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…

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.

As has become the norm around here (and ought to continue this year), Chelle got the honors of revealing the details of the 2009 Musical Hanukkah Celebration.

And holy smoke, no one saw THIS one coming.

Sometimes, there is such a thing as too big and with too much clout.

Not so in my world — yet. You can help me get there, by buying copies of my books! Yep, it’s that easy. You see, during the months of November and December, I’m going to donate at least 50% of my royalties to a certain charity that ties in so well with what my fictional band is trying to do. Check the contest page here at West of Mars for full details.

Already got the books? Can’t think of anyone who’d like one or more as a holiday gift? Well, then. On that there contest page is a link so you can make a direct donation and help get instruments into the hands of willing and excited kids. I’ve got prizes lined up to raffle off if you take that route.

Think about it. You’ll get a book. Kids get to make music. We all get to make a difference in the world.

To start following the flashbacks from the beginning, follow this link! If you need to go forward and see what happened next, use this link.

Many of you West of Mars groupies are here for Roadie Poet. For Trevor. For Mitchell.

They’re all great characters to fall in love with.

But a few of you dig Chelle LaFleur — the music writer who isn’t afraid to tell it like it is. Today’s Musical Hanukkah Flashback features Chelle. She’s rounding up the 2008 Musical Hanukkah Celebration, touting up the fictional money that was donated to a fictional charity.

I think those numbers are pretty cool. I’d love to have as much clout as ShapeShifter, so I can make a similar donation. Instead, at least 50% of the royalties from the November and December sales of my books will be going to charity. Check out the contests page for full details. You know you want to get involved!

If you’d like to start reading the Musical Hanukkah Flashbacks, and flash backs to each post, click here. This link will take you to the next in the sequence.

Now, because the Musical Hanukkah Celebration is supposed to be a concert, it’s hard to write. Every retelling of a show I’ve ever seen is… well, a snoozer. Which is, of course, the LAST thing a rock concert ought to be.

The morning after, though. That’s another story. I’m not quite sure where Mitchell is waking up, but clearly all’s kosher. He’s cranky, though. Beware the dragon with the hangover! (even if it IS warranted…)

And now for the usual reminders… you can track the Musical Hanukkah Flashbacks from the beginning via this link. Jump ahead to the next via this one. And we’re flashing back because this year’s Musical Hanukkah Celebration will involve YOU more than ever. At least 50% of my royalties earned in November and December will be donated to a certain music-in-the-schools charity. Check out the contests page for full details.

Before I begin ranting about the HORRID experience attending Penguin games at the new Consol Energy Center has become, let me direct you over to my friend Mary’s blog, BookHounds.

She’s declared October to be ROCKtober, and is featuring all sorts of great rock and roll books this month. (She’s just launched a companion blog, and you might see a familiar contributor there, as well)

Today, she’s featuring a certain someone you know. Someone who woke up with a horrid migraine from the poorly managed noise of the Consol. Someone who has something important with the one and only James Hetfield…

Stop in and see. Oh, and even though you guys all have copies of The Demo Tapes (Years 1 AND 2), Mary’s giving away HER set.

(and for you who need Trevor’s Song in print, Lulu’s running a sale: Enter coupon code EXPLORE305 at checkout and receive 14.92% off any order. Maximum savings is $50. Expires October 11.)

So getting to the Musical Hanukkah Celebration one year wasn’t enough for our friend Springer. He upped for a second year, although this time, he didn’t win the lottery to jam onstage with the band.

He was okay with that — until, as he hung around the back door of the Rocket Theater, two things happened…

Springer: Hanukkah ’08.

Want to trace the flashbacks from the beginning? Or skip ahead to the next?

Remember, we’re doing this so you’re on board and ready to go once November comes and we begin the prep for this year’s Musical Hanukkah Celebration, where the festivities will be coming off the page so you can join in. I’ll be donating at least 50% of my royalties in November and December to charity, and there’s also a way for you to make a direct donation to the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, which provides musical instruments for kids in schools.

You can start giving now, if you’d like. It all adds up in the end!

As I’m editing The Demo Tapes: Year 3, I’m noticing that I spent a nice chunk of the year looking at the band from the outside, instead of from the inside, like I usually do.

Musical Hanukkah Flashback #10 proves that to you: it’s written from the point of view of a new character, a guy I was dared to create. Best of all, he’s got a history with the band — and they don’t know it.

I titled this one Other Side of the Curtain. I meant it in both a physical sense, as that’s where Penis is standing when the story opens. But it’s also a metaphor: he’s outside the band, looking in.

Be sure to leave comments here or there as you stroll down memory lane and catch up on what you may have missed — or what you’ve never seen before. And remember, the best way to keep this fun coming is to buy my books. If you’ve missed it somehow, at least 50% of my royalties in November and December will be headed to charity, but if you can’t wait and need to buy now, go for it. I know my accounting is odd, but it’ll allow me to donate a higher percentage when all is said and done.

And if you’d like to start at the beginning and read the flashbacks in order, here’s the link to the first one. If you’re looking for the next, use this link.

Ahh, the third year of the Musical Hanukkah Celebration. If you haven’t been here until now, you’ve really been missing out.

In the third year, the band had outgrown All Access, the dinky but cool club they’d used for the first two years. Their manager, JR, had finagled them a deal to move to the Rocket Theater — a venue previously reserved for Riverview’s drag queen community.

