Book Complete!

That picture is of my first completed book,Heroes in the Night. I got on the train to Chicago on Thursday and handed it in to my publisher.

Inside that file bin is a lot of work. There is a manuscript (14 Chapters, close to 300 pages) as well as all of the photos and art on a disc and hard copy, signed permission forms and material for the publicity department. 

My first interview for the book was with The Watchman, March 1, 2009. My last was a follow up phone call with Phoenix Jones, November 11, 2012. In between I did hundreds of hours of interviews, research, and field work. I also read a lot of comic books.

My travels for the book took me out on the streets of Milwaukee, Minneapolis/ St. Paul, Rochester, MN, New Bedford, MA, New York, Washington DC, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and San Diego. I revised the book many times.

What’s next? Well, first I am going to take a day off. The book isn’t actually done, now it is in the hands of the fine folks of Chicago Review Press. They’ll slowly be going through with a line editor, the graphic design dept., and a copy editor. I’ll be working with them on any revisions they’d like to see. 

Then, when it’ s closer to publication date, I’ll be talking with them about publicity, media appearances, a book trailer, running excerpts, and events. That will be the fun part– I’ll actually have the book in my hand.

Meanwhile, I’m going to spend the next month or so working on catching up with smaller things- I have a few articles I’m working on that I need to wrap up. After I’ve caught up, I will be writing a solid beginning base for my next book.

But that, my friends, is a different story.

I'm going to take a couple months hiatus on this blog, but I'll be back in 2013 with some book updates and new Hero Profiles. See you then!

Mutual Kombat: Fight!

Its been awhile since I reported on news coming out of Seattle. Phoenix Jones and his crew, the Rain City Superhero Movement, have been running into a stream of street level confrontations lately.

The most dramatic of these happened in the early hours of this morning. The team intervened in an altercation between some men trying to stop another person's vehicle. The men then turned their attention to the RCSM and an angry confrontation started.

"You know Washington is a mutual combat state, if you'd like to agree to fight we can do that if you'd like to," Jones suggests at the 2:05 mark in the video below. He goes on to explain that  "mutual combat" apparently allows people to fight until one of them hits the ground. I'm no legal expert, but this claim seems to be legit because when police arrived on the scene, they allow the mutual combat to proceed (after trying to talk them out of it).

At the 6:25 mark the fight begins. Jones has removed his famous rubber cowl, and the two men begin to circle each other. After a couple of kicks, Jones' opponent attempts a choke-hold but Jones counters with a right hook and knocks the man out. He then quickly exits from the fighting area and at the command of police leaves the scene. The aftermath-- well, you can just watch for yourself. (NSFW-- loud obscenity, racist comments, total chaos)


On a less combative and more congratulatory note, Phoenix Jones' wife Purple Reign was honored by the University of Seattle for her work on the Purple Reign Campaign, which raised awareness about domestic abuse and money for a women's shelter.