One of the best things about this here Internet is the way it brings us together. Take today’s feature author, for instance. I met Nessa on a booklovers’ forum, and she is one of the few people who knows what I actually look like. She’s even (brace yourself) been in my house.

So no one’s jumping for joy higher or with more glee — well, other than Nessa herself — than I am to see she’s got a book in print. And best of all, she did us all a zinger and wrote a super book (Okay, speculation there. I haven’t read it yet.) that’s outside the genre we all thought she’d first publish in.

Let’s get right to it. Nessa, what song makes you think of Syrah?

This was actually a very difficult question for me, because I am really bad with music. I’m just not the kind of person who is always listening to it, and associating songs with things is not something I tend to do. However, I asked my friends on Facebook & Twitter and I was told by someone who loved the book that it made them think of Stormy Weather by Ella Fitzgerald. So I’m going to go with that.

Ooh, what a voice. What a legend. Mmmmmmm….

Want to know what the book’s about? I sure do!

All Corked Up: Book One

All Shawn Neale is looking for when he stumbles into All Corked Up on Christmas Eve is some wine recommendations. What he finds is an instant attraction to Royce Wilkinson, the shop’s owner. After a few weeks of flirting during shopping and some semi-dates at Royce’s wine tastings, they decide on a real date. It goes well, but life isn’t that simple.

Shawn wants to buy Delicto, the local pub he manages. He’s been planning his life around this for years, but when the owner, who believes being gay is an illness, discovers Shawn went out with Royce, he gives Shawn an ultimatum: stop dating guys or he won’t get to buy Delicto. It’s a heartbreaking quandary: Can Royce and Shawn be happy with a secret relationship until Shawn buys Delicto or is Shawn going to have to choose between his dream job and his dream guy?

Ready? Go get your own copy!

Buy from the publisher
Buy from ARe
Buy from Rainbow
Buy from OmniLit
Buy from Amazon
Buy from B&N

Connect with a really cool cat.
Facebook
Twitter
Email:
Author bio

This is one of those rarities for me… a book I edited that I can tell you I edited — some folk like to keep their editors close by, fearing being told they will have to wait weeks or months for an opening.

I loved working on this book, I love how it turned out, and I think anyone who likes a good, fun romp with knights and ladies and hired hands and treachery and handsome men and valiant women… well, it’s all right here for ya. Have at it.

The book is Lady Gwendolyn, by my bud Magnolia Belle. And if I didn’t convince you yet that you need this one, check out what song makes Belle think of her book:

Bridge’s Ode, first track on “Celtic Classic: An Enchanted Journey” fits the mood of “Lady Gwendolyn”. It hearkens back to medieval times where the wild, piercing scenery of England and Scotland could steal your breath and the hardness of life could break your heart.

Here’s the book trailer link

Belle makes really good book trailers — and I am not a fan of trailers. But somehow, Belle has a touch and I have yet to watch one that she’s made and come away with a migraine.

Ready for the blurb?

In early medieval days, bandits beset a caravan taking Lady Gwendolyn Hampton of England to marry Angus Dewar in Scotland. In the confusion, she escapes, while the bandits think her maid, Madeleine, is her. From one peril to another, Madeleine must keep the ruse in order to stay alive. Lady Gwendolyn’s brother, Lord Richard Hampton, wants Madeleine as his consort, and tries to rescue her. Through betrayal, intrigue and murder, she becomes a woman of title, and must decide if she wants the life he offers.

Ready to get a copy? I know you are!
Smashwords (affiliate link!)
Amazon

Website
Facebook
Blog
Twitter
Goodreads
Smashwords
Amazon Author page

We’re back after a short hiatus… this feature is all about you guys, and your desire to participate, remember. Keep on spreading the word… I love meeting new folk.

Like Matt Schroeder. He came to me … shoot, I don’t remember how. Doesn’t matter; he’s here now, with his book, The Rest is Up to You.

Matt, what song makes you think of your book?

The Greatest By Kenny Rogers

Matt didn’t say anything else, which makes me think this is a self-explanatory song. I linked to a lyrics video if this is a new one to you, as it was to me.

So what’s the book about?

Sometimes, horrible things happen to good people, but the outcomes of those life-changing events often depend upon the motivation of the individual to overcome the hardships. Ohio State graduate and motivational speaker, Matthew Schroeder, rose above his own personal tragedy, and his compelling story is one worth hearing, for it comes from his heart.

In 1997 on a frigid and rainy December afternoon, Matt was driving himself to work, significantly slower than the posted speed limit, when his tires spun out on a sheet of black ice, and he wrapped his vehicle around an electrical power pole. The transformer then fell on top of Matthew’s vehicle, pinning him helplessly inside.

