What?

Usually, there’s a line for the Featured New Book Spotlight.

Makes me think no one’s releasing books this time of year (and if you’re an author and this is true, this may be the best time for a release ’cause there’s not as much competition — and  you can build up reviews to help get noticed in the Christmas buying sprees).

Do you have a new release? Did your friends? With the new preorder abilities at the major retailers, you can let your book have the spotlight before it’s released. All we need is buy links.

And have I mentioned it’s a one-question interview? ONE.

It’s funny how publishing runs in cycles. It’s September and as I’ve said before, it’s the busy season on the editing side. And more keeps rolling in, too. I’m not complaining, except that another rush job has fallen on my head, I’ve pushed one client back two weeks already, and another’s fans are sending him evil e-mails, demanding the next in the series and I’m the one messing up the works. It’s crazy, it’s fun, it’s exhilarating — and it’s hard work.

All this editing, surprisingly, goes with a slowdown in the Featured New Book spotlight. Are you guys all in the editing cycle, too? No one has a release they’d like to promote? REALLY?

(And here’s a hint: hit your editing cycle earlier in the year and release your books in September! Seems like a good month without a lot of competition and you’ll still have something new out in time for the Christmas rush. Yes, if Costco and Target can think about Christmas in September, so can you.)

Tell your friends. As always, spread the word. The Featured New Book Spotlight here at West of Mars is ONE question. How can you not want that sort of easy promotion? And it’s not the same old, same old question, either. It’s new! It’s fresh!

Okay, it’s a bit tough. But isn’t tough better than describing your work space, your daily routine, or your writing process one more time?

Here’s the details.

Use them yourself, tell a friend who’s got a book out. It doesn’t matter to me; this is about you guys. About getting the word out for your books. For this one, I’m just the host.

David Sturman dropped by not that long ago to feature his first book, Broken Son, here at West of Mars. He said back then it was the first in the trilogy, and today, to mix things up a bit, he’s back with the next two books!

Let’s just hand things right over to David, shall we?

Book 2, Without A Home
Song: Home Sweet Home, Motley Crue

This song talks about trying to get home…something the main character just can’t seem to do, or even to know where to look for it. It just might not exist at all as he finds himself bounced around the foster care system and even jail. In our hero’s world, home is a four-letter-word.

Ahh, the Crue at their peak… It’s interesting to see how David sees the more ironic, cynical side of this song.

Book 3: Never Again
Song: Blaze of Glory, Jon Bon Jovi
 
The lyrics of this song gel with the main character’s thoughts of being a lone wolf ready to defend himself from the evil that once overpowered him, even if that means going down in a blaze of glory.

Man, that one brings back memories, too!

So. Ready to know what the books are about?

Without a Home is the second novel in a trilogy of books that follow a boy named David, and his experience with abuse—and the ways in which he survives it. Without a Home chronicles David’s teenage years as he navigates the many sides of the foster care system in Cleveland, Ohio.

The first book in the trilogy, The Broken Son, depicts David’s life up to the age of twelve in Detroit, Michigan, where he lives with his abusive parents. He has reason to believe that they are determined to kill him. To make matters worse, David is plagued with hallucinations of an evil clown who makes his journey that much more difficult.

The trilogy concludes with Never Again, the final book in the trilogy. David, now a grown man returning from war, finds himself forced to live with his parents once more. Only this time, it’s David who wants to do the killing.

Interesting, dark stuff, huh? I always wonder what degree of autobiography or metafiction we’re dealing with when the lead character has the same first name as the author. In this case, the books seem to be based on Sturman’s own life.

Pick up your copy.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/David-Allan-Sturman?store=allproducts&keyword=David+Allan+Sturman

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=david+allan+sturman

http://www.wattpad.com/story/21040700-the-broken-son-trilogy-by-david-allan-sturman

http://selfpublishersshowcase.com/david-allan-sturman/

Angela Conrad came into my life in a funny way: she was referred by one of my editing clients — but not for editing (sadly. You guys know how I love to edit and wish the world could be my client!). She came to me looking for someone to format her e-book.

