Fester

Fester is a Duty Calls short story, originally released on September 2, 2012.

It follows Shawn Smith and his friend Bobby Zhang on a road trip to see Stephen Malkmus play at a music festival.

Shawn receives a large quantity of prank phone calls referencing the number 333.

Cover Artwork

The ebook cover art features a photo of "scrips" arranged on a lawn in the shape of the letter F.

The cover photo was taken at a wine tasting held in Barnsdall Art Park in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. It represents the "scrips" Shawn Smith encounters at the music festival arranged in the shape of the letter F. The remaining letters are from a font by designer Chank Diesel called Wichita based on the handwriting of musician Mike Doughty.

Connections to Other Stories

• Shawn's friend Bobby Zhang is the son of Doug Zhang from Donuts & Deadbolts and the apprentice of HJ from Copper on Parchment.
• Shawn eats day old donuts from Doug'N Donuts.
• Shawn & Bobby discuss a film titled The Handoff written by Allan Smithee from Debaser

Behind the Scenes

The opening was inspired on a real life event when author JL Civi received a large quantity of prank and/or wrong number phone calls from an international number.

The conclusion of the music festival is based on a real life event when author JL Civi accidentally left his friend behind after the Lollapalooza festival in Quonset Point, RI.

Shawn Smith was named after a real-life musician dubbed “Seattle’s best kept secret.”