I might be getting immune to these honors, guys!

Jenny McB, who is fast becoming one of my most recent groupies, has awarded me with the Nice Matters Award. She said she gave it to me because of my positive comments here and at other blogs. I do try my best to always be positive and upbeat. Misery may love company but smiles make everyone feel good.

Here’s the details about this one:
This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you’ve been awarded please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award.

The next one is the Thoughtful Blogger Award, given to me by one of my groupies and buds, Amy Ruttan. Amy’s one of my favorite blog reads; one of those people I always turn to first when I see her listed in my reader. If you don’t read Amy’s blog, why not???

Now, another Meme, but this one’s cool ’cause some of you have no clue what’s hiding in my archives. I’m aiming to fix that rather permanently, but not just yet. I’ve got some other small details to take care of, first.

Marcia, at MeeAugraphie and Tumbled Words (and whose RSS feed I miss dearly), tagged me with this one.

Here we go…
Link 1 must be about family: One of my all-time favorites. This scene actually existed before the blog. Although I like this one a lot, too. Or… Or…

Link 2 must be about friends: This was a hard one to pick. Friends are important in my fictional world. Friends take the place of family, and family takes the place of friends.

Anyone think I’m trying to make a statement?

Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are, what you’re all about: Umm… Help! This blog isn’t about me! It’s about my fiction!

Link 4 must be about something you love: I’ll explain more later about why this is such an important thing.

Oh, hell, I’ll do it here: people are trying to ban this book because of its liberal use of the F-word (I did it delicately for you, Marcia!). But really. If you’re going to set a book in the world of punk rock, you may as well do it authentically. And KL Going has done just that. Trust me. I used to live in places like she creates. Or so it felt at the time.

Furthermore, does anyone REALLY believe that by the time our kids are old enough to form bands and hang out in clubs, they haven’t heard words like fuck?

Fat Kid Rules the World. Buy it. (it is still in print, if you’d like a new copy) Let’s turn the negative publicity into huge sales.

I just might have to help author KL Going take on the idiot wanna-be book banners… That’s really got my dander up.

Now, back to the Meme. Really, it’s more fun to talk about Fat Kid. Helloooo? I’m boring, remember?

Link 5 can be anything you choose: Oh, really. Just go play in the archives. But here’s one I particularly like. Then again, I particularly like them all. The ones I don’t like are waiting to be revised into that state of being particularly liked.

Go find some you like. Report back to me; it’ll help me know what to feed you guys next.

Oh, and rather than pass this one, really. Just go buy Fat Kid. It’s about book banning, people. I mean, other than the sales the publicity will generate, do you want your book to be banned? And if it is, who’ll fight for it — and you???

Well, other than me. *wink*

I’ve got all the prizes for the Summer’s Hidden Treasures contest sorted out now, thanks to my Opening Act. If you entered the contest, look for a message from me starting tonight!

*sigh*

This is the sign of burnout. Right here, folks.

I owe two more Blogging Tips Memes, but to be honest with you, I lost heart. I had the drafts saved; all I needed to do was post them.

But then I was blog surfing and came onto some strangers’ blogs and what did I see? Memes. And not the fun kind, like the Schmoozing award (we’ll get to that one in a second). The kind that didn’t give me ANY inkling into what the blog was about. And I thought, I don’t want this to be what people see when they visit me.

Thus, I nuked the drafts of Blogging Tips #3 and 4. Really, I have no words of wisdom other than to say have fun with what you do. And if you can’t glean that from my posts or from the fun comment trails, nothing I can spell out will help.

Thus, on to the FUN.

Both PJ at the Urban Recluse and Thomma Lyn have graced me with The Power of Schmooze Award.

This one means as much as the Rockin’ Wench Awards you guys handed me. I’m gonna get all sappy here and make poor Trevor throw up in his motorcycle boots, but so be it. I’m pleased you guys have let me be part of your lives, and I’m even more pleased when you demand I step in front of my fictional characters and speak to you as myself. Most of all, it gives me hope that when Trevor’s Song finally hits the shelves, you’ll all buy multiple copies. Yes, I promise now to make it VERY easy for you to get autographed copies, all the while helping out some local-to-me independent bookstores.

…and in the week since I wrote this post, more awards have come my way. I’ll get to those later in the week or next week. Stay tuned. By all means, keep the honors coming! It’s not just good for my ego in the face of rejection letters for a hard-to-place debut novel. It makes Trevor and the rest of the band happy.

Now, onward. There’s more fictional fun ahead for you; my blog queue is stuffed to overflowing. There are more changes afoot… keep your eyeballs peeled.

And in the meantime, my friends, rock on.

Ya know, I keep track of my awards here at home. I’ve got a small part of my website devoted to them, but that’s still a work-in-progress. Who has time to prettify that page when you guys keep handing them out to me?

ShapeShifter wins awards, too, you know. Mitchell and Eric often duke it out for best guitarist, and Daniel gets noticed for his drumming. There’s been great songwriting, fan selections, and even a vocalist award or two for the frontman himself, The Great Mitchell Voss. Or so Trevor likes to call him.