Of course, I have someone handy for that! And look: she also used my good friend Carol for her book cover. Geez. If I’m not helping build community here at West of Mars, I am a banana. And I may be wearing a yellow shirt today, but that’s as far as it goes.

Yeah. Two-stop shopping, for all your publishing needs. That’s us at West of Mars.

So. Livy is out at Amazon only (sorry, folks!) and that means Angie has one more thing to do before she can truly say her book is for sale. YES! Answer the Famed One-Question Interview!

Angie, what song makes you think of your book?

Dear Prudence by the Beatles.  The lyrics of the song are simple and innocent and praise the beauty of nature and the  lines.

 

I think I’d have to agree!

Ready for the description from the back cover?

Livy is an 1816 regency historical romance, taking place in London and the countryside of Suffolk and Essex, England.  Livy is the first of a series, Rayburn Park.

 

This book sparkles with witty conversations and heartbreaking romance.

 

Livy, Lady Olivia Rayburn is an artist who has sketched and dreamed of marrying her childhood sweetheart for eleven years.  Sheltered, living on her viscount brother’s palatial estate, Rayburn Park, she hopes for a future with Lord Nathan Wentworth.

 

Now on her twenty first birthday, beautiful and kind Livy overhears Lord Nathan tell her brother Sam that he will never offer for her.  Nathan has other plans.

 

Driven by hurt, despair, and compassion, Livy goes into the park and meets another gentleman, the handsome Earl of Essex who needs a wife immediately, that day, and she says yes to his marriage proposal.

 

This starts the story of Lady Winston, the Countess of Essex, her loves, struggles, heartbreaks, and joys. Livy’s love story, her marriage to a rogue and her growth as a woman intermix with the saga of Rayburn Park, a thoroughbred racing park in Newmarket, and its four owners, all dashing, unmarried lords.

I love a good Regency, and this one sounds like fun. To marry a man you only met that day… brave woman!

Pick up your copy at Amazon.

This has been a funny week, because I’ve had two authors fighting over the spotlight this week!

Okay, not fighting in the traditional sense, but … oh, it’s a long story. What makes it funny is that the two authors involved have strong ties to West of Mars. I’m feeling very good right now, knowing my plans to build community, not just be an editor, are working. (and yes, there’s room for you to join in. So join us!)

Yes, today’s guest is our good friend M. E. Sutton. You may recognize her. She’s got a new book in her Middle Grade series out today and I’ve read it. Let me tell you: this series is just getting better and better. (Okay, I lied. I haven’t read this one. Yet.)

So, Mary, what song makes you think of Wedding Bliss?

Okay, it is genre inappropriate. It might be age inappropriate, I’m not sure. But I absolutely cannot think of the word “wedding” without thinking of Billy Idol’s WHITE WEDDING. I’m not exactly sure why. The lyrics of the song don’t really relate to the subject matter of the book. But the two are twined in my mind. And maybe that’s not the most horrible thing. When the song hit it’s popularity (1982) I was, um, much younger than I am now. Billy stayed popular while I went through middle school, the same age Jaycee is in the book. So when I went to dances, or hung out with my friends, chances are I would hear WHITE WEDDING. So when I hear it now, on the Sirius/XM 80s channel, it takes me back to eighth grade. Not all of my memories of that time are fantastic, but the song always makes me smile. Here it is on YouTube.

Let’s welcome a new friend to West of Mars. Sean Kinsley popped into my inbox, said hello, and told me about the song that makes him think of his book, Wicked Tides.

Soulcrusher, by Xandria

 

Short and sweet, huh? And this is some good Susan music, too. Crunchy but with an ethereal vocalist. Why haven’t I heard more of this band? This is good stuff!

Here’s the book description:

A dark fantasy, hardcore action novel…

After intercepting a convoy containing crucial intelligence and decrypting the data, the Kionic Pirates now know their time of plundering the seas may come to an end. An alliance has been formed between the various factions they prey on. With little time to spare the Kionic Pirates begin their own defensive preparations which include sending out various special forces teams to perform recon and sabotage missions.

