark, erotic, entertaining and important book that one would think couldn’t be brought to a virtual world like Second Life. Yet, as we’ve seen, Roissy Val d'Oise does just that and in doing so provides an important aspect of the BDSM community that seems to be in short supply here. If you have any interest in D/s, you should read the book and maybe pay a visit to Roissy.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Roissy SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Roissy%20Val%20DuOise/55/145/30

Website: http://www.roissy-vdo.com

Read More

Spotlight on Femme Fatale Online -Pen Dragon Reporting

Imagine being blackmailed in real life by someone you had a romantic encounter with in Second Life. Now imagine you have to discover the true identity of that person before they hunt you down and murder your family. That terrifying scenario is the plot of a new book called ‘Femme Fatale Online’ written by award winning author Eugene Rodgers, known in Second Life as Adolphe Menjou. I had an opportunity to sit down with the author to ask him about the book.

What inspired you to write this book?

Adolphe: I originally wanted to write a nonfiction book about life in big corporations but  decided fiction wold have a greater impact. My experience in SL gave me the idea for the virtual world. Many of my friends shared nothing about their RL, making me wonder about it. The virtual world story was originally a subplot. The original story would have happened outside the virtual world, but it grew into the main plot. I realized that I had to have a mystery to make the story interesting. That quickly evolved into the Femme Fatale Online idea. I realized a virtual world would be a perfect place for a spy to hide and operate.

Can you give our readers a brief, spoiler free, synopsis?

Adolphe: A young married man plays in a virtual world.He meets a beautiful, sexy avatar and she inveigles him into a romance. In this virtual world, called Personal Portal,avatars can be perfect reproductions of their animators. She gets him a job with a major corporation, then blackmails him intro industrial espionage with tapes she secretly made of their trysts. Later, she threatened to kill him and his family if he loses his job and can't spy anymore. He must find out who she is in RL, and where she is, and stop her soon before she acts.

How long have you been writing?

Adolphe: Professionally since I was in public relations for the University of Wisconsin 1961-63. Books since the mid 1990s. I've been interested since I was little.At about 7, I saw a typewriter for the 1st time and immediately typed a story about my dog. In college, I wrote for the school newspaper (at Villanova) and wrote feature stories about the scientists on campus. This led to a University of Wisconsin job. I've written 2 nonfiction books issued by major publishers. One about Adm. Byrd's 1st antarctic expedition, which won me recognition as Virginia's author of the year. The other about the story of the Boeing Co.

Can you tell our readers a little about yourself?

Adolphe: I'm married with 2 kids and 2 grandkids. I studied chemistry and earned a B.S. At Villanova. I then joined the US antarctic expedition as their scientific PR guy and went 2 years going back and forth between Antarctic and Washington. Then I got a mob as director of public relations for the Westinghouse Research Labs.  This led to other writing jobs in the energy field. I became a speech writer for the execs of IBM and United Technologies.Then I started on this novel.

Do you have other books planned that feature a second life type world?

Adolphe: Not at the moment. I'll wait to see how much success I have with this one.

Where can our readers get a copy of your book?

Adolphe: At Amazon, Barnes & noble, Kobo, and really just about any ebook seller.

If you’re looking for an exciting, edge of your seat summer read, ‘Femme Fatale Online’ just might be what you’re looking for, especially as a resident of Second Life!

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

URL: https://www.amazon.com/Kindle-eBooks/b?ie=UTF8&node=154606011

URL: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/nook-books/_/N-8qa

URL: https://www.kobo.com

Read More

Eugene Rodgers (Adolphe Menjou in SL) has written an intriguing new mystery novel, “Femme Fatale Online,” featuring a virtual world much like SL.

  It goes on sale at Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo and other ebook stores on Wednesday, July 11th. Until then, it may be pre-ordered on those sites at a 33% discount. It continues to be available on Amazon. https://books2read.com/u/bxZgnq

The novel centers on a provocative question: if a friend in a virtual world is totally anonymous—their RL is completely blank—and your life depends on identifying them, what do you do? As the novel’s hero says when he finds himself in exactly that situation, “I couldn't see any way to investigate a woman who was nothing but pixels on a computer screen.” But he tries mightily, and readers are invited to try along with him. Details on the book and author can be found in the ebook stores on the book’s pages and at facebook.com/rodgersmystery.