Thus, for this week’s Thursday Thirteen, I bring you my latest award: PJ at The Urban Recluse was kind enough to award me the Creative Blogger Award.

Thirteen . . ., well, just read on. 1. Trevor: You know, more and more people are getting this place of ours. I like it. Mitchell: It’s like a band. You start small and get a few fanatics who’ll be with you through pretty much anything. They help you get the word out and before you know it, the ink’s drying on the deal. 2. Trevor: Except there is no deal for Susan. Eric: It’s a matter of time. Mitchell: Yeah. People can only ignore things for so long, and then they wake up one morning and decide that no matter much it doesn’t fit into their neat little world, they can’t ignore it. Power of the people and all that. Daniel: I wish there was something more we could do to help out. I mean, this isn’t just about Susan. It’s about us, too. 3. Trevor: It’s about me, you mean. Daniel: No, it’s about all of us. Trevor: The book’s called Trevor’s Song. TREVOR. That’s me. 4. Mitchell: But the blog’s about all four of us. Eric: And some bonus friends. Trevor: Bonus friends? Eric: I wouldn’t say it like that around Mitchell. One of them’s Kerri. Trevor: Like I’d touch that woman if you paid me to. 5. Daniel: The book may be about you. Mostly. But the blog’s about all of us. Mitchell: And the award was for the blog, not the book. See the difference? 6. Trevor: Like I know? I’m a bass player, for fuck’s sake, not a writer. Mitchell: Figures. Can’t put up when we need you to. Trevor opens his mouth to answer, but Mitchell interrupts. 7. Mitchell: The book’s done. The blog’s got some fans. Why aren’t there more? Eric: Exactly! Look at the gold mine here that no one’s tapping. Trevor: Mines cave in. Checked the news lately, Drummer boy? Does the state of Utah ring any bells? Eric: Those poor people. Their poor families. Trevor: You gonna pray for them? Eric: I know you’ll never admit it, but you are. Trevor rolls his eyes but doesn’t answer. 8. Mitchell: So far, Susan’s been given three Thinking Blogger Awards, Three Rockin’ Chick/Wench blogger awards, a Schmoozing Blogger award — Trevor: Think Susan’ll ever publish that post she wrote about it? Eric: In time, Trevor. Everything comes in time. 9. Daniel: Including a book deal for Susan? Eric: We can hope. 10. Mitchell: I just don’t get it. Daniel: Get what? Mitchell: Why more people aren’t jumping on this train. Trevor: Trains wreck. 11. Daniel: Books aren’t like demo tapes, that you can put out and circulate around and watch your popularity grow. Trevor: Why not? Eric: Books cost more to print. And we have this blog. Maybe we should be pushing it and let the book follow. Trevor: The book has to follow. The blog’s already here. Eric: So we need to build the buzz higher and louder. Daniel: How? 12. Trevor: More of me, of course. Daniel: Less is more. Trevor: Not when we’re talking about Trevor Fucking Wolff, it’s not. Mitchell: We’re supposed to be talking about Susan’s awards. 13. Trevor: Why? I’m way more fun to talk about. That’s why the focus of Susan’s blog isn’t Susan. It’s me. Daniel: It’s all of us. Trevor: You know, you sound like a broken record. Eric: There’s a lot to be learned from broken records, Trev.

Thanks again to PJ for the much-appreciated recognition!

And now, in keeping with meme rules, I’d like to pass it on to these people:
Rhian, whose creativity knows no bounds
Robin, who earned it this week.
and L^2, whose creative skill with a camera is mind-blowing.

Check this out to learn a bit more about me.

Also, the Tour Manager and I are off to a 22-mile (round trip) bike ride today. Uphill both ways, from the sound of it. We’ll be riding from Ohiopyle to Confluence, PA. So if I’m not around, you know why.

And speaking of that part of the state, it’s not far from where I took #1 to Cub Scout Camp. Last week, a Boy Scout camping in a different location on the same camp burned himself badly — over 50% of his body suffered second and third degree burns. We don’t know much else, but from all of us here, we wish him speedy healing and limited pain.

Talk to you guys later.

Last week, I listed stereotypes of ShapeShifter fans. Many of you identified in one way or another with the list; it’s pretty universal.

This week, it gets more challenging. Are you a true fan if you don’t fit any of these thirteen things? Absolutely.

