It’s been a long time — years — since I last attended a writer’s conference. In that time, I’ve done scarcely anything that’s been writerly in or around the Pittsburgh area. It’s been rough. I’ve missed it.

I think.

This morning, as soon as I put The Girl Band on the bus, I’m headed down to the Pennwriters Conference. I’ve been volunteering and helping out… I have to say, it was way more fun when I did it two years ago. I had more time, fewer obligations, and no editing clients who simply have to come first.

I think this is a great organization, but I have to take a step back and evaluate. Although I have six books out, they won’t consider me published. Although I volunteered to lead a few panels — including one all about reviewing, including how to respond to negative reviews, how to solicit reviews, where to look, and why you should/shouldn’t pay for a review, something I’ve never seen offered at ANY conference — my offer was lost. When I brought it up to the very person I’m volunteering my time for, she said if something opened, she’d be glad to plug me in.

You know where this is headed. Someone was needed to fill a Sunday morning spot.

It’s not me.

In fact, I am not even planning on being on-site Sunday. After the book signing on Saturday, I am going to pack up my books — I don’t expect any to sell and, being that horror show called self-published, I have to schlep my own books to/from the signing — and call it done. Smile through dinner with the local group who is smart enough to value and like me.

For me and Pennwriters, it’s going to come down to how the weekend goes. There are very few, if any, panels I’m interested in taking. I don’t need to learn how to self-edit. I don’t need social media for beginners, which has been taught at every conference since at least 2010. I don’t need to learn how to pitch to literary agents, or what happens after my book sells. That’s not my path. And lunch today? The choices are the hot buffet luncheon for the published group who won’t consider me published or the more expensive cold cuts in a box (at least, that’s what it was two years ago) with a talk given by someone who was less than gracious (to say the least; my group of friends has banned me from ever inviting anyone to our group dinner ever again, based on how he acted) about … how to find a literary agent.

Needless to say, I am planning on heading out of the hotel and up to a local beer joint that makes great fries. Maybe, if I find a friend who feels as I do, I’ll stay and eat in the hotel restaurant. But really, Bocktown’s not far, and I haven’t been there in years, either.

Two and three years ago (there are three links there), things were very different for me. The exact opposite of how I’m feeling now.

But the industry has hung a sharp left since then. My life has gone even more sharply in other directions (hello, editing business!). And maybe it’s time to find — or create — a group where I’m not the round peg in the square hole, filling pretty well but not quite.

I don’t know. This weekend will tell.

You might have seen mention of it on Facebook, although the mention was made in the comments on one of my groups.

But if not, here’s how last week ended. Life as a kitty foster mom sometimes takes unexpected twists and turns.

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!
Smashwords (affiliate link)
Kindle
All Romance ebooks
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Author Links:
WEBSITE
BLOG
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE
FACEBOOK
GOODREADS
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Hey everyone,

Today is my recommended reads post. All of these books are really good, so read some!

Artemis Fowl Series- Eoin Colfer
All Books I have reviewed, for the most part
Holes- Louis Sachar
Rick Riordan- I will not read him, but I know he is really good
Margaret Peterson Haddix, Amazing author
I, Q- Roland Smith
Jerry Spinelli
Evil Genius- Catherine Jinks
Alex Rider- Anthony Horowitz
Eragon-
Maximum Ride- James Patterson WARNING!! When Reading a James Patterson Book, look under his name. Patterson Has many people writing under his name!
Eoin Colfer in general
Dan Gutman, Sports
Jack Gantos
HIVE- Mark Walden- LOVE IT!
Rangers Apprentice- Never read it, but have heard nice things about it.
Warriors- Erin Hunter
The Mostly True Story of Jack

Thanks for reading,
Your friend at TBR

After five months, I had to say goodbye to the world’s coolest cat, Geronimo. Stop in at the Animal Friends blog and read about the farewell.

And get ready for more… there are three kittens in the foster room!

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!

The only downer to what I do is that sometimes, I write something and the people who need to see it, the people who inspired me, will never know it’s here.