Pick up a copy for yourself!

CreateSpace eStore
Signed copies can be obtained directly from Matt. If you choose the signed copy option please send me a private message at, matt at mattschroeder.org and details will be exchanged.

To acquire my motivational and inspirational book in digital format see the Kindle, eBook version.

Website

Yep, another week with no Featured New Book.

This is something I’d like to see continue and grow, not wither and die, because I’d like to build on the Featured New Book for some of the changes I’d like to implement here.

That’s why there’s been an overall lack of blogging. Between summer being the time when all you writers finish up your revisions and decide it’s time for an edit and the behind-the-scenes changes, things have been busy here.

You’re going to like what I’m rolling out. It’ll be slow, and it’ll be awhile (I’m still looking for the right accountant, which is frustrating because the other two pieces came together so quickly and easily), but rest assured, there are some really good things in store.

Jump on board. Tell your other friends to send me some Featured New Book Spotlight pieces.

It’s gonna be better than good.

The best part of this socially connected world of ours is that we get to meet neat people without ever getting out of our pajamas — and there’s no innuendo or impropriety about it.

Okay, maybe it’s lazy.

There’s nothing lazy about Marat M’saev Daan, who is a repeat spotlight holder — not a hog. Never! Just a driven, accomplished writer who spends more time writing than I currently do (it’ll all be worth it as West of Mars grows. You’ll see!).

So here’s Marat with the song that inspired his new book, Carnival Rust.

Although this book was given name by same named song by Poets of the Fall, song that reminds me most of this book will be “Diggin’ in the dirt” by Stefanie Heinzmenn. A lot of bad emotions have moved me to write this book and in the end after every dark night, there is a new dawn with sun rising that promises us a new smile on our faces that will make us even more beautiful that we were the day before.

Ready for what it’s about? I sure am. With a title like Carnival Rust, you know it’s going to be good.

Pain, sorrow, anger, passion are emotions that moved writer to start writing this book. Sometimes, when we are cornered and don’t know what to do we have those emotions and want to burn the whole world. A moment later like rain is falling all over us and we feel like unprotected robots exposed to ones nemesis creating of us “Carnival of rust”.

After long thinking, I have sorted this book under poetry cause no matter how short stories are, their form belongs the most under this category.

Nice, huh?

Need some buy links? I sure do.
For now, book is available on CreateSpace and Amazon (both US and Europe), but I am working on it to publish this book on few other places. Buying links are:
CreateSpace
Amazon US
Amazon Europe

Connect with my bud Marat, why don’t you?
Website
Facebook page
Twitter
Blogger –
GoodReads

It looks like word of the Featured New Book spotlight is spreading. I’ve got a bunch of posts to bring you guys — keep it up! I love the deluge.

Today’s author is Frederick Brooke, who I’d never met before he dropped into my inbox. Good to know you, sir! After reading this post, I hope you’ll all join me in hoping Frederick isn’t a stranger in West of Mars-ville.

His new book is called Collateral Damage, and here’s Frederick himself to tell you more:

The whole time I was writing COLLATERAL DAMAGE, I had Eminem’s song “I’m Not Afraid” going through my head. I finally realized why when I was working on a scene with Michael Garcia. Michael has had some of the same troubles with drugs and anger and abandonment that Eminem riffs about.

I guess I had to
Go to that place to get to this one
Now some of you
Might still be in that place
Just lettin you know that you’re not alone
If you’re tryin to get out
Holla if you feel like you’ve been down the same road
Just follow me, I’ll get you there

If he could, Michael would follow. Eminem captures the desperation and helplessness of an addict, and the rage and complete lack of self-esteem that so often go with it. Michael would follow if he had someone to follow – but isn’t that how it is with anthems like “I’m Not Afraid”? They inspire us. The singer can also be the leader we follow, if only virtually.

The language of the song is beautiful, arresting, a vision:

Okay, quit playing with the scissors and shit and cut the crap
I shouldn’t have to rhyme these words in a rhythm for you to know it’s a rap
You said you was the king, you lied through your teeth
For that fuck your fillings, instead of getting crowned you’re getting capped

Lord Byron himself would have admired Eminem’s wordplay, weaving a jumble of images involving the creative dentistry of rappers, their visions of royalty, and the rituals of kings and crowns. Through his own art, Eminem finds his own way out of the deadly maze of drug addiction.

My character, Michael Garcia, is also a poet. I don’t want to spoil the story by quoting the whole poem here. But the question of whether Michael will find his way out of the maze through art or any other means is one essential element in the book COLLATERAL DAMAGE.

