Okay, ready for the story behind this one?

Thanks to Win a Book, I met Rebecca Chastain, who runs Number One Novels. Every week or so, Rebecca interviews a debut author and gives a few copies of the debut novel away. It’s a great site; Rebecca has fantastic taste in books. Yes, this is a hint!

One week, I actually entered — and won. The book was Rebecca Cantrell’s A Trace of Smoke, which I thought my book club might like (I’m going to pass it around among us, in fact. Once my desk spits it back out). I read it. I Tweeted about it …and attracted Rebecca Cantrell, the author of A Trace of Smoke (I know! Lots of Rebeccas around here. No wonder I just named a character that!). We got to chatting, as authors do.

Yesterday, A Night of Long Knives, the sequel to A Trace of Smoke, was released. So I HAD to ask Rebecca my favorite question: what song makes you think of your book?

Here’s what she had to say:

Song of a German Mother, lyrics by Bertolt Brecht, music by Kurt Weill, sung by Lotte Lenya. I only have the English version (from the Lenya Sings Weill album).

It’s a political song that sums up the horror that would engulf Germany. At first the mother is proud that her son is doing something, part of something, but then she realizes that the brown shirt she bought him (storm trooper uniform) will be his winding sheet, because he has been killed. I feel sad every time I listen to it.

I can’t find this particular version of the song on YouTube. Here’s some Lotte Lenya, singing a Kurt Weill song. What a very period voice she has!

I couldn’t find the song itself, either — at least, not a terribly audible one. Holler if you’re more successful than I am… and in the meantime, pick up the book!

Here’s the cover blurb:

Journalist Hannah Vogel has vowed to never again set foot in her homeland of Germany while the Nazis are still in power. She has good reason: three years ago in 1931, she kidnapped her son, Anton, from the man claiming to be his father–Ernst Rohm, head of the Nazis’ SA. A powerful man not to be trifled with, Hannah knows that Rohm will never stop searching for them.

Hannah is asked to write about a zeppelin journey from South America to Switzerland, but Switzerland turns out to be too close. The zeppelin is diverted to Munich, where Hannah and Anton are kidnapped and, to Hannah’s horror, separated.

It’s unlucky timing for Rohm, however. Hitler has ordered the execution of Rohm and hundreds of his storm troopers and is determined to wipe out any remaining traces of his name. The Night of the Long Knives has begun.

When Rohm is killed before Hannah can ascertain Anton’s whereabouts, she desperately enlists all of her remaining sources and friends to locate Anton before the Nazis do. And the Gestapo is closing in…

Thrilling and powerful, A Night of Long Knives breathtakingly recreates a shattered and betrayed city as it plunges into darkness.

And, if you missed it above, the buy link for A Night of Long Knives. And for good measure, since you’ll want to start at the beginning and pick up both of these books, here’s the link for A Trace of Smoke.

Don’t miss these. There are more under contract, too!

(As always, I’m an affiliate at Powell’s, so if you click through and buy stuff, I’ll get a few pennies. If those pennies ever add up, I’ll turn them into goodies for you guys. No direct profit for me on this deal!)

Yep, I’m on permanent high expectation and need of some extra cash for book buying over here!

Today let’s feature my friend Carrie Lofty. She’s got a THIRD book out, helping launch Carina Press. Carina’s an e-book first press, which means you digital readers can help determine when it comes out in print so us autograph hounds can get our fix.

The book’s called Song of Seduction. What better book to ask THE question: what song makes you think of your book?