The novel has been featured in the SL Enquirer and SL Newser and on the national cable TV program, “America Trends.”

Read More

New Mystery Novel Features Virtual World Like SL

Two avatars in a virtual world are main characters in a new mystery novel.

The book, “Femme Fatale Online,” by Eugene Rodgers (SL: “Adolphe Menjou”), has been published as a Kindle ebook. Go to Amazon.com and search for “Femme Fatale Online.” The book can be read on any computer by downloading a free app from Kindle (amazon.com/kindle-dbs/fd/kcp).

The fictional virtual world resembles Second Life. Isaac is an avatar who looks exactly like the man controlling him, Rick, the novel’s hero. He befriends a beautiful, sexy avatar named Joan, but learns nothing about her—neither her identity, whereabouts, nor the facts of her life.Rick is candid about his own identity and life.

Joan gets Rick a real-life job with Molcom, a giant electrical-equipment manufacturer and government contractor in Pittsburgh, where he leads a public-relations campaign for government funding to turn a secret breakthrough into the world’s first nuclear fusion power plant. Shelures the married hero into a virtual romance and uses secretly made tapes of the pretend trysts to blackmail him into industrial espionage. As the story develops, she threatens harm to him and his family.

Rick realizes he must keep his job and continue spying despite vicious office politics or he and his wife will die. Against long odds, he mustfind out who Joan is and where she lives so he can apprehend her before she strikes, knowing she’ll murder him if she realizes what he’s doing. By clever detection, he develops six suspects.

While Joan is tormenting Rick, one of the suspects, a woman in his office, attempts to seduce him in real life. Lonely during the work week because he’s in Pittsburgh while his wife and family are home in Virginia, and susceptible to an affair that would take his mind off Joan’s terrifying threats, he gradually weakens.

The book’s Facebook page (facebook.com/rodgersmystery) includes videos of the two avatars in action, with Second Life standing in for the fictional virtual world in the novel. The page also contains information about the author and more on the book.

“The novel is not about avatars or a virtual world as such,” Rodgers said. “It’s written for a general audience. The avatars are the same as regular characters in any novel, and almost all the action takes place in the real world. My book is basically a mystery but has elements of thrillers, spy novels, and romances.

“There’s no explicit sex and little violence, but the book has risqué parts and some raw language. It would be rated ‘R’ if it were a movie. An Agatha Christie mystery it is not. It’s a modern, nontraditional novel that’s true to life.

“Readers learn what life is like as a resident of Pittsburgh, which is surprisingly pleasant, and as an employee of a major corporation, which is not always pleasant. One character proposes what he calls the 3B’s of business success—backstabbing, butt kissing, and bull throwing.

“The book raises several questions: Do the moral principles that govern sexual activity also apply to virtual sex, which is huge in Second Life and will become widespread when virtual reality takes off, possibly in the next year or two? Is it possible to love two people at the same time, a question that applies to Rick in his relations with an attractive suspect? Can an employee act ethically while trying to survive in the jungle-like realities of corporate life?”

Eugene Rodgers is a retired public relations writer for several large corporations and managed public relations for the Westinghouse R&D Center. He was named Virginia author of the year in 1991 by the Virginia College Store’s Assoc. for his first book, “Beyond the Barrier: The Story of Byrd’s First Expedition to Antarctica.” Grove/Atlantic published his next book, “Flying High: The Story of Boeing and the Rise of the Jetliner Industry.”

Read More

Spotlight Feature on GoSpeed Rasere- Second Life Resident and Science Fiction Novelist- Lanai Jarrico Reporting…

 

Book Cover

Second Life holds value to all of its residents in various ways. To many it is not a game; it is an extension of real life.  Take a moment to think about the very first time you rezzed into this extraordinary virtual world. Did you have a plan or did you discover a hidden talent that has lead you on your current path?

