Yes, boys and girls. It’s true.

The long-awaited (by me, anyway. The heck with the rest of you) short story anthology, Pink Snowbunnies in Hell, has been published.

Yep. Pink Snowbunnies.

The story of how this anthology came about is every bit as delightful. There was a conversation raging on the Kindle Boards, and Debora Geary, the eventual editor, made some comment, something along the lines of, “Pink snowbunnies will ski in Hell before that happens.”

And… we were off and running.

I wasn’t going to submit. Seriously. Talk about low self-esteem, boys and girls. Not to mention a total lack of ideas. My kids helped out with the latter problem, and I figured what the heck. I had nothing to lose; I’ve faced rejection over my writing before.

I didn’t face rejection this time. Of course, it turned out there was a 50/50 chance of making it in, but … I didn’t know that. Didn’t really care. I figured at the least, it was a good experience.

And yes, The Taste of Pink Snow is my contribution. I will have to look it over, but I have a feeling it’s one of the first pieces I’ve written in a long time that doesn’t contain some sort of reference to something involving the Trevolution.

I’ll let you go pick it up. It’s 99c at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. And best of all? Proceeds will benefit animal shelters and rescue and all sorts of other animal-related places. Maybe including the shelter I volunteer with. That’s not my call; all I could do was suggest it to the Powers that Be. So… I did.

Pink Snowbunnies in Hell, gang. Pick it up — and like everything else, please remember to jot a few words as a review somewhere.

(Oh, and before you ask why I’m not listed as one of the contributing authors, it’s because Amazon only lets you list ten, and we chose the ten authors with the highest sales. Yet another reason why we need to get more people involved with the Trevolution!)

Yeah, I’ve been quiet. Lots going on behind the scenes as we get ready for school to start in these parts. So I asked my good friend Thea Atkinson to stop in and talk about her new book, Throwing Clay Shadows.

You guys know what that means … I had to ask her the famed West of Mars Question: What song makes you think of your book?

Like is starting to be the trend around here, she outdid herself. Bring it!

It’s pretty hard to pick a song that would fit Throwing Clay Shadows since it’s set in 1800s Scotland and deals with a young girl who thinks she has killed her mother with bad words. It’s the story of this child finding a way to overcome her sense of guilt, a guilt that is nothing, really, but an echo of the remorse she feels from betraying a loved one in an earlier incarnation.

Usually, I have a full soundtrack that hits on themes and plot points from the entire novel. So to pick one song is even tougher.

I would say that I listened to “Orestes” a lot by A Perfect Circle because the singer uses the metaphor of the Orestes myth to speak of making the decision to pull the plug on his mother’s life support. This is probably the closest song in the soundtrack that translates the agony of losing a loved one and feeling responsible. It’s a beautiful, haunting song that delivers an evocative message about the bond between a child and mother.

.

All about Thea:
Thea Atkinson is a writer of character driven fiction; call it what you will: she prefers to describe her work as psychological thrillers with a distinct literary flavour. As in her bestselling novel, Anomaly, her characters often find themselves in the darker edges of their own spirits but manage to find the light they seek.

She has been an editor, a freelancer, and a teacher, but fiction is her passion. She now blogs and writes and twitters. Not necessarily in that order.

Please visit her blog for ramblings, guest posts, giveaways, and more, or follow her on twitter, or like her Facebook page.

Book Blurb:
On the Isle of Eigg, in 1807, four-year old Maggie believes she has killed her mother by saying bad things, and now she won’t say a word. It’s true that Ma’s voice stays in the cottage, and sometimes Maggie can see her in the shadows, but it’s not the same thing as having a real ma. She’s worried if she says anything, she will kill her da too. She doesn’t want him to die, and so no matter how much he tries to get her to, she won’t speak.

The trouble is, the consumption that really took her ma and her premature sister’s lives, has marked Maggie too and forces her da to marry Janet so she can have a woman to look after her.

It gets harder to stay silent because Janet tries just as hard to get her to talk. Maggie’s not sure she can hold out when this new ma reveals secrets that make her squirm, that make her feel like Da is doing things he shouldn’t be.

It seems there is more to worry about than a few words. He is indeed in trouble and much of that danger comes from the things his new wife isn’t saying.

If she can just understand what Ma is telling her from those corners, Maggie will be able to face her fears and find her voice and true power. And her true power should be enough to bind the family together even against the darkest secrets.

Book buy link

Now, I knew Maria Savva was one of the coolest of the cool women who I hang out with (at least online, since Maria is in England somewhere). That’s why I invited her to join us over here for a Featured New Release spot for her new book, The Dream. I knew she likes to rock out, too, but to this extent? No way.