Here’s what Carrie had to say:

I have playlists for all of my books. You can hear the one for SONG OF SEDUCTION on its excerpt page. If I had to choose just one song, however, it would be “Chocolate” by Kylie Minogue. That’s the song I listened to as I — *gasp* — wrote my first ever sex scene. I put all the inhibitions and doubts aside and just went for it. Other songs may have had more influence over the characters or the plot, but I’ll never forget my first time…

Carrie made me laugh out loud with that one…

Here’s the book blurb:

Eight years ago, composer Arie De Voss claimed his late mentor’s final symphony as his own and became an icon. But fame has a price: fear of discovery now poisons his attempts to compose a redemptive masterpiece. Until a new muse appears, intoxicating and inspiring him…

Mathilda Heidel renounced her own musical gift to marry, seeking a quiet life to escape the shame surrounding her birth. Sudden widowhood finds her tempted by song once more. An unexpected introduction to her idol, Arie De Voss, renews Mathilda’s passion for the violin—and ignites a passion for the man himself.

But when lust and lies reach a crescendo, Arie will be forced to choose: love or truth?

It this book NOT for me??? Sheesh. Sometimes, I think Carrie and I were separated at birth or something. We even went to the same university. At different times, but we barely missed each other (she could have been my student! Aack, that makes me feel old!).

And here’s the cover.

Know what we’re missing?? BUY LINK!!! If you buy before July 5, you’ll get 20% off.

I was going to wait to post this until Ann’s back from her vacation and has books to give away, but I figure if I post it now, I can give Ann double exposure. If anyone’s worth it, it’s Ann.

Maybe you know her as Bunnygirl. You sure see her in my comment trail; Ann and I have become very good friends over the years. That’s why I’m nothing but amped to see her making the jump from self-published to a small press, L&L Dreamspell.

The book is called Maelstrom, and if you’re savvy, you’ve been reading her short fiction already. Like my own upcoming Trevor’s Song, Maelstrom the novel takes us beyond the shorts and gives us the full story. I’ve read a draft; you won’t be disappointed.

Which means I HAD to ask Ann the famous one-question interview: What song makes you think of your book?

Here’s what she said:

“I Could Be Good For You” by 707. Oddly cheesy, considering, isn’t it? Funny thing is that I don’t even remember when or where I heard that song, although it must’ve been when I was a kid in San Antonio. I remember all kinds of odd things from those three years I lived there, including my home phone number, go figure.

The song may be cheesy (and I agree; it makes me think of the book!), but the book isn’t. Here’s the blurb:

When a genie grants you a wish, you don’t expect to have to return the favor.

Struggling promoter Ricky Landon is on the verge of giving up his dreams when he dumps sexy genie Kalila from a junk store lamp. She grants his wish to manage a talented band, but she has a wish of her own…she wants to be a rock star.

Kalila’s band consists of fellow demons whose genius on stage is matched by their ability to get themselves banned from every venue they’ve ever played. Ricky is willing to do what it takes to help them succeed, but with a zombie on drums, an incubus on bass, and a vampire lead vocalist, the off-stage antics are a little more serious than diva behavior and trashed hotel rooms.

Via connections and clever promoting, Ricky turns Maelstrom into the hottest act in town, but their growing fame and Ricky’s love affair with Kalila draw the attention of a rival band of washed-up deities. They’ll do anything to stop Maelstrom from achieving their goals, and now Ricky’s career and maybe even his life is at stake.

Ricky knew rock and roll was a little crazy, but he never thought it would be like this!

Pick up your own copy!

Well, okay. Maybe I don’t covet this one, but it’s definitely interesting enough to tell you guys about. Make conversation in the comments (I’ll add my own, too. Promise! I won’t leave my 2c at your blogs) ’cause this one? It’s a conversation piece and then some.

It’s called Sex Tips From Rock Stars: In Their Own UNCENSORED Words

Yes. I’m serious. And look who’s in it:

