My friend JC Cassels is one cool lady. I adore her, and not just because she originally posted this over at her blog and is graciously allowing me to repost it here. It’s a long post, so we’ll wax poetic about JC another day, and you can see for yourself how truly awesome she is.

While involved in a writer’s discussion several weeks ago, the topic turned to music as inspiration for our writing. I was relieved to find out that I wasn’t alone in listening to music to help me get in the mood to write certain scenes. What I found fascinating was the wide range of musical tastes and genres preferred by the different writers. Some of their choices surprised me, but knowing their books, I could see the influence the songs brought into play.

I started writing BARRON’S LAST STAND first to the soundtrack of artists like Great Big Sea, Dropkick Murphys, and Flogging Molly. SOVRAN’S PAWN was originally part of my backstory notes for what I’d planned as a stand alone novel ~ a last desperate bid at publication. From the first moments Bo Barron and Blade Devon strolled across my imagination, I’d always planned to tell their story as a series. After nearly 30 years, delays caused by personal crises and multiple rejections from agents and publishers, I was almost ready to give up. BARRON’S LAST STAND was in actuality what the title suggests.

A submission call from an editor I admire and wanted to work with came out last October. BARRON’S LAST STAND was nowhere near completion, but I had enough of the backstory written to cobble together a novella. I toyed with the idea for weeks while continuing work on BARRON’S LAST STAND. It wasn’t until a spate of family tragedies hit that I turned to the goal of completing and submitting a novella to escape my own emotional turmoil. I needed a realistic challenge to regain a sense of control over my life and my situation.

With apologies to BARRON’S LAST STAND, I set it aside and threw myself headlong into SOVRAN’S PAWN.

It was about that same time that my husband took me to St. Augustine to see one of my favorite bands in concert supporting their new CD, released six months prior. The band is Duran Duran and the CD they were supporting is ALL YOU NEED IS NOW. As the band who provided much of the soundtrack for my misspent youth, I’ve always found a measure of inspiration in their often obscure lyrics and their haunting melodies. That night was no exception. I came away from the concert as inspired as I had been the night I drove home from their STRANGE BEHAVIOUR tour back in the late 80’s.

The title track touched a responsive chord in my soul and with this CD as my soundtrack, I attacked SOVRAN’S PAWN with an optimism I hadn’t expected to find. One track on my playlist kept returning to haunt me ~ LEAVE A LIGHT ON. The song captured for me the very essence of theme of the book as well as the relationship between Bo and Blade; and I played the hell out of it. Before I knew it, my novella became a full-length novel and I completed it in record time.

***
[youtube]
***

ALL YOU NEED IS NOW started out without a record label as a labor of love and a leap of faith by Duran Duran. I’d followed their progress on social media and was impressed with the grassroots way they rallied their fan base. By the time the tracks hit iTunes in December 2010, they had generated enough buzz to warrant a CD release, a music video and now a concert tour they’ve been on for more than a year.

Inspired by their faith in their own project, and the fact they recorded, released and now support it on their own terms, I decided not to submit SOVRAN’S PAWN to a publisher who wouldn’t have as much at stake, nor be as emotionally invested in the project as I would be. I followed the example Duran Duran set and I’ve published independently, on my own terms. I’m not sure I would have had the courage to do so without witnessing the painstaking progress of ALL YOU NEED IS NOW.

I didn’t set out to link my book to this CD, or to Duran Duran. It just happened that way. I’m so very glad it did.

Thanks guys!

As always, apologies for not getting the graphics in… anyone want to teach me and answer some REALLY dumb questions?

Buy links!

Smashwords (This is an affiliate link. Use it!)
Barnes and Noble
Amazon

Every now and then, someone comes along and does things their own way. Author Meliha Avdic is one of those people. Read on and see what I mean.

For instance, when I asked what song made her think of her book, Just Another Life, she sent me a link. No explanations, just the link.

And you know what? It makes sense. It really does.

Read the blurb and tell me what YOU think:

Only the extraordinary long for an ordinary life.

After a life lived, May learns how extraordinary an ordinary life is in the web of love and hate, sorrow and joy, friends and foes, good and evil, knowledge, understanding and ignorance, truth and illusion.

Hmm, huh? Intriguing…

But there’s more! Check out her buy links — definitely not what the rest of us are doing. And that, too, is different and very, very cool.

e-bay

GroovyCart

Feel free to contact me via e-mail if you wish to arrange alternatives: mbavdic at gmail dot com

For background information:

For extracts

FaceBook

Twitter: @MelihaAB

G+

I love it when cool people drop into my inbox, and sbr martin is one of those cool people. She and I also share a cool Pittsburgh connection: the cover artist for her book, Pig, is (was? I can’t keep up) a member of Pittsburgh-based Rusted Root.

… and so, once again, music and books collide in Susan’s life. You know I’m loving this.

Anyway, let’s get to the post ’cause that’s what you’re really here for, not my babble.

What song makes you think of your book?:

“Piggy” by Nine Inch Nails – and it’s not just because of the similarity in title! If “pig” were ever made into a movie, I’d want “Piggy” to be on the soundtrack, as the series of dark, disturbing, and sensual sounds that opened the flick.

“Pig” is about domestic abuse, sexuality, reflection, and loss – and so too seem to be Trent Reznor’s unassuming lyrics.

The book’s main character, Lily, has been called a lot of things in her life – Lilith, Mom, Flower, and Pig, for example. Pig is one of the clever, thoughtful nicknames her husband gave her, and when Reznor bellows “Hey Pig,” it reminds me of the ill-intentioned, mocking way Lily’s husband might greet her, “Yeahhh you.”

“Black and blue and broken bones | You left me here, I’m all alone,” Reznor sings, though these words could very well have come out of Lily’s lips. Yep, Lily’s husband, Bender, liked to hit her sometimes; and, Lily sometimes hurt herself, in drunken accidents and the like. Too many times she wound up black and blue, with broken bones. And, too many times Bender left her there all alone – including the last time he left her, the night of his own unfortunate “accident.”