Thirteen truths about ShapeShifter fans 1. They are surprisingly different — from the stereotypes and from each other. 2. A number of them are intelligent and/or highly successful in careers you might not expect right off the bat. 3. Many of them listen to a large variety of music — not only hard rock, metal, or whatever you’d like to call it this week. 4. The die-hards are as devoted to ShapeShifter as a pit bull is to its master. 5. Many of them feel that they don’t fit in anywhere but here. 6. Many of them come from abusive or otherwise hurt backgrounds. 7. Not all the girls come around because the ShapeShifter guys are cute. Some of them are into the music, plain and simple. 8. They’re not defined by their physical appearance (refer to last week’s list to see what I mean). 9. Many of them draw their inner strength from the music. The tales of how and when they did this make for frequent backstage appearance stories. 10. Many of them feel that Mitchell‘s lyrics were written just for them. They wonder how he got it so right. 11. Many will go into debt and/or bankrupt themselves in order to see ShapeShifter perform all over the world. What an excuse to travel! 12. Many of them feel instant affinities toward each other, as though they are fellow members of an otherwise secret club. Relationships are forged, weddings are celebrated all because of ShapeShifter. 13. Mitchell, Daniel, Trevor, and Eric are popular names for the children of ShapeShifter fans. Go figure.

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 link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

This time, it’s OpenChannel at The Accidental Novelist who’s tagged me.

Before I get to the meme, though, have you noticed how many cool bands are out there with women singers right now? Flyleaf and Evanescence are two of my favorites, of course. But there’s also Coheed and Cambria and now I’m investigating Epica. Don’t forget In This Moment, too. (they need to expand their site beyond Myspace!!) And yes, I know there’s that whole recent tour with the women. How can I not have been following it???

My question for you radio people (Uhh, that’d be you who program my XM radio!): where’s the airplay for these women?

Man, these girls make me proud to be a woman.

Now, on to the meme.

Instructions: When this meme is passed on to you, copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside the tips you especially like.

Add the next number (1. 2. 3. 4. 5., etc.) and write your own blogging tip for other bloggers. Try to make your tip general.

After that, tag some other people. It was originally 10 others but I don’t know 10 people who would do this. So make it 5-10. I’m changing the rules. Haha.

1. Look, read, and learn. ****-https://www.neonscent.com/

2. Be EXCELLENT to each other. ***-https://www.bushmackel.com/

3. Don’t let money change ya! *-https://www.therandomforest.info/

4. Always reply to your comments. ******-https://chattiekat.com/

5. Link liberally — it keeps you and your friends afloat in the Sea of Technorati. *****-https://chipsquips.com/

6. Don’t give up – persistence is fertile. **-https://www.velcro-city.co.uk/

7. Give link credit where credit is due. ******-https://www.sfsignal.com/

8. Pictures say a thousand words and can usually add to any post.***-https://scifichick.com/

9. Visit all the bloggers that leave comments for you – it’s nice to know who is reading! *****-https://stephaniesbooks.blogspot.com/

10. When commenting on others’ blogs, a few kind words go a long way. – ** https://shelflifeblog.blogspot.com/

11. When you’re starting out, comment on all the blogs you like to read; that way the bloggers will know that you exist! **;) https://astripedarmchair.blogspot.com

12. Make sure you check your links! * https://superfastreader.com By way of explanation–when you cut & paste the text of a meme, you don’t get the underlying links. If you just see text, you need to turn the text into links manually. If you see hyperlinks, you can cut & paste from the Page Source to get the HTML code and preserve the links. In Firefox, you can use Command/Apple-U to see this. The whole point of a meme is to spread link love, but you need more than just the text to do that.

13. Give your blog a theme/focus; make a niche for yourself. * https://www.theaccidentalnovelist.blogspot.com/

14. Don’t judge your blog’s success by hits or the length of your comment trail. What matters is what you put into it. westofmars.blogspot.com

Now, for some tags…

Sparky Duck
Sophisticated Writer

Nope, not the type that keep you cool, although I could use some of those right now. More to the point, ShapeShifter fans and the false impressions we make about them, at least on the surface.

Think about it. You know people like this. And you know people like me, who you’d never peg as a ShapeShifter fan until we open our mouths.

Thirteen stereotypes of the ShapeShifter fan 1. (the boys) Long-haired (but not necessarily dirty) 2. denim-jacket wearing 3. super tight jeans 4. dirty white basketball shoes that are perpetually unlaced 5. stoned and/or drunk 6. entranced by themes of skulls, death, and dying 7. (the girls): hot, horny, and willing 8. short, tight skirts 9. Hair not necessarily big (that’s too glam for ShapeShifter) but long and mane-like 10. bitchy to each other 11. (all): smokers 12. dysfunctional, anti-social, depressed 13. not real smart

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 link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Yep, I’ve been tagged THREE times so far for this meme. Get used to it; I’m going to try to post different tips each time I get tagged for it. Should be interesting…

It’s very simple. When this is passed on to you, copy the whole thing, skim the list and put a * star beside those that you like. (Check out especially the * starred ones.)

Add the next number (1. 2. 3. 4. 5., etc.) and write your own blogging tip for other bloggers. Try to make your tip general.

After that, tag 10 other people. Link love some friends!

Just think – if 10 people start this and the 10 people pass it on to another 10 people, you have 100 links already!