Michael and his friend Husker put on a big reunion of Iraq War veterans in the book, and they call the party “Collateral Damage.” When Annie, his old lover, asks him how they came up with that name, Michael doesn’t have to think long about the answer. “It’s who we are. What we are. They had their war, they got what they were after. Think about how we’re damaged.” To which Annie Ogden says: “I’m not damaged. Speak for yourself.”

Ooh, love it — and I’m not much of an Eminem fan, as catchy as his music is.

Ready for the blurb?

Annie Ogden is back. Like it or not, she’s about to learn about Collateral Damage.

A love story.

When Annie Ogden’s ex-boyfriend Michael Garcia reappears, she has to confront a lie dating back to her time in Iraq. Will she go back to hot, passionate Michael, who has developed a disturbing interest in meth, or stick with her pudgy PI partner and fiancé, Salvatore?

A murder.

The calculus changes when Michael is arrested for murder. When Salvatore refuses to help investigate, Annie is forced to try to find the killer herself. Meanwhile her sister’s creepy husband, Todd, is making more of an ass of himself than usual.

An obsession.

Annie’s problems with three obsessive men suddenly pale in significance when she realizes the killer has set his sights on her. Having changed his mind about helping her, Salvatore finds himself in a desperate race against time, the only man capable of finding the killer before it’s too late.

And some links for you, too!

First off, the all-important buy link. It’s a Kindle-only book, so us without Kindles are out of luck (bummer).

Now, on to the social fun!
email
Twitter
Amazon page
Goodreads
Facebook:
my blog
Google +

Sometimes, you guys find me and I never find out how. I see this all the time on the editing side, but I’m even more thrilled when you guys spread the Featured New Book word and new authors find me. Today’s author, MaryAnn Kempher, falls into that category.

So let’s get busy.

What song makes you think of your book?

It’s an older song, called Friends and Lovers by Gloria Loring. It’s perfect for my book. It’s about two best friends fighting the romantic love that’s growing between them, and finally realizing they can be both–friends and lovers.

Why do I think I remember this song? Wow. Making me feel my age here!

Book blurb:

Instead of feeding her late-night appetite, a midnight food run nearly gets 28-
year-old Katherine O’Brian killed. She’s the only person to see the man who
brutally murdered a local woman, and the killer is hell-bent on making sure she
doesn’t talk.

Scott Mitchell left a broken engagement behind when he moved to Reno, and the
last thing he needs is more melodrama. But when he and Katherine are paired
for a college project, that’s what he gets. It can be very distracting when
someone is out to kill your lab partner. Together, they try to figure out what the
police haven’t been able to—the identity of the murderer. Passion flares, but with
Katherine’s life in danger, romance seems like more than a bad idea.

Scott and Katherine will face jealousy, misunderstandings, lust, and rivals, not to
mention attempted murder—and all before their first real date.

This book can be purchased at Amazon.

Connect with MaryAnn:
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads
Pinterest

Yep, it’s one of my favorite months of the year: The Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale!

Why Summer/winter? Because e-book readers live all over the planet, and on half the planet right now, it’s winter. I’m not sure I could ever adapt to snow in July, but maybe I could. It’d be quite the adventure to find out.

Back to the sale… Head over to Smashwords. Pick up some of your favorite works of Rock Fiction, browse for some goodies, or even have some fun with the coupons I’ve set up for my own books. I know you guys have all seven, so why not take this opportunity to introduce a friend … or five… or ten… to the zany antics of Trevor, Mitchell, and the gang?

Here’s a hint: all it’ll cost you is the time (mostly; you can afford a buck for the King, right?). This month is all about spreading the word, so let’s get that word spread, far and wide!

And we’re back! (Did we actually take a week off? Feels like we did.)

As always, I’m trying to spread my net wide and far, and so I reach out to authors when I can. Today’s author is one person I reached out to a few months back. Welcome PJ Adams, everyone!

What song makes you think of your book?
Something, by the Beatles – not actually the Beatles version, but a lovely live version by George Harrison and Eric Clapton

My new novel, The Object of His Desire, is the story of a young American woman living in London and her encounters with a wealthy and powerful member of the English aristocracy. He’s a man who’s used to getting what he wants, but also a man with dark secrets buried away in his past. She’s drawn to him, even though she knows she shouldn’t be; he’s drawn to her, even though he never allows people to get too close to him. There *is* something in the way she moves that attracts him like no other lover, something in the way he woos her…

The song is about that indefinable something – you know it’s there, even though you might struggle to put it into words. It just is. And that’s exactly what there is between Trudy and Will in my novel: despite all the objective understanding that any relationship would be a bad thing, there’s something drawing them relentlessly together.