An area of the world that has not seen major conflict is about to erupt. Run by powerful politicians, kings, warriors, spherists, assassins and underground networks, chances for personal gain are rife. Spherists, people who are able to draw upon and control the energy of ethereal realms, are utilized in everything from encrypting information, communicating long distance, spying and contract killing.

Everything is about to go down and the Kionics are right in the middle of it.

One Kionic spec ops team, lead by Exphasia, a spherist, is sent to the city where she grew up. Followed by her brother Merritt and her hard-headed friend, Rezen, they soon learn that there is far more going on than initially perceived. Aided by an assassin, who partly shares in the Kionic’s own goals, they must recover as much intel as possible and destroy what they can before the Alliance fleet leaves dock.

And there’s something else…

Communication and other spherical activities are being scrambled and hampered by an unknown storm brewing over the mountains to the east. Something is wrong.

And Rezen’s nightmares are getting worse…

Complex, like the song. I can see how it fits, already.

Pick up your own copy today!

US

UK

Google ebooks

What? No B&N or Apple? Oh, I hope that changes…

Connect with Sean:

Facebook 

Twitter

Google Plus 

Website 

I have known Jaime McDougall for … wow. Forever, in Internet terms. She offered me my first-ever guest blog post, so long ago now that I don’t even have a dead link to it in my archives, let alone a live one.

Yeah, that’s some history.

So I’m super glad to host Jaime today. It always feels like paying her back for taking a chance on someone new to the blogging community. And besides, I like the way this girl thinks. I’m pretty confident you will, too.

So, Jaime, what song makes you think of your book?

In many ways, Dark Echoes was my most difficult novel to write. The problem? My main character didn’t want to talk to me.

I knew from the start that Lily Peterson was stubborn and cranky – quite unlike her sister Charlotte and ‘aunt’ Phoebe (the main characters from the first two books). She wanted to do things her own way throughout the book. That certainly made for an interesting character, but it made it slow going for the author trying to get to know her.

In an attempt to ‘unlock’ her from a different angle, I went YouTube \\\’urfing’. I clicked on a music video and then continued to \\\’urf’ from video to video via the recommended videos in the sidebar. Though it took me a while, I finally found ‘Stand in the Rain’ by Superchick and thus found Lily’s anthem.

From then on, I could always listen to ‘Stand in the Rain’ when I felt like I wasn’t quite doing Lily justice. It’s not always easy to write a character who is stronger than you, so listening to this song helped me to find Lily when I was feeling lost.

I especially love this last paragraph. The romantic life of an author… yes, I see that as a romantic statement! Not romantic love. Sheesh. More like the romance and the beauty of writing.

Let’s just move on to the book description, shall we?

Lily Peterson is a wolf who hunts alone. Haunted by the attack that left her best friend permanently human, she will do whatever it takes to catch her prey.

FATE

Jason North is one of the Neuri, a pack of werewolves with special abilities. He knows he’s never met Lily before, but his instincts tell him he has. He’ll keep her close until he figures out why.

EVERYBODY LIES

A war that has played out across lifetimes threatens to consume Echo Falls. Friends become enemies, and old enemies become allies. Lily fights against memories that aren’t hers, forced toward a fate she doesn’t believe in.

Fate is about to learn that Lily doesn’t like being told what to do.

Proof that weres aren’t dead in today’s fiction. Jaime’s got it covered.

Pick up your copy at Amazon (only, unfortunately for those of us who don’t shop there).

Get to know Jaime. You’ll be glad you did.

Website

Facebook

If you’re a Nook owner like myself, you’ll be happy happy happy to hear that Sydney Logan’s book, the one featured yesterday, is now LIVE at Barnes and Noble. No, that doesn’t mean it’s living and breathing (although I bet the characters seem like they do.)

Go buy it!

Ahh, the magic of Triberr. It’s not just good for sharing your blog posts, which is what it was built to do, but it’s also created a community. A bit distant sort of community, but a community nonetheless. Every time I hear from a fellow author from Triberr, I’m glad to strengthen that connection.

Today’s guest is author Sydney Logan, who is a fantastic Tribe mate. I’m glad to host her and have the chance to get to know her better.