Lily was an accomplished lady when it came to enjoying the company of men. She settled for her husband, thinking he might be the one to tame her. But, instead, he caged her in a volatile relationship from which Lily could not, or did not want to, escape, and about which she could have borrowed Reznor’s lyrics: “Nothing’s turning out the way I planned… What am I supposed to do? | I lost my shit because of you.”

And as per Reznor’s refrain, “Nothing can stop me now | I don’t care anymore | Nothing can stop me now | I just don’t care” – well, that too has much to do with “pig.” But I ain’t gonna tell you about that. You’ll have to read my book to figure it out.

Read it. Live it. Love it. sbr martin. pig.

Ready for the blurb?

A troubled woman sits alone on a couch in a crowded funeral home, in wake of her husband’s “accident.” In her right hand, she holds a scrap of paper she refuses to reveal, and, in her heart, she holds a lot of secrets, including a big one she’s keeping from herself. As the familiar faces of funeral home patrons stir in her a lifetime of memories, her story and her secrets unravel in a narrative of domestic abuse, sexuality, motherhood, and loss.

And a buy link, too.

Personal links:
Facebook
GoodReads
Amazon Author Profile
YouTube
Twitter
website

By now, I think most of India Drummond’s fans know how she and I came to work together, me as her editor.

I don’t do this for all my clients, since some of them prefer to stay incognito, but with Enemy of the Fae being released, I wanted to give India some extra time over here at West of Mars. I truly loved working on Enemy of the Fae, and I’d love to see this turn into a best-seller. It’s THAT good.

Which means, of course, that I asked India my famous question: What song makes you think of your book?

I challenged India, which isn’t easy. But I did it.

Here’s what she had to say:

I find it really difficult to relate real-world music to a fantasy world! But I think I’d have to say Jump Up Behind Me by James Taylor. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekUFyTdeb3s if you don’t know it.) It has a lovely feel to it, but it also reminds me of the way Eilidh swept into Munro’s life and carried him away. Although he left behind everything he knew, his career, his family, he couldn’t turn away the chance at real love and the all the promise that came with his own personal transformation.

Here’s the blurb:

Book 3 of the Caledonia Fae urban fantasy series

With a young, inexperienced monarch on the Caledonian throne and traitorous plots implicating those nearest Queen Eilidh, unrest is rife in the kingdom. She must sift through the intrigues and lies to survive, all while trying to discover which of her trusted companions hates her enough to commit mass murder.

Pressures threaten to overcome the young ruler, and to protect Quinton Munro, her bonded druid, she must send him away. His journey becomes a mission when he stumbles on an ancient truth that will shake the foundations of the entire faerie realm. Confronted by infinite danger and the promise of limitless power, Munro faces the most difficult choices of his life. Will he hide the truth to preserve stability in the faerie kingdoms or embrace the promise of his true druid heritage?

One friend will die because of that truth, one friend’s betrayal will cause irreparable scars, and the once tightly-knit band of druids will learn that not all magic is benevolent.

Caledonia Fae:

Book 1: Blood Faerie
Book 2: Azuri Fae
Book 3: Enemy of the Fae
Book 4: Druid Lords (Dec 2012)

And, last, the buy link!

Yes, only one. Maybe, if you’re not a Kindle user, you can ask India nicely? She’s really quite wonderful.

As word of the Featured New Book spot spreads, more of you are dropping into my inbox. This is cool, and I hope these authors won’t be strangers once the post is up.

Today we’ve got Kathleen S. Allen, whose Lore of Fei is the first in a new series. Check it out!

Song is: To The Fairies They Draw Near By Lorena McKennitt

TAGLINE: Faeries vs. humans, who will win in the battle for Fei, the land of the faeries? The Book of Lore states a silver-winged faerie will be born to save their race but, no silver winged faerie has been born. There is only Ariela, a faerie without wings, and no wings means she has no magic, or does she?

Hmm…. no reason or explanation given… maybe it’s self-explanatory?

LORE OF FEI BLURB:

“I am not a human girl, Duri. I am a faerie, like you. I was born without wings.” His eyes widened, but he still did not speak. “The Old Ones sent me to find a way to stop the humans. There can be no war on Fei. I need to know what the humans plan and when they will raid Fei again. You can help save Fei from extinction, Duri. Will you help me and be loyal to me and to Fei?”

He nodded. It was a slight nod, but it was a nod.

“Thank you Duri.” I sensed relief from him. “Sunvi, of the Old Ones has been captured and is ensconced in the food area. His wings have been clipped, too. He will help us restore Fei to the land it once was.”

I moved away from Duri toward the dragons. Tashie spotted me and flew over. She gave me a look, and I laughed at her. I sensed hunger from her. I reached in my pouch and pulled a sweet out. She took it and gobbled it down. I scratched under her chin, feeling the happiness flowing from her into me. I looked over to where Duri had stood, but he had gone back to the Lair. I hoped I could trust him. Faeries were much harder to read than humans.

Intriguing, no?

Why don’t you go pick up a copy? And remember: if you like what you read, a few words in a posted review help an author out a LOT.

Buy it at Amazon

Watch the book trailer

Websites:

https://www.loreoffei.weebly.com

https://www.gaelicfairie.webs.com

Facebook Author Page

On Twitter: @kathleea

I am so overdue with this one, and it’s not fair ’cause it’s a humdinger… And a favorite song around these parts!

Author Jaidis Shaw is too cool for words. She’s one of those people who makes you nervous ’cause she brings back that old high school insecurity, where you so desperately want someone to like you…

No? Only me?

Yeah. Whatever. On to the subject at hand… Jaidis wrote a book called Destiny Awaits. The synopsis follows her answer to my famed one-question interview: What song makes you think of your book?

