West of Mars

Mitchell tossed his head, trying to get the sweat to change course. Of course, it didn’t work. At the end of the show like this, the sweat had a mind of its own.

“So,” he said in a conversational way, putting his left foot forward more, almost straddling the mic stand. His guitar got in the way, so he used his right hand to move it away. “Those lousy fuckers in this half-ass town wouldn’t let us stay up here tonight until midnight so we could do this all proper, like.”

The crowd booed. Mitchell nodded approvingly, looking around at them and then at the band. Trevor and Eric looked suitably impressed and they nodded along with Mitchell.

“But,” he said, holding up one finger and cocking his head. More sweat dripped into his eyes; he blinked it out. “They wouldn’t budge even when we offered them lots of money. And I mean lots,” he said, wondering if the fans could possibly comprehend the negotiations they’d tried. Beside him, Eric nodded agreement. Trevor just laughed.

“So. Here we are, and you fucks are probably gonna bolt outta here and head off to another party. When you get there, be sure you show off your special New Year’s T-shirts and then laugh your asses off ’cause none of us got ‘em.”

The crowd roared again, like that was the funniest joke they’d ever heard. As if it was true, Mitchell thought. Shit, he had the original drawing that Kerri had made somewhere in all his papers. As if ShapeShifter would make something as exclusive as a commemorative New Year’s tee and not hold out a few for themselves.

“Before we go, let’s have ourselves a little celebration. Ready? Dans’ll help you count down from ten, and we’ll have some fireworks and shit.”

He paused as Eric signalled to Daniel before approaching. “Invite the crew out,” the guitarist reminded him. Good thing; he’d forgotten. As if he’d wanted to do this without Kerri.

“Whoa,” Mitchell said, holding both hands up to quiet the fans. “We gotta do this right. Bring the crew on out. Ker, techs, everyone back there. C’mon out.”

Once Kerri had nestled under his left arm, his guitar touching her hip and his sweat drenching her, he waited for the rest of the crew to stumble out. Even though he’d warned them he’d be doing this, they were still wary, as if they were expecting some sort of joke.

On any other day, they’d have gotten one, that was for sure. Ordinarily, crew belonged in the background. But this was New Year’s Eve, and while they hadn’t gotten permission to bust through the arena’s curfew, they had gotten permission for some indoor fireworks and an early celebration.

Then, band and crew would party backstage until they were all too soused to stand.

Bobby, Mitchell’s tech, offered to take his guitar. But Mitchell shook his head. “You’re off duty for a few,” he said, leaning away from the mic so it wouldn’t pick up his voice. The guitar wasn’t heavy; he could carry it a few more minutes.

Daniel provided the bass drum beat that the crowd used to count down, and then the pyro guys back at the sound board set off the fireworks.

As he and Kerri watched, smiling, Trevor came up behind them. “So, tonight the night you’re gonna wise up and dump Rusty’s ass? That girl in the third row sure looks like she’d be willing to ease the parting.”

Mitchell cuffed the back of Trevor’s head and grinned. “You don’t stop, do you, asshole?”

Trevor grinned happily. “Who, me?”

A lot of people who stopped by my Thursday Thirteen yesterday were enthusiastic about my plans to add a Library Thing scroller to my sidebar sometime during the upcoming year. Sounds like you guys need something to fill your time until Trevor’s Song hits the shelves.

In light of that, I thought my book talk today would look back over the 146 books I read in 2006 — 2 more than last year! — and hit the highlights, but skip the lowlights (the 48 I didn’t bother to finish).

I finally got around to reading The Devil Wears Prada — and I surprised myself by loving it. It was one of those books that people either love or hate and I have to say that I got it. Totally. Maybe it’s because I could see myself being Amanda. Maybe it’s because I still aspire to wearing haute couture. I don’t know. But I read this in bed and laughed so hard, I shook the Tour Manager out and onto the floor.

Then I switched gears, per usual, and checked out Marcia Muller‘s Cyanide Wells. I like her SharonMcCone series, but this was actually better. Point Deception was almost as good, but not quite.

Keeping in the thriller vein, next was my second David Liss book, A Conspiracy of Paper. Love love loved this historical thriller! It was a book club selection and I was able to swap a few e-mails with Liss.

I tried my first-ever Nick Hornby book this year, A Long Way Down. I can’t say that I loved it, but it’s sure resonated with me. I have How to be Good on Mt. Read-Me-Now; hopefully I’ll get to it soon. (I should)

Kathy Lette‘s Mad Cows also had me chuckling. Maybe you need to be a mom to appreciate this one; I’m not sure.

In grad school, I took a course in Latin American lit, so revisiting Carlos Fuentes for The Old Gringo was a nice treat. Fascinating book, as was another classic, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Don’t forget Patrick Suskind’s Perfume.