* Acey Slade (MURDERDOLLS, DOPE)
* Adde (HARDCORE SUPERSTAR)
* Allison Robertson (THE DONNAS)
* Andrew W.K.
* Blasko (OZZY OSBOURNE, ROB ZOMBIE)
* Brent Muscat (FASTER PUSSYCAT)
* Bruce Kulick (KISS)
* Chip Z’Nuff (ENUFF Z’NUFF)
* Courtney Taylor-Taylor (THE DANDY WARHOLS)
* Danko Jones
* Doug Robb (HOOBASTANK)
* Evan Seinfeld (BIOHAZARD)
* Ginger (THE WILDHEARTS)
* Handsome Dick Manitoba (THE DICTATORS, MC5)
* James Kottak (SCORPIONS, KINGDOM COME)
* Jesse Hughes (EAGLES OF DEATH METAL)
* Jimmy Ashhurst (BUCKCHERRY)
* Joel O’Keeffe (AIRBOURNE)
* Lemmy (MOTÖRHEAD)
* Nicke Borg (BACKYARD BABIES)
* Rob Patterson (KORN, OTEP)
* Toby Rand (JUKE KARTEL)
* Vazquez (DAMONE)

Okay, so only Evan Seinfeld and Lemmy would be reason enough to make me pick up this book; more and more, I am lapsing back into my pre-radio days of the only important thing being the music, not the people behind it (weird, considering I almost went to work for a record label. Or three).

Look at this, from the Press release quoted at Blabbermouth:

“Sex Tips from Rock Stars” is the world’s first extensive study of rock stars concerning sex, in which many of music’s most celebrated rockers share their dos and don’ts on a long list of sexual topics. They provide you with an abundance of uncensored bite-sized tips and tongue in-cheek pointers on every single aspect of sex — from dating to divorcing.

Some ideas are practical and surprising, others are as naturally wild and crazy as their millions of fans would expect. These international rock stars take you deep inside their uninhibited world of sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll as they come clean on their dirty little secrets for the very first time. Your own carnal fantasies will come alive when you find yourself taking on this book’s raunchy ideas and super-hot sex tips, all with the confidence of the rock stars themselves. Don’t say you weren’t warned!

… I’m speechless.

Really. Talk to me.

Happy Mother’s day to my fellow moms out there. Yes, even if you’re only the mom of a cat, dog, or bunny. (I was going to say pet, but that’s too vague, isn’t it?)

I’ve been doing my mail call posts over at Rocks and Reads of late, the better to showcase my fiction over here (a lot of you were dropping me e-mails, complaining you were missing the fiction). But with nothing really on the horizon right now, I figured this was a good time to remind you to add Rocks and Reads to your feed reader and follow the book talk over there.

So. Last week, my trusty PO Box had an insecurity attack. No books!

This past week was better. I got two.

The first is Rebecca Kohn’s Seven Days to the Sea. My book club read Ms. Kohn’s The Gilded Chamber, and it’s a book I consider one of the best Biblical Historicals I’ve read. So I’m more eager than a beaver to read this. Once again, my book club will read it together. (If you’d like to read along with us, watch the book club page for dates and all that.)

The second book that arrived this week was another one of those bonus prizes I sometimes get for putting so much time into Win a Book. My good friend Christie Craig was kind enough to send me a copy of a book she co-wrote with Faye Hughes. I think she’s telling me something (and I might even listen) because the book is The Everything Guide to Writing a Romance Novel. Like all good non-fiction books, it’s got a super long subtitle, which is something I like to make fun of over at Win a Book. (see what you’re missing? And you thought all I did was tell contest groupies where to go to find stuff they can resell on eBay!)

Thanks to The Story Siren and The Printed Page for hosting Mailbox events on Sundays/Mondays. I’m meeting a lot of new bloggers and, of course, am watching my wish list grow. As well as the TBR mountains.

As always, if you use the buy links, they’ll take you to Powells.com, where I am an affiliate. I’m saving up the money you may earn me to … buy books to give away to you. No profit to me; it’s all about YOU guys.

You guys know about me and my book club.

Well, one of the ladies in my club needs help. I’m coming up empty, so I thought I’d see what you guys have to say.

She is looking for a group of books written by a Jewish author, and dealing with Jewish themes — but they have to be age appropriate for a 13-year-old girl. Yep, this is going to be a Bat Mitzvah present.

I’m poring over Flashlight Worthy Books (for whom my own lists are long overdue. Eep!), and so far, all I’ve come up with is The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak’s hit novel.