Anyway, here you go… The song that makes Maria Savva think of her book, The Dream.

There are a few songs that I think of when I think of ‘The Dream’. ‘Stranger in a strange land‘ by Iron Maiden, because of the time slip element, ‘White Wedding‘ by Billy Idol, because the story starts off with Lynne, the main character thinking she’s marrying the wrong man. But I’m going to say, ‘Stairway to Heaven‘ by Led Zeppelin is probably the one that conjures most memories of the book for me. The fantasy type feel to the song, and the line ‘there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run there’s still time to change the road you’re on’, fit well with the time slip element of ‘The Dream’ and the way the book explores whether fate dictates our lives.

Here’s the book summary:

Lynne cannot shake her feelings of dread; her dreams tell her she is making a terrible mistake, she must not marry Adam. But, how can she believe the dream? Lynne and Adam have shared their lives for three years now. She is certain she loves him. It is not that love, which her dream warns against. It doesn’t matter that she loves this man she will soon marry. If she marries him, the voice in her dream says her soul mate will die. Her true love will perish. Soon, Lynne’s world is transformed and becomes almost unrecognisable, except for the déjà vu. Time doesn’t seem to mean much anymore, and things are not quite as they seem. As her world spins out of control, Lynne must sort out what’s real and what isn’t to fulfill her destiny

This one link will take you to a spot that’ll connect you to your favorite book retailer. Pretty spiffy, no?

On the one hand, I want to say the Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale was a huge success. I sold WAY more books than I had dared to dream of. New sales record? Dude. And then some.

I don’t think many of those books went to you guys, either, but to people who were encountering me via the site. As I am typing — although it’ll probably have changed by the time you read this — I am the #11 Most Viewed author on Smashwords. That’s pretty incredible, especially when you consider how many authors are using Smashwords. That means people are looking. They were buying during the sale. I hope it’ll continue.

I doubt it will, though. Know why? Because the two books — Trevor’s Song and The Demo Tapes: Year 3 — that weren’t free sold a whopping three copies each. At $1.50 per book.

I won’t try to figure out the percentage. It’s single-digit. It’s sad.

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t mind that it was the free books that moved. I like that people find themselves drawn to my fictional worlds and like most authors, I am pleased to see the books moving.

The problem is that people are picking up the free stuff. I hope they’re reading it, but that’s the one thing we authors rarely know, unless you readers post reviews or drop us authors a note. Let’s assume they’re reading it.

I doubt they don’t like it enough to spend money on the rest of my books. I don’t think it’s that at all. Rather, I think what’s going on is that there’s so much out there that’s free, people are snapping up the free stuff first, and waiting for the paid stuff to get to the point where the authors are willing to make them free. Then readers can repeat the cycle: picking up only the free stuff.

That’s still fine, especially because the pattern has been that when people pick up one of Trevor’s books, they tend to love the guy. How can you not? He’s a wounded soul, a bad boy whose persona has more holes than Swiss cheese, but of course, Trevor can’t see those holes in his armor. And he’s a rock star. Baby, we all love our rock stars.

So why does it sound like I’m about to whine? Well, because I am, of course.

I get the free thing. I do. I am all about free books, myself. That’s because money’s tight. Know why money’s tight?

Yep. Because I’m not earning any. Smashwords doesn’t pay royalties on free books, folks. There’s no portion of sales to hand back to us authors. Which means it doesn’t matter how many books I do sell during these promotions — and don’t get me wrong. They are awesome promotions — because unless that royalty rate ticks upward, I’m still a broke, struggling writer.

That part sucks. I hate it. Even more, I worry that one day, I’ll wake up and the only option will be to hang up my purple pen that writes in red ink, and get a job. Even minimum wage will pay me more than I’m earning right now.

There are a lot of ways to support your favorite authors. One is to write reviews of their books. Another is to buy copies to share with your friends and family. (Books make great gifts, especially when they come with a personal recommendation!)

But the best way is to spend your money and BUY those books.

So… to those couple hundred people who picked up my books during July, thank you. I hope you’ll love Trevor and the rest of the band as much as those of us who hang out here regularly do. Heck, I hope you’ll come join us here. And then, I hope you’ll go back to Smashwords, or over to Amazon, or B&N, or Powells, or wherever you buy your books and spend some green stuff.

Your new favorite author will thank you. I promise.

I asked my friend, Darcia Helle, the famous Featured New Release question. Ready for her answer? It’s a doozy.

I’ve been asked to name one song that reminds me of my book. Given that I’m a music addict and lyrics have always been my focus, that should be an easy task. It’s not. This is difficult, though not because I can’t come up with one song. I could name many and narrowing the field to one is the hard part. Snippets of songs, one line or an entire verse, will make me think of a character or a scene or a situation from my book. My characters are quite real in my head and I relate music to their lives in the same way I relate it to my own.