I been a member of that fancy gym for five, six years now. It’s a big chunk out of my salary, but the doctor says if I don’t keep up with the exercise, I’ll have to have a handicapped plate and walk with a cane.

Problem is, since I’m right on the edge of needing a cane and all, I can’t walk real far at one time. So if I can’t park close to the front door of a place, I have to turn and go home.

I showed up at my usual time this morning, about a quarter to nine. Usually, this time of day is perfect. Folk haven’t started showing up for the 9:15 classes yet, so for now, there’s lots of parking. It’s Friday, so in another fifteen minutes, this parking lot will be packed full. Most days when I get here ’round now, I can get right up front, right near those handicapped spots.

This morning, though, I showed up and the first thing I saw as I rounded the bend was a whole slew of red trucks from that alarm company. I seen ’em here before, but never this many. I don’t know if anyone’s ever said anything to them, but they park in the member’s area.

Now, I know there’s a section of the lot that’s supposed to be saved for non-members. I drive past that little sign saying “the area back here’s for members only, so park on this side of this sign” – or something to that effect. It’s far. I don’t blame them for parking on the other side of the sign.

But there were so many of them, and they’d parked in all the good spots as well as the bad spots and of course, not a single one of them is on the non-member side of the sign.

We’re havin’ a cold snap, and my knee’s been acting up. I really wanted to walk on a treadmill for a little bit, and then go sit in the sauna. That helps, when I can do that.

But I can only do that when I can get to the front door, and then inside. Oh, sure, there’re them benches inside so I can sit and take a breather if I need to, but on days like today, I know if I sit, I won’t be getting up again. And I’ll have to sit there and watch all those moms and their little kids and smile at them and pretend it’s not so bad getting old and having a bum knee like I do.

Sometimes, those moms give me those looks, like they think I’m sittin’ there ’cause I’m checking their kids out. Gonna kidnap them or something.

I get the hysteria these moms feel, what with that big pedophile arrested not that long ago, but I want to promise them, I’m only sittin’ on this bench ’cause I can’t go no further. That’s it. That’s my workout. I got in the car and drove fifteen minutes just so I can sit on a bench inside the doors and feel like an utter fool.

Today, I didn’t even try. I couldn’t find a parking spot, the one my membership’s supposed to help me get while them alarm people park so’s they don’t fill in those closer spots. Them people ain’t even payin’ the gym anything. They’re here for some meeting upstairs in the restaurant. And most of ’em ain’t got the problems that limit my working and exercising.

I decided I’d be better to save myself the humiliation, go home, take some Advil, and go back to bed. Once the Advil kicks in, I’ll get up and get my work done for the day. Good thing we live in this Internet age and I can work from home.

I just may need to figure out how to exercise here at home. Save myself that chunk of my salary and all. ‘Cause paying just so I can’t get past the door’s just plain stupid.

Oy. My child.

Yes, Teen Boy IS really my kid. And yes, he was feeling crummy yesterday, so I let him stay home from school, concerned it was the stomach flu that’s going around (it wasn’t). And yes, every time I walked into the family room, he was sitting with his back to the entertainment cabinet, working on the laptop. Almost every time, I’d look at the screen and … he’d be working on a blog post.

So where is it?

Well… I guess it didn’t get done because those few times I was quiet enough to catch him with a game screen open instead of the blog must have been only the tip of the iceberg.

It must have been good medicine because he was raring to go this morning. I even played the role of the kind mom and drove him to the bus stop with his social studies project.

I’m thinking he owes me. And you guys.

If you miss him, leave a note in the comments. I’ll be sure he sees it.

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

Buy at Amazon
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4. Please provide any personal links you’d like to include: your website, your blog, Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads… and/or anything else I may have forgotten

website

Friend me at Facebook

So I had a fabulous idea. Let’s celebrate Record Store Day.

Lots of my author friends were willing to chip in and have fun with me.

But… man, I need a promotions person over here. Not only have I been slammed with editing work, I’ve gotten Demo Tapes 4 up and running (go get a copy!), but I’m getting ready to do a big website overhaul and… I get word that my iconic S avatar is too old, and the original files too lost.