1. Look, read, and learn. *** https://www.neonscent.com/

2. Be EXCELLENT to each other. *** https://www.bushmackel.com/

3. Don’t let money change ya! * https://www.therandomforest.info/

4. Always reply to your comments. ****** https://chattiekat.com/

5. Link liberally — it keeps you and your friends afloat in the Sea of Technorati. *** https://chipsquips.com/

6. Don’t give up – persistence is fertile. * https://www.velcro-city.co.uk/

7. Give link credit where credit is due. **** https://www.sfsignal.com/

8. Pictures say a thousand words and can usually add to any post. ** https://scifichick.com/

9. Visit all the bloggers that leave comments for you – it’s nice to know who is reading! *** https://stephaniesbooks.blogspot.com/

10. Thrown in something humorous occasionally, to keep things fun. * https://bonniesbooks.blogspot.com/

11. When picking the URL for your blog, think short and easy. You’ll be typing it a million times. https://bookslistslife.blogspot.com/

12. Make it fun. https://westofmars.blogspot.com

As for who to tag… (this is going to be the hard part!)

Amy, Wylie, and Lisa.

Special thanks to Lisa for tagging me this time. More of these to come and what I hope will be a neat Thursday Thirteen tomorrow…

If you haven’t heard, I’m at Cub Scout Camp with half of the Opening Act, so the Tour Manager’s in charge around here. Because the power’s going to his head, he probably won’t honor you with a return visit. I’ll have to do that when I get back, so look for a visit from me late into the weekend or early next week. Be sure to sign Mr. Linky even if you don’t leave a comment, so I know to visit you!

As for this week’s Thirteen… if you were here on Monday for Rhian’s poetry train, you’ll understand. For those of you who weren’t, Deadly Metal Hatchet is an up-and-coming band who have this gimmick: a Hatchet. Their fans are into them more because of the antics of the Hatchet than for the band’s music, and for good reason.

Really. Go read the outtake and then come on back. You’ll appreciate this all the more.

Thirteen places The Deadly Metal Hatchet’s been found 1. Lots of hearts. Deadly Metal Hatchet’s not quite the love-song type. 2. A lung (stop back for more about this!) 3. A full stomach, with contents in full detail, some of which a perceptive fan can make out but the rest of which make for unending discussion in fandom 4. A leg 5. In the breast of an otherwise curvy, attractive blonde whose come-hither face has been replaced by a scream of horror 6. Sticking out of the head of lead guitarist Fozzy, who is the only known survivor of a Hatchet attack. 7. Right smack in the middle of Scott’s bass drum. 8. A tour case. Rumor has it that the band has put the names of bands they don’t overly like on this case, but the truth is that the Hatchet went after one of its own band’s cases. 9. A beer keg. All involved agreed it was a terrible waste. 10. The driver of the band’s tour bus. This was actually a bit of an inside joke, as they had this driver who almost deserved his date with the Hatchet. He should have been in the Book of World Records for his complaining habit. 11. What appeared to be a CD put out by a boy band. Or a vanilla, generic girl who gyrated more than sang. Or both. 12. The logo for Treble TV, the hot music video channel that refused to play DMH videos. 13. A cover of Rolling Stone magazine. And this was before the magazine’s reviewers panned the DMH’s first three releases.

Wow. I can’t believe it’s here, but it is. Tomorrow, I take one half of the Opening Act off to Cub Scout camp. Four nights in a tent. In a sleeping bag. On a cot. And me with my orthopedically-challenged body. Yep, this is going to be interesting.

(Will I get any sleep, or will I be too uncomfortable? Will my back seize up like it did last Friday when we went to see Harry Potter? Can I handle the physical demands of hiking, archery, rock throwing (yes! Rock throwing!), and BB Guns?) <--- note that I've already refused to do any of the water activities; insidious stuff, water is, supporting my body beyond the point of no return but making me feel like it's all okay. Until it's not. Rather than let this place go dark, especially since there's a reading contest going on (scroll up) and since I've just introduced Deadly Metal Hatchet to you (scroll down), I'm handing things over to the Tour Manager. Now, have no fear. I'll be penning all the posts -- or at least typing them. The Tour Manager will post them (at hopefully the right times!) and moderate comments. I suspect he'll leave return visits and stewardship of my feed reader until I get back, however. (I'm betting on 1200+ posts in the reader when I get home. Yeowtch.) Think of me. Send good vibes to my battered-by-pregnancy (almost five years ago) body. Visit often, so the Tour Manager has lots of comments to moderate. Enter the Summer's Hidden Treasures contest lots of times, so that when I get back and sit down to do the update, I've got tons to update. And have fun with the Hatchet, too. There are two more posts in this series, but I haven't ruled out return visits. Tell me if you want them. A few other notes... Thomma Lyn, that dear, blessed me with the Schmooze Award. I’ll be passing it along, so look for that. I’ve been having a hard time deciding who to pass this along to, as so many of us have already received it!

Missy, over at The Incurable Disease of Writing, is running a really cool sounding writing contest. Prize is a $10 Amazon gift card — you can buy yourself a nice Hidden Treasure with THAT, folks!