I don’t know if there is a song that sums but the entire book but there is one song that would often make its way onto the Pandora station I listened to while writing Destiny Awaits that fits one of the main characters. I didn’t really listen to the lyrics at first but the beat was nice so I continued to listen and hesitated briefly as a few words caught my attention:

“The secret side of me, I never let you see…”

Alayna, the main female lead, is able to see visions in water but she has always kept this part of herself hidden so that she wouldn’t be considered a freak. After she is attacked by a Vampire, she becomes more comfortable with this side of herself but the bite has left her with a sense of hunger that she struggles to control:

“I feel it deep within, it’s just beneath the skin, I must confess that I feel like a monster.”

With this new thirst threatening to burst forth at a moment’s notice, especially when she is in close proximity to Jayden, she feels as though she is a monster. She doesn’t understand what she is becoming and when the effects of her blood are revealed, she realizes just how dangerous (or helpful) she can be. So it is because of those reasons that I feel “Monster” by Skillet is an accurate song for Alayna.

Link to “Monster” by Skillet on YouTube

Yes! Skillet!

I ran into their touring cellist… do I get cool points for that? He used to work for a friend of mine.

Okay. Back to Jaidis and her book. I want to read this one!

Synopsis:
Twenty-year-old Alayna Scott receives visions around water, but even her foresight couldn’t prepare her for the tragic accident that claimed the lives of her parents. With everything she loves gone, Alayna packs up and moves to the small town of Juniper Grove in hopes of starting over.

Jayden McKnight can’t explain the attraction that he feels whenever Alayna is near, but he does know that he will do whatever it takes to win her heart. When a vampire selects Alayna as his next victim, Jayden will stop at nothing to ensure her safety – even if that means bringing Alayna into a world that she never knew existed.

Love blossoms, challenges are made and Alayna will find herself fighting not only to survive, but to understand what she has become.

LINKS!!!
Amazon

GoodReads link for Destiny Awaits

Jaidis’ Links:
Juniper Grove Blog
Amazon Author Page
GoodReads
Facebook Fan Page
Twitter
YouTube

I met Larry Enright through a writer’s group on Facebook, I believe it was. We Tweet often; he’s funny and charming and is always good to lift your moods when you need to have ’em lifted.

Which of course means I have to host him now that he’s got a new short work out! It’s called 12-21-12 and if you know anything about numbers, you recognize the date. That should tell you plenty as to what the book’s about.

So. On to the song that makes Larry think of his new release.

Answer this question: What song makes you think of your book?
It’s the End of the World by R.E.M.

2. Please provide your book blurb:
The world ends for someone every day. One day it will end for everyone.

3. Buy links:
a. Amazon only!

4. Please provide any personal links you’d like to include:
a. Website
b. Facebook
c. Twitter
d. Goodreads

I met DJ Butler not too long ago, when he dropped into my inbox. A mutual friend had suggested we hook up, and let me tell you, I owe that mutual friend! DJ’s pulp series is FUN, FUN, FUN. The fourth installment of his rock band fighting evil came out right around the time King Trevor did, and I was busy with my own release and getting this place back up and running. Poor DJ had to wait all this time for his feature.

That means that once you’ve read this, you need to head over to Amazon and get yourself ALL the titles in the series. Yes, I’m serious. No, doing so won’t break the bank. (Especially because, for you freebie hunters, there are some this week only!)

Read on and see what song inspired this fourth episode, Devil Sent the Rain.

That’s an easy one: “Sympathy for the Devil.” I actually was going to use that title (all the Rock Band Fights Evil books steal their titles from blues, folk or rock songs), until I saw that it had already been done. Many, many times.

I choose “Sympathy for the Devil” for three reasons. First, I think we can all agree it’s a bitching song. And Rock Band Fights Evil is nothing if not bitching.

Second, the song is a devil’s eye retelling of the history of the human race. It’s epic in scope, involving great human wars and famous atrocities (the World Wars, the killing of Christ and the Kennedys) in a tale in which it’s not always easy to tell the cop from the criminal, the sinner from the saint. This is also true of Rock Band Fights Evil, which is a sort of rock ‘n’ roll telling of the apocalypse, revolving around a not-entirely-unsympathetic figure of Azazel, greatest of the Princes of Hell.

Third — and this is why I wanted to use the title for one of the books in the first place — the action in the early books is driven by sympathetic magic. (For anything who is now raising a puzzled eyebrow, the basic idea of sympathetic magic is that two things that are once together are always together, so you can take magical action on a part of something to cause an effect on the whole thing.) Azazel, imprisoned in the wastes of Dudael for centuries under a bath of holy water, lost a fragment of his hoof. The band, a gaggle of variously-damned men, grab the hoof fragment in book one and race towards Hell against the powers that want to snatch the hoof from them, because they want to use it in an act of sympathetic magic — think voodoo doll principles — to force Azazel to undamn them.

Hey, look, I think I’ve just given you my book blurb, too. Ha! Rock on!

(Sadly, it looks like the Stones have yanked all the video of this off the Internet. Shoot.)

[Note from Susan: I found one! Click that link above!]

Rock Band #1 is Hellhound on My Trail

Rock Band #2 is Snake Handlin’ Man

Rock Band #3 is Crow Jane

Rock Band #4 is Devil Sent the Rain

Blog

Rock Band Website

Facebook

Google+

Twitter

Goodreads

One final note: Be sure if you do nothing else, you check out the cover art for these books. They’re every bit as awesome and entertaining as the books themselves and I HATE that covers this slick have to be reduced to greyscale!

I made friends with author Thea Atkinson awhile ago… over a year, apparently, although it feels like both forever and yesterday. Her new book, Water Witch, is out, which means… she had to stop in for a Featured New Release!

A few years ago, my brain threw out two words to me: water witch. I thought at the time it came from the fact that my Father-in-law was able to divine for us the best place to put our well by using an old apple branch. I’d heard of divining water, and was always intrigued by the idea.