And apart from it being a truly beautiful love song, it was one of those moments when George Harrison was given the spotlight in the Beatles, and even though I’m a child of the 1970s and I probably shouldn’t have a Beatle of my own, if ever I did it would be George.

Cool! The era of lusting for a Beatle isn’t over. I thought I was too young for it. Glad to see I’m not.

BLURB:

The Object of His Desire by PJ Adams

When Trudy goes to her estranged brother’s wedding, the last thing she expects is one of those moments: a handsome stranger, their eyes meeting across a crowded room… a tempting, but dangerous stranger. Determined to find out more, she discovers that dark secrets bind him to her brother; she also learns that he’s the kind of man who gets what he wants, and what he wants right now is Trudy.

Introducing her to the world of the super-wealthy, he showers her with designer clothes, shoes, and diamonds, whisking her off to dinner dates by private jet… what more could a girl want?

But as she finds out more about him, Trudy begins to wonder if she can ever love a man she can never fully trust. A man involved in murder and blackmail, who may just be using her as an alibi. Should she run or let herself fall for him? And will he give her a choice?

A passionate erotic romance, where scandals buried away in the past lead to murderous intrigue in the present, in the intensely steamy world of the super-wealthy and powerful.

BUY LINKS:
Amazon US
Amazon UK

and in paperback…
CreateSpace
Amazon US
Amazon UK

Other links:
Web/blog
Facebook
Twitter

The ladies in my book club, who I adore almost unconditionally, encouraged the group to read a particular book. It’s a fictionalized account of an author and his first wife, and that’s hopefully the most telling detail I’ll reveal about it.

In case you can’t tell, I hated it. Got halfway through and realized I didn’t care about the characters — and this was a character-driven book. In fact, I hated the two main characters. Loathed them, even.

I’d been warned: The book could be a trigger book. The husband could be demanding and a bastard. A cheater, which wasn’t news. And the wife was passive. Hubby’s out of town? She moons for him. Had no life other than him. And then she gets pregnant and… is passive about that, too. Not even passive aggressive. Just passive. Completely devoid of emotion.

It’s hard to read and sympathize with a passive character. It’s even harder — for me, at least — to empathize with a passive character. Maybe it’s because commercial fiction — which this wasn’t. It’s firmly in the women’s fiction category — is full of strong, take-charge women.

But then I think back to a collection of short stories I read in grad school, back before the trend for women to kick butt first and take names later. I had the same reaction, and that was how many years ago? Clearly, my reaction has little to do with the past fifteen years and the past five in particular.

Maybe it’s my tastes. Maybe it’s that I was eight years old when a woman with cinnamon buns on either side of her head grabbed the gun out of her (to be revealed) twin brother’s hands and turned the whole idea of rescuing the princess on its head. Right then, I learned that women don’t have to be passive — and that we shouldn’t be.

Yeah, okay, love makes a girl do weird things sometimes (raising the question if it’s even love), but this book? The female character was passive from the get-go. Mommy decided she was too fragile to be allowed out of the house. So the character shut up and let herself be treated that way. Compliant. No escapes into the garden to prove Mommy wrong.

Ick. Just not my type of woman.

And the husband? There was no depth to him, no feeling that he was a real, live, breathing person. The worst part is that in this case, he was! But he never transcended being words on a page. He lacked dimension — but given that the book was told from the point of view of this passive woman, is that a surprise? A bland narrator will turn everything else around her into the same shade of monotone grey.

Including the setting. They travelled all over the world, these two. They were real people. They truly did this. Yet — and you can probably anticipate what I’m going to say — the settings blended into each other. The gritty and the gorgeous, it all had the same tone to it.

It was like eating unflavored oatmeal with too much water in it. Or paste.

To make matters worse, chapters tended to end with that heart-wrenching twist that manipulates the reader. Even without the visual cue that a chapter was ending (you know: the white space at the bottom of the page), a sharp reader can tell it’s coming. The tone of the narrative changes.

A sharp reader can tell they are being manipulated. And sharp readers generally don’t like to be manipulated, even in the name of literary brilliance.

So I’m declaring this one a failure. And I’m going to issue an appeal to my writer friends: don’t do this. Your readers need to be able to identify with your characters, and those characters need to be alive, so alive that when the reader puts the book down, they miss them.

I daresay not many people miss passive people.

I have been reading a lot lately, so much so that I ought to turn some of these Rock Fiction explorations into Readalongs. The truth is that I’ve been devouring a lot of these books.

While Denise Vega’s Rock On wasn’t one I devoured as quickly as I have the others, it was still an okay read. Click on through and read my thoughts on this YA novel.

I know cool people.

