In May of 2009, I had just graduated, just got fired, and was on the verge of starting over by moving back in with my parents. To me, that would have been failure. Brace yourself…a lot of personal revelations in this one.
In the last chapter, you saw my elation, such triumph and joy at the debut of 2NE1. But by June 1st, 2009…my life wasn’t going so great. In March, I was 22 and had just graduated from a tumultuous four years of film school and landed a job with an up-and-coming start-up company. Haha, so without going into so many details, turns out this company was run by gamblers and con-artists. I’m not lying.
In the beginning, I thought everyone was so cool and everything ran like a well-oiled machine. I was hired as a video editor and a content producer. But one thing led to another and I eventually learned that one of my bosses wasn’t who he said he was. The man claimed to be one of the founders of Myspace. He was eventually fired, and my new boss (the gambler) started writing me bad checks that would bounce.
In May of 2009, I flew to Colorado to attend my cousin’s graduation and while there, my boss called me over the phone and fired me, accusing me of theft. I’m no thief. He only fired me because I threatened to file a lawsuit against him for writing bad checks.
And so…in June of 2009 for the first time since I was 16, I was without a job. My future seemed uncertain. I barely had enough to pay one more month of rent and that was it. These were sad days, but I’m not the type to sit on my thumbs and say, “whatever happens, happens.” In the end, I had made up my mind to leave Florida, pack up what I could, and move back into my parent’s house in Georgia in July. Basically, to start all over.
This decision wasn’t easy. As a young man full of pride, moving back into my parent’s house was like admitting defeat, that I couldn’t cut it in the real world on my own. But pragmatically, it was the best decision. Moving back in with my parents would allow me to get another job, save up without paying rent, and then I could head out to Los Angeles and pursue a career as a screenwriter. This was my thinking.
With my mind made up, I spent most of June 2009…writing. Every day, I’d wake up and go to my school’s library to write. And the music that got me through these tough times was none other than a lesser known Japanese composer who goes by the name of Yoko Kanno.
My upcoming e-book will be the last e-book I release for a while. But while it may be the last, it certainly isn’t the least. After I write any story, I go back and proofread what I’ve written, and it’s usually the most difficult process for me because mentally I’m like… “I’ve already finished this project. I want to move on.”
But with this upcoming e-book, it didn’t feel that way. It really is my favorite story, involving one of the most arrogant, sophisticated and conflicted characters I’ve had the pleasure to create. While I’ve already written a novel and I’m working on my second novel involving Eliza Christie as an adult, this upcoming e-book will reveal what Eliza Christie was like as a pre-teen. It’s a narrative told by her best friend, Aida Jennazo. Aida sees first-hand accounts of how Eliza didn’t just roll out of bed and become a vigilante outlaw. Defiance is simply in her DNA.
Eliza Christie aka The Jaguar of August the 18th – age 22,
Being raised by a single father who’s the lead detective for Tampa’s organized crime unit was difficult to say the least. But despite the long hours her father had to pull, his devotion to her was undeniable. And even as a child, she didn’t hold his job against him. She didn’t cry about not being able to go to the park or get that Barbie Doll. Instead, she embraced being raised by the police unit, the officers treating her like she was one of the boys. That being said, Eliza’s never really gotten along with her peers, subconsciously thinking herself above them and their petty individualistic problems.
At a young age, she was exposed to the violence, obscenities and lewd behavior no child should have to witness. But instead of falling into a hole of darkness that only therapy could pull one out of, Eliza reveled in it.
It was only when things got too dangerous that Eliza’s father brought her to live with Aida Jennazo’s family. And that’s the way it was until she reached the age of fifteen.
On one faithful night…the outstanding work Eliza’s father put in finally caught up to him. You see, Eliza’s father, Detective Emil Christie, began to theorize that the city’s entire criminal body was under a single umbrella, a Syndicate, with only one faction pulling the strings for every other gang. From the patterns of murders, extortion, kidnappings and missing persons…only one entity seemed to benefit from it all…The Pierce Corporation with Isaac Pierce sitting at the head of the throne. Isaac Pierce is the richest most influential man in the world at this time.
So when a young assassin scales the high-rise building of Emil Christie’s apartment complex. It hardly came at a surprise to him. What was surprising was that this assassin happened to be no other than Isaac Pierce’s own nephew, a rising enforcer who was already beginning to make a name for himself as a prodigy swordsman. Eliza Christie walk in on the tail end of this grisly murder to see the young man standing over her father’s body.
Her father’s last words… “…Braden Pierce…”
That moment forever changed Eliza’s life, unlocking a chest of fury and igniting a blaze of determination that would never be extinguished.
This stunning blonde green-eyed woman would go on to train in ninjutsu and capoeira before forming the unauthorized militia known as, August the 18th. This militia is a small band of war veterans, mercenaries and ex-police officers who have lost faith in the justice system to do anything about the blatant offenses inflicted by the Syndicate. And while Eliza thinks of herself as just and honorable…on occasion, she willingly and knowingly makes herself a hypocrite when she appoints herself as judge, jury and executioner when it comes to dealing with anyone affiliated with the Pierce.
Smart and philosophical, Eliza knows when and where to show her true self. While attending university and out in general public, she’s your average 22 year old respectable college student. But when she’s with her militia and out on missions, she’s a revered, dominating general who does just about everything except for waiting on the sideline. Only with Aida and Inspector Gazi, does Eliza not concern herself with appearances. It’s only with those two that she can truly be relaxed and free. But despite her growth and maturity as a young woman, two things remain cemented in her psyche. Her deep love for the color green and her need to erase Braden Pierce from existence.
– Eliza’s traits….Dormant pissy attitude. As an adult, she tries to act professional in the face of others, but deep down she’s selfish and unpredictable. She likes Yoko Kanno type music, reflective and instrumental. As a civilian she’s always wearing a long hooded green overcoat that was passed down from her mother. Aside from that, she almost always wears a jeweled bracelet even in combat and has a short katana sword down by her lower back, often concealed but easy to get to.
Stage In The Sky 