As a writer, I felt compelled enough that the two words together spoke to me. I just couldn’t understand the language until a number of years later when I had to write a fantasy/paranormal type flash fiction piece for a blog. Right then, this character who had been unnamed before and whose story had eluded me, began to solidify.

The result of that is Water Witch: a short novel in a series called Elemental Magic. The release has proven to be both exciting and anxiety ridden, as YA is a departure for me. Would folks like the Alaysha character as much as I did? Would they compelled to hear her story?

While I wrote, like I always do, I had a soundtrack that played to keep my fingers moving over the keys in some sort of trancelike rhythm, trying to harness those creative brain waves. I find music, whether it’s lyrics or the sound, spurs the firing of those beta/theta waves as easily as dreams.

One song I played over and over for the pure enjoyment and for the metaphor within was a Dave Matthews Band song: Don’t Drink the Water.

I encourage you to read the flash that inspired the translation of the water witch codec and allowed me tap into the character in a way that became more clear with each word. And I encourage you, if you like what you read, to go sample it from Amazon.

***

Let the Rain Fall
By Thea Atkinson

The scene was a sickening one, and in her early days, she would have been bothered by such gruesome images of war. Now, 40 years after she’d ridden her first beast to battle, she was hardened to all the death. Hardened like the blade she carried on her back — not that she needed a blade to take a life.

A water witch needed nothing to aid her in killing.

She could draw the fluid from a man’s body in three seconds, count the time with barely a breath between each before they collapsed into a pile of leathered skin with bones so brittle she knew they crumbled to sand inside the left over husk. The eyeballs turned to blackened raisins that fell from the sockets and plopped onto the earth.

When she was young, she thought they were the seeds of a man’s soul, that some god would rejuvenate them. She expected to see another body sprout from where they had fallen.

They never did.

So she hardened herself to all those deaths she’d caused — all those seeds left unspent in the ground. All for the safety of a runt of a man who had never bothered to learn her name.

“Witch,” he called her. “Witch, I need you,” he’d say when he wanted to vanquish an enemy. And there were many enemies.

I need you. I want you. I want you and need you to kill, and so she had without question for years. A girl always obeyed her father, after all.

She remembered her first battle. All of those images that she stored away from her spot in a hanging basket slung like a saddlebag from her father’s war beast. She was young — just seasons old, but a water witch had a long memory to go along with the gift — a necessity if she was to draw water from a vessel. There would need to be a vivid account of pathways and exits. And so she could still see that first pore, that first tear duct, that sweat gland — and deeper, that cell membrane that protected the precious water. She found that if she was significantly hungry, she could speak to those portals and pull fluid from them with an ease that almost hurt her.

Killing was ugly business for a soldier let alone a two-year-old. Her father assumed such ugliness was part of her nature.

“Will it,” he told her. And she did. So strong was her power over fluid that men dropped to their knees in droves, the raisins from their sockets plomping onto the ground like raindrops on thirsty earth: seeds waiting for nourishment.

Storm clouds gathered as the last enemy fell and pelted those left standing–those behind her father–with hail, but no new men sprouted to replace those she’d taken. A hunger rumbled with a terrible ache in her belly and left it feeling like one black cavern that food could never fill — not ever again after that.

She lived in fear that one of those seeds would trail like a pumpkin’s stem into a man’s arm that would sneak forward through the years to reach her finally and strike her down.

And then she wished for it.

And then she prayed for it.

So this scene, nearly 40 years after that first battle was especially gruesome. She sat her beast instead of being side-bagged on it. Her father, furious at his serfdom for a rebellion gone horribly wrong, yelling, weeping, spitting his revenge at their audacity.

“Will it,” he told her.

She drew water from them — each of them — soldiers, peasants, men, women — and yes, even children. She watched every living thing from plant to bird to man in this her father’s serfdom become petrified in an instant. All that remained were stones of different sizes and sand of different piles, and a hundred thousand little raisins peppering the arid earth as if it was a spicy bannock for a meal never to be eaten.

And in that moment she knew some men should never come back. That, that was the secret the gods kept from her. Those seeds, those raisins, should never sprout for they’d had their season.

The storm clouds gathered above her. Her father grunted his anger; it wasn’t enough, this revenge. They deserved worse, not this quick, painless death he’d ordered. He should have done more; she should have drawn the water slower, made them suffer.

She looked at him, felt the drops of water from the clouds plop onto her shoulder. The rain on her cheeks felt hot, then cold as it evaporated. The clouds sucked back into themselves, afraid of the power of the witch that could thirst the water from the very sky.

“I’m hungry,” she said to him as she climbed down from her beast. The earth felt good on her bare feet. She’d never been allowed to have shoes.

“Eh?” Her father gave her a sharp look. She’d never deigned speak to him except to answer yes to his whims.

“I hunger.”

Even as his mouth opened to deny her, he spilled from his beast, so many particles of sand running into his boots as they hit the ground, dumping into the sidesaddle she’d spent so many months in while they were at war. His ice green eyes shriveled and fell as tiny raisins to the earth.

She knelt to one knee and scooped them up, giving them a quick study, making sure they were indeed the seeds of his soul.

And then she popped them into her mouth, chewed. And for the first time in her forty years, she felt satisfied.
-30-

Pick it up at Amazon.

Smashwords

I got all excited when I saw the title of MaryLynn Bast’s new book. No Remorse.

Metallica alert!

But… nope. Here’s what song makes Mary think of her book:

Pink is my favorite female singer. I love her bad kick ass attitude and she reminds me of Amber, and her song “Perfect”, is actually a perfect for description of Amber’s life up until she meets back up with Blake.
“Made a wrong turn once or twice.
Dug my way out, blood and fire.
Bad decisions, that’s alright.
Welcome to my silly life.
Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood!
Miss “No way, It’s all good”, it didn’t slow me down.
Mistaken, always second guessing, underestimated!
Look, I’m still around…”

Ahh, Pink’s a favorite around here. It probably doesn’t have the Family Friendly alert that the other song I linked to does…

So what’s Mary’s No Remorse about, anyway?