But you asked for one song and I have one that is, in my opinion, a perfect fit: This Is Your Life by Switchfoot. The song is simple. You won’t find literary genius or complicated lyrics. What you will find are words that could be the backdrop for Max’s feelings and for what death, and the light, teaches him.

One line that is repeated often in the song sums up the premise: This is your life. Are you who you want to be?

Long before I wrote Into The Light, this song struck me. That one question is powerful. How many people could answer a resounding yes? Life offers no do-overs, as Max discovers all too late.

The song goes on to say: This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be when the world was younger and you had everything to lose…

As I said, the lyrics are simple. Yet, I think for most of us, they strike deep. Max had let the tide of life carry him along. He’d put his dreams on hold, forgotten the passion of his youth. This is a familiar scenario for many of us, though most of us won’t realize it until the end.

You can hear the song here.

But I don’t want you thinking that Max and his story are all gloom and doom. He’s got a goofy side and his personality, even in death, is a lot larger than he realizes. He is not about to give up before he’s ready. We could toss in some Don Henley here:

I will not lie down. I will not go quietly.

And I have to mention one song that makes me laugh. No, the song itself isn’t funny but, as I wrote Into The light, I couldn’t listen to it without cracking a smile. The song is – Is There A Ghost, by Band of Horses: I could sleep, when I lived alone. Is there a ghost in my house?

Max literally haunted my sleep. He kept me awake. He was the most demanding, stubborn character I’ve had in my head so far. (I shudder to think another character could be stronger!) The story had to be written. Of that there was never a doubt. Max also quickly taught me that the story had to be written his way.

Then there’s Joe Cavelli, the P.I. who has both the misfortune and the luck (yes, an oxymoron there) to be the only person alive who could hear Max. Is there a ghost in my house? Yes, that ghost was in my house and in Joe’s. I’ve set Max free now. I’m hoping he’ll be off to haunt other houses for a while.

How’s THAT for an answer??? Wow!

Buy links!

Paperback

Smashwords

Kindle

I met Katie Salidas over at the BestsellerBound.com forums. I think I’ve mentioned them before; it’s a great community, full of awesome writers. If you’re a reader, you’ll want to check out this group. I haven’t found a clunker book among our catalog (although I admit I haven’t read nearly as many as I’d like to).

The group is SO strong, in fact, that this is the first of three Featured New Releases I’ll be bringing you guys in the near future.

Katie’s new book, Pandora’s Box, is the third in her Immortals series.

Here’s what Katie said when asked the famed Question:
What song makes you think of your book?

This, being book three in my Immortalis series, has its own song. Each book has had a specific feel. Sometimes fast paced, and sometimes slow, depressing, and moody. But Pandora’s Box I feel has more creepy yet touching feel. For this reason I choose Haunted by Poe.

Just listen to it. The feel of the melody, the lyrics, the spooky background sounds. It’s a very good song!

You know, I hear about Poe fairly often. I have a friend who even sent me a CD, but… to no avail. I know. I ought to fix that.

YOU ought to fix it, also. And while you’re fixing things, why not pick up a copy of Pandora’s Box? Or even the whole series; Katie would like it if you did that.

She even made it easy. Here’s a TON of buy links:
Amazon US Kindle

Amazon US Print

Amazon UK Kindle

Amazon UK Print

Barnes & Noble

Author Autographed Copies

And… now, about the book!

After a few months as a vampire, Alyssa thought she’d learned all she needed to know about the supernatural world. But her confidence is shattered by the delivery of a mysterious package – a Pandora’s Box. Seemingly innocuous, the box is in reality an ancient prison, generated by a magic more powerful than anyone in her clan has ever known. But what manner of evil could need such force to contain it? When the box is opened, the sinister creature within is released, and only supernatural blood will satiate its thirst. The clan soon learns how it feels when the hunter becomes the hunted. Powerless against the ancient evil, the clan flees Las Vegas for Boston, with only a slim hope for salvation. Could Lysander’s old journals hold the key? And what if they don’t? And how welcome will they be in a city run by a whole different kind of supernatural being? Werewolves…

I love it when Smashwords does site-wide promotions. Anything I discount down to free flies off the shelves. Needless to say, I love watching the numbers tick upwards.

Do some of these people come back and buy? Do they read what they download?

I don’t know. I know I read, at least (and yes, there IS a lot of poor quality stuff out there. No argument there.), although I remain too backed up, even with e-books, to spend a lot of money on books right now.