Her new release is called Soldier On, and here’s what she’s got to say about the song that makes her think of her book:

This question is so hard to answer, mainly because I’m a music lover and have compiled a YouTube playlist which includes the book trailer plus songs that inspired my new novel, Soldier On. However, the one song that really fits for so many different reasons is “See You Again” by Carrie Underwood. The song can have many interpretations, and that’s perfect for Soldier On. Steph lost her father in Desert Storm and never had the chance to know him, so she will “see him again” someday. Also, because she loves a soldier, she could be faced with long separations, so the line “I will carry you with me” really fits their situation. I love when songs can mean different things to different people, and that is certainly the case with “See You Again.”

Sydney goes on to offer us bonus music. I knew I liked this woman!

Ready for the book description? I sure am. That’s a heck of a teaser she gave us!

Losing her father in Desert Storm has left Stephanie James with a bitter soul when it comes to the military. As a college senior juggling a full course load, Steph’s only goal is to graduate with honors at the end of the semester. She’s focused, determined, and a firm believer in all work and no play. Then she meets Brandon Walker at a New Year’s Eve costume party. Despite his disguise, Steph finds herself attracted to the camouflaged soldier who curls her toes with a scorching midnight kiss.

Brandon is an engineering major and ROTC student from the hills of Kentucky. Growing up as the son of a major general has given Brandon firsthand knowledge of the struggles military families sometimes face. Now that his father’s memory is fading, Brandon is even more determined to make his dad proud and graduate as an officer in the United States Army. Then he meets Stephanie, and suddenly, his focus is less on his military service and more on the pretty brunette who has stolen his heart. When he becomes aware of Steph’s resentment toward the military, he worries their relationship is doomed.

When faced with the realization that she’s fallen in love with a soldier, can Steph’s wounds from the past be healed with love in her present . . . and in her future?

Military romances are HOT right now, so if they’re your cup of tea, be sure to pick up Soldier On. I’ve never read any of Sydney’s books, but I can tell you she’s got a heck of a reputation and is successful. Which means she’s got to be doing a lot of things right!

Get your copy at Amazon.

ETA: Look! It’s now available at B&N, too, for you fellow Nook users! Woot!

And take the time to get to know Sydney, why don’tcha? I bet you’ll like her.

Goodreads 

It’s a two-fer! Something we don’t see her often is an author with two back-to-back weeks in the spotlight. That’s probably because most of you don’t have such close release dates. But my buddy Faith Cotter does, and I’m eager to tell you about this one. It’s an essay, a work of non-fiction, and it’s called Paper Dragons.

Before I tell you much more about it, let’s pique all our interests — mine included — with the important stuff: What song makes Faith think of her essay?

“Blue,” by Mai Yamane for the Cowboy Bebop OST

You’re gonna carry that weight. The Beatles lyric appears in the bottom of the television screen. Blue has just hit its final note, and the story has ended. John turns to me and says, “Did you like it?”

There are tears in his eyes. It is one of the only times I have seen him cry. Yes, I tell him. I loved it.

Blue marked the end of a show that built its story around exploring how we carry the past and make sense of a chaotic world. In a scene that eloquently speaks to why people create narrative, cartographers race against time and nature to map out rapidly changing land, all in a futile effort to creature structure and logic.

You’re gonna carry that weight. It’s why I wrote Paper Dragons. It’s why John and I share stories, and why he will write someday, too: to make sense of it all. To carry the past as best we can.

Wow. Powerful stuff, huh? So… need to know more? I do.

What would you do with time that you didn’t think you’d have? In the wake of an illness that rocked the lives of their family for nearly a decade, Faith and her brother John don’t speak to each other that much anymore. He no longer needs her to help take care of him, and he’s too old for their favorite book, The Velveteen Rabbit. With John staring down the sudden possibility of time, Faith tries to pick up pieces of the past in an attempt to make life whole for both of them again–but she can’t find these relics, pictures of dragons drawn by John’s hands in the early days of his childhood. Paper Dragons examines the kind of grief that is created by lost years, and the stories that break relationships apart–and puts them back together.