And lastly, some bummer news. I’ve decided to end my monthly stop-ins over at Working Stiffs. There are a lot of reasons for this, and it’s something I’ve contemplated for awhile now, and that’s all I’ll say about it. Suffice it to say that I need to concentrate on this place, so if you haven’t noticed the subtle changes that have slowly been creeping in, that’s okay. You may or may not notice some of what’s planned for my return from Cub Scout Camp, but it should make this place easier for newbies to feel at home and should make you groupies have a more vested relationship with me and our fictional friends.

Yes, I’ll be bringing a notebook. Heck, you should see the sorts of outtakes and such that my trip to Niagara Falls two weeks ago inspired.

Now, to not have to act like a Momma Bear and defend the older half of the Opening Act against a real one…

Be good to The Tour Manager while I’m gone!

Before we get started, remember to check out the Bookworm Carnival over at Dewey’s place! She’s a 13er, too, so be sure to stop by and say hi on your rounds this week.

Many of you guys liked seeing Lyric in action on Monday, as part of the poetry train. (Go read it if you haven’t yet!)

Since Lyric is one of my favorite characters, too, I thought I’d bring you a Thirteen all about her.

Thirteen things about Lyric 1. Lyric is the eldest daughter of Melody Maker, porn queen extraordinaire. Her fraternal twin sister, Allegra, is four minutes younger. Youngest sister Harmony is four years younger. 2. Melody has no idea which of a few candidates fathered her three children. For all anyone knows, there were three fathers. Or maybe only one. The one thing we’re all sure of is that men WERE involved. Frequently. 3. Lyric, Allegra, and Harmony were all raised around the porn industry. Pregnancy didn’t stop Melody from making films. For awhile. Then she moved behind the camera, into consulting on wardrobe, makeup, and other details. In front or behind the camera, Melody was savvy enough to make sure any movie she was involved with said “A Melody Maker Movie” on the front cover. 4. Lyric and Allegra decided in their teens that they didn’t want to be part of adult films. Allegra had no clear plans, but Lyric decided to go to massage therapy school. She figured that at first, she could trade on her famous name to build her clientele, but she’d earn their return business. 5. As a massage student, fresh out of high school, Lyric needed someone to practice on. Melody liked to turn the scene into a film, Allegra was out trying to find a place where she fit in, and Harmony at fourteen was just too young. It was Melody who suggested Lyric find a guy in band, especially since Lyric liked music so much. 6. ShapeShifter was on the verge of taking the city by storm, and Lyric smelled opportunity. Linking to them early would help solidify her reputation as a real massage therapist. After all, any girls who were allowed inside ShapeShifter’s inner circle for any length of time were either girlfriends or girls who refused to put out but were valuable in other ways. Lyric was, of course, the latter. 7. Lyric picked Mitchell because he was the quietest ShapeShifter member. Someone as shy as Mitchell wasn’t likely to turn a massage into something sexual, and since he barely spoke, he wasn’t likely to brag about their deal: free massages in exchange for a spot on the band’s guest list. And the occasional ShapeShifter t-shirt. As she got to know him, she was surprised to find she’d developed a loyal friend. 8. Massage was great, but Allegra was still lost and Melody was finally making noises about being done with films. It was Lyric to the rescue. 9. With input from Melody and a silent business partner who became her landlord, Lyric opened a retail shop, Lyrical Pleasures. Allegra had a job, and so did Melody whenever she wanted it. Harmony too, once she was old enough. 10. Lyrical Pleasures quickly became THE place in Riverview. And for good reason: Lyric stocks everything from exclusive and limited-quantity club wear, outfits for strippers and drag queens — including wigs, shoes, and anything else they wanted — to lingerie and sleepwear, videos, and, of course, gear and toys for consenting partners. You can be as demure or as naughty as you want at Lyrical Pleasures. She even sells such innocuous things as the most luxurious bath beads she can find. 11. Because of the store and her reputation for discretion, Lyric knows pretty much everything happening in Riverview, from the underground to the top governmental figures and the people who really run the city. 12. Lyric and Kerri have a lot in common. In fact, once the two women meet (thanks to Mitchell, of course, when Kerri complains that Mitchell’s reputation as a kinky bastard is overblown), they become fast friends, having Mitchell and ShapeShifter in common, as well as drag queen pageants. Lyric knew Kerri’s name long before they met, as Kerri did the makeup for many of her queen friends in her pre-Mitchell days. 13. What’s the deal with Trevor and Lyric? She’s not one of his conquests, much to his chagrin, although truth be told, he doesn’t try very hard. Her reputation as straight-laced and not overly interested in those sorts of relationships precedes her, and that’s how she likes it.

In the past few weeks, I’ve been graced with the Rockin’ Chick/Wench blogger award a few times. Three, to be exact. (What’s odd is that I’ve gotten three Thinking Blogger Awards, too. Who says the number three isn’t charmed? Not this third child!)

