Hello everyone,
I am gearing up for my first online virtual book tour experience with
www.virtualbooktourcafe.com this weekend from November 17-20th. Here are the 3 blogs I have prepared in order to chat with potential readers. Register on the Virtual Tour Cafe website for a chance to win and to chat with me about the book. I welcome questions and curiosity. I work as a female electrician for the past 18 years in New York, US. I have lots of funny jobsite stories and a unique perspective on work and life in general. I hope to hear from readers online soon! Have a good day!
Cheers!
Leslie M. Jasper
10 Things Reader's Would Be Surprised
To Know About You
1. I
grew up on the southern Oregon coast in a town called Coos Bay, Oregon. I joined and entered the military two weeks
after I graduated from high school.
2. There
is a plaque that is still up on the wall in the gym announcing that I still
hold the record for bench pressing the most as a female. Apparently, no high school student has broken
that record yet.
3. Due
to being 17 years old, my dad had to give consent for me to join the U.S. Navy. I learned that I was mechanically inclined
from taking the ASFAB exam. My two
choices at the military processing center was to either become a construction
electrician in the Seabees or an airplane mechanic on an aircraft carrier.
4. I
won the ironwoman challenge title in U.S. Navy bootcamp out of 87 other women
in my company. I was on the rifle team
as well.
5. I
played the trumpet from 5th grade up to 11th grade. I changed high schools my senior year so I
decided to not play my last year. I had consumed myself with practicing and
taking it very seriously in middle and high school.
6. Despite
being a construction worker, I am a very laid back and easy going person. I don’t like to get worked up about things or
stress on them too hard.
7. I
am a single woman and rather old fashioned when it comes to dating. I like to date one guy at a time and prefer
for him to make the moves and pursue me.
I have no interest in dating fellow construction workers. I prefer to date men in a totally different
field.
8. I
married a man from the U.S. Marines while we were stationed in Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba. We married and relocated to New
York. He died in a motorcycle accident 3
days before my birthday and I buried him on my 21st birthday.
9. I
can actually say I worked while pregnant in a trench spinning rigid pipe. I did not tell anyone I was pregnant until I
was almost 6 months along. I worked
outside in January until I was 31 weeks along back in 2005. My coworkers thought I was crazy and had a
lot of respect for me due to my strength and determination to not quit.
10. I
have owned a house since I was 20 years old. I have demolished almost every wall in the
house. I do my own framing, sheetrock,
electrical, and painting. I do not like
to mess with cement or taping.
Everything else is fair game.
How Do You Keep Your Writing
Different
My writing is different because my experiences in life are
unique from most people. I work as a
female electrician in a trade that is dominated by men. I am accustomed and think, at times, like men
more so than women. The men that I work
with are straight forward and say what is on their mind. That way of thinking is transferred into my
writing as well. Due to the daily
exposure to men and their different personalities, I have a great understanding
of what makes men function. My book
tells the reader about how difficult it was to first enter the construction
field. I was not welcomed with open
arms. I pushed on and did what I needed
to do despite that and never gave up. I
have had to work through a lot of negative energy and pressure to perform my
job over the years.
This has helped to shape how I work and think as well. By most standards, I am workaholic and tie in
one’s character to their work ethic. In
my book, I speak about my analysis of how different type of people are treated
in a construction work environment. This
can be the slacker, go-getters, minorities, and women. I also talk about the mentality of the
average construction worker in my book.
Most people I work with push the envelope and do as they wish.
I have a difficult time sugar coating anything I say since I
am used to being able to be honest and direct at work. My honest and direct approach seeps into my
writing as well. Due to my years of
working around men, I refuse to complain about anything and maintain a positive
attitude. They would be expecting me to
complain about conditions. I know this
to be true so I refuse to discuss jobsite issues at work. I’d rather hear my co-workers complain about
issues amongst themselves. I did speak
about my challenges I encountered during my apprenticeship in the book. The point of writing about that was to let
the reader know what I was faced with during that time period. I view my writing as uplifting and a success
story that emerged from difficult times.
My writing reflects my motivation and drive to succeed no matter how
difficult the situation may be. I also
refuse to allow obstacles stand in my way.
Why Book Covers are So
Important
I believe book covers are very important since they are
supposed to catch the reader’s attention.
Within seconds, the reader should be able to get an idea of what the
book is going to be about. Since my book
is about working in the electrical industry, the lightning bolts seemed very
appropriate. I also wanted to represent
the power of my choice to enter this field and earn my journeywoman’s
card. This was despite to the many
challenges and hurdles I had faced along the way in order to finish my
apprenticeship. I was hoping that they
would be eye catching as well. Since I
am a female working in a man’s field, the hard hat on the cover needed to be
pink. I would not actually wear a pink
hard hat at work. I would be made fun of
by my coworkers. Therefore, I would find
that choice undesirable.
The phallic symbol was also placed on the pink hard hat in
order to re-enforce that point that the book is about a female’s construction
work experience. I used the hard hat,
pliers, and screwdriver and shaped them into the female phallic symbol. I didn’t want to put the actual symbol on the
hard hat. However, I was talked into
placing it on the hard hat after a few discussions. Despite it being obvious to me, not everyone
would get it that the hard hat and tools were positioned to form the female
phallic symbol.
The title should also catch the potential reader’s
attention. Based on the title, the
reader should know that the book will be about a bunch of construction jobsite
stories. These stories are told by a
woman who entered the industry and became an electrician. The reader should also know that there are
going to be more stories released on the horizon in additional volumes. My intent of the book cover was to provide a
million words in the matter of seconds to the eye.
