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Porcelain (2010 Portfolio)
Evolution
A compact compilation of stories by author/artist/non-conformist, Jess C Scott. Evolution showcases Jess’s penchant for working in various genres and formats—read with caution.
* The excerpt from ‘EyeLeash: A Blog Novel’ contains the opening chapters of Jess’s debut blog/IM novel. Her collection of poems and short stories are available in her anthology, ‘Porcelain’. This version is for customers seeking a bite-sized tryout version of Jess’s diverse storytelling styles.
Praise for Jess C Scott:
“I dig your style.”
— searchingfortomorrow / via deviantART, 7:49:23 PM
“[Please] keep up the good work . . . the world can certainly use some more authentic, original work like yours, rather than the same old re-packaged mass-market pulp.”
— TGirl Revelations / Bibrary.com, October 2010
“You pack huge volumes of experience and information into your [work]. You’re impressive, I’ll say that, and edgy and interesting. And mildly scary.”
— T. D. / via e-mail, 2010
EXCERPT (Evolution):
07² 2120
[Official Announcement copyright WDSN Dvlpmnt Blog 3.8.1]
Evolutn of human species 1 step ^.
Zero nd 4 limbs. Bane o.exstnce, limbs! Limbs tt u had 2 ke²p moving, 2 prevnt joints 4rm frzing ^. Creakng joints wr frequent along w muscle atrophy, due 2 lack o.impertve ne²d o.hving joints+limbs in 1st place.
Internet = all 1 nds. Mouse+keybrd phased out humns undergo latest neural-cortex Microchip Update 1.7.1 instal²atn. Upgrade ≠ mandatory, √ highly recom²ended, 2 fix bugs+security iss in prev vers. 1.7.0, released 86400.41.26.51 s ago, by Mr. DX26.78.9 on his w.site. Enhances MU 1.0.0 tt al²ws humn brain 2 cntrl mvements onscre²n via brain pwr alone.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jess identifies herself as an author/artist/non-conformist (and is an English/Business senior at Adams State College). She was a research assistant for the 2010 Jossey-Bass/Wiley publication, My Lie. Her work has appeared in a diverse range of publications, such as Word Riot, ITCH Magazine, and The Battered Suitcase. Her novella, The Devilin Fey, hit #1 in Amazon's "Hot New Releases in Bargain Books" in July 2010.
* The excerpt from ‘EyeLeash: A Blog Novel’ contains the opening chapters of Jess’s debut blog/IM novel. Her collection of poems and short stories are available in her anthology, ‘Porcelain’. This version is for customers seeking a bite-sized tryout version of Jess’s diverse storytelling styles.
Praise for Jess C Scott:
“I dig your style.”
— searchingfortomorrow / via deviantART, 7:49:23 PM
“[Please] keep up the good work . . . the world can certainly use some more authentic, original work like yours, rather than the same old re-packaged mass-market pulp.”
— TGirl Revelations / Bibrary.com, October 2010
“You pack huge volumes of experience and information into your [work]. You’re impressive, I’ll say that, and edgy and interesting. And mildly scary.”
— T. D. / via e-mail, 2010
EXCERPT (Evolution):
07² 2120
[Official Announcement copyright WDSN Dvlpmnt Blog 3.8.1]
Evolutn of human species 1 step ^.
Zero nd 4 limbs. Bane o.exstnce, limbs! Limbs tt u had 2 ke²p moving, 2 prevnt joints 4rm frzing ^. Creakng joints wr frequent along w muscle atrophy, due 2 lack o.impertve ne²d o.hving joints+limbs in 1st place.
Internet = all 1 nds. Mouse+keybrd phased out humns undergo latest neural-cortex Microchip Update 1.7.1 instal²atn. Upgrade ≠ mandatory, √ highly recom²ended, 2 fix bugs+security iss in prev vers. 1.7.0, released 86400.41.26.51 s ago, by Mr. DX26.78.9 on his w.site. Enhances MU 1.0.0 tt al²ws humn brain 2 cntrl mvements onscre²n via brain pwr alone.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jess identifies herself as an author/artist/non-conformist (and is an English/Business senior at Adams State College). She was a research assistant for the 2010 Jossey-Bass/Wiley publication, My Lie. Her work has appeared in a diverse range of publications, such as Word Riot, ITCH Magazine, and The Battered Suitcase. Her novella, The Devilin Fey, hit #1 in Amazon's "Hot New Releases in Bargain Books" in July 2010.
ebook
First published December 31, 2010
2 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Jess C. Scott
107 books340 followersHi all,
I was trying to find my way as a writer and person throughout my twenties. I won't be writing under my "Jess C Scott" pen name as it doesn't reflect who I am anymore (it's a pen name I used since I was 12 years old).