Anyway, to help encourage people to read and return to buy my books, I have joined the Smashwords Summer Sale. Like usual, the first two Demo Tapes anthologies are free, and for the first time, so is Mannequin.

Trevor’s Song and Demo Tapes: Year 3 are half off.

Which means for $3, you can have FOUR books and a short story.

Like always, take advantage. Tell your friends. Spread the word. And once you’re done downloading my books, go find some new authors to read. Or explore. Since, you know, you won’t like anything. But if you hit up the freebies, at least you’re not out any money if you hate what you read.

(and if you don’t hate it, why not leave a review somewhere? The more somewheres, the better, of course, but… one somewhere is also awesome.)

Need yourself some Trevor that you can hold, turn, fondle, and caress? Something more tree-based than a mere computer screen of one sort or another can provide?

You’re in luck.

I’ve FINALLY gotten all the bugs out of The Demo Tapes: Year 3 print version. Right now, it’s only for sale via CreateSpace’s online store, but it should be up at Amazon in a few days. You’ll also be able to order it through B&N, Powells, and any other independent bookstore you may think to order it from.

If you’d like an autographed copy, drop me a note before the end of July. The usual rules will apply: I’ll charge you the full $9.99 plus I think it’s $3 for shipping, unless you want priority, and then it’ll be $6 for the shipping. Uhh… those are US rates only, though. If you’re out of the US, holler and I’ll have my awesome postmaster look it all up for you.

Please note: the end of July! I’d like to get one batch of just enough copies, maybe have one or two others on hand, but since I don’t have to place a bulk order, I’d prefer to just get what I need.

(That said, I still have copies of Year 1 and Year 2 here, along with a TON of Trevor’s Song. Okay, maybe a metric ton. Whatever. More than I’d like.)

Remember: autographed books make great Christmas gifts! Get your shopping done now!

Holy schmoley, are you ready for this onslaught that I’ve been too lazy to tell you about?

Lazy? Really?

Well, okay. Prioritizing my own fiction over someone else’s non-fiction. How’s THAT?

First off… Steven Adler. Remember him, the drummer who got himself pitched out of Guns ‘n Roses ’cause his drug use was too intense for even the members of Guns ‘n Roses? Well, his MOM has written a memoir now, all about being the mom to an addict. Okay, an addict who happened to know Axl before he went off the deep end. If there ever WAS such a time.

I can’t find a link to the book; it’s not scheduled for release until November (according to the press release that’s been sitting in an open tab for months, anyway), but Steven himself wrote a memoir that came out last year. Why didn’t I drool over this a year ago? What’s wrong with me?

Here’s another one in the “What’s wrong with me?” category. Get ready to laugh and snicker. This isn’t even something I’d consider a guilty pleasure, but damn if I don’t want to see it.

Europe is putting out “a special edition 140-page coffee-table book, with pictures following the band on their latest continental tour, as seen through the lens of legendary rock photographer Denis O’Regan!”

Okay, so I don’t need the deluxe version with the live CD. I’m just not that big of a fan of Europe. It’s the pictures I want here, folks. The details of a live show… those are what fuels my writing and my imagination (well, that and Metallica in large doses).

Hunh. No buy link for that, either. Am I finding esoteric stuff today, or WHAT? Maybe it’s that this won’t be released until August. Who knows?

Okay… moving on…

Here’s the headline that caught my eye: Former DEEP PURPLE / RAINBOW Tour Manager Colin Hart To Issue New Book In September” (here’s the link so it’s fully cited and not stolen or anything). The wording of the article is weird; it implies that the book was first released in a language other than English. Of course, you know I want the deluxe version with its “80 pages of photos and memorabilia from Colin’s collection including reproduction of tour itineraries, faxes, letters and more. ”

Yeah. SO up my alley… And you wonder where I get my research???

Of course, if I’d ever actually get my hands on these books — review copies are beautiful things — more research would be happening, more inspiration would be happening, and then more writing would be happening, too. See how that works?

I’ve been mentioning CJ Lyons here enough that you guys ought to have figured out by now I’m a fangirl. Of CJ’s writing. Her storytelling. And, mostly, of who she is as a person. She’s what you’d want from a pediatric ER doctor: calm, in control. She exudes these qualities and best of all, she’s funny at the same time.

When she said at the Pennwriters Conference last month that she’d just put out a new book, I got very excited. “You have to stop in for a Featured New Release for it!”

And, so, here she is. CJ Lyons, answering the famed one-question interview: What song makes you think of your book (and why)?

I always write to music and often find one song that I play over and over again because it resonates so much with the theme and characters of a book, so this question was easy!