The SL Enquirer sat down with GoSPeed Rasere to learn more about what brought him to Second Life and what inspired the science fiction novel that is about to launch on February 3^rd.

Interview with Gospeed Rasere

Hi GoSpeed, before we get into the novel I wanted to take a moment to give our readers a behind the scenes look at the person behind the novel. How did you discovery Second Life and what was your initial thought? Did you have a plan once you settled in?

I came across a mention of Second Life on a Google Earth blog in 2006 and decided to investigate it further. As far as a plan, not really. I went with the flow and wound up being a member of several communities.

How would you describe Second Life now compared to your noob days?

Second Life has matured greatly over the past 11 years I have been a citizen. The grid is more stable, The objects you can buy are of much higher quality, and the communities are more cohesive.

Prior to Second Life do you have writing and or publishing experience?

Apart from school assignments, I had no real writing experience, but family and coworkers always came to me to read their resumes and school papers asking me of they were worded right.

.

What was your inspiration for writing Racere’s War?

A few things inspired me to write my first, full length novel. The driving force was the concern over the continued existence of Second Life as a virtual world. I had worried that one day, SL would disappear along with my avatars and the communities they belonged to. I have poured so much time into them that they feel like individuals. I then reasoned that they can live on in images, machinima, and in writing. I was familiar with Role Play in SL and was impressed by the ability of others who could create whole stories on the fly when they interacted with other role players. I gave it a try and I liked how I was able to express my ideas in text. Finally, I am a big fan of the Sci-Fi author Scott Sigler. A few years ago he had a few episodes where he talked about writing novels and I then vowed I'd write my own stories and publish them.

Can you share some teasers about the series?

Rasere's War is the first novel in a planned trilogy called "Rasere's Awakening". The first novel is about GoSpeed Rasere realizing she is more than a simple NPC in a virtual world. She comes alive emotionally and even sexually for the first time in her 40 year existence. The second novel focuses on her continued growth as an individual morphing from a follower to a doer. The third novel is her becoming a leader and learning how to accept the consequences of her past actions.

You have another novel coming out in the Spring called “We Built this City”. Can you tell us a little about that one?

This novel follows three people, GoSpeed, Marty (GoSpeed's love interest from the first novel), and a man who's brain was frozen in the 2020s and then had his mind uploaded to the virtual world of the novels. The three characters eventually meet up in a recreation of Bay City (inspired by the Bay City of Second Life.)

The novels you write feature several SL residents as main characters living in a futuristic virtual reality simulation. How did you choose your characters? Is it all fiction or did you draw inspiration from their personalities and SL experiences?

These were avatars I've known over the years either in world via their social media (primarily Flickr).

The character's personality is based mostly on my observations of them and then modified to fit their new environment. It's similar to how the creator of this futuristic virtual world recreated them some 500 years in the future. He analyzed their social media data and and formulated an approximate personality.

Will you be hosting a Novel launch event in Second Life where our readers can actually meet the characters in your series?

 I will most likely have one on the 27th of January at a place and time to be determined. I'll keep you apprised of where it will be and will also post it to my author website.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about Racere’s War and any future projects you may have in the works?

The third novel in the series, The Bounding Main, should be released before the end of the year. I plan to write a series based on the same characters in later time periods and locations. As a digital person their life spans are unlimited!

I also encourage people to sign up for my Newsletter. I will inform subscribers of my publishing plans and produce bonus content such as excerpts and deleted scenes. A link to the newsletter can be found on my homepage.

When will this book be available?  Please share a link.

The ebook will be released on 3 February 2018 on a few sites. You can preorder it now and it will download to your device on the 3rd.

Amazon: http://a.co/birWVNo

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/776282

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/rasere-s-war

Blio: http://www.blio.com/web1/actions/searchHandler.do?key=9781370782819&nextPage=booksDetails&parentNum=12848

 

GoSpeed Rasere

Thank you for taking the time to share your story and projects with The SL Enquirer, we wish you the very best in Second Life and in real life.

Additional Information

Preferred contact: In world, GoSpeed Rasere.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/R.Jacques.Author/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Author_RJacques

URL: http://www.rjacques.net

Read More