West of Mars

It’s Friday. I’m gearing up for the Musical Hanukkah Celebration to start with all sorts of behind-the-scenes stuff you’re going to LOVE.

AND I’m hanging today with Anna, who runs the most excellent Diary of an Eccentric. Come on by and say hi — and check out my latest ambition… nope, I never do stop. Sorta like a bass player we all know and love…

Don’t ask where this came from. I don’t know.

The run rampant through me, the tremors. I live in fear of them, of the reminder of how fragile I am, of how fragile life is.

I despise them, loathe them, hate them. I want them gone. Out of my body, off this mortal coil. Gone, banished, denied entry ever again.

I dream of knives that will cut them out of my body. I dream of peace. Of stillness and solitude.

Of an end of fear, of pain, of this isolation the tremors have caused me to build around me. Of friends and family and people who visit because they want to, not because they are duty-bound.

I despise. And I dream.

A three-word Wednesday prompt (and all three words are in the first line!), but I’ll link it all over the place, like usual. Friday Flash. Weekend Writer’s Retreat. You guys know the drill. Another thing you ought to know? Starting Monday, at least half of the royalties from sales of all three of my books will head to charity. Be sure to check the contest page — more books are being donated for anyone who makes a direct donation, too!)

Wasn’t it just the other day I was blogging about a new Metallica book?

Today came word of ANOTHER one.

Renowned British rock journalist Mick Wall will release a new book, “Metallica: Enter Night – The Biography”, in hardcover via Orion in the U.K. on November 11.

(See Blabbermouth for the whole article)

Sheesh. It seems like the whole world has decided to write about my favorite real-life band. And that’s fine (or it would be if they’d all send me review copies so I could compare/contrast them. HINT, folks!).

It’s been quiet here this week. I’m sure you’ve noticed. I’m sure you’re getting excited to see what I’m working on bringing you for the Musical Hanukkah Celebration and my big push to donate at least half my royalties in November and December to charity. (Hint: I just got word of sales at Sony, B&N, and Apple today. So if you shop at any of those places, get ready to buy ’cause the books are THERE!)

Stay tuned. We’re going to have a LOT of fun. I’ve got lots of two-parters for you guys, too. And lots of your favorite characters (and a few you’ve seen here but haven’t warmed up to yet. Yet.).

Musical Hanukkah. Metallica. Books. Who’da thunk???

So, yeah. We’re busy building excitement for the Musical Hanukkah Celebration here (and putting out a fire or two. Yikes! This was arson, boys and girls, of an entire city block), and as a way to help you do that, long-time friend and groupie Julia has hosted me over at A Piece of My Mind. She does this cool 5 on Friday meme that’s all about music (makes ya wonder why I don’t, ya know?).

Today, I stepped up to the plate and did my best to share my vision of ShapeShifter via music. Stop in and see what it’s about. Tell me if you agree/disagree. Just… don’t make me listen to country music as you try to prove that Mitchell’s really a crooner!

Believe it or not, this is our final Musical Hanukkah Flashback. Know what that means???

BRING ON THE NEW STUFF!

But first, go back to this Thursday Thirteen, will ya? I totally invented thirteen kids whose lives had been touched by the music in our schools program, such as the one who’ll be receiving at least 50% of my royalties in November and December. If you’ve got the books already, remember, the holiday shopping season is almost on top of us. You’ll need gifts for friends and family members — and books make great gifts! (I can even autograph them for you!)

Aunt Sally won’t like a book? Why not donate the same amount of money you’d spend on her gift and tell her what you did, instead. A direct link (and full details, including the bit about thank-you prizes you’ll be eligible to win for supporting the cause this way) is available on my contest page.

If you’d like to follow the evolution of (and the adventures behind) the Musical Hanukkah Celebration, use this link to the first flashback.

Ahh, Trevor. Love him or hate him, he’s the glue that holds this place together.

(And really, does anyone HATE Trevor, or just love the others more?)

Today’s flashback gives you Trevor exclusively. It’s a Trevor’s Word of the Moment, a feature I’ve let slide around here. Go check it out and tell me if you think I ought to bring it back.

Of course, I’d be thrilled if you’d join me in my own mitzvah — raising funds for the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. There are two ways to do this: via direct donation or by buying my books. Up to 50% of my royalties in November and December will be donated to this great charity, based on the famous movie whose name it shares. Of course, if you can’t wait eleven days and have to buy NOW while you’re thinking about it, that’s awesome, too. It’ll help me recoup some costs that have built up. That in turn will let me donate a bigger chunk of my November and December royalties.