Due to her unusual birth, Amber has abilities no other werewolf has ever possessed. On the run since childhood, the lone wolf avoids contact with other werewolves at all cost, continually moving, constantly looking over her shoulder and always alone.

Everything changes when Amber saves a werewolf from the mere brink of death, Blake, the only werewolf to ever protect her. Love blossoms, but not without tribulations when Amber realizes she must help her new pack rescue a member who is being held hostage by a rival pack.

Warring with emotions of going from lone wolf to the pack leader’s mate, Amber must decide if she is willing to risk Blake’s life to know true family and friendship despite the fact that the Council is hell bent on locating her and will stop at nothing until she is found. Will Amber’s special abilities be enough to keep everyone safe?

Links you’d like to have:
Amazon
Book Trailer
Website
Facebook
Facebook (author page)
Twitter

Yep, I really HAVE been working on expanding this series. I hope you’re having fun with it; everyone picks such varied music. Personally, I’m having a ball.

Today I’ve got Renee Pawlish, who’s got a new YA novel out, The Emerald Quest. I asked what song makes her think of her book and she said…

When I hear the song Miserlou by Dick Dale I think of The Emerald Quest because Miserlou reminds me of the ocean, surfing and fun in the water, and The Emerald Quest is all about boats, the ocean, treasure hunting, scuba diving and fun in the water.

There ya go. Boats, the ocean, treasure hunting, scuba diving, and fun in the water. Can’t go wrong with THAT combo, can you? And the song??? Be sure to click through… this is old guitar work that still resonates today. You may even recognize shades of songs YOU grew up with (assuming you’re an old bat like me).

How’d you like the more formal book blurb?

A long-lost emerald, a missing treasure map, and a wealthy villain combine for an action-packed adventure!

Thirteen-year-old Noah Winter, the son of sea-exploring treasure hunters, dives the San Isabel shipwreck with his parents in search of a mysterious treasure map lost in the murky depths off the Florida Keys over a century ago. The map reveals the hiding place of the priceless De La Rosa emerald. But before the Winters can find the map, a wealthy treasure-hunting rival kidnaps Noah’s parents. Now Noah must match wits with a dangerous adversary, not only to discover the treasure map first, but to rescue his mom and dad before it’s too late.

Get your own copy!

Kindle

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Or
Facebook

blog

Goodreads

I’ve been putting out calls to authors who aren’t necessarily my friends (yet). Why leave them out of the Featured New Book fun? Why miss out on a potential new friend?

Today’s guest is author Angela Scott, who’s got a new one out called Wanted Dead or Undead.

What song makes her think of her book?

I had to think on the song for a bit, but I would have to say Christina Perri’s ARMS works.

Hmm. Can’t say I knew that one before now. It’s a pretty song. I sorta dig it. I like the refrain: You put your arms around me and I’m home. (If I’m hearing that wrong, holler. Won’t be the first time.)

Book blurb:

Trace Monroe doesn’t believe in luck. He never has. But when a fiery-headed cowgirl saunters through the saloon doors, wielding shotguns and a know-how for killing the living dead, he believes he just may be the luckiest man alive.

Trace wants to join “Red’s” posse, but she prefers to work alone—less messy that way. In order to become her traveling companion, Trace has to agree to her terms: no names, no questions, and if he gets bit, he can’t beg for mercy when she severs his brain stem. He agrees, knowing only that Red is the sharpest shooter he’s ever encountered. The fact she’s stunning hasn’t escaped his attention either.

What he doesn’t know, is that Red has a very good reason to be on top of her game. She not only has the answer for how they can all outlive the plague taking over the wild, wild west, she is the answer.

Buy link (Hey, you fellow non-Kindle people, speak up if you want to read this but can’t due to lack of Kindle stuff. I’m there with you.)

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

The world works in funny ways. I think I first really became aware of Ash Krafton through Triberr. When she released her new book, Bleeding Hearts, I realized she’s also a Pennwriter.

Triberr friends are cool. But to be BOTH a Triberr AND a Pennwriter? Well, Pennwriters… I consider Pennwriters to be MY people, you know? These are the people who (by and large) know me in real life. Many of them know what my face looks like — and the rest of me. And they suffer my often big, opinionated mouth. (Who, me? Hell, yeah!)

So when Ash announced the release of her first book, you KNOW I had to have her come by. I pretty much put it to her in those terms, too. It seems, though, that our favorite question wasn’t so easy when placed in Ash’s capable hands. Read on…

I’m sure you weren’t being mean when you asked this question, Susan. How were you to know the book was written, not with a single song in mind, but rather an entire playlist?

That means it’s going to be tough to answer this question.

Most of the songs on the Bleeding Hearts Soundtrack (not available in any store because, apparently, copyrights are ridiculously tricky things) aren’t by mainstream artists. How many readers are familiar with Lacuna Coil, Type O Negative, and Blind Guardian? Didn’t think there’d be many. And how many of you are devoted Rush fans? Yep. Thought so. (I won’t tell Geddy, though. He’d just be hurt.)

So answering this question is a lot harder than it should be. After all, if nobody’s heard of the song, then nobody’s going to relate to the book for the purpose of this article. What a failed promotional jig this would turn out to be!

Then I remembered—there *was* a band that got lots of radio play, that had Billboard-Chartable hits, that was mainstream despite their not wanting to be mainstream. There *was* a band that produced several emotional songs that really affected me in a creative way…songs like “My Immortal” and “Going Under”…and “Bring Me To Life.”

That’s it. That’s the song.

“Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence reminds me of the book every time I hear it. However, in my head, it’s not Amy Lee singing—it’s my hero, Marek.

Marek is a Demivampire who is dangerously close to Falling. If that happens, he’ll evolve into a vampire and will be lost forever. There’s slim hope for a demivamp who gets that close to the edge…unless they are found and Saved by one of the Sophia, a group of mystical oracles who are able to undo the spiritual damage responsible for a demivamp’s evolution.

