I can’t say I KNOW Nico Rosso so much as I can say that his wife, the amazing Zoe Archer, is my fashion advisor. Probably without her consent, but she knows where to find the great stuff. How can I resist (as I sit here in a seven-year-old t-shirt and holes in my shorts)?

So when Zoe Tweeted that her main squeeze had written a work of Rock Fiction, well, how could I resist? I HAD to invite him to stop in, and for Rocktober, even! The stars have aligned and … well, here’s Nico.

The one song that reminds me of my book, HEAVY METAL HEART, is Soul Kitchen by The Doors. Much of the book takes place on the Sunset Strip, and that band is iconic for that scene. Rocking, partying, tearing up society’s rules. The raw energy of this particular song captures the quick heat and passion between my near immortal demon rock star, Trevor Sand, and the mortal, Misty Grant, who becomes his Muse.

Okay, so we’ve got a rock star named Trevor. Right there, you gotta like this book. (Not sure why? SERIOUSLY? Oy.)

Here’s the blurb:

Rock Star. Front man. Demon. A descendant of satyrs and the lead singer in a band that feeds on the energy of its audience, Trevor Sand is growing weary of the constant need to perform. He needs the legend of the Muse—a woman destined to be a demon’s eternal companion and only source of sustenance—to be true.

Misty Grant has never been bold, but when Trevor singles her out among hundreds at a concert, she takes him up on his explicit offer. During an erotic night in his hotel room, she learns that his touch is as electric as his lyrics. But when Trevor’s demon is aroused, her desire turns to horror and she runs.

Knowing that he’ll die if he loses her, Trevor must find Misty before his enemies do. But even if he can save her, he knows that regaining the trust of his fated Muse will be his greatest challenge.

Now, how often have we run into Satyrs in paranormal fiction? Even though this Trevor is only a descendant, how’s THAT for a fun twist???

I’m thinking this is a don’t miss. An Under Any Circumstances, Do Not Miss.

So go get your copy!
The e-book can be found here:
Carina Press
Amazon Kindle
Barnes & Noble Nook
All Romance eBooks

The audio book can be found here:
Audible

And I can be found here:
Web:
Twitter: @Nico_Rosso
Facebook

To celebrate Rocktober in style, I’ve dropped the prices on Trevor’s Song and the newest Demo Tapes quintuplet, Year 4, at Amazon and Smashwords. Other retailers ought to be following suit soon.

Do you know of a Rocktober Rock Fiction special? Are you offering one?

Drop a link in the comments and I’ll do my best to update it here.

No better way to start off Rocktober than with a dear, dear friend of mine. Thomma Lyn is one of those people who are so musical, it just flows out of them. She’s recording her own music, too, and is a heck of writer.

She, my friends, is the complete package.

Her new book, Maestro, came out just a few weeks ago, so let’s get right down to business.

TL, what song makes you think of your book?

This one’s easy. Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. This lush and romantic concerto plays a crucial role in the story of Maestro in that it enables the heroine, pianist Annasophia, to travel back in time and meet Maestro, her dear friend and mentor, at a time when he was young, vigorous, and close to her own age.

Here’s a YouTube link to a great version of Concerto No. 2, as played by Sviatoslav Richter, concert pianist extraordinaire and one of the inspirations for Maestro’s character.

So what is the book about? After a tease like that, stop holding out!

For Annasophia and Maestro, their love is ageless, and music is their door through time.

Annasophia Flynn is a young, classically-trained pianist and singer-songwriter who enjoys a special bond with Wilhelm Dahl, her older mentor and teacher whom she affectionately calls Maestro. Maestro is terminally ill, and Annasophia must come to grips with the fact that she’ll have to say goodbye to him soon.

But not so fast. Annasophia receives a mysterious email to which is attached a photo of her standing by the side of a virile and much-younger Maestro, years before she was born and during the height of his fame and power as a concert pianist. Either somebody’s doing some serious Photoshopping, or Annasophia traveled — or will travel — back in time, meaning that there’s more to her relationship with Maestro than meets the eye.

She visits Maestro in the hospital and shows him the photo. When he talks about a mysterious door and hums a few bars of a romantic Rachmaninoff concerto much beloved by them both, she is compelled to go home and play the piece on her piano. The concerto indeed turns out to be a door back through time, where she meets the younger Maestro, and they fall in love.

But staying in younger Maestro’s time proves tricky. For one thing, he has a son who will never be conceived or born if Annasophia stays and changes things. She starts to second guess herself and tries to go back to her own time, only to find, each time, that the timeline as she has known it has been altered. For another thing, Maestro’s very elegant and cunning ex-wife, Elena, is determined to get him back and makes up her mind to do everything she can to send Annasophia back to her own timeline for good, where she will have to say goodbye to Maestro forever.

You need a copy. I know you do.

Amazon

Want to hang with me and the other cool kids and fans of TL?

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Actually, it’s the day after, as well: the day after a long weekend full of celebration and more carbs than you can shake a stick at, many of which are still clogging my fridge and freezers.