What else would you suggest? They don’t have to be Holocaust-themed. In fact, the broader we can go, the better.

And… for my Thirteen this week, let’s see if we can make a list of 13 or more books!

I’ll update the list as you guys suggest and discuss in the comments. Thanks!

My friend Melisa suggested All-of-a-Kind Family, written by Sydney Taylor.

Laura from I’m Booking It suggested Chaim Potok, especially Zebra and Other Stories

Janet reminded me to think of the most obvious: The Diary of Anne Frank

Harriet says her daughter suggests some of the American Girl books. She suggested Lindsey, but there’s also Rebecca.

Jade at Brainripples suggested poet Tracy Koretsky. (Although Ms. Korestky herself isn’t so sure she’d be a good choice — read the comments!)

Susan Bearman dropped in with a ton of links. Ready?

The Skokie Public Library has a great-looking list. My own wishlist just grew when I looked this over!

Jane Yolen’s The Devil’s Arithmetic is another suggested read. My book club read this — and it’s also used in my local elementary school for the advanced readers who are pulled into a fifth-grade book club that’s led by one of our Gifted teachers. I know my friend’s aware of this one.

TK Welsh wrote The Unresolved (there’s no link at Powells.com. Thanks to Susan Bearman for the link!)

Avi is a very famous Jewish writer. I’ve got a copy of City of Light, City of Dark here, in fact.

Carol Matas specializes in Holocaust and WWII fiction for middle grades and young adults.

Julia suggested one of my all-time favorites, The River Midnight.

Now, THIS is cool. Tracy Koretsky (see above!) suggested a book, herself! It’s called Marcello in the Real World and was written by Francis Stork. I can’t find a link at Powells, so if you have any information…

And here’s a list from my friend Mari Blaser, whose blog I really need to add to the sidebar so I can find it to link to it properly… she was Tweeting for me and this is what she turned up:

Michele, @banana_the_poet : Mr Rosenblum Dreams in English/Mr Rosenblum’s List – by Natasha Solomons

Donna, @Donna_Carrick :every book by Sylvia Maultash Warsh, especially “Season Of Iron“. Not 100% sure ok for teen.

Lynette, @LynetteBenton: “Diary of Anne Frank” (note from me: link’s above)

Monica, @lil_monmon :”Number the Stars“, by Lois Lowry

J. Sterling @JSterlingS and @4evermore: “The Chosen“, by Chaim Potok.

Patricia recommended Geraldine Brooks’ People of the Book. I’ve read this one; it might be too adult. But then again, it might not be…

Alice Rene popped up over at GoodReads to suggest her own memoir, Becoming Alice.

**As a reminder, the book links take you to Powells.com, where I am an affiliate. Any pennies earned will be turned back to you guys in the form of books!

Ahh, we’ve got to blame this one on Steven Beeber, author of The Heebie-Jeebies at CBGB’s. It’s a really cool book tracing the history of Jews and the punk rock movement. Steven asked us to list our top 10 rock books, so I decided to do it here rather than there.

This is in no real order. And, of course, I can’t limit myself to ten. Hello? Me? The self-proclaimed expert on rock and roll fiction?

I don’t think so.

Anyway, here’s the list:

1. I’ll be crass and start this list off with my own books. Because I can. If you haven’t read them yet, shame on you for six weeks!

2. If you haven’t heard me rave about KL Going’s Fat Kid Rules the Earth, you haven’t spent a lot of time with me.

3. Don Bruns writes a great mystery series about a dude named Mick Severs. Don’t miss them.

4. Don DeLillo — Great Jones Street. I read this in college and it’s stayed with me all these years. It’s also the only DeLillo book I could finish.