It really IS that simple. I know cool people. Lots of them. And M. E. Sutton is one of them. Best of all, I know her in real life, too. She’s one of my more favorite real-life people, and we simply don’t get to spend enough time together.

It ought to go without saying that when her new book came out, I was all too glad to have her swing by and tell us what song makes her think of her book.

What song makes me think of this book? I’d have to say “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson. It is from the Princess Diaries 2 soundtrack. They play it during the parade, where Mia goes up to a little girl at the children’s home who is being bullied by some older kids. Mia asks if the girl wants to be a princess, and she’s says, “I’m too little.” And Mia says they are all princesses and leads them in the parade. For me that kind of encapsulates the whole series message of Hero’s Sword, that even when the world is trying to put you down and keep you in the place others have decided you should be, you have to “break away,” spread your wings, and fly – be true to yourself.

“I’ll spread my wings and I’ll learn how to fly
I’ll do what it takes til’ I touch the sky
I’ll make a wish
Take a chance
Make a change
And breakaway”

Your favorite metal head here has to admit a soft spot for Kelly Clarkson…

But… M E, what’s the book about?

Eighth-grader Jaycee Hiller is beginning to fear she only imagined her trip to Mallory. But when a rainy afternoon leaves her with hours of playing Hero’s Sword, her favorite video game, she finds herself drawn back into the game – literally.

STORM CLOUDS is the exciting second volume of the HERO’S SWORD saga – chronicling Jaycee Hiller’s trials in eighth grade, and her exciting adventures in Mallory, the setting of her favorite video game. Jaycee enters the video game realm via a special controller and is caught up in the action of this fantasy realm.
In STORM CLOUDS, a valuable jewel belonging to the neighboring estate of Devin, the Sapphire Star, is missing, stolen at the Fall Consortium. Lady Starla stands accused of the theft. Devin’s demands are clear: return the Star or they will take it back by force.

Now it’s up to Lyla Stormbringer to find the Star and the thief. before Mallory finds itself at war.

You know you need a copy…
Amazon:

Kobo

iBooks

B&N

Goodreads

Website

Rock fiction alert! Rock Fiction alert!!!

Why Anne-Marie and I haven’t hooked up sooner is beyond me. I think we’ve tried and it’s been me who’s dropped the ball. It’s not for lack of intent, but for lack of time, I promise!

So Anne-Marie is here today to talk to us about the latest entry into her quadrilogy, Behind Blue Eyes. This volume is called Let My Love Open the Door and why do I feel the need to windmill my strumming arm and smash a guitar before handing things over to a deaf, dumb, and blind kid who plays a mean pinball?

On that note… Here’s Anne-Marie.

What a wonderfully easy question when your book series is based on a famous song. Or is it? The quadrilogy is called Behind Blue Eyes, and so one might be tempted to start humming along with Roger Daltrey or even delve deep into Pete Townshend’s more haunting solo version. But then, you start to think about the three books you have published so far, each with its own Who-related title, and choosing between Love Reign o’er Me, Love Ain’t for Keeping, and finally, Let My Love Open the Door seems impossible. They’re all great songs, and they each have a role to play in telling Ian Harrington’s story. Ian is the main character across the four-part rock and roll saga, a talented but troubled young rock musician who has fled his homeland to start a new life, burdened by a terrible secret and wanting a career in music. He is at once a bad man and sad man, a creation of my imagination from when I first heard the song Behind Blue Eyes in the late 1970s. I threw him into the Toronto of that time, added a great cast of characters to complicate his new life, and weaved a rock and roll story with drama, romance, and to quote a reader review, “euphoric highs and startling crashes”. And so we come full circle back to the original song, which was the catalyst and inspiration for the entire tale. I present you the Pete Townshend version, if only to give full credit to the man who started me on this writing journey.

Ooh, yeah… this is my sorta stuff!! Check OUT this blurb:

It’s 1986. Ian Harrington is living the good life in Toronto: he is the lead singer of Something Else and is raising his six-year-old daughter, Victoria. His life is busy and creatively satisfying, but he has not been able to hold a romantic relationship since Sarah. A chance encounter with a former flame offers the possibility of lasting love, but the liaison is fraught with conflicts and challenges both new and echoed. By following his heart, Ian risks having his world turned upside down. Standing skill threatens far more…

Links!
Behind Blue Eyes: Part Three: Let MyLove Open the Door (paperback)

Lulu author spotlight for Behind Blue Eyes series

General Amazon page

Book 3 (Let My Love Open the Door) Amazon link

Author link for Kobo

Book 3 Kobo link

Personal links:
Author website

Facebook page

Twitter @BadManSadMan

Goodreads:

Still on hiatus from the fancy book review people, so I’ve been reading and reading the stuff that’s piled up over here. It feels good to make even a small dent in the TBR mountain ranges.