In 2019, I started working on some horror short stories and essays. I intend to publish them at some point in future under my real name (still undecided if I might use a new pen name for fiction).
See you at my new site if the genres are of interest to you :)
Thank you and take care! 👋✍️
-- Jess. (May 2023)
LINKS: New GR Author Account | GR Personal Account
+ + +
Previous Awards / Publications
******************************
• Tea Leaves (Cha journal) / Jan 2015
• Playmates (Readers' Favorite) / April 2014
• Guest speaker in New Word Order, The Arts House, 15 Nov 2012
• Participating Author in "SWF Fringe" Debate, Singapore Writers Festival, 8 Nov 2012
• Author/Illustrator Feature, RCGNTN Magazine (SG), 2009
"Bold, fearless and always original, Jess C Scott dares to bring to light some of our darkest fantasies." --The Arts House
I was trying to find my way as a writer and person throughout my twenties. I won't be writing under my "Jess C Scott" pen name as it doesn't reflect who I am anymore (it's a pen name I used since I was 12 years old).
In 2019, I started working on some horror short stories and essays. I intend to publish them at some point in future under my real name (still undecided if I might use a new pen name for fiction).
See you at my new site if the genres are of interest to you :)
Thank you and take care! 👋✍️
-- Jess. (May 2023)
LINKS: New GR Author Account | GR Personal Account
+ + +
Previous Awards / Publications
******************************
• Tea Leaves (Cha journal) / Jan 2015
• Playmates (Readers' Favorite) / April 2014
• Guest speaker in New Word Order, The Arts House, 15 Nov 2012
• Participating Author in "SWF Fringe" Debate, Singapore Writers Festival, 8 Nov 2012
• Author/Illustrator Feature, RCGNTN Magazine (SG), 2009
"Bold, fearless and always original, Jess C Scott dares to bring to light some of our darkest fantasies." --The Arts House
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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December 8, 2012Evolution by Jess C Scott consists of an extract from her blog novel Eyelash, some short stories and poems, and other bits and pieces, including comments from editors on the book and a 'manifesto' explaining why she writes. Evolution is meant to serve as a "bite-sized" promotion for her other books, but to be blunt, it doesn't work. After I got past the novel extract I found myself asking the question: Why should I care about any of this stuff? It reads very much like the journal of an adolescent, including tortured poetry and pseudo-intellectual musings that are supposed to be deep but don't make much sense to anyone apart from the author. There's a reason why teenage journals stay hidden.
On saying all this, the author can write and she shows a lot of promise. The technical standard in the book is high and I found the blog novel idea very innovative. I had no problem with typos and errors in this part of the book because I understand what she was trying to do here. I did enjoy Eyelash because it reminded me so much of my own teenage years and it felt like I was reading my own journal from back then. It was comforting to see that despite all the technologicial innovations teenagers haven't changed that much at all.
Based on the books blurb, though, which points out that the author is a 'non-conformist' I was expecting something very different. This is not very sophisticated stuff. The storyline itself in Eyelash is very conventional and the main character spends most of the extract obsessing about boys and sex....hardly groundbreaking. Apart from the format it's indistinguishable from any of the other teen books around. I understand the author is trying to provide a counterbalance to the Twilight/50 Shades of Grey phenomemon, but I'm not really sure how she thinks she is doing this this. Her character comes across as quite narcissistic and shallow, with no concern for anything beyond her own immediate needs and desires. Perhaps the author is trying to make a comment on today's self-obsessed youth, but that's not the impression I got. I felt that she was supposed to be edgy, but again, I couldn't really see how.
There's this notion that writing about sex is transgressive and radical, but in recent years erotic fiction has become very mainstream, and in my opinion there are far worthier subjects to tackle when economies are on the brink of collapse, oceans are rising and mass poverty is becoming the norm in many countries around the world. It depresses me greatly that young, talented writers like Jess C Scott are so insular and unwilling to look beyond the shallow, consumerist existence to see what is happening right in front of them. Ironically the author is opposed to crass "commercialism" but to me her book was more an uncritical reflection of this mindset than a critique of it.