5. Peggy Ehrhart — Sweet Man is Gone

6. Bill Flanagan — A&R

7. Kathi Kamen Goldmark — And My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You

8. Mark Childress — Tender

9. Sylvie Simmons — Too Weird for Ziggy

10. Michael Shilling — Rock Bottom

And of course there are a few honorable mentions, as well:

Roddy Doyle — The Commitments
Jeanette Clinkunbroomer — Life Without Music
Joe Meno — Hairstyles of the Damned
Cecil Castellucci — Beige
David Hiltbrand — Killer Solo

Got any of your own? I’ll link ’em here and/or add them to my rock books page. And yes, YOU can include non-fiction. I won’t tell.

**reminder of the disclaimer garbage: most of these links will take you to Powells.com, where I’m an affiliate. If I ever make money from it, I’ll buy books to give to you guys, my readers. If not, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I love you anyway. And really, I’d rather have the royalties from you buying MY books, when all is said and done…

I make a point of not going to my PO Box every day. Unless I have to mail out a copy of one of my books, or unless I am waiting for a payment so I can come back and mail out a book, I don’t like opening my poor PO Box door and seeing nothing but the far wall of the inside office.

I usually stop by the post office twice a week.

Monday’s visit yielded nothing. Nada. Just empty space. However, I had three books on request from PaperbackSwap, so I knew it wouldn’t be a week of emptiness.

On Thursday, I was proved right. All three books were waiting for me!

The Mascot, written by Mark Kurzem, is for my book club. I really don’t want to read this; there have been maybe one or two non-fiction books we’ve read that I’ve loved. There were maybe one or two more that I said more than, “Eh,” to. (I’ll let you look over the list of what we’ve read and see what you think!)

I know. You’re wondering why I’d let this group, which is run by ME, bully me into reading something I really don’t want to. There’s a very good reason for this.

Let me make it up. Give me a minute or two…

No, seriously. If you don’t occasionally follow when someone else leads, you might be refusing to have a hell of an experience. So they expressed strong interest in this book. We’ll see what happens.

The other two books were welcomed more warmly. The next was JR Ward’s Lover Eternal, the second in the Black Dagger Brotherhood books. (And see? Proof that us women like to read about men! But that’s another issue for another post) I recently read the first in the series and while I didn’t love it, I’m willing to try it again. Maybe it’ll be like Kathy Reichs for me — hit or miss. Who knows until I try? (see a theme here?)

My third and final book of the week (and the winner for the Best Wrapping award, not that the other two were slouches by any means!) was David J. Schow’s The Kill Riff. No cover picture; Powell’s didn’t have one available. It’s rock and roll fiction, so look for it to be reviewed one of these days over at Rocks and Reads.

So there ya go. My mailbox. Be sure to stop by either The Printed Page or The Story Siren to see what others got In the Mailbox, on Mailbox Monday.

**
Just a reminder: I’m a Powell’s affiliate. Anything I earn through your purchases there will go back to you in the form of gives. And no, I won’t buy copies of my own books for these gives. That’s just tacky. (Anyone get the joke?)

Yep, here I go again… more rock and roll book coveting.

This one’s a bit different. It’s an unauthorized biography. I usually stay away from unauthorized anythings, but … it’s about Hetfield. You guys know how much I love Hetfield.

The book is called James Hetfield: The Wolf at Metallica’s Door. It was written by Mark Eglinton, who is apparently an author (ya think?) and journalist. (Janiss, do you know him?) It claims to have interviews from such cool folk as:

Charlie Benante [ANTHRAX], Jerry Cantrell [ALICE IN CHAINS], Rex Brown [PANTERA, DOWN], Jeff Waters [ANNIHILATOR] and Mille Petrozza [KREATOR], among a list of equally important others, and to kick things off there’s an excellent and fitting foreword by legendary [TESTAMENT] singer Chuck Billy.

(Quote stolen from the article on Blabbermouth. and I really hope that link works… but if not, you know how to go to Blabbermouth and search for the book title. Really. If I can do it, so can you.)

And now it’s time when I do my shameless begging for a free review copy… I mean, heck. I’m already predisposed to liking it, right?

I only made it to the post office once this week (as the books sitting on my floor, waiting to be mailed will attest), and when I was there, only one book was waiting for me.