There’s some justice in the band moving in with drag queens, and not just because Kerri used to hang out with them…

Checking out the Rocket Theater. One of my favorites!

And now the standard disclaimer stuff… in November and December, at least 50% of my royalties will be donated to charity. For full information, check out my contests page. And to follow the flashbacks from the beginning, use this link.

Want to go to the next? Here’s the link!

Ready to launch into some fiction? Although this piece will appear in Demo Tapes: Year 3 (which I’m still hoping to release in conjunction with this charity push of mine), why wait?

In Moving the Celebration, the band has to sift through the verbal diarrhea that comes with their manager. The guy’s good at what he does… he just never shuts up.

There are changes afoot for ShapeShifter. New challenges to face. Including a few they don’t know about yet…

Remember, gang, we’re doing this because I’ll be donating at least 50% of my royalties in November and December to charity. See the contests page for full details, including a link for a direct donation. I’ve got some prizes for you, if you’d like to make a difference that way.

Today’s student can be tomorrow’s Lady Gaga. Let’s make sure our kids have the chance to experience the power and beauty of music.

Need to start flashing back from the beginning? Follow this link. As each new flashback gets posted, I’m going back and including the link to the next one. By the end of October, you’ll be able to hopscotch all the way from the first to the last!

Today’s Musical Hanukkah Celebration Flashback lets us begin the look back at the 2008 posts — the third year of the Musical Hanukkah Celebration’s existence.

Since this coincided with the release of The Demo Tapes: Year 1, bigger and better was the way to go.

In Byline: Chelle LaFleur — Gearing up for Musical Hanukkah Year 3, Mitchell outlines to Chelle all the changes. There are many.

Check it out. And remember once again, I’ll be donating at least half of my royalties in November and December to charity. The contest page will tell you more.

Would you like to donate directly? Go ahead; the link’s on the contest page. I’ll be doing random drawings and giving prizes — books! — to anyone who chooses this option.

If you’d like to catch up on your history, here’s the link to the first Musical Hanukkah Flashback. From there, you can follow each flashback forward to today’s. Need to go forward, to Flashback #8? Please do!

2007’s Musical Hanukkah Celebration turned into The Year of Springer, didn’t it?

You guys claimed you liked him. Heck, I like him. He’s a good egg, and I’m all about good eggs.

This was our final post from the 2007 Celebration. And yep, you guessed it: it features Springer. This is called The Day After, and that’s exactly what it is. Go read it and you’ll understand more.

And now for our usual reminder… we’re doing this to bring you guys up to speed before November and December hit. During those months, at least 50% of my royalties will go to charity. Mark your calendars so you remember to buy a book or three! Books make great gifts and yep, it’s about that time of year to start thinking of this stuff…

If you’d like to start at the beginning of the Flashbacks — and at the beginning of the celebration — you’ve got a grand idea. Would you like to see what comes next? C’mon. You know you do.

Be part of something big. Musical Hanukkah 2010.

Man, what a busy day yesterday turned into. That means you’ll need to move fast to get over to Suzan Harden’s blog, Wild, Wicked, and Wacky. I did a three-question interview you’ll want to check out — and am giving some goodies away, as well.

Hurry, though. The entry deadline for the goodies is tomorrow. Thursday. The sixteenth.

And just like that, the 2007 Musical Hanukkah Celebration was over! Before we leave it behind, though, here’s a Thursday Thirteen recapping the night’s success.

Yeah, I’d LOVE to see this sort of success happen for our real-life charity. But I’m not as big as my fictional band (yet).

That’s why YOUR support for my fundraising endeavor is so very important. Picking up my books or making a direct donation (use the link above to get there!) will help. Like the band says later on, this is about letting us little guys see the difference even five bucks can make. (And this is where I remind you e-book lovers that Trevor’s Song is only $4.99 at Smashwords!)

If you can wait until November or December to buy a book, that’s best. But if you need to buy it now, go for it. Your support NOW will help me donate more than 50% of my royalties in November and December. I’ll explain how later on. It’s all about covering expenses and all that icky financial stuff.

Need to go back to the first flashback? Move ahead to the next one?

This fourth flashback is one pulled from real life. Not mine; I’ve never been hit by a cop. But someone I know. It seemed like the perfect thing to happen to poor Springer.

Go back and read it for yourself, why don’tcha?

And remember, in November and December, as part of this year’s Musical Hanukkah Celebration — the fifth! — I’ll be donating at least 50% of my royalties to charity. Read more about it via this link.

Don’t forget to leave some comments. Here or on the flashback posts; they are all welcome!*

Need to go back to the first flashback? Or move forward to the next?

*Spammers need not apply

Today’s flashback to the Musical Hanukkah Celebration takes us back to 2007 once more. It’s a Thursday Thirteen post from the days when Thirteening was an Internet phenomenon. I truly miss those days, you know.

The idea of the post was to give readers — most of whom only stopped in on Thursdays — a background into the event. That in and of itself makes for the perfect flashback.

Stop in and refresh your memory. Mark your calendars for November 1, which is the start of the two-month period during which at least 50% of the royalties I earn will go to charity. Want to know more about THAT? Check it all out here.

If you can’t wait until November 1 (because books make great gifts!), that’s great, too. Go buy a book or three now and I’ll be able to donate more than 50% to charity come January 1.

Need to go back to the first flashback? Or move forward to the next?