My advice to the author: SLOW DOWN and focus on quality over quantity. Widen your perspective and dig deeper. Including blog entries, IM conversations and lots of slashes is cool but it does not make you avant-garde. It's the subject matter that is important, and at the moment yours lacks depth. Before you publish something think about your readers. Why should they be interested in comments from editors or your random musings on writing, love and sex? People want well-crafted stories, not preachy mini-theses or your analyses of your own short stories (I'm thinking of Play / BDSM Walkthrough which I also downloaded). These things belong on a blog, not in a book. Spend more time showing rather than telling because readers don't want to be hit over the head repeatedly with your philosophy of life. You message should emerge organically from your story. Don't dismiss criticism as coming from people who don't "get" you. Keep developing your voice and style because you have a great deal of potential, but it takes time to become a good writer and publishing material that does not reflect your true talent will hinder your progress in the long term.
On saying all this, the author can write and she shows a lot of promise. The technical standard in the book is high and I found the blog novel idea very innovative. I had no problem with typos and errors in this part of the book because I understand what she was trying to do here. I did enjoy Eyelash because it reminded me so much of my own teenage years and it felt like I was reading my own journal from back then. It was comforting to see that despite all the technologicial innovations teenagers haven't changed that much at all.
Based on the books blurb, though, which points out that the author is a 'non-conformist' I was expecting something very different. This is not very sophisticated stuff. The storyline itself in Eyelash is very conventional and the main character spends most of the extract obsessing about boys and sex....hardly groundbreaking. Apart from the format it's indistinguishable from any of the other teen books around. I understand the author is trying to provide a counterbalance to the Twilight/50 Shades of Grey phenomemon, but I'm not really sure how she thinks she is doing this this. Her character comes across as quite narcissistic and shallow, with no concern for anything beyond her own immediate needs and desires. Perhaps the author is trying to make a comment on today's self-obsessed youth, but that's not the impression I got. I felt that she was supposed to be edgy, but again, I couldn't really see how.
There's this notion that writing about sex is transgressive and radical, but in recent years erotic fiction has become very mainstream, and in my opinion there are far worthier subjects to tackle when economies are on the brink of collapse, oceans are rising and mass poverty is becoming the norm in many countries around the world. It depresses me greatly that young, talented writers like Jess C Scott are so insular and unwilling to look beyond the shallow, consumerist existence to see what is happening right in front of them. Ironically the author is opposed to crass "commercialism" but to me her book was more an uncritical reflection of this mindset than a critique of it.
My advice to the author: SLOW DOWN and focus on quality over quantity. Widen your perspective and dig deeper. Including blog entries, IM conversations and lots of slashes is cool but it does not make you avant-garde. It's the subject matter that is important, and at the moment yours lacks depth. Before you publish something think about your readers. Why should they be interested in comments from editors or your random musings on writing, love and sex? People want well-crafted stories, not preachy mini-theses or your analyses of your own short stories (I'm thinking of Play / BDSM Walkthrough which I also downloaded). These things belong on a blog, not in a book. Spend more time showing rather than telling because readers don't want to be hit over the head repeatedly with your philosophy of life. You message should emerge organically from your story. Don't dismiss criticism as coming from people who don't "get" you. Keep developing your voice and style because you have a great deal of potential, but it takes time to become a good writer and publishing material that does not reflect your true talent will hinder your progress in the long term.
April 10, 2014
3.5 Stars
Evolution is a freebie sampler, to get an idea of Scott's work. Her writing, as evidenced by the shorts/samples in this book, is rather diverse so naturally different parts are likely to appeal to different people. Personally, the sex (well, masturbation) left me cold. Not that it was *bad* as per se but I just didn't care. BUT the other pieces were much more interesting, particularly in respect to their experimental writing. The EyeLeash sample in particular was well done and felt pretty spot on. I get the impression that Scott is... well, rather talented, if not to everyone's taste.
Evolution is a freebie sampler, to get an idea of Scott's work. Her writing, as evidenced by the shorts/samples in this book, is rather diverse so naturally different parts are likely to appeal to different people. Personally, the sex (well, masturbation) left me cold. Not that it was *bad* as per se but I just didn't care. BUT the other pieces were much more interesting, particularly in respect to their experimental writing. The EyeLeash sample in particular was well done and felt pretty spot on. I get the impression that Scott is... well, rather talented, if not to everyone's taste.
June 17, 2012
Interesting style of writing..blog style. Subject matter is not exactly my cup of tea.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews