West of Mars

It’s been a long time since I’ve visited with Trinity, Springer’s sort-of girlfriend. This week’s Three Word Wednesday prompt demanded I revisit her, since I’d left her in a pretty bad position the last time we saw her…

Lust hit with a jolt, surged through the body. It didn’t matter what he looked like, or who he was. Not usually. What mattered was how she felt at the moment, how available he was, and if he’d let her be the one who put the rubber on.

No wonder she’d gotten herself into this mess, she figured. Knocked up, living with Springer’s grandmother, trying to figure out if she should keep it or what. She had another week before abortion wouldn’t be an option.

“Detach yourself from it,” Springer’s grandmother said, patting her on the hand. The lady was smart and kind, if a bit demanding. Springer said at her age, she’d earned it.

Trinity hoped she wouldn’t be around long enough to find out what that meant. She didn’t want to grow attached to these people. They deserved better than her.

“If this was your friend, not you,” Springer’s grandmother said, “what would you tell her to do?”

Trinity shrugged, a slow raising of her shoulders that Springer’s grandmother was supposed to know wasn’t a brush-off. It was supposed to let her know that truly, she had no idea what she’d say. Abortions were big. They were loaded.

Trinity wasn’t sure she could live with that sort of pressure. She thought she’d spend the rest of her life wondering what the baby would have been like. Was it a boy or a girl? What would it grow up to be like?

“I think you know,” Springer’s grandmother said.

“No abortion,” Trinity said, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them. “I should. I know I should.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Grandma, I don’t know if I can live with this. No matter what I do, it’s the wrong thing.” She raised her face to the ceiling, felt the tears on her cheeks. “I wish this had never happened.”

Grandma patted her knee. “I know, Trinity.” Her hand stayed there for a second too long, and Trinity knew. She tilted her head so she could look Grandma in the eye.

Grandma had known the same pulls. The lust, the searing need to be filled and completed. The blessed release when you came.

And what happened when the rubber slipped. Or broke. Or did whatever it had done.

“What did you do?” she whispered.

“I didn’t let it defeat me,” Grandma whispered back.

I’ve also cross-posted this as my #FridayFlash. If you’d like the backstory, here are the links you need:
Springer and Trinity meet
Trinity gets in trouble
Springer tries to help
Be sure you leave comments if you stop in; I love comments! It’s how I know you visited.

My friend Darcia Helle has organized a group of us writers. An awesome group, if I say so, myself.

What’s she’s organized us into is one heck of an awesome collective, every last one of whom has pitched in a copy or two of their books.

Yep, group book give.

You’ll win, what? Ten? More? books if you’re the lucky soul. Maybe more. Maybe, but not likely, less.

Best of all? They’re all PRINT, and I’m told they’ll all be autographed, as well (unless some of us sponge-brains forget).

You’ve got all month, but you only need a minute or two. Go. Enter. Spread the word. It’s the same thing as spreading the love.

Well, hell. If I’m not proof that moms read, you definitely need to stop in at Mommy’s Reading Too. Lots of proof there!

Join me, as blog owner Jennifer was kind enough to read the first three books in the Trevolution and share her thoughts about them. AND she interviewed me, as well.

Can’t beat THAT combination.

Can you tell I’ve been having fun with blog post headlines? Hope you’re having fun with them with me.

Anyway, the Three Way Tie I’m referring to is author Larissa Hinton’s blog, where I’ve dropped in with a guest post today. Stop in and say hi — Larissa is cool. I can’t wait to get to know her better.

Yep, it’s another Twitter connection! See the value of talking to people via Twitter, not just shouting into crowded rooms? I’ve been meeting awesome, fascinating people. I hope you have been, too. (Feel free to tell me about them!)

One of them is author Jennifer Farwell, who is the author of Rock Star’s Girl.

Hello, what’s this? Rock Fiction???

But, of course!

In my need to be all over the best (and worst — and everything in between) Rock Fiction that exists, I invited Jennifer by for the famed One Question Interview.

Jennifer, what song makes you think of Rock Star’s Girl?

Seether’s cover of “Careless Whisper” always makes me think of ROCK STAR’S GIRL. I won’t give too much away, but when you read the book and then take a look at the lyrics, this song is relevant to both the Cory-Emily and Jesse-Emily dynamics. I can picture either Cory or Jesse as the person in the song, giving the listener their thoughts and perspective. And, as some kind readers have pointed out, Emily is no fool.