See? Buy now. Buy later. It all comes together to make a bigger donation.

If you’d like to follow the Musical Hanukkah postings from the beginning, why not go back to the first flashback? They’re all linked up, in order, so you can follow each one.

This is the second-to-last one, so if you’d like to see how it ended last year, I encourage you to do it.

Awhile ago (really, TOO long ago), I featured my friend, author Christine D’Abo when she had a new release.

It took two years, but she’s returning the favor, hosting me for a fun interview. Stop in and check it out. Although it went live yesterday, I’ll keep an eye on the comments for a day or two, if you’d like to leave one over there. Or here. I watch the comments here, too.

Well, from the last post, you’d think there was no Musical Hanukkah Flashback for ShapeShifter last year.

Guess what? Politics and good intentions can’t hold our boys down. They want to keep helping kids … so they found a way.

Why not help find a way in real life? There are two ways that I’m offering. First is for you to buy any (or all) of my books. At least 50% of my royalties will go to charity.

The other way is to make a direct donation. I’m organizing a raffle as a way to say thanks. If you’d like to donate something, please contact me.

All the details are on my contest page. Please check it out and help bring this previously-fictional event into the real world. It doesn’t take a huge financial effort on your part (The Demo Tapes as e-books are only $2.50 each at Smashwords!) to make a huge difference for a kid who wants to make music.

To start following the flashbacks from the beginning, use this link. And if you need to skip on ahead to the next one, here’s the link so you can do that.

I don’t remember the last time I did a mail call post. I’ve been doing a lot of them over at Rocks ‘n Reads so I don’t double-post over here, but lately, that hasn’t been an issue. I’m so busy getting the Musical Hanukkah Celebration together (read this page for more details) that it appears I’ve been neglecting you guys.

Not true. Totally not true. Once we start rolling with the new fiction, you’ll agree.

In the meantime, I picked up three books from my beloved PO Box on Friday, so I figured I’d share with you what I got.

First was from BookMooch: Yes, the River Knows. It’s written by Tracy Dunham. I’d wanted it because I recently read the first in this series, Wishful Sinful, and really liked it.

Next was another rock and roll novel, thanks to my good friend Mary at BookHounds. She sent me her ARC copy of Olivia Cunning’s Backstage Pass. I hear it’s hot. I hear it’s good. I hear I now get a chance to see for myself.

And finally, Thomma Lyn Grindstaff sent me a copy of Mirror Blue. I’ll be raffling this off to anyone who makes a direct donation to the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation between, well, now and the end of the year. Maybe I’ll even sneak in a read between now and then… If you’d like to make a direct donation as part of the Musical Hanukkah Celebration, the link is above.

That’s it from West of Mars this week. Lots going on, lots more to come. I hope you’re reading something good — and will join in this year’s Musical Hanukkah Celebration as we take it from the realm of fiction into the real world.

If you’d like to see what others discovered in their mailboxes this week, stop by The Story Siren and Mailbox Monday, this month hosted by She Reads and Reads

Oh, I’m just going to shamelessly cut and past what Blabbermouth said.

Chronicle Books has just released “The Ultimate Metallica” book of photographs by legendary rock photographer Ross Halfin.

Halfin has documented METALLICA for nearly 25 years, from their beginnings as a scrappy, furious garage band to their current status as the heaviest and most popular metal band in the world. Featuring a foreword by METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich and an afterword by guitarist Kirk Hammett, “The Ultimate Metallica” collects the best of Halfin’s amazing images, taken over the years with access granted exclusively to him as the band’s main lensman. His candid photographs — taken on stage, backstage, on and off tour — are supplemented by text from many people close to the band, including managers and music writers, plus some colorful personal observations from Halfin himself.

Ulrich says of Halfin’s work, “He just gets right the fuck in there. . . . Every drop of sweat, every molecule of saliva, every out-of-place nose hair, it all gets captured cuz he’s just fucking there.”

Ross Halfin has toured with and photographed many bands, including IRON MAIDEN, DEF LEPPARD, KISS, THE CLASH, SEX PISTOLS, and THE WHO. He lives in Surrey, England.

Okay, so not so mmrow on the out-of-place nose hairs, but the rest? Total. Mmrow. I need this book. Research, don’tcha know… research.