Marek believes he’s too far gone to save. But that’s when Sophie finds him—and she’s not going to give up on the man she loves.

The song “Bring Me To Life” begins with the words:

How can you see into my eyes
Like open doors?
Leading you down into my core,
Where I’ve become so numb.

Without a soul,
My spirit’s sleeping somewhere cold,
Until you find it there and lead it back
Home.

Marek’s sure he’s beyond redemption when he meets Sophie. Neither of them realizes what she is at first, but he knows she’s something special. Her quirky little spurts of wisdom never fail to catch him off guard and he’s determined to find out.

As their love story progresses, Marek tells Sophie no one has ever touched his heart the way she does. It’s echoed by this line:

Frozen inside without your touch,
Without your love, darling.
Only you are the life among the dead.

Marek is desperate to rejoin the living and is confident Sophie can lead him back.

Evanescence performs the song with a haunting mixture of fierce determination and desperation, two sentiments that drive the soul of Bleeding Hearts. If the group ever re-records the song, reversing the male/female vocals, I think it would be a perfect match.

Even as it plays, “Bring Me To Life” takes me to my book every time I hear it. And, while a lot of music played in the background while I wrote Bleeding Hearts: Book One of the Demimonde, giving plenty of emotional fuel to create the character of my empathic heroine, this one seems written especially for her hero.

I’d like to dedicate this song to you, Marek.

WHAT, Ash?? MY readers not know Lacuna Coil? To not still mourn the loss of the (warped but) creative genius who was Peter Steele?

You need to hang out here more often. You just do.

But Evanescence?? Still holds a high place of regard on my iPod. Have you heard Ben Moody’s spinoff band, We are the Fallen, yet? Sounds a lot like Evanescence, but the songwriting shows who in the band has/had the chops… I may be a bigger Ben Moody fan than an Amy Lee fan, and that’s saying a lot…

Anyway, back to the book.

Hey, how’d you like the blurb?

About BLEEDING HEARTS: Book One of the Demimonde

Saving the world one damned person at a time—shy advice columnist-turned-oracle must find a way to save her dangerous demivampire lover from the fate that threatens each of his race: evolution and the destruction of his soul.

When advice columnist Sophie meets dark and alluring Marek, she learns life-changing secrets about them both—he’s a demivampire struggling to avoid evolution and she’s an empathic oracle destined to save him. Sophie possesses the rare ability to reduce the spiritual damage that causes a demivamp to Fall, making her the only thing that stands between a DV and evolution.

However, as Marek’s dangerous past propels him toward his desperate fate, his enemies make darker plans for him: once vampire, powerful Marek would be second only to the Master himself. The vamps want to cause Marek’s Fall and they intend to use Sophie to do it….

Hook up with Ash at these places:

Facebook
Twitter
Home page
Blog
GoodReads
Amazon Author Central

Buy links!!
Pink Narcissus Press
Amazon
B&N

In my quest to see what happens when books and music collide, I decided to expand the Featured New Book spot here at West of Mars. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m having a ball with it. We have yet to have a repeat song, and the choices all these various authors are making are endlessly fascinating.

Like this one. Ernie Laurence Jr. is our guest today, and man, he blew me away with the song that makes him think of his book, Islands of Loar Sundered.

What song makes me think of my book/series? There is an old spiritual entitled “Wayfaring Stranger” that fits this book (and the Islands of Loar series). The song is set in a minor key. It is my favorite song, ever. [Note from Susan: here’s another version, one that Ernie likes.]

vs 1- I am a poor, wayfaring stranger while traveling through this world of woe.
vs 2 – I know dark clouds will gather round me. I know my way is rough and steep.
vs 3 – I’ll soon be free of every trial. My body sleep in the graveyard.

These are the first lines of all three verses. Each verse opens with loneliness, weariness, and a desire for rest. That is the perfect image of what I want Loar to look and feel like to the reader: the remnants of a shattered planet orbiting its star. Its inhabitants have been abandoned by their deities and know nothing of any life beyond their world. This makes them feel alone, vulnerable, and causes most to despair. Now, numerous enemies outside of Loar seek to finish off all life in the Islands. The populace is trodden under by the tyranny of the elite Aeromancers and there is rebellion fomenting that threatens to tear the civilization apart from within. The rest are wearied with merely surviving. Even the plant life has weakened and looks like it is giving up.

vs 1 – Yet there’s no sickness, toil, nor danger in that bright world to which I go.
vs 2 – But golden fields lie out before me where God’s redeemed shall ever be.
vs 3 – I’ll drop the cross of self denial and enter on my great reward.

The second phrase of each verse speaks of rest, of an end to labor, and coming to a place where all those who have achieved this rest come together in peace and comfort. These phrases represent the heroes of the tale. Doogan, whose unwavering goodness is matched only by his desire to see the people of Loar lifted out of their misery and do more than just survive. In him is the potential to heal the civil strife. Spenciel, who puts others first and denies himself in all instances to bring justice and peace to the Islands. He is set on a path to understand the power of the departed gods. Thean, who has great faith, endurance, and love for all the people of Loar and comes to desire to bear their burdens on his own shoulders. His path seems to be to stand between the monsters and the people as one of the true Chosen of the Prophecy. There are a lot of them, but they all seek to overcome not just the enemies without: monsters, demons, and so forth, but the most powerful enemy of all: the despair and despondency within.

The song ends with an affirmation of success in all three verses:

vs 1- I’m going there to see my Father. I’m going there no more to roam.

vs 2 – I’m going there to see the Spirit. He said He’d meet me when I come.

vs 3 – I’m going there to see my Savior, to sing His praise for evermore.

all – I’m only going over Jordan. I’m only going over home.

There is another character in the story that we only see twice. Though he only has a small part in the story, in a way, he plays the largest role. I won’t reveal too much here, but I will say that he epitomizes the song as no other character I have written or ever will write again. This character introduces Loar in a very subtle way to a much grander perspective, including the concept of what “God” really means.