Lonely? It’ll have PLENTY of time to sit and be social while it waits its turn on the TBR mountains.

It’s Laura Fitzgerald’s One True Theory of Love.

If you weren’t a visitor back when I read Veil of Roses, you may want to use this handy-dandy link and see why I absolutely couldn’t wait to add this to the mountains. And really, you should become a regular around here. That wasn’t even six months ago!

That’s it for me this week. Drop by The Printed Page and The Story Siren to see what others got in THEIR mail this week. Make a few new friends while you’re at it, too.

I forgot a book in last week’s Mail Call!

I got a super duper copy of Rebecca Cantrell’s A Trace of Smoke — from the author, herself. She even signed it!

I won it from… I want to say Number One Novels. Really. You should think I’d keep better track of these things. One thing I WILL be keeping track of is this book. It’s going to go into my Book Club bag, which has been looking a little empty of late.

I know where The Jewel Trader of Pegu came from! Paperbackswap.com, thankyouverymuch. I’ve read really good things about it, and then the Tour Manager’s mom raved about it to me and … that did it. I brought the synopsis to my book club and … it’s on our list.

And if you remember this post, I’ve got a VERY cool update of it.

Ms. Olivia Brynn herself saw my post — and sent me her one and only print copy so I can review it!! Wasn’t that amazing of her??? The book is called Falling Star and I am DYING to get reading it. I’ve got a few in the queue in front of it (go figure), but I’m trying!!

I swear, when it rains, it pours. Lots have been showing up here for my two passions: Jewish lit for my book club, and rock and roll lit for me.

Life is good.

Be sure to look at The Printed Page and The Story Siren for other good lives and better books, eh?

Oh, and those of you looking for the links, pictures, and tales of the weekend writer’s retreat, stay tuned. It’ll come during the week, I promise. I need sleep and processing, in that order. It was quite the adventure…

Well. I’m off with some of my local Sisters in Crime for the weekend. We’re journeying to a town that’s supposedly currently flooding, where we’ll take over a B&B and kick the owners out. ’cause you know. Mystery writers? They talk about how to kill off their characters — and the conversation is often loud, gleeful, and … to the casual eavesdropper, scary.

Nope, this doesn’t mean I’m going to bring you a mystery, although I haven’t ruled out the idea of writing one. It just means I’m gonna try to whip this one particular puppy into shape…

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Whoa. Books showed up here two weeks in a row.

Used to be, if I went two DAYS without books arriving, it was weird. But in an attempt to make the TBR mountain range here in my office shrink, I’ve been VERY disciplined about limiting what comes into the house. (within reason; I still get a nice share of RABCK — random act of BookCrossing Kindness — surprises)

So, in addition to the three party-hardy, beer-soaked books that showed up here on Wednesday, I got…

Searching for Tina Turner, by Jacqueline E. Luckett

Nope, this isn’t a rock book, believe it or not if you judge by the title. (And don’t give me that. Tina could teach ANY rocker a thing or two!) It’s just something that I wanted to read.

Still personal is the arrival of Lori G. Armstrong’s Blood Ties. Lori rocks, pure and simple. I know her as both Lori and as her alternate, erotic counterpart. I DIG Lori, hear? You would, too, if you knew her. She’s just that awesome.

And since she’s awesome, that means I need to read her awesome books, too. So, I shall.

Yes, it IS this easy in my world.

Except for when my books get to party harder than I do. That’s just WRONG.

Be sure to stop by The Printed Page, where Marcia is hosting Mailbox Monday, and The Story Siren, where Kristi hosts In My Mailbox. I’m sure other people got better-behaved books that don’t party as hard as those still-unnamed three did.

That’s right, boys and girls! It’s here!

Read an E-Book Week began bright and early Sunday morning and YOU (yes, you) can get in on the fun. If you’ve never read an e-book, it is time.