For NERVES OF STEEL, the first in the Hart and Drake series, the song was Chad Kroeger’s Hero (from the Spider Man soundtrack). He sang a line about needing a hero, “but I’m not going to stand here and wait.”

That so perfectly summed up the main character of NERVES, Cassandra Hart, an ER doc who is so passionate about protecting her patients that she risks her career and her life to save them.

SLEIGHT OF HAND, the second in the series, was just released and it’s more about the relationship between Hart and the police detective she becomes involved with, Mickey Drake.

They’re both wounded heroes, fighting to regain their balance after the trauma they experienced in the first book. They guard their hearts, frightened by the feeling of vulnerability love brings–especially after almost losing each other in NERVES OF STEEL.

The song that I kept coming back to, over and over, while writing SLEIGHT was Godsmack’s Touche.

The refrain is: I’ll only do for you what you’ll do for me….perfectly capturing that post-honeymoon phase of a relationship (especially one so young and fragile and already bearing scars) where it’s a give and take between two people, until they both surrender and learn to dance together rather than spar.

Another line from Touche that struck a chord was: wasting time like it was free…again, reflecting the essence of both Hart and Drake’s inner conflict, that they want to do so much more with their lives but outside forces keep curtailing them, drawing their focus from what is truly important: their love and their passion for protecting the innocent.

SLEIGHT OF HAND really ups the ante on an emotional level while also raising the stakes for both characters until they end up risking everything but discover that the one thing they can’t lose, no matter how hard they try or what the outside world throws at them, is each other.

Wow! And CJ says she doesn’t like to do promo… she’s NUTS, I tell you. This was a fantastic answer, probably one of the most detailed explanations we’ve ever gotten around these parts. Just… wow. Awesome.

Go pick up Sleight of Hand. (Yes, this link is an affiliate link, which means if you use it, I’ll get a few pennies. Those pennies will either support maintaining this site, or they’ll go into some cool gives for you guys. It’s all up to you!)

And can I just comment on how most excellent CJ’s musical tastes are? Chad Kroeger and Sully? Two very hot singers, indeed. (But they ain’t got nothing on a certain Mitchell Voss, now, do they???)

You know how when you upload a digital book to a service like Smashwords or Kindle, it takes a few days for it to get approvals and for the book to go live. That means if you’d like your book to come out on, oh, say the 15th of the month, you may want to upload it on … oh, say the 12th.

And because you have never lost blind faith that it’ll all work out, you announce this date of the 15th and don’t waver, even when it becomes obvious that the print copy won’t be ready in time.

So… when you upload the book to Smashwords on a Sunday night and less than five minutes later, it goes live, what do you do?

Announce it at Twitter, of course. And on Facebook. And THEN come over here to the blog and tell folks to head over to Smashwords to get their hands on Demo Tapes 3.

Or wait a day or two, and it’ll be up on Kindle. But why wait? I get better royalties over at Smashwords, after a. ll. And it’s already selling over there — that took maybe five minutes from my Tweeting about it. (You guys are amazingly devoted and I am amazingly lucky to have you.)

I’ll let you know when the print copy is available. In the meantime, go pick up the ebook versions, will you? And help spread the word, too!

If you’ve been here long enough to hear me gush about the Rabbi’s Cat books and my deep and enduring love for Joann Sfar, you know I’m open to the idea of graphic novels and comics.

Now comes word of this British offering. At least I THINK it’s British. I opened the tab on this eons ago. Possibly a few months.

It’s Phonogram: Rue Britannia and it was written by Kieron Gillen and Jamie Mckelvie. Here’s the blurb. Sounds like more a mindfuck than a piece of rock and roll literature, but hey. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by things before.

Britannia is ten years dead. Phonomancer David Kohl hadn’t spared his old patron a thought for almost as long… at which point his mind starts to unravel. Can he discover what’s happened to the Mod-Goddess of Britpop while there’s still something of himself left? Dark modern-fantasy in a world where music is magic, where a song can save your life or end it.

Mmm. Music is magic and where a song can save your life or end it… I am SO there.

But wait! There’s a second volume!

I made friends with Suzan Harden ’cause she’s friends with Christie Craig. I met Christie through Win a Book (and to think I’m toying with the idea of shutting it down!). See how this works?

Suzan’s followed a road similar to the one I’ve taken: which route to publication do I take?

As you guys know, it’s a hard road. A hard decision. And Suzan’s finally made her choice, which is good for me ’cause I get to tell you about her debut novella, Seasons of Magick: Spring. It’s 99c at Smashwords! (and yes, that link is the affiliate link, so I’ll get some pennies if you use it to buy the book. Which you ought to do.)

This means I had to ask Suzan the Famed One Question Interview (do I need to trademark THAT, too?): What song makes you think of your book?