Rhian
Red
and She

have all decided that I rock and roll as hard as Trevor and the gang, something that flatters me to no end. I’m proud to be a Rockin’ Chick/Wench blogger. More than you know, especially because Roberta, the originator of the award, mentioned me in her list of recipients. (And yes, whenever I see someone giving ME the props for changing the award to Rockin’ Wench, I make sure to correct them. That’s all Rhian’s doing. I’m graphically challenged.)

But there are times when I don’t feel so rocking. No, not that monthly thing (that’s definitely playing in TMI zones). It’s this contest of mine. The Summer’s Hidden Treasures Contest.

Maybe the month-long window for entrants is too long. Maybe it’s just that it’s harder to establish exactly what a Hidden Treasure book is, even though it seems obvious to me and the Crew working behind the scenes. Finding a book that debuted in a calendar year might be much easier (so stay tuned for next winter! We’ll do it again!).

At any rate, I’m finding myself running over to blogs I find that have book reviews that qualify as a Hidden Treasure … and inviting them to enter. “You’ve done the hard work; come reap the reward!” I’m telling them.

They are taking me up on this, of course. I mean, have you seen the prize list lately???

It’s hard to rock when you’re chasing down entrants to your contest, ya know? But when I stop and think about what Trevor would do if he were the one in my place, I know that I’m doing exactly the right thing (although a bit less seductively). Rock and roll is loud and it feels good, but no one said it was non-stop glamour.

Help me make an author’s day, why don’t you? (yes, our friends published by Ellora’s Cave and Samhain and other royalty-paying e-publishers qualify!) In this age when sales mean more than anything else to an author’s career, we readers owe it to the good writers to make sure that people hear about them. Here’s your chance to point out an under-rated writer AND potentially get rewarded for it.

Besides, it’ll make me feel like I really DO rock.

For those of you missing a visit from me after yesterday’s Thursday Thirteen fun, or for those of you just plain curious, head on over to Working Stiffs, where my recent absence is explained fully. Be sure to read the comments…

Thirteen shows of Brotherly Love Mitchell takes a lot of guff from Trevor. And for Trevor, for that matter. It’s an odd friendship they have and most would say it’s crossed the line from friendship into brotherhood. Here’s some of the things they do for each other. 1. When Trevor would crash on Mitchell’s bedroom floor after being beat up by Hank, Mitchell would never step on Trevor, even as a joke or while half-asleep. Seems simple, but think about it. 2. When the kids at school would make fun of Trevor’s constant bloody, unwashed appearance (at least until Patterson Voss threw him in the shower), Mitchell would stand up for him. This was important because as Trevor hid out at Mitchell’s house and the beatings stopped, the other kids finally realized that Trevor wasn’t a fuck-up at all but was actually pretty cool. 3. Speaking of cool, Trevor made Mitchell cool. Period. Talked him into growing his hair out and piercing his ear. Taught him how to smoke, get stoned, and get girls. And what to do with the girls once he had them. 4. It’s well-known that Trevor’s a lousy bass player. Yet he sounds awfully good on album. An excerpt from an article on the subject: Voss fixes the room with one of those stares that makes your mouth go dry. “Trevor plays his own parts.” No one has the saliva left to ask about the things he’s leaving unsaid. 5. Mitchell makes sure that anyone who rags on Trevor’s lack of musical talent knows that he’s the creative force behind the band. 6. Trevor pretends he doesn’t know where Mitchell disappears to during the nights when they’re recording. Or why all of a sudden, the next morning, the parts he recorded the day before sound so much better. 7. Before he gets too drunk at parties, Mitchell will drink the beer that Trevor’s holding before it gets warm and flat. This works because no one pays that much attention and everyone assumes Trevor’s actually drinking. And Mitchell gets blasted twice as fast. 8. When Trevor gets too cheeky, full of himself, or just plain annoying, Mitchell puts him back in his place. 9. Trevor gets too cheeky, full of himself, or just plain annoying so that Mitchell can beat him up and feel good about how manly he is. Or thinks he is. 10. When Trevor decided that running the band’s business was cutting into his woman chasing and other rock star duties, Mitchell stepped in and took over. After having watched Trevor for more than a year, he had an idea of what to do. 11. One night during the early, pre-crew days when Mitchell had a cold, Trevor set up his equipment for him. He chased off Eric and Daniel when they tried to help, and then blamed the set-up on some over-eager fan who’d conveniently disappeared. 12. Mitchell’s lost count of the number of irate husbands/boyfriends/fathers who’ve come in search of Trevor. The number who found him is only a handful; one growl from Mitchell and anyone with a brain runs the other way. The handful wasn’t lacking a brain, per se. They merely got lucky and found Trevor … at an exposed moment. 13. And then there’s that whole thing near the end of Trevor’s Song that involves a bed. This is what it means to be a friend.

Have you picked out your book(s) for the Summer’s Hidden Treasure contest?

Is your link not on my sidebar?

