Yes, there’s more to covet this Rocktober. Everyone’s jumping on the Rocktober bandwagon, and it’s an activity I heartily endorse and encourage.

Now it’s the legendary Peter Criss, who’s penned his own memoir, Makeup to Breakup.

Sounds ominous, no? Well, not if you know the story of Kiss and the fact that Criss left the band years ago and we’re all over it now, and Beth will never sound the same again. (Hey, wait. Didn’t I just say we’re all over it? Unlike Dave Mustaine and that first band of his. Oy. Time to move on, people! Nothing left to see; the bones haven’t merely been picked clean. They’ve been buried under drifting sediment.)

Today’s the scheduled release date for Makeup or Breakup, so head over to your favorite retailer (yes, I’m still giving bonus points if you go to an independent bookstore) and pick up a copy for me.

Or one for yourself.

Really. I won’t mind.

Much.

I’ll mind even less if you’d like to borrow this here blog to post your review!

I’ve been having such a good time as a foster parent (of cats, people. Cats.) that I decided it needed to be blogged about. So I contacted the right person at the shelter I volunteer through and …

Go read my intro. You can meet Lucy and Milo, my shelter kitties!

More to come… Wait until you set eyes on Zenji. You won’t be the same.

I swear, I’d seen Keri Ford’s name around the blogosphere with the release of an earlier book, so when she dropped into my inbox, looking for an editor, well, I was excited. I mean, hello? She’s got a backlist that’s over 10 books long already. And I recognized her name! That’s always a bonus — when I recognize an author’s name, and s/he is coming to me for an edit.

Yeah, it doesn’t take me much…

So I’m more than pleased to share Keri’s new release, published under her pen name of Charley Colins: In Her Sights. I’ve read this. I’m one of the people who helped shape it.

Just remember… any mistakes are due to the gremlins!

Now, on to Keri…

Thanks for letting me visit you Susan! And what a fun question because I have an answer this time! I usually don’t have just one song for a book, but when I was working on In Her Sights, the one song I kept going back to was Pink’s Trouble.

Lexie, my heroine, is a kick-butt kind of girl at night. She knows it and she’s good at it. But it’s a secret. During the day she has to be sweet and loving and always smiling and ready to be polite for people.

When she hits the streets at night, dressed in black with her ski mask and all her weapons, I picture her moving to this song. If this book was a movie, this is the song that would play at the end while she’s running across rooftops and fighting men on the street with of course, a huge smile on her face.

It’s the music, the tone of Pink’s voice, and the words. All of the attitude just pours from the song and lyrics. It speaks about who Lexie really is on the inside. The part of her she has to keep hidden from everyone.

And is that Jeremy Renner I see?

Blurb:

Some call her a killer.

Others call her a hero.

Lexie Olympia calls herself neither. She’s getting the job done because she can. A beloved philanthropist by day who’s nicknamed Melville’s Sweetheart, Lexie has the city wrapped around her little finger. Having been a victim in the past, left behind with the killer still on the loose, Lexie knows what it’s like to live with that fear. Instead of biting her nails over it, she takes action. Drug lords, gang leaders, con artists, kidnappers, serial killers, anyone who leaves behind innocent victims are marked on Lexie’s list.

When a neighbor leaves a stolen ancient dagger on her doorstep and skips town, Lexie’s left picking up the pieces. The police, a local private investigator, and a gang are all after this artifact and Lexie uses her nighttime persona, Artemis, to get to the bottom of things. Everything is going smoothly until she gets caught.

Chapter One can be read here
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I’ve been following this for awhile now, meaning to blog about it but always winding up with the tab in Firefox closed before I can. (How’s THAT for an excuse?)

Rocktober seems like the right time to talk about it.

Here. I’ll put it the way Brave Words did:

BEHEMOTH frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski is releasing his autobiography, Spowiedz Heretyka – Sacrum Profanum, on October 17th in Poland via Publisher G&J, with an english version to follow “if there’s interest,” he says. The book is being promoted through a series of trailers that feature Nergal reading portions of the book, as well as acting out portions of stories, which Nergal describes as “some funny, some sad, some evil…some related to the band, some not.”

Yeah, okay, so first there’s the issue that this will be published in Polish. There’s no English version, and my Polish… I’m not sure I could figure out how to say yes, no, or thank you. Even if I was on the Amazing Race.

Okay, I’m selling myself short. But you get the point. I sure am not going to be able to read the book without a translation.

Another thing holding me back… well, it’s stupid and shallow. But LOOK at the man.

That’s the book cover.

Like I said, it’s shallow.

There’s something about him that disturbs me. Like… I’m looking at a seriously disturbed person. The one trailer I watched didn’t help convince me of anything other than something strange going on… And I’m certainly not a fan of Behemoth or most other death metal — I simply don’t get it. Over the years, especially in its early days, when bands like Deicide and Cannibal Corpse and Death and Obituary and Sepultura and personalities like Scott Burns were defining the genre, its early fans tried to convince me how great it was.

I didn’t get it then, and I don’t get it now.

But back to Nergal and his book.

I’m facing the question, then: Would this book of his be a really cool Rock Nonfiction read, or would it be a frightening look into a disturbed mind?

I guess it’ll have to be translated into English for me to be able to tell.

I’ve known Stacy Juba for a long time now. She’s one of the founding authors over at Bestseller Bound, where you know I spend a lot of time hanging out.

But I haven’t hosted her here yet, for a Featured New Release spot, even though she’s put books out. And even though she’s featured me, both on her blog and in her new book, 25 Years in the Rearview Mirror. I know I’ve asked … and this is the first time she’s taken me up on my offer.