I caught up on Stephanie Plum this year, and read my first Sue Grafton. (I know, what took me so long? I had trouble believing she’d live up to the hype. She did.) Other authors I revisited: T. Jefferson Parker, Linda Fairstein, Jonathan Kellerman, Jill Churchill.

Ever read a Western? Tabor Evans wrote this series a loooong time ago, called Longarm. I read one, called On the Great Divide, and loved it. That man has more sex than Trevor, I swear it.

My friend CheesyGiraffe (I think) clued me in to Nancy Atherton‘s Aunt Dimity series. Rumor has it that her sales are slipping; why not help her out and expose yourself and a few friends to this fun series? I have a few of these on Mt. TBR; don’t be surprised if they show up as a contest prize along the way (although don’t hold me to that!)

More firsts for me this year: Lisa Scottoline, Stephen Woodworth, and Jodi Picoult. I’ve since collected more of those, too. JA Konrath, Susan Wittig Albert, Daniel Silva, and Rachel Caine all were new to me, and all series I’ll be sticking with.

As she did with To Die For, Joyce Maynard made me cry with The Usual Rules. I was very resistant to any 9-11 fiction, but this was worth it. Thanks to Cheesy (can you tell why I like her so much?) for making me stick with it when I wanted to give up.

I’ll admit it. I read Pamela Anderson’s Star. I loved it. If you need a good, campy beach read, pick it up. So what if it’s a barely fictionalized account of her life? It’s funny as hell and I really hope Pamela was never as naive as Star. The plane scene still cracks me up.

Back to historical fiction with Rebecca Kohn‘s The Gilded Chamber. Esther is my favorite of the Jewish heroines; I often call her the first feminist because she risked being beheaded in order to stand up to her husband, the king, and save the Jews. Kohn did her story justice.

My biggest shock of the year? Loving Nora Roberts‘ Northern Lights. I didn’t think I’d like it, that it wouldn’t be well-written or that the plot would be predictable. Instead, I couldn’t put it down. Once I was done, I sent it to my friend Dana and I think I just ruined the surprise by saying that…

In a nutshell, that’s the reads of the year. Notice how many mysteries and thrillers are on this list? Just trying to earn my spot among my other Sisters in Crime, although I’m going to try to ease off this genre a bit as 2007 opens; on first awakening the other night and hearing a hooting owl, I was convinced it was a group of bad guys, ready to break in and steal my books.

Happy reading, everyone, and happy 2007.

If you haven’t been here in a few days — or since last week — be sure you scroll down a few posts and catch up. You’ve missed some fun stuff — including me being tagged for a meme! (shocking!)

So when you’re done Thirteening this week, be sure to check out what you’ve missed. Dethklok, Miss Snark, and a few words of wisdom from Trevor himself.

What’ll this week hold?

I’m still figuring that out.

Now, on to the business at hand:

Thirteen Things I want to bring to the blog in 2007 1. More of the new Susan Speaks commentaries (the link will bring you to an example of a past one) 2. Pam Derbish 3. more story arcs like Green Hair Week 4. merchandise! 5. Podcasts devoted to the outtakes 6. a Myspace page that’ll feature music 7. new West of Mars graphics and art (got ideas? Know anyone who does? Speak up!) — possibly related to the aforementioned merch 8. hopefully a new look to the old meet-and-greet here 9. contests! Contests! (look for the first one soon) 10. a reputable agent, publisher, and agent who love Trevor and everyone else as much as we do (from my typing fingers to God’s eyes, huh?) 11. more of you groupies to entertain on a semi-daily basis 12. A listing in my sidebar of books I’ve loved, so you can read and love them, too 13. Charity — like this one, or not. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

HUGE thanks to laughing muse for today’s TT header. Isn’t it incredible?

That evil Scooper, with whom I haven’t even exchanged links yet (hint!) tagged me for a meme. I’m honored — and I’m going to obey. (usually, I look at who people are tagging and think, “Oh, you mean that other Susan. Why on earth would you mean ME?”)

So… here we go:
Four Jobs That I’ve had
1. Record store employee
2. Stage crew
3. college radio DJ (and everything associated with being a department head)
4. freelance copy editor

(methinks I see a theme…)

Four Favorite Foods
1. Chocolate
2. lobster
3. brownies
4. chocolate chip cookies

(methinks I still see a theme in this meme…)

Four Movies I can Watch Over and Over
1. Slapshot
2. This is Spinal Tap
3. Heavy Metal (one day, I’ll figure out what the hell is happening)
4. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

(nope, no theme this time. Anyone know how long it took me to think of four movies, let alone four I like???? HUH????)