Sounds like powerful stuff, huh? (And can I repeat myself any more??? Sheesh. But really. What other word would you use?)

Pick up your copy. Since it’s not available at the wider retailers yet, remember that Smashwords can give you any format you need, and the author (in this case, Faith) gets the highest royalties around. Win-win for everyone, so it’s always worth opening an account and keeping your eyes peeled for the periodic promotions.

Smashwords 

What was it? Last week that I put out a call for reviewers for my buddy Faith Cotter’s new short works. As I said then, Faith is a buddy from the Boy Scouts, a woman I bonded with over writing, archery, and the difficulties of being a female Boy Scout.  She’s good people, and I’m proud to know her.

And as I said, I’m pleased as anything that she’s joining us in the publishing world. Be good to her. Buy her stuff. Read it, leave a few words of review. Or contact her for a review copy.

Remember, reviews help sell books.

So… off the soapbox and onto the important stuff.

Faith, what song makes you think of your story?

Blinding by Florence and the Machine

I first heard Blinding three years ago and the minute I heard it and really dug into the lyrics, I knew that there was something about this song that was very strongly connected to what I write about—the ghost that haunts all my stories, if you will.

Though Clara is a fictional, it is inspired by the first elementary school I attended, with its dark hallways and ornate staircases and nuns in old-fashioned habits. Writing this story was the first time I realized that my memory, as tangible as those years are even now, could play tricks on me. (I was utterly convinced we had a series of taxidermied animals on the way to the principal’s office and I was fascinated by them: a bit of decay amongst people with so much time ahead of them. Old classmates, now grown up, say otherwise.)

As for the story itself, and how it connects with this song: Yes, this is a story about two young girls. But I know that if I am going to write a story that centers around children, there needs to be something else there, something that children can see and something that old folk like me (aka adults) can see as well. I wrote Clara as a story heavy with familiar and unfamiliar motifs and themes in the hope that different readers will interpret those themes differently, based on their lived experiences. For some, it will be political; for others, maybe they will feel nostalgic. For me, this story is really about waking up. It’s about shaking off sleep and standing up and taking off. And through the use of the song’s motifs and archetypes as familiar to us as our childhood school days, Blinding encapsulates Clara so well. And that’s all I want to say about it.

The rest, reader, is up to you.

So… if Faith is old, what does that make me? Decrepit?

Ahh… well, on to the book description:

Catholic school kid Clara Cooper wants to go home. She has some unfinished business to attend to, and really needs God to give her attempt at truancy a bit of heavenly aid. When she fails to convince the nurses, the principal, and her mama that she is sick enough to leave school, she decides to take matters into her own hands. Over the course of her small adventure, she makes friends with an old bear and fellow truant Nhi Nguyen, and discovers that there are lessons that can never be taught within the confines of the towering school that makes up her world.

It reminds me of my own Mannequin… a young girl, learning lessons of life. Pick both stories up and see what you think. Do they compare?

Here’s the buy links:

Smashwords

Amazon

(more retailers to follow!)

Personal Links:

Author website

Twitter

Smashwords

Amazon Author Page

LinkedIn

Facebook

Portfolio

No, I am NOT asking for you to review me. Sheesh. I haven’t been called Short Stuff in years. Guess people got tired of having their kneecaps boxed ’cause that was as high as I could reach.

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West of Mars friend Faith Cotter is about to release two short pieces — one a short story and the other a short narrative essay — and would like to enlist the help of friendly people who’d be interested in leaving some reviews to help her launch these properly.

I’ve read some of Faith’s earlier works. She wrote wonderful essays about life at Scout Camp — the same Scout Camp I used to take my son to until he wasn’t a Cub Scout anymore. But while there’s a hint of nostalgia about those earlier works for me, the fact that she also holds a Journalism degree from Point Park  University and has won awards for her writing ought to help bolster the cause.

Grab a hold of this chance to help a new-to-the-scene writer, why don’tcha? No, I didn’t edit them (sadly) and I haven’t read them. But Faith sure wishes you would.