But it’s also the day before: The day before Rocktober begins. We’ll kick off the month with a Featured New Book Spotlight from my dear friend Thomma Lyn Grindstaff, and go from there into some reviews and some features.

Got a work of Rock Fiction you forgot to mention to me? Know of one you think needs to be exposed to a wider audience?

It’s not too late.

Due to the above-mentioned celebration and my crazy busy (for which I am endlessly grateful) editing schedule, Rocktober this year won’t be as big as I was hoping for. But what I have for you is good, good stuff.

The rocking and the rolling begin in less than 24 hours. Are you ready?

I’m trying to be a bit more organized about Rocktober this year, so I thought I’d invite you ALL to join in.

Here’s what I’m looking for from authors:
Featured New Book Spotlights. These can run any day of the week, so long as they focus on Rock Fiction.

Know what else I’d like? Blurbs about your books. I’ll feature your book that way, too, if you are too busy or even too far removed from your book to do it justice with a Featured New Book.

From readers and bloggers:
Pick a book. Write a blurb about it.

Send me links to reviews you’ve written recently (always the best; authors like to know they’re still being read) or in the past.

If you decide to host a Rock Fiction author for a blog post or an interview about why Rock Fiction, send me the link! I’d be glad to feature it. Again, feel free to dig through your archives.

My goal is to fill all thirty-one days in Rocktober with at least one Rock Fiction goodie. Decide how you want to celebrate, pick a date, and it’s yours. Hopefully you’ll get to share it — that’s a good thing! The more Rock Fiction, the better. Many would agree with that statement, so let’s show our love for the genre!

Not sure if it’s Rock Fiction? Here’s a list for you to start with. Find something that appeals and rock on.

I finished a book earlier in the week that has become one of my new favorite Rock Fiction books of all time.

Amazing, mind-blowing, totally altering the way anyone will view the music business and what it takes to get big…

But you’ll have to wait until Rocktober to hear more about it.

I’ve still got plenty of room if anyone wants to join in! I am going about it a bit more organized this year and am hoping to be able to feature a book and/or author a day, either here or elsewhere.

Join in! Spread the word! This year’s Rocktober will be the best yet!

Drop me an e-mail if you’d like to play along.

So I had a fabulous idea. Let’s celebrate Record Store Day.

Lots of my author friends were willing to chip in and have fun with me.

But… man, I need a promotions person over here. Not only have I been slammed with editing work, I’ve gotten Demo Tapes 4 up and running (go get a copy!), but I’m getting ready to do a big website overhaul and… I get word that my iconic S avatar is too old, and the original files too lost.

So now I’ve got to redo all that. Which means something’s gotta go, and that something is… Record Store Promo Day fun.

If you know anyone who’d like to be the West of Mars promotions person, send them my way. I may need more than one, and as we get up and running, this WILL be a paid position. Possibly even full-time, but I’m not ready to think of that yet.

Edits. Fonts. New Novels. And have I mentioned I’m a single parent these days, too?

Next year, folks. Once I get a promotions person, we’ll have us some GRAND fun.

Seriously. There is such a thing as Record Store Day.

It seems fitting to me that I, as an author and champion of Rock Fiction, set up some sort of fun promotion.

Here’s what I’m thinking…

I invite everyone who likes to post fiction on their blog, if they write Rock Fiction or not, to write some flash fiction celebrating Record Store Day or music in general. I’ll set up a linkie so you can share your link and draw in new friends. We’ll make it like a blog carnival of old.

And if you’ve written a work of Rock Fiction, why not consider giving a copy or two of your books away? Again, I’ll set up a linkie for that, too and we’ll have ourselves a Hop!

More details will follow as we get closer, complete with the promised linkies and other ways to share the fun (I can hear my IT guy swearing at me now). Let me know if you’re interested in any way — and other ideas for the day are welcome, too.

I’m talking about a few words that really crank my editor’s red pen. Join me at the #amwriting blog to see what those words are, and how many of them you like to use!

Anyone catch that lyric there in the headline?

Come join me over at Louise Harby’s blog, where I’m talking about life as a freelance editor.

No foster kitties this time, I’m afraid. They’ll be back.

This is one of my two favorite weeks of the year. Okay, maybe there are three– I have to count the week (or part thereof) that I spend at Boy Scout camp in there, as well. Trees, no Internet, cool breezes, wall tents, that awesome shower, only books to read for review… patrol cooking by the Scouts, and me the only female in sight.

Yeah, okay… those last two make you wonder. At least, they continue to give ME pause.

Those other two weeks of the year are my favorites because they are taken up by Smashwords sales. This year’s Read an EBook week is no exception; all my books are free, except King Trevor. As the new kid on the block, I’ve only (only!) discounted that one to 50%.

Which means you can have ALL of my books — all three Demo Tapes anthologies, both novels, AND the standalone short story, Mannequin — for $1.50.

How’s THAT for a deal??

But other freebies and great deals abound, as well, so don’t be shy. Take a chance on a new author or three. Show an established author your appreciation by picking up that book you don’t have yet (like King Trevor) for a discount. We only get royalties on the books you pay for, so it’s a big help to splurge that whole buck fifty.