Four Favorite TV shows
(I had to change the title because the way it WAS worded reminded me of … oh, nevermind. Someone I don’t particularly like)

1. Dog the Bounty Hunter
2. Metalocalypse
3. The Amazing Race
4. Farscape (you never said it had to still be running!)

Four Places I’ve travelled
1. Mars
2. Moon

Oh, wait. You mean like overnight and stuff. Well.

1. San Francisco
2. Yellowstone
3. San Rafael
4. San Jose

(yep. Theme. I did that on purpose ’cause they were cool trips)

Four Websites I go to daily
1. My own blog
2. My stat counter page
3. Rashenbo’s joint
4. Karen!’s joint

Four people I’m now torturing uhh… tagging
1. Rashenbo
2. Karen!
3. ls
4. Janet

Now, let’s see if any of them will behave…

See you later for this week’s Thursday Thirteen…

Trevor crossed his legs at the ankle, loving the way his motorcycle boots thunked. He took a minute to light a cigarette; his audience would still be there. Right then, he had them hanging on his every word.

“Don’t you idiots know when you’ve been fucked with,” he drawled, inspecting the tip of his cigarette to see if any ash had formed yet. “Someone that camera shy just isn’t going to let you see her face so fast.”

Ever wondered what I really look like, since that picture on the old website was horrid?

Well, Southern Writer made a cool YouTube vid, and I’m in it. Check it out.

Back later with a Christmas entry. Or maybe not.

Apparently, according to Blabbermouth.net, Gene Hoglan of Strapping Young Lad is in the studio with Dethklok creator Brendon Small, laying down tracks for a full-length album.

That rocks.

Now, where’s the shirts????

I am sad to report that I will not be the first (let alone only) woman on my block to be wearing a Dethklok t-shirt this holiday season.

What’s wrong with the merchandisers at Adult Swim, anyway?

Oh, yeah. There don’t seem to be any.

Humph.

Thirteen Things about Hanukkah as listed by Amy, Chelle, and Kerri, the ladies around here. So far. If you aren’t a regular West of Mars groupie, you might want to start by reading this post. 1. You’re asking three shiksas? (Amy) 2. You can spell the name of the holiday six different ways, which makes the copy editors go nuts. (Chelle) 3. Candlelight. (Kerri smiles and licks her lips knowingly) 4. Hey, if you’re going to involve me in my little brother’s sex life, try this on for size: Hot oil! (Amy) 5. Girl, that’s too kinky for my blood! Give me the chocolate coins instead! (Chelle) 6. You can do plenty of kinky things with chocolate coins, Chelle. (Kerri, who winks while her sister-in-law gags) 7. Is Hanukkah a kinky holiday, or is it just us? (Kerri) 8. You’re the dirty ones, not me. (Chelle) 9. Back to Hanukkah… those spinning tops. Only religion I’ve ever heard of that condones gambling. (Kerri) 10. How’d you know all this? I thought I’d be the expert here since I have to read the same stupid articles in my paper every year. (Chelle) 11. It’s a story of a war victory and oil that lasted eight days instead of one. And this is where I point out that the winning team was led by a woman. (Amy) 12. Back to the oil, Aim? Is there something we should know about you and Derek? (Kerri, who’s grinning) 13. I give up! I can’t do a damn thing with these two dirty birds here! Did anyone notice that you stuck me in a room with the two women closest to Mitchell Voss? What is it with that man and sex? Happy Hanukkah, everyone! If you’d like to celebrate with ShapeShifter, you might want to check out this post, too. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll try to add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will try to link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Big thanks to Headmeister for this week’s cool header!

To help you feel more comfortable with some of what’s going on around here, today I’m introducing a new series where I get to talk to you about the background of the fiction you’re either about to read, or should have already enjoyed. Consider it a look inside an author’s mind.

Today, I need to set you up for this week’s Thursday Thirteen.

Thursday Thirteen #8, the Hanukkah Edition, brings together Kerri Voss, Amy London, and Chelle LaFleur. The one thing these women have in common is, of course, the fictional band ShapeShifter. Most specifically, ShapeShifter’s singer and rhythm guitarist, Mitchell Voss.

Kerri is Mitchell’s wife. Amy is Mitchell’s older sister. And Chelle is Mitchell’s friend. While Kerri and Amy see each other often, both living in the fictional city of Riverview, Chelle’s the outsider here. Still, these are the three women you guys know the best, although there are others floating around, who you’ll meet later on.

Together, these three women have a synergy about them that I’m sure you’ll enjoy. That’s why I sat them down and asked them to talk about the holiday of Hanukkah. Given that these three women all have a certain similar sensibility, the results are probably not what you’d expect from one of the usual Thursday Thirteens that we do here at a West of Mars. Or a Thursday Thirteen you might see elsewhere.

See you for this week’s Thursday Thirteen.