Drop her an e-mail if you’re interested.

It was only a couple of months ago that Devorah Fox stopped in to tell us about a book. And she’s back! We love repeat visitors here at West of Mars, so we’re more than glad to host Devorah today with her new book, The King’s Redress.

As always, before we tell you about the book, let’s start with the important stuff: the music. And let me tell you, this music is a doozy.

That would have to be “Candleman” by Billy McLaughlin.

There are a number of military campaigns in The King’s Redress and the song’s steady rhythm is like the movement of an army on a march. The percussion sounds like the clopping of a horse’s hooves and the guitar fingering ebbs and flows like the rising and falling action of a story. There’s a Celtic hint to the tune that calls up images of hard life in ancient times. When I hear the song’s final fade I picture a trail that cuts through rolling terrain narrowing as it approaches the horizon, and finally disappearing, like the tale reaching its conclusion. However, just as that road continues on the other side of that hill, albeit out of sight, King Bewilliam’s story may stretch beyond the last page of this volume.

Despite the odds, King Bewilliam persists in his struggle to attain his goals. McLaughlin’s personal story of triumph over adversity is inspiring in its own right.

Okay, guess what? I’ve never heard of Billy McLaughlin. If you haven’t, either, check him out. What a touch this man has on a guitar string. Wow.

So what’s the book about? Other than about a king? Well…

When everyone you trust turns against you, what do you do? Dragon slayer of renown, Robin, King Bewilliam, has bested both man and beast to battle his way back to the Chalklands and reunite with his sons, but discord threatens the kingdom’s hard-won peace and prosperity. War breaks out and Robin finds that there is no one he can trust, not even his closest knights. Fighting for his throne pits him against a shocking, unsuspected rival. With his own life and lives of all his imperiled subjects at stake, Robin faces off against his fiercest enemy in mortal combat.

What a contrast to Naked Came the Sharks, huh? Devorah, my friend, your range is impressive!

If you’re as intrigued as I am, here’s the links you need:

buylink

Connect with Devorah while you’re at it.

blog

Facebook

Twitter

GoodReads

Makes no sense that I can see.

Free publicity.

Why aren’t authors jumping all over this opportunity?

Yeah, I can be slow to respond. And that’s annoying. I’m working on that, I am. But, still.

Free publicity.

What more does an author want?

Go here for the full details.

It was looking like the spotlight would be a bit dark this week when Karen Docter popped into my inbox with a new book! The lady couldn’t have had better timing if she’d tried.

What song makes me think of my book, Killing Secrets (A Thorne’s Thorn Novel)?

A Broken Wing by Martina McBride Martina McBride – A Broken Wing

	Martina McBride – A Broken Wing
	View on www.youtube.com	Preview by Yahoo

Martina’s song is about a controlling man who uses his wife without giving anything back to feed her or her dreams. The song reminds me of Rachel James, the heroine of my new romantic suspense thriller, Killing Secrets. Rachels ex-husband was more controlling than the man in Martina’s song, and he kept her from leaving him by threatening the little girl she’d die to protect. She escapes him for a few months when she helps put him in jail. In Killing Secrets, he finds her and will do anything to get Rachel and little Amanda back. But Rachel’s learned to fly and she’s not going to be caged again. Meeting her real hero, Patrick Thorne, she finds a way to make her dreams come true. Even he recognizes that Rachel is a broken wing when he meets her, but he falls in love with her as they get to know one another. In many ways, he’s as broken as she is. Together, they heal past wrongs and expose the secrets that dominate their lives.

I understand that desire, to never be caged again.

Ready for the book description?

Rachel James’ ex-husband is released from prison determined to reclaim her and her little girl — the child is his key to controlling the James fortune. Frightened, Rachel flees to Denver with the child who hasn’t uttered a word since her daddy went to prison.

Contractor Patrick Thorne wants nothing to do with another of his parents’ charity cases. He failed his own wife so abysmally she took her own life as well as his unborn son’s. After two years, it’s time to concentrate on the bid he’s won and the saboteur trying to destroy his construction firm.