Trevor’s worth it… are you game to play in his sandbox some more? He’ll move over and make room, especially if you’re a woman…

(and as always, don’t forget to leave a few words of review. Your blog, GoodReads, directly at Smashwords… you’d be surprised how a few words of constructive criticism are appreciated. And I promise that I do NOT retaliate if you hate the books. Just be professional in what you say and how you handle it!)

I’ve been liberated, in more ways than one.

Over at Amwriting.org, I’ve posted a new piece of fiction, called Liberation Day.

This is NOT a story of the Trevolution. At least, right now, it’s not.

Instead, it features a character I’ve been trying to work with for a long time now. I never saw this particular story coming, but sometimes, I guess, a character needs to sit and think and grow before you can unleash him or her (or both) onto the world.

I daresay you’ll be seeing more of these two, although probably not soon.

Stay tuned, and be sure to stop in at Amwriting today. Leave a comment, why don’t you?

The lovely — and for once, I mean that and am not sneering as I type — folks at Amazon have decided to include The Demo Tapes triplets in their 4-for-3 promotion.

That means you can buy all three Demo Tapes anthologies in print (instead of the Kindle format) and get something thrown in for free!

Go on. What are you waiting for?

Oh, you already have Demo Tapes 1, 2, or 3?

Well, go browse around! Check out my list of other Rock Fiction you may have missed. See if any of THEM are on the sale. Maybe it’s Demo Tapes 3 that you’ll get for free…

Go find some new reads while supporting your favorite author.

Hey! What do you mean? *I* am your favorite author.

Right??

Right.

One of my clients, Kenya Wright, has been posting a series of Q&As with editors — me and two others who she has worked with.

Stop in and check it out. She’s giving away a 20-page edit, but not from me.

If you want to work with me as your editor, you’d better hustle. My rates go up to new clients as of August 1, and I’m currently booking dates in late October, November, and December. Better get a move on!

I’m over at 1001 First Lines today, talking about … first lines! (Bet you couldn’t figure that out on your own.)

Stop in and join me ’cause there’s some fun stuff happening.

My friend, author Emily Casey, has interrupted my editing nirvana to remind me — and everyone else — that I am a born writer. She’s doing it in one of the most clever ways possible: by giving books awhile WHILE trying to educate even the most bashful reader about how important it is to support your favorite authors.

Here’s what she has to say about the Boost a Book event:

You, the reader

When you read a good book, you want to tell people about it! But aside from trying to convince your friend that they’re really going to like this random book you just found, what can you, as a reader, do to help an author?

How To Help
Word of mouth is of course really helpful, but did you know that just by leaving a review, you can make a book more visible to other readers? The review can be on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, your blog, Goodreads, Shelfari, it doesn’t matter. If it’s where readers can find it, you’re helping. The more times a book shows up on the internet, the more people hear about it.
[Note from Susan: If you post a review of any of my books on your own blog, I’ll link back to it.]

You can click the “like” button at the top of the book’s Amazon page, or the “Tags People Associate with This Product” at the bottom of the page. These help the book come up in search results and the “Readers Who Bought…” section.

You can also tweet about the book, mention it on facebook or Google+, or request the book at your local library or bookstore (if it’s in paperback).

The Good Stuff
The Boost a Book authors have some great fans and we know you all do some of these things already. So as a thank you, we’d like to offer some free ebooks. And, as an added bonus, we think it’d be fun to offer more books and more contest entries for each book you boost.

So grab your free entry below for a chance to win a free ebook from one of our Boost a Book authors. And if you want to discover even more new authors (by winning free ebooks) you can let us know how you’ve boosted a book and get extra entries.

How cool is THIS???

I’ve got some books in this give, myself, helping bring the grand total of books to be given away to 45. Yes. 45. How ’bout THEM cookies?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Whoops! This interview with Vanessa Eccles almost slipped past my radar.

Stop in and see why it’d have been a shame if you missed it.

Nine more days of school and I am SO not ready for summer vacation. Or am I?

Check out my plan for getting work done AND entertaining my kids during this year’s upcoming break, over at WorkingNaked.com.

Come over to Yinz Readin’, home of local girl Laurie Koozer, to see what my favorite children’s book is. You won’t be disappointed!

It’s quiet over here at West of Mars. There are a couple of reasons for this.

First is that I stopped in at Shayna Gier’s blog, talking about the reaction to King Trevor’s release. Go see it… there may be a secret or two that gets revealed!

Second is that another amazing writer has found her way to me, and I’m currently helping her hone her prose from damn fine into incredible. This project will most likely take me into next week, which means very little writing or blogging will be happening.

And last… have you clicked through lately? Why not do it now? You’ll find a whole new look going on here at West of Mars. Regrettably, it came at a cost — the archives of Rocks ‘n Reads have been lost forever, and Win a Book may or may not be recoverable.

I’ll be reposting, slowly, when I have time, the book reviews I’d posted at Rocks ‘n Reads. Keep your eye on the Rock Fiction page and watch as, slowly, the links to the reviews change.

Onward and upward, my friends. Remember to pick up your copies of my books, and to contact me first when you need an edit.