There are certainly some faint religious undertones to the story and some not quite as subtle political ones. For those who do not share my own very strong conservative religious or political views, this might cause a twinge of controversy, but hey…that sells too, eh? However, overwhelmingly this is an epic fantasy and those who enjoy the genre will hopefully enjoy the story regardless.

Whew, huh? Like… wow. Ernie definitely wins for the most detailed explanation.

Bring it, folks. I am eating this stuff up!

Need more?

Synopsis (from my wiki):

Surviving fragments of civilization left over from a sundered planet eke out a life in an environment sustained entirely by elemental magic. A few disparate groups of teens and young adults from different species and backgrounds attempt to find adventure and meaning to their bleak existence, or hopelessly search for a remedy to their decaying situation.

An increasingly oppressive government and the growing threat of a veiled enemy will throw some of these groups together while viciously tearing others apart. There are hints of the return of one of the missing gods, but it is one that may finish the Islands of Loar for good unless these young heroes can stop him in time.

So. How do you hook up with Ernie and Islands of Loar Sundered? Well, via these links of course!
Links:

Amazon

Smashwords

Website (My online appendix for all my novels essentially)

Facebook

Blog/Author Page

I haven’t done a Featured New Book in awhile, so I put a call out for some blog fodder. The first person to respond was Jonathan Grant, so here we go…

Jonathan, what song makes you think of your book?

Answer: “One of Us” written by Eric Bazilian, performed by Joan Osborne, inspired me to write Brambleman the way I did. In other words, it actually
made me think of the book. (And they are listed in the Acknowledgments.) Brambleman’s theology is based on the song. Supernatural beings rely on public transportation, and buses are vehicles of both salvation and terrible (and sometimes random) justice. The book attempts to answer the musical question:

“What if God was one of us

Just a slob like one of us

Just a stranger on the bus

Trying to make his way home?”

Wait. WHAT?? Eric Bazilian?? As in … The Hooters????

Yep.

I never knew that! Remind me to tell you guys my Hooters story one day. Or don’t; it’s not terribly exciting.

Back to Jonathan, ’cause he’s got me right curious about this Brambleman book of his…

The book blurb:

Brambleman. a novel by Jonathan Grant

Down-and-out Atlanta writer Charlie Sherman has no idea what madness awaits
him when a mysterious stranger convinces him to finish a dead man’s book
about a horrific crime that’s gone unpunished for decades. Charlie becomes
convinced he’s been chosen by a Higher Power to wreak vengeance on those who
profit from evil. Either that, or he’ll die trying. Eventually, he realizes
the deal is an otherworldly setup.

Sounds good, no? I bet this will be the sort of book I wished I got to edit — not that it’s bad (perish the thought!) but because I’d have gotten to get my eyeballs on it before most others.

Yeah, I bet you never thought that was one of the perks of being an editor!

Anyway, pick up your copy/copies (books make great gifts!) at …

The book is still in the process of coming out, but Barnes and Noble has
listings for both eBook and for pre-ordering the paperback.

Can I tell you guys how much I like Jonathan, already? He’s a B&N dude, just like I’m a B&N chick, if I can’t go indie, that is…

Stop in at his website, too!

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)

It’s always great to hook up with another Rock Fiction writer. You guys know how I’m trying to gather us all here at West of Mars (or, alternatively, the West of Mars Fans page on Facebook if that’s more your style).

My latest hookup was with Deborah J Ledford. We’d met before but never gotten much off the ground. Hopefully, this second connection will lead us to a great, exciting new friendship full of Rock Fiction and other great reads.

Deborah released her latest work of Rock Fiction a year ago, but who’s keeping an eye on a calendar? A new-to-you read is whenever you come across it, not when it’s published. To help make this new-to-you read more memorable, here’s the song that makes Deborah think of her book:

“Who Loves You” by Alannah Myles best represents SNARE on several levels. Native American rock star Katina Salvo’s mother was murdered long before she could experience her daughter’s success. Katina had often called out to her mother’s spirit, but until only recently—when faced with impending danger—has felt her presence. One of warning and caution, but most importantly, love.

Ooh, there’s a lot going on here, huh? Check out the song, and check out the book!

SNARE – The Hillerman Sky Award Finalist

One rock star sensation. Two men from her past want her dead. Three others will risk everything to keep her safe. Who will be caught in a trap? SNARE – Revenge with a beat.

Native American pop singer/songwriter Katina Salvo’s career is about to take off. There’s one problem: someone wants to kill her. Katina and her bodyguard, Deputy Steven Hawk, are attacked during an altercation at her first live concert. Could the assailant be a mysterious, dangerous man from her youth? Or her estranged father recently released from prison for killing her mother?

Buy Links:

Amazon Print Book

Amazon Kindle

NOOK

Author’s Website: www.DeborahJLedford.com

I met Coral Moore over at the Kindle boards. We read each other’s submissions to the Pink Snowbunnies in Hell anthology — and I’m thrilled that we both made the cut. If you haven’t picked it up yet, why not? Part of the money from it is going to various animal shelters, including, I believe, the one I volunteer with.

We’re swapping promo space right now. I’ve got an interview that will be posted soon, and here’s Coral, telling us what song makes her think of her debut novel, Broods of Fenrir.

I know you’re usually quite rockin’ here on West of Mars, but I’m going to have to sappy the place up for a little bit. I hope you don’t mind. There’s one song that I’ve associated with the Brand and Dagny love story since I first wrote the two of them in a scene together, Do What You Have To Do by Sarah McLachlan.

The difficulties inherent in Brand and Dagny’s relationship are present from their first meeting. There are a multitude of reasons why they shouldn’t be together and forces trying to pull them apart. In addition to those external problems, they are both scarred and reluctant to give their hearts away.