Think it should be? Or maybe you just want it there?

Say so. Now’s your chance.

Carol at Thursday Thirteen asked us to help celebrate 100 weeks of thirteening by listing our favorite Thirteens.

Last weekend, I asked you guys which you liked best. Taking that into account, here’s my list of the best Thirteens that concern ShapeShifter. And let me tell you, I think the only thing harder than going back over 35 Thirteens to find a limited number would be picking out my favorite outtakes. Please don’t make me do that next.

1. Green Hair Week. I loved this one not just because of what’s in it, but because this was the first multi-day story arc. 2. Tour of Riverview I still refer back to this one a lot, but that’s because it’s an important one! Not as funny as most, but important nonetheless. 3. Mitchell and Kerri’s Farm house Many of you guys responded to this one. I’m not sure why, unless you really dug the fact that these rock stars live as normally as the rest of us. 4. Trevor’s Kitchen ‘Nuff said. 5. Halloween. I think many, if not most of you, came on board after this inaugural Thirteen was posted. You’re missing a good one. 6. Loving and Hating the Holidays Some good, some bad, a lot of fun… 7. The Special Hanukkah Edition The ladies of Riverview rip it up. 8. The Balancing Meme The guys show why ShapeShifter rules the Earth. Or at least a journalist or two. 9. Mitchell’s Desk Many of you connected to this one. It’s a spot whose mental image is particularly clear to me. 10. Valentine’s Day The boys get their say. 11. The Aftermath of the Earring Debacle I know the picture wasn’t great, but couldn’t you ooh and ahh over my earrings? 12. St. Patrick’s Day Adventures Boys… And lastly… 13. Mabel How can you resist a guitar with this sort of history?

Have you picked out your book(s) for the Summer’s Hidden Treasure contest?

Happy Fourth, everyone! I will be late with rounds; we are sleeping out at the Science Center tonight. Let’s hope it doesn’t rain on our fireworks.

While Trevor‘s off, trying to write a poem for Monday’s Poetry Train, I thought I’d sneak back in here to ask you guys two questions:

1. Do you WANT Trevor to write a poem for Monday’s Poetry Train? Or would you rather hear more from our roadie poet?

2. For this week’s Thursday Thirteen, we’ve been asked to list our favorite Thirteens. I figured I’d ask you guys for some input. You can say something like, “When the band has conversations,” Or “when you tie in the Thirteen to some fiction” or “when you tell us things, like the series about what’s in everyone’s kitchens, and when are you going to finish those, anyway?”

Be specific, vague, whatever.

I’d better run before Trevor catches me here. Last I saw him, though, the lit candle was the only light in the room and the floor was covered in crumpled-up notebook paper (notebook stolen from Mitchell, of course). He’s taking this poetry thing to a pretty cliched level. Be careful what you ask for.

So that way cool wench herself, Rhian, honored me with the Rockin’ Wench Blogger award, formerly known as the Rockin’ Girl Blogger award. You should think I’d be used to all the honors you guys show me, but nope. Not yet.

At the same time, Red, Wylie, Sophisticated Writer and Xine all made me nuts by tagging me with the same frelling meme! Didn’t last weekend’s acceptance of the tag teach you anything — or are you guys clever enough to tag me, knowing I’m going to turn it inside out and upside down and prove how worthy and deserving I am of that Rockin’ Wench Blogger Award???

Clever women… All of you.

Instead of going to Wikipedia and following the rules of the Birthday Meme, I’m going to give you thirteen (’cause this is my Thursday Thirteen post) things instead.

Hey, wait one fucking minute here. Susan wouldn’t have come up with this blog if it hadn’t been for me. This fucked-up thing she’s doing needs to center around me. Trevor Fucking Wolff. (And if that’s not enough to save her from the shame of not being an R-rated blog, I’ll call my dealer and have him come liven the party up some.) Without further ado (I’ve always wanted to say that), here’s a list all about me and that day in November. 1. Trevor Fucking Wolff was born. Are you dumb enough to believe that anything else important happened? 2. Other shit happened on that day, too. Like the day when Pam came up to Rusty and told her that Mitchell would like her better if Rusty wore a push-up bra. I knew I’d have trouble hating Rusty properly when she kept calm and said, “Why mess with perfection?” 3. Then there was the night the band played this show and Walter Cicewski jumped up on stage. Turns out he and Mitchell were buddies. The big idiot never bothered to tell any of us he’d buddied up to someone like Chi-Chev. 4. It was the first time I bought anything from Lyric‘s shop. Mitchell told me to. Like I listen to that dork; I was going to before he told me to. 5. The band landed in Japan for the first time. Two days later, I ran up a sushi bill I couldn’t pay. Remind me to tell you that one. 6. On my nineteenth birthday, Harry’s Hoagies went back to using the good meatballs. They’d been using this piss-poor recipe before that and if you ate them, you’d have the runs for two days. Three if you were lucky. 7. Chelle LaFleur claims it’s the day she said, “You heard it first, and you heard it here. Fat chicks with dark skin do like metal! You sit down and watch ’cause I’ll prove it.” I’ll be damned, but she’s doing just that. 8. It was somewhere around my birthday that I hooked up with Amy and started my whole thing with the Voss family. 9. Boomer, the KRVR DJ, played ShapeShifter for the first time. It was our demo, but that didn’t matter. It was ShapeShifter. On the radio. On my birthday. I thought life didn’t get any better than that. Fuck, I was a fool. 10. Mama Voss actually fed me turkey on Thanksgiving. Okay, that wasn’t on my real birthday ’cause Hank knocked eight of my teeth loose the day before when I asked for a day without him drinking, but Sonya put together a holiday dinner once I could eat solids again. 11. I got stoned with Daniel and Eric for the first time. I don’t think Eric had ever gotten stoned before. He liked it. 12. Other famous birthdays: Who fucking cares? It’s all about Trevor Wolff. 13. Famous people who died on my birthday: Like I care? Life goes on with or without you. So long as it’s going on with me, nothing else matters.