So check out my review for Allison Harnby’s It’s Not You, It’s Me. One of those fun reads that stops just short of being a West of Mars Recommended Book and … hmm. Maybe I need a new category. West of Mars Good Book.

What do you think?

I first came across Lily Harlem’s name because she’s written a Rock Fiction trilogy (Mattress Music, Mirror Music, Menage a Music). I haven’t read them yet, but hope to.

However, SHE came across ME while looking for some promo for her new book, Breathe You In. And the Featured New Book is here for exactly that: Promo for your new book.

(If this isn’t showing right, yell at Tim at Tech No Riot. He’s supposed to fix this stuff for me.)

So… Lily, tell me what song makes you think of Breathe You In?

With Or Without You by U2

Breathe You In is a story that has been lurking in my mind for years. Before I became an author of erotic romance I worked in London as a nurse. As part of a post graduation course I got to spend time observing cardiac surgery which looking back was when this story was born. Because it wasn’t just the surgeries that fascinated me but also caring for these patients after life saving and life changing operations.

Seeing a chest wide open, a heart beating, being repaired or even transplanted held something magical for me, so much more so than a hip replacement or a bowel operation. I remember chatting to a woman in the post-op ward about her operation and she was completely fascinated that I’d observed her surgery and actually seen her heart. In fact she made me come and speak to her husband about it when he visited that evening. He looked at me as though I’d told him I’d seen a fairy at the bottom of the garden. I’ll never forget that look on his face.

Why? Because the heart is the foundation for our lives, not just the chemical, electrical and engineering qualities it possesses, but also the way we refer to it when we love someone. It’s more than that even, we say it breaks when someone leaves us, pines for a lover we are separated or beats more quickly when we’re held, kissed, made love to.

The heart is an organ referred to more than any other in our body in our day-to-day lives. When I started outlining the plot of Breathe You In it was these thoughts that kept playing with the threads of the storyline. I became fascinated by the thought of a girl obsessing over the recipient of her dead husband’s heart. She wanted to see him, to know where the heart that loved her so much was when she went to sleep at night. It’s the one piece of him that she cannot stop thinking about. I guess that’s where that haunting U2 song, With Or Without You comes into play. The words, not being able to live with someone or without them worked for the situation my heroine found herself in. She’s torn up with grief but also fascinated to find the one part of her husband that is still alive, still breathing, beating. I even managed to give the songs references to thorns into her thoughts at the end of the first chapter.

In the UK donor families and recipients can communicate and even meet but it has to be mutually agreed and coordinated through a liaison officer. In my story, Katie, can’t wait, she has to see the donor, but that’s it, just see him from a distance, and she hires a private detective to seek him out. But when Ruben Strong turns out to be not only fit and healthy but gorgeous and charming things start to get complicated, not least because she doesn’t tell him what he has inside of his chest that she’d come looking for.

It was this complex tangle of emotions that for me, as a writer, were so much fun to play with, and satisfying too, because I didn’t want this to be a sad story, I wanted it to be about overcoming tragedy, trauma, getting out of the lowest point of your life and finding love and happiness, passion and laughter once more. It’s an emotional tale that is fun and sexy too, my very favorite sort to read and write, and I even managed to get the song With Or Without You into the novel because U2 (like me) were her husband’s favourite band and that leant itself to a mention.

One other song features in the book, The Police, Every Breath You take. That worked so well for my hero and heroine’s first dance, in fact my beta reader wrote a comment when checking through the manuscript that she was crying with joy at that point and had to walk away and compose herself before she could carry on reading – which I took as a compliment!

Reviews so far are very positive, much to my delight, and out of my 30 novels and short novels that I’ve published, this one is certainly a story that tugged my heartstrings when writing it – pun intended. I hope you’ll check out Breathe You In. Thanks so much for reading about the special songs which inspired several scenes within this story and have a wonderful day.

Yowza! How can you resist after THAT??? I sure can’t.

Need a blurb? Sure, you do!

Soul-aching desire was just the beginning!

If the road to Heaven starts in Hell then I was ready to start climbing my way out and Ruben Strong was the man to accompany me. With his devastating good looks, seductively sexy charm and lust for adrenaline he was sure to make it a sensual and erotic experience as well as one to re-awake the passionate, throw-caution-to-the-wind woman I’d once been.

I’d given Ruben something, though, without him realizing, and that gift had come from the man I’d loved before. But I couldn’t tell Ruben. I had to keep that a tight secret even as our naked bodies wound together, sought out pleasure and hit the dizzy heights of ecstasy as one. Because Ruben had my husband’s heart, literally, and that heart was still in love with me, so it seemed, and now I was in love with Ruben.