I chose Seether’s cover for a reason, though, well beyond lyrics. With the gritty guitars and vocals, it evokes the very mood of a few scenes that deal with the relationships of the main characters. Relationships are complicated. In the situation Emily, Cory, and Jesse are in, amid fame and Hollywood gossip, even more so. It’s all there in the arrangement of this song. The uncertainty, regret, and longing — all the good stuff. It was my go-to song to instantly bring me into the story when I’d sit down to write or edit.

(OMG. Is that THE LAMEST official video for such an amazing song, or WHAT?)

Anyway, here’s the blurb for Rock Star’s Girl:

Emily Watts just wants a weekend break from the workaholic hours she’s taken on to keep her business — a popular fashion-snark web site — up and running. What she gets is overnight celebrity and a career-killing media scandal.

While taking time out to attend a concert in support of friend Jesse Cinder, a struggling musician, Emily meets Cory Sampson, the lead singer of a chart-topping rock band. When she agrees to a date with Cory, making entertainment headlines is the last thing she expects. Even so, it’s a minor surprise by comparison to her discovery that in the music world, media notoriety trumps all. Tabloid allegations erupt when Cory and fame-hungry Jesse use Emily for personal gain, and her tarnished image spells disaster — personally and professionally. To save the web site and writing career she’s made her life and dream, Emily must go from being a pawn in the Hollywood headline game to becoming the media mastermind.

Need some buy links? They’re all Amazon, so if you’re like me and not a Kindle user, speak up! Speak out!

Amazon (Kindle edition)
Amazon (paperback)

Maybe you’ve heard about this already. Maybe not.

Either way, it’s still effing cool and right about now, I’m wishing I was a visual artist and not merely a writer. (Merely! Ha!)

A bunch of artists have gotten together and created art that, to them, represents Metallica songs. You’ve got to see some of the art that’s been made (scroll down). It’s wild. It’s cool. It’s out there.

You may even realize that some of these artists don’t usually make visual art. Some clownish types do.

At any rate, it’s cool. I wish I could see it in person. Heck, I wish I was visual enough to have been a contributor. But… I’m not. I’m just your basic writer (basic!) and Rock Fiction expert…

Maybe they’ll call on me to edit a short story anthology based on Metallica songs… Now, THAT would be cool.

You guys know I love the promo trail. Yesterday, I stopped in at Kati Lear’s blog, Jagged Edge, for an interview. I think there’s stuff in there I haven’t talked much about, if at all.

Stop in and let me know if you agree.

So you’ve been meaning to pick up the first two Demo Tapes books for your Kindle. But… well, other books have intruded on your search, and it was hard to resist.

I know. I have similar problems. I’m not here to fault you.

Instead, I’m here to tell you that Amazon’s decided to drop the price on Demo Tapes (Year 1) and Demo Tapes (Year 2) to 99c. Each.

Now’s the time. If you have friends who love Rock Fiction, if you have friends who used to watch music videos on MTV, if you have friends who still lust for men with long hair… why not gift ‘em a book or two?

Really, guys. It doesn’t get any better than this. And with King Trevor set to be released on April 12, there’s no better time to join the Trevolution.

Is there?

Didn’t think so.

WAIT.

Are you a print lover???

Demo Tapes (Year 1), Demo Tapes (Year 2), AND Demo Tapes (Year 3) are STILL part of Amazon’s 4-for-3 promo. Maybe you’ve seen me Tweet about it. Maybe not.

At any rate, here’s the deal. You can buy all three Demo Tapes short story anthologies and spend MORE time with Trevor, Mitchell, and the gang. $29.97 for all three. AND then you can surf around and find something for FREE. (Sorry, but Trevor’s Song isn’t part of the promo. Bummer, huh?)

Like I said: King Trevor. April 12, 2012.

Join the Trevolution NOW.

(Demo Tapes — Year 1 in print)
(Demo Tapes — Year 2 in print)
(Demo Tapes — Year 3 in print)

How did we miss this one? I almost did, and that’d be a shame. I particularly like this guest blog post: it’s over at The Adolescent Muse. Yes, me, your favorite Rock Fiction writer and expert. Hangin’ at a joint with Adolescent in the title.

It’s all good. Trevor doesn’t make a single appearance to scare anyone off.

Instead, I’m talking about blog serials. How they’ve changed since I began blogging way back when in April of 2006, and what a good thing those changes are.

I even give some props to a good friend of ours here at West of Mars, so stop in and check it out.

I’m over at the #amwriting site today, with some Flash Fiction I wrote earlier in the week.

It’s Mitchell. It’s Daniel.

And it’s a hot dog.

I’ll leave you with a wink and see you over at Amwriting.

**If that link doesn’t work, let me know and check back later for one that does! I like this story and don’t want you to miss it.