There is no room for trust in either of their hearts. But trust is all that will untangle the secrets that dominate their lives, free a little girl of her silent prison, and save them all from a serial killer who stands too close.

(A Thorne’s Thorns Novel)

Oh, nice! I think I need to read this one. Karen, you’ve made a fan!

Pick up your copy today.

Amazon
Paperback
B&N
Kobo
iTunes
Smashwords

And connect with Karen, too. You’ll be glad you did!

Website
Amazon Author Page/K.L. Docter
Facebook/K.L. Docter
Book Bench for Romance Lovers FB Group
Google+
Linked In
Goodreads
Shelfari
Pinterest

I know people. And they know people. And sometimes, the people I know connect the people they know so the people they know become the people I know and you know something? I love it when that happens.

David Sturman’s one of those people. He used my friend and sometime subcontractor Faith to edit his novel, and she sent him my way for a turn in the spotlight. I’m proud to host him.

His new book is called The Broken Son, and I’ll tell you all about it in a minute. First, let’s hear what song makes him think of his new book. Because, of course, the music’s what’s most important.

my answer would be Pink Floyd’s “Hey You” off their album The Wall.

Here that is:

“The Broken Son” is the first installment in a three part series of short novels. It depicts the life of a pre-teen boy who is emotionally and physically abused while growing up in Detroit, Michigan during the 1980’s. The boy is so distraught with his surroundings he believes that his parents are determined to kill him. To make matters worse, the boy frequently hallucinates about an evil clown who appears to him during his troubles only to add fuel to his parents fire.

Wow. That’s a heck of a subject to tackle. If you like your fiction dark, I think this one’s for you.

Pick up your copy:

Here is the purchase link (note: Amazon only!)
Here is the Facebook link

Author Jenny Hilborne has been a favorite around these parts for awhile now. If you like things a little dark, a little creepy, a little bit hold-your-breathy, Jenny’s the author for you. And yet, at the same time, her fiction makes you think. It’s smart.  I really like it, and I hope you will, too.

Jenny’s got a new book out now, called The Blackest Night. And while I might be a bit biased toward it and its success, I am confident you’ll agree it’s a great read.

Jenny, what song makes you think of your book?

The song that makes me think of my book is George Thorogood’s “Bad To The Bone.” Someone in The Blackest Night is exactly that, and it’s Detective Jackson’s job to find out who.

Short and sweet … and when you read it (note: WHEN you read it), you’ll see why this one needed no extra explanation.

Here’s what the book is about:

Thirteen years ago, a wrongful conviction sent an innocent man to prison. Still mentally and physically scarred six years after his release, William Law believed the darkest days of his life were behind him, until the night he is attacked in a dark alleyway. As Law tries to deal with the outcome and struggles to understand the reasons behind the encounter, a more troubling presence begins to make itself known. 

Meanwhile, a missing teenager’s disappearance is being treated as a murder investigation. Homicide inspector Mac Jackson is leading the inquiries. With no contact, no ransom demand, and all the leads exhausted, his case soon grows cold. Then Jackson receives an anonymous phone call from a tipster with some startling information. As Jackson follows up on the new lead, he unearths clues connecting one crime to another, and learns that the most unconventional path might be the only one that leads to the truth.

Nice, huh?  William Law is one cool character. Jenny’s done a great job creating him.

Pick up your copy:

Amazon US
Amazon UK

Not good enough? Need another way? Try a Goodreads give! *Open until June 5

Be sure to connect with Jenny, too:

It seems people are starting to talk about the Featured New Book Spotlight… Heather Kuehl comes to us today via a publisher’s message board. Welcome, folks. Make yourselves comfortable and stay awhile. I’m glad you’re here.

You’d think at first glance that the song associated with Heather Kuehl’s Of Wolf and Man would be a little obvious, no?

But… think again! Heather’s got another song in mind. Heather, take it away.

Taylor Swift’s Love Song, especially the lines “Romeo save me, they’re trying to tell me how to feel. This love is difficult, but it’s real. Don’t be afraid, we’ll make it out of this mess. It’s a love story, baby just say yes.” 