The song is soft and in some ways distant, but there’s a strong emotional underpinning that personifies Dagny’s internal struggle. She wants to trust Brand, but the horrors of her past make believing in him impossible. The battle between her urge to run and her desire to stay drives much of what she does throughout the story.

Want to know more about Broods of Fenrir? Here’s the blurb:

Shapeshifter Brand Geirson was raised to rule the Broods of Fenrir, but he refused his birthright. Instead, he killed their brutal leader–his own father–and walked away.

For hundreds of years he’s avoided brood society, until a werewolf kills an innocent human woman and Brand finds himself dragged back into the violent politics of the shapeshifters. When the two brood women who mean the most to him come under threat, he must take up the throne and risk becoming the kind of vicious bastard his father was, or let the broods descend further into chaos–taking the friend he swore to protect and his lover with them.

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 60,000 words or 210 paperback pages
Warnings: Violence, Strong Language and Sexual Content

Available in eBook at All Romance, Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. Also available in paperback at Amazon and CreateSpace.

I’ve been buds with the most excellent RJ McDonnell for … years now, I’d bet. He’s a great dude, very savvy, and his books reflect this. Plus, the’re Rock Fiction, and we all know about Susan’s weakness for Rock Fiction.

In fact, RJ’s third book in his Rock & Roll Mystery Series, the Concert Killer, has just been released. Which means I get to bring you a Featured New Book that’s Rock Fiction! I do NOT do this nearly enough (hint to all you who know Rock Fiction authors, be they writing a series or a stand-alone.).

Without further ado, here’s RJ:

The song that makes me think of my novel, The Concert Killer, is its trailer song by the same name. Since I write the Rock & Roll Mystery Series, I decided to write an original song to promote the book. The novel is about a serial killer who attempts to shut down the concert industry, and opens on his fourth kill. The song serves as a prequel, providing details on his first three murders. Here’s a link to the YouTube trailer and song.

Lead guitar was performed by Robbie Walsh, who played with Noel Redding of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Chubby Checker, Ginger Baker of Cream, and Tico Torres of Bon Jovi. Bass and drums were performed by Robbie’s current band mate, Larry Moss. I did the vocals and rhythm guitar.

I wrote the song almost immediately after finishing the edit on the book. This involved going through the text 20 times; immersing myself in the thoughts and feelings of a religious fanatic serial killer for months. Most of my friends and family told me they heard a distinct UK accent in my voice. They have all seen me perform at bookstores, parties, and library events in the past, and never picked up on this affectation on any of my other songs. I think the immersion process was so intense that I dug down to my Irish roots when delivering the vocals.

If you’re interested in finding out what the story is about, I posted the first 48 pages on fReado. It’s not your typical serial killer novel, which usually falls into the horror genre. This is a whodunit mystery. In
keeping with the first two novels in the series (Rock & Roll Homicide and Rock & Roll Rip-Off), I continued to use humor in between action scenes.

My detective is a 28-year-old who worked as a club musician for 10 years before starting his internship as a private investigator. During those 10 years he also attended college and worked as a counselor at an outpatient mental health center. Now that he runs his own detective agency he employs two former patients. They’re both very good at their jobs, but have quirks that
periodically lighten the mood.

If you enjoy rock fiction, all three are available in digital and paper formats. The digital versions are priced at $2.99 on Kindle:

Rock & Roll Homicide
Rock & Roll Rip-Off
The Concert Killer

There you go! RJ’s book makes him think of his own song! Just like Jeremy Wagner before him.

If RJ’s kind enough to send me a digital copy of The Concert Killer, I’ll post the review at all the usual suspects, starting with my own Rocks ‘n Reads blog.

I’ve known Jaimey Grant online for eons now. Always fast with a virtual smile or supportive saying, she’s awesome folk.

That’s why I’m honored to have her here today with not one but TWO songs that make her think of her newly released short story, The Dragon’s Birth.

Here’s Jaimey:

Crawl by Breaking Benjamin* brings my story to mind but only from Darok’s perspective (main protagonist). He’s a young king who hears a voice in his head. While wondering if he’s crazy, truly crazy, he’s trying to determine if the legends about dragon blood in his family are true. It doesn’t help that the voice in his head claims to be a dragon, a creature he’s been raised to believe is the epitome of evil, a monster.

A few of the lyrics that really stand out:

A shadow of a man, I am nothing less
I am holding on, still holding on
And every now and then life begins again
I am holding on, still holding on

I’m not like you, your faceless lies
Your weak dead heart, your black dead eyes
I’ll make it through, but not this time
You hope is gone and so is mine

Live, fight, crawl back inside
Sick, blind, love left behind
And I won’t live your weak wicked lie
You pull me in, I’m one step behind

…

I’m becoming a monster, just like you
After it all you’ll try to break me too
Falling forever, chasing dreams
I brought you to life so I could hear you scream

On the other hand, Lights Out by Breaking Benjamin* is just as appropriate but from Bental’s perspective (the main antagonist/dragon voice in Darok’s head). He’s a living being just like any other, but trapped in the head of little more than a child playing at king. He’s not a simple “evil” creature, but he is determined to escape Darok’s head, to become his own physical being, and he can’t be concerned with who gets hurt in the process.

The lyrics that really stand out to me:

I am done pretending
You have failed to find what’s left
I will suck you dry again
Some are not worth saving
You are such a pretty mess
I will choke the life within

Now you want to take me down
As if I even care
I am the monster in your head
And I thought you’d learn by now
It seems you haven’t yet
I am the venom in your skin
And now your life is broken

After the lights go out on you
After your worthless life is through
I will remember how you scream
I can’t afford to care
I can’t afford to care

*No copyright infringement intended. I am not in any way implying the endorsement of Breaking Benjamin. I’m just a fan. (Sorry, I felt the need to include that. One can never be too careful.)

For an excerpt of The Dragon’s Birth
The Dragon’s Birth on Smashwords
The Dragon’s Birth on Kindle

Okay, Susan’s going on the record here: I love Breaking Benjamin. Good picks, Jaimey!