Now that Trevor’s lost interest in this and has gone to gaze at his reflection, I thought I’d nominate a few folks for the Rockin’ Wench Blogger Award.

First off: my blogging road crew: Karen and Janelle. They’ve put hours into the Summer’s Hidden Treasures Contest, so be a sport and join in the fun!

And then my writing blogger friends: Amy Ruttan, Wylie Kinson, Thomma Lyn, and Sophisticated Writer.

I think I’ve been tagged for the Five Things Meme three times now. And a million other ones, too; my head’s starting to swim with them all. I may not do any of them. In fact, I probably won’t because I’m so overwhelmed right now. But at least I’m honest about it!

However, one of the questions in that Five Things meme resonates with me: What would you do with a million dollars?

I can say, with the utmost authority, that I would not change a single thing about my life and the way I live it. Oh, stop chuckling and disbelieving me. As Eric would say, have a little faith.

However, a million bucks (and more) has worked a transformation on my main core of characters. Eric, Trevor, Daniel, and Mitchell are all obvious; they’ve gone from being struggling musicians to rock stars. Rock Star is synonymous with wealth, of course; it ought to go without saying that these guys are loaded.

But there’s one character I’ve got, a woman who met a guitar player in a grocery story and assumed he was a struggling musician the same way that she was a struggling artist. When her assumption was proved wrong, much to Mitchell’s amusement, Kerri Broadhurst suddenly found herself marrying into money.

Thus, Kerri is probably the best person to ask what she’d do with a million dollars. Here’s what she had to say:

When I was in art school, I used to dream of being able to endow scholarships that would help broke art students like myself. My tuition at Riverview Art was entirely on me — my parents refused to pay a penny. In fact, they’d been quite clear about the fact that they hadn’t wanted me to go to art school at all, let alone one across the country in Riverview.

But Riverview Art Academy is one of the best out there. And getting far away from home seemed like a wise choice. So I took what I had, which was very little, and I turned it into a lot.

One thing I’ve learned about money is that when you marry someone who’s got it, you feel different about it. All those plans and dreams I’d had while in art school … they were still there, don’t get me wrong. Helping struggling artists was and is important. But spending Mitchell’s money didn’t seem like the right way to go about doing things.

I wish I could say that we struck a deal, but Mitchell would be insulted if I even hinted that’s what happened. He was always very clear about it: I was a full partner in our marriage but it was still a man’s job to provide. He’d been saving up for the day when he’d be able to provide for his family — at least, that’s what he said. The truth is somewhere closer to the band’s touring schedule, which didn’t leave any of the guys with time to spend what they were making, although Trevor sure tries.

Basically, Mitchell’s attitude meant that the money I earned from my art was mine. By this point, I was long out of art school, so my vision had expanded. One thing I’ve learned is that the art community at large has needs, even in a city as art-friendly as Riverview.

The point in all of this is that without Mitchell’s money, I wouldn’t be able to be the huge supporter of the scene that I am. He gave me this comfortable cushion that I needed to establish before I could give my own income away. Otherwise, I’d be giving away my own rent money, and that defeats the purpose; I’d need the help I’m otherwise giving.

What I guess I need to say is that it took more than just a million dollars to make all of this possible. That a million dollars doesn’t go very far anymore. Not like back in the days of the Rockefellers and the Roosevelts, whose wealth was astronomical for the times. Now, I meet ShapeShifter fans who are millionaires, and they are sometimes, the most down-to-earth people you’ll ever find. Some of them still struggle to make ends meet, the way I did when I was a penniless art student, cleaning a drag queen’s apartment instead of paying rent.

My advice to any new millionaire is to invest it. All of it. Let it be the springboard for the change you want to see in the world — even if that change is only that you now want to spend a grand on a pair of shoes that won’t be in fashion next week, just for the fun of it. A million isn’t what it used to be. Spend it wisely and make it last as long as you possibly can.