Emotions tangled with bliss, and fears were locked away as I surrendered to the touch of Ruben’s hands, the taste of his skin and the sounds of his pleasure. I couldn’t deny that Ruben had brought me back to life the same way I had him and there was no way I was giving up that feeling, not for anyone.

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Amazon US
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(Not available anywhere other than Amazon)

Lily Harlem Links
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Ash Krafton and I met online — and THEN discovered we’re both part of one of the best writing groups out there, Pennwriters. (You, too, can be a Penn. State residency is not required!)

We share many loves, me and Ash. And you bet your booties I’d love to edit her work — not because it needs it but so I get a first look at it!

She’s got a new book out as of May 7, so she’s here to tell you about it… at least, all about how it relates to music.

Ash? Take it away, girlfriend:

So, thanks for stopping by, rockers and readers. I hope you want to know the song behind my latest novel, BLOOD RUSH (Demimonde #2) because I really want to share my muses with you.

Susan already knows what kind of music I have playing in my head all the time. We share a lot of the same favorites. In fact, when she’s not around, I call her my “sister from another mister”. We are two of the same limited edition. 🙂

This book doesn’t have only one song, though. That’s because, at this point in the story, everyone has their own number.

I’ve been “living” inside the Books of the Demimonde for so long now that my characters are absolutely autonomous. See, there is Sophie, whose song is “Not Enough” by Lacuna Coil (Shallow Life, 2009) It’s her plea to her estranged Demivampire lover, Marek, who may be too far Fallen to come back to her. “I don’t want to be safe/ I want to go down with you/ Together, we will find a way to come back.”

Then there is Marek, whose song is darker and considerably more out of control–and one snap away from the jaws of insanity. The song that is Marek’s…”This Is How I Disappear” by My Chemical Romance (Black Parade, 2006) “And without you is how I disappear/ And live my life alone forever now” Gerard Way always has a way of sounding both maniacal and loveable, doesn’t he?

And Rodrian. Ah, adorable, luscious Rodrian who is too desirable to know what’s good for him. He’s trying to watch over his brother’s girl, but men will be men…and Sophie’s blood is too powerful for him to resist for very long.

Rodrian’s song is my special gift to Susan because I’d bet dollars to drumsticks that she’d never heard it before: “Beautiful” by Spyair (Rockin’ the World, 2011). They’re a J-Rock band (short for Japanese rock) that my teen daughter adores. They’ve struck the proverbial chord with me even though I have NO IDEA what they are saying.

Songs aren’t only about the lyrics, you see. It’s the music behind the words and the voice that sings the words. Spyair’s vocalist, Ike, has a delicious rocker’s voice, with the right balance of melody and strain that lets you see him in your head. He is putting every inch of his soul into that song and soul is absolutely instrumental to the survival of my Demivamps.

So, who knows–Ike might be singing about a 2011 Camaro or the Grand Canyon or the Doctor’s Tardis in the song “Beautiful”–and those are all truly beautiful things–but the soul with which he sings it can only be born of a desperate desire for an unattainable woman.

For the record? Ash is dead-on right. Never even HEARD of Spyair before now! Not terribly surprising, though: I don’t know a lot about Japanese rock.

Need to know more about the book and this world? I do. Here’s the blurb:

Sophie doesn’t believe in happily ever after. These days, she’d settle for alive after sunrise.

Advice columnist and newly-appointed oracle to the demivampire, Sophie Galen has more issues than a Cosmo collection: a new mentor with a mean streak, a werewolf stalker she can’t shake, and a relationship with her ex’s family that redefines the term complicated. And then there’s her ex himself, who is more interested in playing leader of the vampire pack than in his own salvation.

Becoming a better oracle is tough enough, but when Sophie encounters a deadly enemy – one she never dreamed of facing – it will take everything she’s ever learned in order to survive.

The book review people haven’t called lately, which has been a good thing. Everyone needs a break now and then, even though I miss the paychecks. (Go buy some of my books and make up for that, will ya?)

One of the best benefits has been that I’ve been able to catch up on the books that have piled up around here. Two of those books (but not all) have been Rock Fiction.

The Road to Fluffer, Dan Schell’s debut novel was a lot of fun. Read my review.

The pseudonymous author Rosemary Martin hit the market in 2005 with It’s a Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod Murder. Looks like it’s out of print and only available for Kindle, but … well, see my thoughts on it.

I’ve been friends with author Shelley Munro since… forever. Or since not long after I began blogging. Take your pick; sometimes, they feel the same.