So now I’ve got to redo all that. Which means something’s gotta go, and that something is… Record Store Promo Day fun.

If you know anyone who’d like to be the West of Mars promotions person, send them my way. I may need more than one, and as we get up and running, this WILL be a paid position. Possibly even full-time, but I’m not ready to think of that yet.

Edits. Fonts. New Novels. And have I mentioned I’m a single parent these days, too?

Next year, folks. Once I get a promotions person, we’ll have us some GRAND fun.

Hey, guys. Sorry I haven’t posted in such a long time, but I just have been sorta busy. Today I have a good book for you. Crater, by HOMER HICKAM as in October Sky, and Rocket Boys. This is the first in a series, and is a great mix of Sci-Fi, Action, adventure, and more.

Lets get in.

Crater, by Homer Hickam
🙂 out of 😀

It’s the 22nd Century. A tough, pioneering people mine the moon for Helium-3 to produce energy for a desperate, war-torn Earth. Sixteen-year old Crater Trueblood loves his job as a Helium-3 miner. But when he finds courage he didn’t know he had and saves a fellow miner, his life changes forever. Impressed by his heroism, the owner of the mine orders Crater to undertake a dangerous mission. Crater doubts himself, but he has no choice. He must go.

With the help of Maria, the mine owner’s frustrating but gorgeous granddaughter, and his gillie—a sentient and sometimes insubordinate clump of slime mold cells—Crater must fight both human and subhuman enemies. He’ll battle his way across a thousand miles of deadly but magnificent lunar terrain before vaulting into the far reaches of space, there to recover an astonishing object that could mean the difference between life and death for every inhabitant on the moon.

Far into the future, the moon has been colonized and helium-3 found on the moon. A few men live on the moon and mine it of it’s Helium-3 to provide to a war-ravaged Earth. One day, when he save his best friend, the mining company owner calls him in and decides to send him on a very dangerous mission.

Crater, having no choice in the matter, is switched to the convoy company and is sent across the moon to retrieve a package for the owner. On the road, he must face everything from traffic delays to the subhuman trying to stop the convoy and, most of all, kill Crater. Crater is no warrior, let alone adult. Crater must wrestle with a budding interest in Maria, the mine owner’s REALLY stubborn granddaughter, who Crater Trueblood, a sixteen-year-old miner truly is, what he really wants to be and CAN be…

Wow. Hickam hit this one out of the ballpark. It has been a while since I read this, but it is amazing. Well, the book was a non-stop kind of book, you know, those books you can’t put down. I enjoyed this book a lot, and was joyed when I was able to check out Department 19, and will be giving you that review next week.

Sorry Again for the lack of reviews these past 2 weeks.

Stay bookworming, (is that a word?) my friends,

Your friend at TBR

It’s Monday, so you know what that means… Time for a Featured New Book spotlight!

Today it’s author JoAnne Tucker with her poetry book and her mystery, Murder Most Foul. Two books, but only one song. What’s with that?

The song that reminds me of my poetry book is “I want to know what love is.” This is a song about a man searching for true love, and that is what my poetry book is about. It is true love in various forms-love of family, of god, of nature, of personal triumphs and heartbreak. My poetry collection is about my life and all the stages I went through over the years, but it was wonderful even in times of sorrow. I had my future and my family beside me and that is what got me through the bad times. I hope you can use this.

Now, JoAnne didn’t tell me if she was referencing Mariah Carey’s version of Foreigner’s classic, or if she had the rockin’ version in mind, so I’m making the call (sort of!).

Blurb for Murder Most Foul

When two dismembered torsos wash up on the banks of the local river in the small industrial town of Pleasant Valley, residents are horrified. Between contradicting statements, police ineptitude, lust, lies, manipulation, incest, the motorcycle gang The Devil’s Disciples, crooked cops, and a botched crime scene, everyone becomes a suspect.
The young beautiful Jackie Reeves, a registered nurse, believes the killer is a man from her past. She contacts the dangerously handsome FBI Agent Walker Harmon. An arrest is made, but Harmon and Jackie believe an innocent man is being railroaded by local cops. Determined to find the truth, before anymore killings, Agent Harmon and Jackie are forced to run a gauntlet of deep trouble and turmoil, which marks them for death.