Here. Start with The Demo Tapes. I’ve made them half-off at Smashwords, on top of that already ridiculously low price point I am experimenting with. Then, surf around. Find the other Read an e-Book Week partners and see what sort of great stuff you can find.

Wait! It’s Monday and I’m feeling left out of the all attention being given to the freebie books. So… Both Demo Tapes anthologies are now free at Smashwords. If you’d like to get them in print, use the handy buy links here on the site and use coupon IDES. That’ll work until March 31 — and give you 10% off the cover price.

It may not be as big a discount as free, but it’s a start!

Load up your hard drives, your flash drives, your e-readers. Even if you don’t get to read them this week, you’ll have them. They don’t go bad. And then, you can spread the Read an e-Book Week goodness year-round.

Join me. Read an e-book, even if it ain’t mine.

I don’t know how many of you remember — assuming you even saw it — the Camp Choas spots, lambasting my favorite real band and the whole Napster debacle.

Even if you’ve never seen it, you need to. Ten years later, it still cracks me up. The Tour Manager and I used to mimic the Cartoon James and announce “Beer! Good!” Hell, to this day, I still say, “Fire! Bad!”

But we’re talkin’ beer here. And books. Because, while beer is the booze I prefer, beer and books just don’t get along.

See, here’s the deal. I went to the post office on Wednesday. It’s a small post office, and the two women who work there know me. So it was with some chagrin that a package was handed to me. It had arrived that morning — and it was wet. Another package had erupted in the mail sack, and wouldn’t you know, but this 9×12 catalog envelope headed for me had gotten the worst of it.

By the smell, it’s beer.

Now, it turns out this is a very very bad thing. Not merely because inside this package is a book I’d been expecting and intending to review. But because the author was kind enough to send me THREE COPIES so I could give them away.

All ruined.

My postmaster tried to get some restitution for me. But… the post office is buried under layers of legislation protecting their profits. They aren’t going to pay to replace my books, even though this happened while the books were in their hands. And they aren’t going to try to track down the sender of the beer, even though if you hunt around the USPS.gov website long enough, you’ll find that you’re not actually supposed to mail beer.

To add insult to injury, there was the implication that this was partially the author’s fault, for throwing three books into a 9×12 catalog envelope and not wrapping the books better. Like he was supposed to know some schmoo was dumb enough to mail beer?

Now, this is where it gets good. No, not that I contacted the publicist who’d set this whole thing up and she was quite understanding and wonderful.

It gets good the very second that I tell you that these books are about the 80s glam metal frontmen — a group of Aqua-Netted, bleach-blonde men who were known for their copious beer consumption. You know: who partied hard and lived to tell the tales.

These books certainly partied hard, whether or not any of us wanted them to. Lived to tell the tales? I’m not so sure.

Still. Who mails beer?

1. Last year, I posted about Read an e-Book Week.

2. This year, YOU (yes, you) can read BOTH of my books.

3. They are listed at Smashwords.com, as part of their special Read an E-Book promotion.

4. Yeah. That link won’t actually work until the 7th.

5. Or you can visit my profile page there now.

6. If you’re savvy, you’ll notice I dropped the price on the books.

7. And if you’re even savvier, you’ll hang tight for the 7th. The books will be discounted a FURTHER 50%.

8. If you want to make me extra royalties, or want a print copy, go to Lulu.com.

9. Use coupon code IDES between now and March 31 for a 10% discount on the print or download (it’s a .pdf download) copy.

10. But be sure to visit Read an E-Book Week’s home site.

11. You’ll find links to other e-books.

12. But they won’t be as good as mine. Or their authors as friendly as me.

13. Discover a new author this upcoming week. At the prices many of us are charging, you can REALLY load up and let the fun last beyond one mere week.

Yeah, I’ve been talking about books I didn’t write more than I’ve been sharing my own fiction of late. That’s okay ’cause my nose is still pressed firmly to the grindstone and I KNOW you guys are going to dig what I’m at work on. Promise.