So I’m more than glad to host her today to talk about her first-ever self-published book, One Night of Misbehavior. Let’s get right to it.

Although I love music I tune out during writing, which means special playlists for my characters or work in progress are wasted. A bomb going off might get a notice, but songs on the radio or iPod, not so much. Susan’s question about one song to fit my story One Night of Misbehavior, a modern retelling of Cinderella, put me in panic-mode. Did the woman know she was putting me under so much pressure?

A few weeks ago I attended a birthday party with a 80s rock theme. We dressed in costumes—hello Cyndi Lauper—and had a ball revisiting our teens with classic rock blasting in the background. Ever since that party I’ve had a couple of earwigs—really bad earwigs that just won’t leave me alone. When I started thinking about my story and the earwig struck I thought maybe it was kismet.

We meet Charlotte Dixon, our modern day Cinderella, just as she’s starting to rebel against her future in household management. One of my earwigs is We’re Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister. They’re rebelling and so is Charlotte, which means this song works for her because she’s not gonna take it anymore.

Meantime I need to foist my other earwig off on someone because Def Leppard keep wanting to Pour Some Sugar on ME, and it’s slowly sending me mad!

Yeah, Joe Elliot and crew can do that… Both songs are classic, though. Good choices, Shelley!

Need more details about the book?

He wears his scars on the outside. She keeps hers safe inside.

Charlotte Dixon ignores her stepmother’s edict and, in an act of disobedience, attends one of the social events of the year—a masquerade costume ball. Charlotte’s naughtiness escalates when she dances and smooches with a sexy mystery man. The night of anonymous passion that follows makes her yearn for a different life, but the next day she’s back to her dull routine of household management.

Advertising tycoon, Ash Marlborough is about to set a private investigator on the trail of his nameless princess when she waltzes right into his place of work. Charlotte is shocked to meet her masked man in the flesh, and even more perturbed when he asks her out on a date. Despite craving another night of sexy loving, she doesn’t have time for a man, not when she wants to reinvent herself and grasp a new, improved life with both hands. But Ash knows what he wants, and he’s determined to win the heart of his princess. Let the dance of seduction commence.

Shelley’s a master, I’m telling you. Oh, but don’t forget the book’s disclaimer:

Warning: Contains a conniving stepmother, selfish stepsisters, a grandmother with fairy godmother tendencies and a sexy masked man who is willing to face them all for the love of a good woman.

Pick up your copy!
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Since I’ll be doing a booksigning at the Pennwriters conference in May, I’ll be picking up some print copies of the books to sell.

If you need an autographed print copy of any of the Trevolution books, now’s the time to speak up and let me know!

I hope to be back next week with a Featured New Book… but I need a book (other than my own!) to feature!

I belong to a couple of writers’ organizations. Big ones, that have been around a long time. I belong to some newer ones, too, but right now, we’re focusing on Pennwriters, an awesome group of mostly (but not entirely) Pennsylvania writers.

I’m happy to host Alana Lorens today. Her new book, Second Chances, is set here in Da Burgh — that’s Pittsburgh for you not hip enough to know the name of the beloved major city I live near. Second Chances is the second in the Pittsburgh Lady Lawyers series. But I bet you can read this one before picking up the first.

So… Alana, what song makes you think of your book?

Recipe For Love— by Harry Connick, Jr. My 40-something heroine Inessa Regan finally allows herself to give in to her feelings for her much younger Iraq veteran honey Kurt Lowdon, while sitting in the office they share late one night, reviewing secretary resumes, drinking wine and listening to old Harry sing as only he can. She wakes up the next morning singing this song and blushing like a much younger woman, happy in love.

Harry Connick, Junior! Been awhile since I’ve heard his name!

On to the book blurb:

This women’s fiction story begins the day attorney Inessa Regan receives a pink slip after ten years of faithful service. She’s been a mid-level associate her whole career, partners telling her what to do, providing her with an office and everything she needs. Thrown out into the legal world on her own, she doesn’t know how she’ll survive.

Her neighbor brings her first client, Kurt Lowdon, a young Iraq veteran with cancer, who’s looking just to have a will made. Inessa struggles to give Kurt what he needs, and he helps make it easy for her.

Once his immediate needs are met, he takes her under his wing and brings her more clients as well as a place to open an office to see them. Things begin to fall together for her, including a very special friendship with Kurt that becomes something more.

But his past military service, and the friends he’s made there, begin to cause problems for them both, as well as issues his drug-addicted sister delivers to his doorstep. He still hasn’t kicked his cancer, either, and Inessa wonders if falling in love with him is a blessing or a curse.

Here’s the book trailer for SECOND CHANCES

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