Buy link for Murder Most Foul–
Murder Most Foul is a four story anthology. And we know how much Susan likes anthologies!

Buy link for Poems About Life, Love, and Everything in Between

Blurb for Poems About Life, Love, and Everything in Between

Poems About Live, Love, and Everything in Between, is a collection that provides a glimpse into the heart, mind, and soul, of its author. It is a heartwarming read, written with love and respect for others. It was inspired by the authors love of nature, inspiration, spiritualism, personal triumphs and heartbreak, and life in general. Some poems were written in times of sorrow, others in joyous celebration. Life is like that.

My website is Books and Paintings by JoAnne

I can also be found at
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Facebook

This would have been the third year I’ve told you guys that all I wanted for my birthday was book royalties. We did it two years ago with Mannequin, then last year with King Trevor.

So what’s the holdup?

Me.

I dawdled. Dragged my feet. Debated hiring an e-book formatter (the awesome Deena at e-Book Builders. Tell her I sent you.), hesitated about asking the uber amazing Lakota Phillips if she’d step up for her boy and do the art again. Tried to do the formatting myself.

I suck at formatting.

So… the book’s not coming out today. This year, the birthday gift will be late. But it’ll be here, and you will NOT want to miss this one. Be sure to read the intro… it confirms what many of you have suspected. And that’s all I’ll say about this, so move along…

Save your pennies… the price will be the usual: $2.99 e-book and $9.99 trade paperback (I hope).

And yes! Because this will be the best-selling Demo Tapes anthology yet (no easy feat, since Demo Tapes 1 has been out since November 2008 and is still the top-selling anthology), I’ll be folding some of the royalties you guys generate into having Deena reformat Demo Tapes 1, 2, and 3. Lakota’s already on board to give 1 and 2 new covers, as well.

There just might be a special something for anyone who leaves a review of ANY of the Trevolution books (including Mannequin) anywhere online. Stay tuned for that…

Have I mentioned there WILL be a Demo Tapes 5?

After reading about it at Dear Author, I HAD to get my hands on Kimberly Lang’s The Downfall of a Good Girl.

Click on through to read my review.

I love meeting other authors of Rock Fiction. You guys know this: Rather than being threatened or worrying that you’re going to steal my audience, I’m glad there are more and more of us spreading the rocking goodness. If we keep it up — and keep up the excellence — we’ll make Rock Fiction a contender of a genre yet.

That brings me to today’s author: Toni Kenyon, whose bio sounds an awful lot like mine, at least when it comes to rock and roll and kitties. (No, the two are NOT oxymorons. Sheesh.)

Her new book is called Private Love in a Public Place, and here’s the song that makes her think of it:

Better Man by Robbie Williams … “Once you’ve found that lover you’re homeward bound, love is all around, love is all around…”

Robbie’s performance of this song (live at Knebworth) epitomizes the struggle Julian has with Jules the man and Julian the performer. I love this clip and I can’t watch it now without thinking about Jules.

Robbie Williams… not someone I’d have expected from a rocking chick! Just goes to prove that musical tastes, like reading tastes, can’t be defined by genre.

I’m curious about this Jules dude. Are you? Here’s the blurb. That ought to satisfy us both.

Mags O’Brien lives on the alcohol-soaked, drug-enhanced concert circuit, managing out-of-control rocker Julian MacAvoy. She helps him spread his musical gospel to his adoring followers, despite the fast-spinning turnstile on his bedroom door, and the broken hearts he leaves in his wake.

Mags believes she’s immune to Julian’s magnetic personality but when controversy hits the tour, she finds herself in danger of falling at his feet, slave to his appetites and her own desire and need.

Julian refuses to be tamed, but the pressure of the ravenous crowds clamps tighter and tighter around him. His chaotic world starts to crumble when he realizes his motivation to continue touring comes from an unobtainable woman. Can he force her to make the agonizing choice between himself and her estranged husband?

