West of Mars

Well… with a Martian twist…

Here’s the deal: to help promote the good folks at Buy A Friend a Book Week, I’ve come up with a contest for you guys, my devoted groupies.

During the month of September, I want YOU to send ME a story of how music has touched your life. Maybe it was the first song you fell in love with. Maybe it was the first song you fell in love to. Maybe it was your first meet-and-greet. The night Prong’s Tommy Victor told you that you were beautiful.

Hey, wait. That last is one of mine. No stealing!

What I’ll do, during Buy A Friend a Book Week, coming up this first week of October, is Buy a Groupie a Book.

That’s right.

Seven of you lucky groupies will win a copy of a book — no, not Trevor’s Song, sad to say (I’m still revising it. Again. I know. You’re eager. So am I.), but a book about music that has inspired me in some way and now sits on my shelves, immune to the huge and vast quantities of trading that I do.

E-mail me your stories — you can reach me through the website, as always. And the seven of you who touch me the most deeply will win a copy of someone else’s book. I’ll announce the winners each day during BAFAB week, which is October 1-7 this year.

If you decide to go out and pay it forward and buy another friend a book during Buy a Friend a Book week, let me know. There might be a few special goodies in your package — but be honest. Somehow, I have a bad habit of smelling out a lie. Also, be sure to scroll down this here page for the list of other blogs who are also running BAFAB contests and join some of them. Be sure to tell them West of Mars sent you!

Good luck, and here’s to good stories!

(legal stuff: writing quality is less important than content, but spelling mistakes and text-speak are turn-offs. By submitting your story to me, you are hereby allowing me to in turn be inspired by it and use it in some way, shape, or form in future fiction writing that I may do. You will own no rights to any future work you’ve inspired, and no royalties will be due to you. But let’s face it. The publishing industry being what it is, you’d only get about five cents anyway, and is THAT worth haggling over?)

“Dude, I never watched the news until I heard you did. And it was like someone was showing me this whole great big fucking world that I never knew was out there. I mean, yeah, I’d heard of terrorism and all that shit, but all of a sudden, I get why it’s such a big deal. I know this sounds cheesy as hell, but thanks, man.”

Because Kerri is an artist (albeit a fictional one) whose own work has graced book covers and because artists never get the public recognition that they deserve, I wanted to copy this from Irene Gallo’s blog.

Congratulations to all the winners and may you keep brightening our world with great art!

Hardcover: Stephan Martiniere for Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

Paperback: Tom Kidd for The Enchanter Completed edited by Harry Turtledove

Magazine: Donato Giancola for Prometheus on Asimov’s

Interior: Brom for The Plucker by Brom

3D: James Christensen for Sleeper Lost in Dreams

Unpublished Color: Charles Vess for Companions to the Moon

Unpublished Monochromatic: Paul Bielaczyc for Nightmare

Product: Justin Sweet production design for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Gaming Related: Gabor Szikszai & Zoltan Boros for Blazing Archon, Magic The Gathering card for Ravnica: City of Guilds

Art Director: Irene Gallo

Contribution to ASFA: Julie Faith Rigby

Artistic Achievement: John Picacio

For a full list of the final nominees and links to their art, see Chesley Awards Final Ballot.

Tired of voting against Lukas on Rock Star: Supernova? Try The Quill Awards instead. Vote for your favorite books ’cause Dilana’s gonna win anyway.

Two things:

1. The inevitable return of her mother to her life
2. Retirement

To sell one of her paintings for a million or more.

There is a man out there named Todd James Pierce. He used to, maybe still does, run a website devoted to literary agents. I won’t name it ’cause I think it’s defunct and even if it isn’t, my point here isn’t to trash the guy.

He’s been trashed, at reputable places like this, among others.

BUT today, I got a mailing from the University of Pittsburgh’s Contemporary Writers Series, detailing their upcoming events. On November 1, 2006, the Drue Heinz Literature Prize Reading and Award Ceremony will honor the winner…

One Todd James Pierce.

Chosen this year by Joan Didion, Mr. Pierce has won himself a $15,000 award.

Say what you will about the advice he gives (gave? It’s an old bit of scandal now) new writers. But apparently none of that hoopla mattered to Ms. Didion and as Miss Snark insists time and again, good writing rises to the top every time.

Congratulations to Mr. Pierce. May this be the start of better days.

“Him? He’s nothing but a loser.”

Since the last time the band was doing something interesting, they were about to host a pool party catered by Big Buck’s Best Barbecue and since Karen! asked for it, and since I think it’d be fun, here’s what she asked and what I answered.

Karen! said: Pop quiz!
Backyard BBQ, what does everyone (Trev, Mitchell, Kerri, etc) want most to eat?

Answer…

Mitchell: Kerri
Kerri: Mitchell smothered in chocolate sauce
Trevor: Kerri, Heather, Diane, or any other willing woman
Daniel: steak, preferrably a filet, butterflied yet still perfectly medium rare
Eric: chicken breasts dripping in Bodacious (TM) Sauce, carefully scraped of the sauce before eating to prevent drips

Careful what you ask for…

“YES!”

(choose your context; most of them work)