Strumming caution to the wind

So for the longest time I've thought about sharing my music as well as my writing. I'm well aware I'm no rock star, though I do enjoy music a lot and an important thing I want is to show that we shouldn't fear what we love. That we should create and feel free to do so. So here's my first musical sharing, an original song called Burden. 

It started out being a sad song though it's evolved with me and grown into a song that's very special to me. 

Btw, I'm well aware the audio isn't the best, that I mumble, and that the guitar isn't perfect lol, still, it's the best I can do for now though trust I'll be working on making better shares in the future. :D 

Hope you enjoy and if you like, comment on youtube or here on the blog. And if you really like, share with someone whom you think would enjoy. 

My thanks. 

Peace, love, and maki rolls.

JD

Talking about Only Human

Here's me talking about my first book. Cheers

JD Estrada book signing

This coming October 15, I'll have my first book signing event at The Book Mark in San Patricio Plaza.

There you can find out more about my first novel, Only Human as well as my poetry collection, Between the Tides.

Swing by, say hi and who knows, you might get something in the giveaways we'll have at the event.

Cheers

Human connections at the Puerto Rico Comic Con

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to share my book with the world in physical form for the first time. People passed by my booth, they saw my banner and were kind enough to ask: “so what’s your book about?” I told them the premise, they saw the girth of the book and on more than one occasion they had to ask twice if I’d written this book.

Eight years it’s been since I began working on Only Human, and I was finally able to connect with people and they were able to connect with my story, or actually stories (plural). I also shared my Daydreams on the Sherbet Shore and the Blanc Comics. All in all, different people found something to like in my four offerings and I heard some very positive things to say about each one.

Of special note was the opportunity to share this experience with my wife who was there in the booth with me. She has been vital in all my efforts, is the one responsible for my Facebook page and made it abundantly clear why I’m so lucky in this life. It’s also awesome to be married to such a wonderful muse.  

Going a bit behind the scenes, the reality is that each offering has its own story and a reason why they are special.

The Daydreams I actually spent a night compiling the short stories and preparing the small booklets with my wife, my parents in law and her grandmother. So basically stories I’d crafted with much love were cared for with a hands-on touch from my family. This means that people who have read them got a true family offering. 

Blanc Comics are my tribute to my late grandmother and I heard some really positive feedback from the concept, and I can’t ask for anything worthier of my grandmother than to be able to touch the lives of others and show that we can all see through the power of words. I’ll be putting up a post on Blanc Comics tomorrow morning.

As for Only Human… well it’s been an 8 year relationship, it’s my first book and people are reading it right now… what can I say, that’s a hell of a good feeling.

Throughout the Puerto Rico Comic Con, I was also able to connect with talented artists like Juan Fernández (who was my booth neighbor and a great talent) and on my other side was the Cosplayer Nation team who are still working hard to finish their documentary on Cosplay and its beginnings. I was also blessed to be able to take photos with some brilliant cosplayers who allowed me to snap pictures with Porco Rosso, Gandalf the Grey, Princess Toad, Gimli, a Tardis, K-9 from Dr. Who, Louise from Bob’s Burger and my personal favorite from the show, the Maitlands from Beetlejuice, not to mention some other great costumes that also made my experience there even better.

Back at my booth, I was able to connect with people of all ages who wanted to read my work. Although everyone was special in their own right, the enthusiasm of my first two sales is a definite highlight. Guillermo was the first person to buy my book and I’d like to thank him for his enthusiasm with this blog and my work. It was extremely gratifying to meet him and I hope to see him in other activities to thank him for the confidence he gave me to share my work with others. Michael was the second person to buy my book and thanks to his interest, at least three people came by referred by him (thanks for the vote of confidence). Like them, Keren, Mariexis, Stella, Yliana, Rafa, Christian, Harry, Ricardo, Ezekiel, Joey, Héctor, Stella, Eli, Natalie, Rolando and countless other people were kind enough to buy my book and stories and some have even connected with me on Facebook and Twitter. Some were even kind enough to visit me on both days and tell me they liked my book. In short, the words thank you may only be two words… still, they carry the message perfectly.

Throughout the Comic Con, I was also able to share thoughts with fellow Comic Con lovers and I even entered into some fascinating discussions about the book, about life, about writing, about my process and about what else I’m working on. I was also surprised by the amount of people who have a story they are working on and how many young writers I met. There’s actually one young man I wasn’t able to finish my conversation with and although people might say, hey it’s just one person, he wanted to share a story with me he’d written and I hope to have the opportunity to read his work soon because I truly believe in the power of a word, so imagine the power of a story.

As for the overall experience, it is gratifying to meet fellow readers and to see young people and people of all ages who want to tell a story. I am honored to have been able to meet all of you and I promise you this, this is just the beginning.

So to all of you who passed by, thank you for giving me the gift of a few minutes of your time and to those whom I was able to connect with, here’s to being more than Only Human.

Cheers,

J.D.

Looking within the Human Cycle: Who is Mrs. Fawn?

One of the many secondary characters in Only Human is based on a primary character in my life. In short, Mrs. Fawn is based on the wisdom of my mother. Throughout my life, Mama has been a central figure who has given me all the love I can handle and enough lessons to last a lifetime, and she continues to inspire and amaze me every single day.

I’ve been able to be with mom through countless events in our lives and every single time, she has tread on, she has shown patience of the Biblical kind and perserverance I have not seen elsewhere. Born in Camagüey, Cuba; mom has always shown tenacity and a will to not just survive, but thrive and all the while bearing that wonderful smile that could make anything seem possible.