Aww, isn’t that sweet? A lot sweeter than my choice, that’s for sure…

Are you like me? Do you need to know more about what the book is about? Well, here you go.

Juliet knows that Jensen has a dark secret, especially after he uses his super strength to fight three wolves to save her life. Imagine her surprise when she figures out that he’s a werewolf. Imagine her greater surprise when she discovers that this knowledge puts her life in danger. The three wolves that attacked her were also Weres, and they want Jensen to themselves.

When Juliet and her best friend are kidnapped by the Weres during homecoming Jensen has to do what he can to save Juliet. Will Jensen be able to get to Juliet in time, before the Weres can change her into one of them?

Some intrigue, some shapeshifting, some romance… sounds like Heather’s packed this one full for a super read. I’m thinking this is a don’t miss.

Get your own copy, you Kindle people! 

And connect with Heather. Because we get to do that in this crazy social media age.

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As an experiment, I’ve enrolled both Trevor’s Song and King Trevor in the Kindle Matchbook program.

I have reservations. I’m not a huge Amazon fan, and print sales are … well, quite stagnant. I get it: most of my readers are e-book readers. You guys don’t want print copies.

That’s why I’m skeptical of the entire program. But… nothing ventured, nothing gained. And at the very least, it’ll give me more information the next time a client asks me about it.

Go on. Prove me wrong. Make this worth doing.

(and, hey, if you think about it, go and add a few words of review at Amazon, GoodReads, B&N, or anyplace else you can think of. You’d be surprised how influential YOUR words can be.)

If you’ve looked around the site since the redesign, you’ll know Liz Milliron’s name. Or, you’ll recognize her real name: Mary Sutton, the head of our non-fiction department and one of our e-book formatters. Mary’s one busy woman! On top of writing and being a West of Mars subcontractor, she also has a day job and a family with needs. And I think there are some pets in there, too, but I’m not 100% certain.

She’s here with the first short story in her Laurel Highlands Mystery series. I was thrilled to find a fellow soul sister in Mary, in that on top of everything else, we share a love for Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands. I’m not sure where her love of the area came from, but what’s important here is that Mary shares it.

The story was originally published at Mysterical-E, and she’s got the rights back, so … it was time to let a wider audience know about Jim and Sally. Once you’ve met them, you’ll be glad you did.

So, Mary/Liz… what song reminds you of your book?

I don’t have a particular song in mind for this story. However, thinking of my protagonist, Jim Duncan, always puts me in mind of Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen is classic rock, simple lyrics, just a hard-working every day guy. No punk, no death metal. Just a guy singing about life, usually in a small, working class town. And that’s Duncan, just a guy trying to do a job. He lives in a rural county and likes it. He likes being a cop, being a hard-working guy, doing a job he loves because he wants to do it. And he’s a little working class. But he’s, um, really not lucky in the relationship department. He had a wife he loved and lost her. So if I have to pick a song that represents Jim at this point, it’d be The Boss’s “I’m Going Down.” The song is about a guy who sees a relationship that used to be perfect going down in flames. And that’s pretty much where Jim is in the relationship department – down in flames.

Ahh, Springsteen… I’ve seen him live twice. He truly holds a special place in my heart, and that’s before we get into the really good stories (and the fact that he inspired my own short piece, Keys, which is in Demo Tapes 4).
See? I told you Mary is cool.
Ready for the story’s description?

The Laurel Highlands seem idyllic, but for Trooper First Class Jim Duncan, they’re anything but.

When a young woman from Pittsburgh ends up dead inside a rental cabin Confluence, it’s up to Duncan to find the killer before the event brings unwanted publicity to one of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s most scenic regions. There seems to be a built-in suspect in the local character known as The Creeper, but if Fayette County public defender Sally Castle has anything to say, The Creeper won’t end up in prison without a fight.

Previously published at Mystericale.com, “An Idyllic Place for Murder” is the first story in THE LAUREL HIGHLANDS MYSTERIES series.

This makes me want to read it, and I already have. Don’t be left out.

Get your copy:

Amazon

B&N

Kobo

And Apple, too!

Author website