An erotic and candid look at life on the road.

A woman managing an out-of-control, alcohol-soaked rocker… shades of Sharon Osbourne, perhaps? Let’s read it and see!

Buy it here:
Smashwords (Affiliate link. Use it. I need a new roof.)
iBookstore
Amazon

Visit with Toni:
Web
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

Seriously. There is such a thing as Record Store Day.

It seems fitting to me that I, as an author and champion of Rock Fiction, set up some sort of fun promotion.

Here’s what I’m thinking…

I invite everyone who likes to post fiction on their blog, if they write Rock Fiction or not, to write some flash fiction celebrating Record Store Day or music in general. I’ll set up a linkie so you can share your link and draw in new friends. We’ll make it like a blog carnival of old.

And if you’ve written a work of Rock Fiction, why not consider giving a copy or two of your books away? Again, I’ll set up a linkie for that, too and we’ll have ourselves a Hop!

More details will follow as we get closer, complete with the promised linkies and other ways to share the fun (I can hear my IT guy swearing at me now). Let me know if you’re interested in any way — and other ideas for the day are welcome, too.

I’m talking about a few words that really crank my editor’s red pen. Join me at the #amwriting blog to see what those words are, and how many of them you like to use!

I’ve known Jaime McDougall almost since I began blogging. I know she was one of the first folk to ask me to write a guest blog post for her, and I’ve written HOW many since then? (over 50 is the answer, and no, that original blog post isn’t linked to. If you find it, holler, and I’ll link to it.)

So… It’s my pleasure to host Jaime today with her new book, Fading Echoes.

I’ll admit it; I thought way too much about what song reflects my recent release Fading Echoes. I tried to think about what reflects the themes of secrets and lies, what song reflects being haunted by your past… But when I cleared my mind and thought of my main character, Charlotte, the song came to me instantly.

Vindicated by Dashboard Confessional

Why Vindicated? Why would I pick a song attached to one of the Spiderman movies? Well, not because of Spiderman. Rather, the lyrics…

Vindicated, I am selfish, I am wrong, I am right
I swear I’m right, swear I knew it all along
And I am flawed but I am cleaning up so well
I am seeing in me now the things you swore, you saw yourself

When Fading Echoes begins, Charlotte has been trying so hard for so long to be what people want her to be. But as the book progresses, she discovers that being flawed is okay. She struggles to take control of her own life – and to discover what being a pure bred werewolf is all about.

The lines ‘I am right, I swear I’m right, swear I knew it all along’ are especially relevant because Charlotte faces another predicament: she is a werewolf crying wolf. Intensely focused on her past, Charlotte knows that the pack is under threat. But, knowing her obsession, no one is willing to listen. Even her best friend, Tom, is beginning to think she should just let it go.

She still has hope that she will find a way to prove that they are in danger, but is she putting her hope – and trust – into the right people?

Slight hope dangles on a string
Like slow spinning redemption

Ooh, yum, right??? Damn, I like this song. I’m putting it on my iTunes wishlist as I type. (am I really out of it that I’m still iTunes and not Spotify?)

Ready for the blurb?

In a town full of werewolves and legends, Charlotte Peterson is unique. As the first ‘pure-bred’ werewolf in Echo Falls, she struggles to fit in even amongst her pack.

When Dr. Adam Baker arrives in town, Charlotte is forced to balance their growing friendship with her need to keep the pack’s secrets – and her own. But she is not the only one keeping secrets and Adam’s past could threaten them all.

That is not the only danger. Compass, the genetic research company intent on isolating the ‘werewolf gene’, will do whatever it takes to gain the final advantage over all werewolves. Compass CEO Calvin Stephens has a very special plan in mind for Charlotte…

Time is running out for Charlotte and the pack as Calvin’s plans near completion. In a town where secrecy is the key to survival, can Charlotte trust Adam to help her? Or has she revealed the deadliest secret of them all?

Go pick up a copy or three!
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