Her answer shocked me. Ready for it?

Okay, this sounds incredibly geeky but it’s Barry Manilow’s ‘Ready to Take a Chance Again.’ The lyrics match my hero Adrian’s despair after he lost his wife and the return of hope after he meets Tessa. I know. I’m such a sap. LOL

The opening to that video is a hoot. Go check it out!

And here’s the extended book blurb. So you know what we’re going on about today:

Extended Description
Welcome to Morrigan’s Cauldron! But be careful what you ask for because this little Greenwich Village shop can deliver your heart’s desire. Or your greatest nightmare.

Tessa McClain’s life has spun out of control. Thanks to her con artist ex, she’s lost her job, her money and her reputation. Desperate, she talks her way into job at a local New Age shop. There’s just one problem—Adrian Holloway, the hunky store manager. The last thing she needs is another bad boy in her life. But her body hungers to break her brain’s ‘no men’ rule.

After the death of his wife, Adrian abandoned his Wall Street world and found peace in the quirky Greenwich shop, Morrigan’s Cauldron. Or he did until an April wind blew smart-mouthed Tessa McClain through the front door. While he’s ready to take another crack at love, convincing Tessa may be more trouble than he bargained.

There ya go… another new book from another new voice. I love it.

If you’re thinking I’m on a tear of reading great stuff, you’re right. A scant ten days ago, I was raving about Joanne Rendell’s third novel, Out of the Shadows.

And now, it’s time to rave about Chris Bohjalian’s 2008 release, Skeletons at the Feast.

Wow. Just… wow.

Okay, let me try to be coherent here. It’s not easy.

This is a Holocaust book, no matter how much we want it to not be. That’s because we have one character — and this isn’t a spoiler; you guys know me too well to think I’d spoil a read for you — who jumps out of one of those cattle cars the Germans used in to transport the Jews to the concentration camps. And it’s also because we have another secondary character who is a prisoner.

But the heart of this book is what makes it. The heart is a young woman named Anna. Raised in Prussia on a sugar beet farm, she’s as close to gentry as it gets. But she and her family are on the run; the Russians are coming, and the Russians (sigh) aren’t nice people. Atrocities abound when Ivan gets near. It’s sad. It’s scary.

Anna’s family has a secret: a Scottish POW. They’re hoping he’ll come in handy when they get to the West and find the British and American troops.

Anna and the POW have another secret. Bet you can guess what.

What makes this book so fascinating is the tale — based on true events — of their flight and the hardships THEY have to endure. Think about it. When we talk about WWII, we focus on the Jews and what happened to them. It’s hard not to. Six million people is an awfully huge number.

But lately, I’ve been reading books that focus on more than the Jews. Jenna Blum’s Those Who Save Us is one of them. Her character named Anna (and no, we’re not going there… I’m quite sure Anna was a very common name) was trying to keep herself and her daughter alive in a time of uncertainty and deprivation.

To be honest, I like that. I like what our escaped Jew does. I like how the woman prisoner survives. And I love this Anna. She’s got a heart and a worldview that Blum’s Anna lacked. Not because Blum’s Anna wasn’t a good character. Oh, my, is that Anna a phenomenal woman.

It’s that Bohjalian’s Anna manages to rise above. Of course, she has less to rise above than Blum’s character did. It’s not even fair to compare the two women.

Go read both books. Not back to back; that much Holocaust will kill anyone.

Eew. Pun NOT intended. Yikes. Sorry about that.

***
(My book club told me Tuesday night that Diane Ackerman’s The Zookeeper’s Wife is another. I haven’t read it yet. Sounds like I need to.)

A year or so ago, my book club finally read Those Who Save Us, Jenna Blum’s debut novel. I liked it quite a bit; didn’t love it, but most of my book club did. (What held me back? Personal shit. Don’t ask. I won’t answer.)

Somehow, I was snoozing when Jenna put out her second book, The Stormchasers.

This is a good thing, because in the meantime, we’ve chatted via Twitter quite a bit. She’s exposing me to a brand new world: that of the real, actual, honest-to-goodness stormchasers.

This is also a good thing because my son and I got sucked into last season’s Stormchasers TV show on Discovery Network. I’m now following series star Reed Timmer on Twitter (and, okay, Facebook) and am learning LOTS about weather. It’s actually quite fascinating. And it definitely has given me a new, better approach to the power and beauty of thunderstorms. I’d love to go chase storms with people as smart as Reed and his gang.

You see how all of this has come together into a perfect storm of sorts.

So… with the news that The Stormchasers, that book Jenna wrote that somehow slipped under my radar, is coming out TODAY in paperback, I asked if she wanted to drop in and tell us what song makes her think of this new gem of a book. (Really, I am DYING to read it!)