So let’s talk books this week, shall we? On Monday, I found that my friend Megan, of Leafing Through Life, sent me a book from my wishlist (the shorter one posted at BookCrossing, not the 2000 or so I’ve got in an Excel file). It’s Dinner with Anna Karenina, and it was written by Gloria Goldreich.

I love wish list books. And I love seeing them show up in my PO Box even more.

I’m still on the prowl for books about rock stars, and another one found its way to me this week: What the Librarian Did, written by Karina Bliss.

This will NOT linger on the TBR mountains for very long. Promise. Keep an eye on Rocks and Reads for the review.

In the meantime, check out The Printed Page and The Story Siren for more Mailbox Monday/In My Mailbox and see what others are intending to read.

Yeah. I know. You’re going to fall over from the shock of this book I’ve come across.

It’s called Metallica: All That Matters, and it’s written by Paul Stenning.

Like always, anyone who’d like to buy me a gift or send me a review copy is welcome to.

I don’t think I need to say much more than this, huh?

But to change things up a bit. Sort of. Not really, I came across Olivia Brynn’s Falling Star. It seems to ONLY be an e-book and the only link I’ve got is to Liquid Silver books. Yeah, I should probably suck it up and buy it; Lord knows, it’s not terribly expensive. But the aspiring book blogger in me wishes all these books would show up on my doorstep so I can pretend I’m an important reviewer and all.

(btw, the link for Falling Star will take you to Liquid Silver books, not to Powells. So if you click through and then buy something, I won’t get the pennies I would if you bought through Powells. Just so you and the FTC know what’s up here.)

Since there’s now two weekly book memes: In my Mailbox and Mailbox Monday, it seems that just calling for a mail call is in order.

The past few weeks (since my last check-in, in fact), I’ve gotten a few books. Not many, and I forgot to blog about them.

However, I’m fixing that! Mary at BookHounds was kind enough to send me her copy of Nerd Girl Rocks Paradise City: A True Story of Faking It in Hair Metal LA.

I’m not much of a memoir fan. You guys know I’m almost entirely about fiction. But given the subject matter, resistance is futile.

Anyone else get good books?

And for the record, Trevor wanted me to let you know he’s busy reading the back of a box of Frooty Pebbles. I guess you gotta start somewhere…

So our good friend Alice Audrey has her debut novel hitting shelves today! You guys know Alice; she of Alice’s Restaurant (that’s the blog) and Suzie’s House (that’s her online fictional serial).

Moving In is the name of this awesome first book — I’m eager to read it. And since it’s being released today, I had to ask her … what song makes you think of your book?

Here’s what she said:

This may be my first professional publication, but I’ve written a fair number of books before. A couple of them are making the agent/editor rounds in New York right now. Sometimes I listen to particular songs or artists while writing – everything from Pearl Jam to Afro Celts. Sometimes I have to turn the music off entirely. Moving In required silence. However, Good Enough by Sarah MacLachlin fits it very well.

Sarah’s folksy, accessible tones are much like Diane. Diane has a way of turning an apartment into a home, whether it’s her’s or her neighbors. She’s a down to earth, warm, and kind woman. Her greatest flaw? She’s convinced a woman can not be a mere housewife and still worthy of respect.

Trigvey disagrees. Adamantly.

He moves into the upstairs apartment of a converted Victorian the same day as Diane moves in downstairs. Actually, since he need to get to work and the previous tenants are still moving, he ends up putting his belongings in a corner of her apartment.

For Tirgvey, the title “Good Enough” is very appropriate. He is a doctor, financially secure, well respected, and good looking, yet when he comes home to a bare apartment and Diane’s generosity, he doesn’t feel good enough for her. He knows what she needs is love and attention, two things that are hard to demonstrate when you spend all hours of the day at work.

When things go badly in the ER, only Diane’s support gets him though. His faith in himself and his life is shaken. Before he’s done, so is hers.

You can click on the link above to see the official music video. And here’s the buy link!

Please join me in congratulating Alice and wishing her great sales (which we can ALL help out with, in fact!).