She has often shared her wisdom through words, though much more often, through action. Always leading by example, she has taught me to be kind, to never ask why, but what for in regards to life’s challenges and to always do my best to learn from what I live. She’s also taught me to never settle, to never give up, to always be true to myself, to be honest, to be generous and to always offer a helping hand, not in case you need one in the future, but because it should be embedded in our psyche to always do our best and give the best.

Although her appearance comes a ways into the book, there is something I really enjoy about Mrs. Fawn and about my mom… she appears not only in Only Human and its sequels, but in various other stories in my life because there’s just no way to keep her out of my tales or my heart.

So here’s to you Mama.

Thank you for love, inspiration and life.

You made me and I will always want to make you as proud of me as I am of you.

Looking within the Human Cycle: Who is Captain Jane Rivers?

As I continue to work on the second book in the Human Cycle, a lot of people have asked me where the inspiration comes for some characters. With a long list to choose from, it’s easy to decide which one is the first I’d like to talk about, Jane Rivers, Captain of the Black Calico.

Although many things influenced who the character is, her character, what makes Rivers who she is in the book and in the story has come completely from my wife. Small in stature, huge in heart, my wife figures largely in the Human Cycle and its entire story arc.

During 2014, I’ve given my wife a handful by coming down with a lovely case of pneumonia and having a health scare… scratch that, a second health scare. A couple of years back I was at a beach and threw my back out. Now try to imagine the joy my wife experienced when she found out she had to hitch a ride almost 2 hours to where I was just to pick me up. As you can see, I’m a bundle of joy when it comes to injuries and illnesses because although I’m healthy 98% of the time, that remaining 2% is a doozy.

To put it lightly, the care she’s always given me is medal worthy... and that’s just how she takes care of me health-wise. As a wife she spoils me with good food and the best company. As a woman, she’s determined, brilliant, no-nonsense, funny, firm, and can intimidate people just by how good she is at what she does.

Oh and did I mention she’s beautiful? Yeah, she’s got big brown eyes, a wonderful smile, long brown hair I happily scratch so she can go to sleep and features quite particular to her which make her that much more special. In short, I’m a lucky guy to be able to have direct inspiration for a character who represents what I admire most in women: character, brains, tenacity, passion, inner beauty, perseverance, and guts (I’d say balls, except that such a statement is a misogynistic expression of valor, and although it applies, I’d rather avoid it for this example). Oh and she has a hell of a sense of humor, which is key to any enduring relationship.

Mind you, it wasn’t a conscious decision to write her into the story… it just happened; like our first kiss which just happened because we both went for a kiss on the cheek and popped kiss (still makes me smile remembering that lovely accident); like that lunch where she decided to humor me in college and sit with me, thus changing our lives. That’s because some of the best things in life just happen. No planning, no premeditation… just a chance occurrence.

As for why the character behaves the way in which she does, that’s all on my wife, she can be fierce, she can be maternal, she can be sweet and she can inspire me to bounce on my toes all day. She’s my best friend and my partner in crime and I’m lucky enough to be able to use her awesomeness to create a female character that embodies strength and beauty, without the need to sacrifice one or the other. To be honest, I just hope the character does justice to the source because she’s a tough act to follow.

5 and ½ feet tall and the size of a sun in the galaxy that is my life. Such is her and now you know.

The Human Cycle

When you look up the term Human Cycle on the Internet, one search result you get will refer you to the Human Action Cycle, which is the psychological theory related to interactions between humans and computers. 

As I’ve grown in my relationship with my first series of books, I found it rather odd that a psychological term that does not have computer in its title is focused on computers and how we humans interact with them. Truth be told, I was even a little offended and as a result decided to offer a more human centered definition as I weave my tale of vampires, therians (don’t call them werewolves, I can’t stress this enough), angels and photogeni.

Only Human is the first step in the Human Cycle and this series is my exploration through fiction of the human factor or what we call humanity. Think of this term as the trinity of Body-Mind-Soul. This first installment, focuses on the body and different physical aspects that tie all of us together as a collective species.

The second book will explore more psychological aspects and the third will focus on spirituality. This is not to say that these topics will not be interwoven throughout the series, it’s just my way of saying that each book will be focused more on a certain type of aspect of what makes us, well us.

For these books, research has been done on psychology (strong emphasis on Jungean Psychology) and various spiritual texts will be analyzed because regardless of race, creed, ethnicity, language or age, there is endlessly more that binds us together than what separates us. So religions, history, psychological theories, styles and topics will all interweave because life and reality is far from linear, and on the plane we call life, there are many existing points and in theory each one can connect.

So sit back, enjoy and connect… for what is more beautifully human, than our ability to do precisely that?

Calling all Humans, Puerto Rico Comic Con 2014 is on

During the last year, I’ve been fortunate enough to come into contact with some truly wonderful people as an effect of publishing Only Human, which will be celebrating its one year anniversary of being published during the month of May. In addition to this wonderful milestone, I’ll be presenting the book publicly for the first time in the ever growing Puerto Rico Comic Con.

To say I’m excited is an understatement. To say I’m grateful is an understatement. To say that I’m anxious to meet people interested in reading about the human condition is, you guessed it, an understatement. As part of the celebration, I’ll also be debuting materials exclusive to the Puerto Rico Comic Con, inspired by this event and the wonderful people who organize it. So stay tuned, much more news coming

I’m truly honored to be able to take part of the PRCC, which also showcases local and international talent in a family environment. I’ve gone to past editions and have seen cosplayers, writers, artists, and all sorts of likeminded folk have a blast in an event that continues to demonstrate that the Island has more than just pristine natural resources, enviable weather and great food. Last year had over 23K attendees. This year they’re expecting more people and even more so for the next year if the trend continues; so eventually, we might need a bigger Island.

As is, there’s only one more thing I have to say:

It’s a good time to be a human.

Cheers