Here’s what she said:

That’s a tough one in a way, because the book has a whole soundtrack. Its twin hero/ heroine come of age in the 80s, which as far as I’m concerned is a Golden Age of music (this is coming from someone whose hair on just one side of her face used to be bigger than her whole head). So while I was writing the novel, I’d listen to its soundtrack on my iPod during my evening walks (sometimes, I’m afraid, conducting).

The STORMCHASERS soundtrack is available on my blog.

If I had to choose just one, I’d say it’s Copland’s Appalachian Spring, the allegro movement. It’s bold and beautiful and strange, with some majestic crashing discordancy that to me is reminiscent of Charles Hallingdahl’s manic episodes, followed by a tender coda that reminds me of his sister, Karena. THE STORMCHASERS is a quintessentially American book, and the Copland piece sums up everything I love about the wild beauty of this country, its people and their bravery in the face of their struggles, and its weather.

(And, hey, this YouTube video that I linked to? It was posted by someone named playingmusiconmars. I TOLD you this was a perfect storm!)

The Stormchasers. Jenna Blum’s follow-up to her monster hit, Those Who Save Us. Available today.

We interrupt our irregular programming today ’cause I read a book that I just LOVED, and I NEED to tell you guys about it.

It’s Joanne Rendell’s third book, Out of the Shadows, and let me tell you… Joanne’s hit her writerly stride with this one. Okay, I haven’t read her second book, Washington’s Crossing, yet so maybe it happened there. And that’s not to say her debut, The Professor’s Wives Club wasn’t a good book, either. It’s that Out of the Shadows is an incredible read.

This is the story of Clara, a woman who was raised believing she’s got some of Mary Shelley’s blood in her background. It’s the story of her fiance (of a number of years), Anthony. We don’t see much of him, but his story is pivotal. So is Mary Shelley’s, even though she’s long dead. (This is not a ghost story.)

I don’t want to say too much, other than this was a great read. Go get it. Joanne, who has become a friend of mine via Win a Book (see what you’re missing out on over there?), has penned a great tale. She gets her characters into jams and then back out again with a style and grace — and some very, very creative thinking. You may *think* you know what’s going to happen… but you don’t!

Just… go. Pick this one up. It’s a keeper.

I love meeting fellow writers. You guys know that. You guys also know I don’t give two figs how an author gets into print. That’s why this Featured New Release spot can highlight a friend or an author whose books I love. Or both.

Today I bring you Morgan Gallagher, a new-to-me friend. Her new, first book is called Changeling, and it looks AWESOME. It’s set in London back in the glorious 1980s (hey, if a vampire was made with big hair, were they stuck with that big hair for all eternity? Wow. Talk about a nightmare!), and yep, it’s about a vamp.

Before I give you the real blurb, let’s ask Morgan our favorite question: what song makes you think of your book?

Her answer?

Ah, obviously really. I didn’t need to think too hard, as I do think of Dreyfuss every time I hear this song. I think of lots of other things too, but this is the one that makes most connection for me, most times.

“You’re So Vain (I bet you think this song is about you.)” by Carly Simon.

When I hear it, I often hear “You’re so vain, I bet you think this book is about you…. ” in my head. And the thought of an ex, in exactly the same way Carly puts into the song.

Before I get to more of the book’s good stuff, let me point out that the video I linked to is from a 1987 concert. Big hair, boys and girls!

Okay. More about the book. Here’s the back cover blurb:

London, April 1987

Dreyfuss holds all the cards: money, power and no conscience. He steals Joanne from the busy streets in a moment; she wakes in a room with no windows. He spends months schooling her to obey, tearing her down with pain and terror. When she begins to break, as hope of escape fades… he reveals his final madness: he is vampire. She too, will be vampire: his Changeling. A greater battle begins. All she has is her will and the need to be free. Can she keep fighting, or will he win?

How long can she stay human?

Changeling is the first novel in the Dreyfuss Trilogy: a compelling and unique vampire mythology for adults.

Nice, huh? You can buy the e-book at Amazon, or via Smashwords. I’m not seeing it in print yet… be sure to let Morgan know if you’d like it that way!

**One small note: The Smashwords link will let me take a small cut of the goods, via the affiliate program. Not so for Kindle. Regardless of that, I always suggest using Smashwords for ANY of your e-reader’s formatting needs. They’re good to me. I like to be good back.

It’s a blog swap of sorts today, as I’ve written a guest blog post for my friend Harris Channing.

She’s here, answering the famed one-question interview: What song makes you think of your book?

Her pick? Devil Went Down to Georgia

As for why:

Stella has returned to Silverton Georgia to bury her dead aunt…who happens to be a witch. While she’s cleaning the old bat’s house house to sell it, she realizes that with the death of the nasty piece, the devil must have come to Georgia to claim her soul….WHooo Ohhhh Ohhhhh!

Okay. Look at some of these words and phrases Harris uses: “the old bat’s house” and “the death of the nasty piece…”

Are we in for some fun with this read, or what?

Here are your buy links. As always, I suggest picking the book up at Smashwords. Not only do I get the affiliate money (whee!) but Harris gets a bigger royalty. You can get it in ALL formats. And c’mon. It’s 99 cents. How can you go wrong? And what do you mean, you want it in print? That’s between you and Harris.

The Demon is in the Details at Smashwords

The Demon is in the Details at B&N’s Nook store

The Demon is in the Details at Amazon

Wait! I almost forgot! The blurb!

Returning to Silverton, Georgia, thirteen years after a brutal attack, Stella is determined to bury her past alongside her evil Aunt Lou. As if that’s not hard enough, she must face not only what happened all those years ago, but the new evil that is brewing in the small town.

In an answer to her prayers, immortal protector, Zane Weathers appears at her door. He offers her more than just his protection. He offers his glorious face, strong hands and able body.

Together they must not only overcome obstacles from their pasts, but a hellish horror that could very well take over the world.

Okay, I’ve got to start talking about Dara Horn’s All Other Nights now, while it’s still fresh in my mind.

My book club read it last week, and if you know my book club, you know this means the book we’ve read probably has a Jewish theme to it.

Dara Horn, having won the Edward Lewis Wallant Award, the Reform Judaism Prize for Jewish Fiction and the National Jewish Book Awards’ First Time Author Award, is clearly the sort of author my book club salivates over.

Now, saying that, we read her first novel, In the Image. We didn’t love it. We were initially leery of this book, but then one of the women in book club spoke up and said she’d listened to the audio version and loved it.

That was all the rest of us needed.

We weren’t disappointed. All Other Nights is way more than the story of a soldier in the Civil War who’s sent on spy missions. It’s more than a work of historical fiction, and it’s more than a strong entry in the canon called Jewish Literature.

It’s a story, at its heart, about love. About the power of love, about how sometimes familial love isn’t enough to compensate for personal destruction, about how sometimes, love for another person trumps all else — even that stupid familial love.

But you know what? If you don’t think about these themes, you might miss them. That’s another way of saying they were subtly, masterfully done.

Go read it. Let me know what you think.

Look. Here’s a buy link via Powell’s.

Yep, it’s that time of year again.

Last year, I did pretty well. The end of the week was pre-empted by my leaving for the famed Writer’s Retreat at Confluence, PA. You guys may remember… we were flooded INTO a very lovely bed and breakfast, from which we watched the water rise. And then retreat again. What a way to watch a flood… it was phenomenal.

Last year, also, I only had two books out. I made both the Demo Tapes books free last year; I’m sure that made a difference in sales.

This year, they will be free again, if you’re looking to pick them up and add them to your e-book library.

However, Trevor’s Song, that novel of mine… I’m only discounting it 50%, to $1.50. I’ve got bills to pay, folks, and a website to support. I think spending $1.50 for up to three books is MORE than fair…

The only potential downer is that you’ll have to buy through Smashwords. If you don’t have an account there, what are you waiting for? There’s a TON of free stuff (most of which I can’t vouch for). I’ll be adding links to my friends as they report in with their links… be sure to check them out first. They are, after all, my friends. Which means that, due to the Commutative Property of Friends, any friend of mine is a friend of yours, too.

Susan’s Friends you should check out:
Thea Atkinson
KM Humphreys
Bitsy Bling Books
Sharon Cathcart
Darcia Helle
Libby Fischer Hillmann

Tania Tirraoro — Sweet Seduction
Allen Schatz — Game 7: Dead Ball

Al Boudreau decided to lower his price at Amazon, for you Kindle folk.

Stacy Juba decided to do it on her own terms:

Stacy Juba is offering a 99 cent special for her mystery/romantic suspense novel Twenty-Five Years Ago Today on Smashwords, where you can download the book into the format of your choice.Visit the book’s Smashwords page at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/17652 and then type in this coupon code at checkout: BU97L.

Jason McIntyre is following my lead. Shed is free. On the Gathering Storm is half off. Two books for a buck fifty. NEW books, not used. Can’t beat that!

**You’ll notice that links to profile pages, not to the books themselves do not have the super-special affiliate code attached. The links to individual books, however, do. This means I may or may not make any money if you guys buy. Of course, I’d prefer to make a few cents…