She’s not here to talk about 25 Years in the Rearview Mirror, though. Nope. She’s here to talk about her new boxed set, Young Ladies of Mystery. This set features three of Stacy’s books: Twenty-five Years Ago Today, Sink or Swim, and Dark Before Dawn.

Without further ado, here’s Stacy:

Answer this question: What song makes you think of your book?
Can’t Get You Out of My Head by Kylie Minogue. That song comes to mind as when I was writing one of the books in the Young Ladies of Mystery Boxed Set, Sink or Swim, the song would constantly play on the radio. Since the book has a stalker who is fixated on the main character, reality show contestant Cassidy Novak, the song became Cassidy’s Anthem. Poor Cassidy! I’m sure she wished her stalker could get her out of his head. Thanks to that song, I could never get Cassidy out of my head, either.

I’d hear it on the way to work, on the way back from work, on the way to appointments, and when I was out driving with my husband. I’d always smile, imagining my book as a movie with the song sounding over the credits. I felt as if anything was possible. I had an agent at the time and I was anxious to finish writing the book and turn it in.

Unfortunately, when I created the book trailer after Sink or Swim was published, that song wasn’t available so I settled for Every Breath You Take, which also fits the book well. I rarely hear Can’t Get You Out Of My Head on the radio anymore, however I do get to hear it frequently when I play Just Dance on Wii!

Ready for the blurb?

The Young Ladies of Mystery Boxed Set: Features Stacy’s adult mystery/romantic suspense novels Twenty-Five Years Ago Today and Sink or Swim, and her young adult psychic thriller Dark Before Dawn, in one bargain-priced download. Solve a cold case with aspiring reporter Kris Langley; discover the downside of fame with former reality show contestant Cassidy Novak; and meet teenage psychic Dawn Christian, who discovers that ESP spells D-A-N-G-E-R. More on the three books included in the download:

Twenty-Five Years Ago Today – For twenty-five years, Diana Ferguson’s killer has gotten away with murder. When rookie obit writer and newsroom editorial assistant Kris Langley investigates the cold case of the artistic young cocktail waitress who was obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology, not only does she fall in love with Diana’s sexy nephew, but she must also fight to stay off the obituary page herself.

Sink or Swim – How do you change the channel when reality TV turns to murder? After starring on a hit game show set aboard a Tall Ship, personal trainer Cassidy Novak discovers that she has attracted a stalker. Can she trust Zach Gallagher, the gorgeous newspaper photographer assigned to follow her for a local series? As things heat up with the stalker and with Zach, soon Cassidy will need to call SOS for real.

Dark Before Dawn – When teen psychic Dawn Christian gets involved with a fortuneteller mentor and two girls who share her mysterious talents, she finally belongs after years of being a misfit. When she learns her new friends may be tied to freak “accidents” in town, Dawn has an important choice to make – continue developing the talent that makes her special or challenge the only people who have ever accepted her.

Convinced? Do you need these books in your life? Here you go…

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For a long time there, bobbleheads were the way to go. I even have a James Hetfield bobblehead on the shelf above my desk. It’s the old style, the one that was recalled and smashed. One escaped — although not without some damage to the headstock of his guitar — and now lives with me.

I like Recalled James. He has no pupils, for one. Since he was created by Tony Squindo, he’s got that kid vibe going — no Scary Het here. And he makes me smile. I like to smile.

A month or so ago, I heard of a new collectible: an Iggy Pop bobblehead. Only a thousand have been made, which is probably a good thing. Iggy in person is something else. A little bit scary, yeah. And the cutting? Does he still do that? Ugh. I hope not, and not just because part of Iggy Pop’s innate coolness is that he’s too cool to do the trendy thing.

Back to the bobblehead… this guy gives me nightmares. He’s not going to be the mascot of Rocktober in these parts. Not this year.

And you smart-asses? No need to buy me one and put it aside for my birthday, okay? I’d hate to see what he’d do to my precious, friendly James…

Just in time for Rocktober!

(Well, unless it’s been delayed, which sorta ruins the plans)

The one, the only, the legendary Pete Townshend has finally written his memoirs. It’s only taken him something like 40 years to get around to this, but I think that’s a bonus — there’s more for him to include! It’s supposed to have been released yesterday, so scurry over to your favorite retailer (bonus points if you shop at an indie and no, Amazon’s not an indie!) and score your very own copy.

What do you mean, “Who’s Pete Townshend?”

WHO?

As in THE Who. As in Pinball Wizard and Roger Daltry and groundbreaking, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (From way back in 1990, even! They got in EARLY, and for good reason, too). As in, as in, as in…

You KNOW I need this one, and pronto. Yesterday. Back in September on the day I drafted this post, in fact…

Every now and then, I put out a call for Featured New Book spotlights over Twitter. Not only do my author friends respond, they connect me with their friends. Since I pretty much consider a friend of a friend to be a friend, I’m always glad to comply.

So I’m glad to have Virginia McKevitt here this week, even though it’s Rocktober and her book, Fracture, isn’t Rock Fiction. We’ll make an exception this week.

Here’s what she had to say:

The song: When I Get Through With You by The VLA

Tegrin, an assassin from an alternate world has been sent to ours by his king to hunt and kill the Couton, a clan of women who use their beauty to steal the memories from others. In their world Tegrin’s people keep them in check, in our world they hunt freely.

They are consumed by their need to the point of murder, taking until nothing is left. Tegrin has an ally in our world. A young woman who has secrets that will be revealed in both worlds and who will change is life.

The Couton take all and leave nothing without remorse.

Ooh, a new-to-me-band, and a cool story behind it…

blurb short version:
Tegrin is the king’s most trusted assassin. His loyalty is unmatched, so when he is asked to go on a journey to a place he has never been, he does so without question.

He is sent to a world he has only read about in books, to find and return the fleeing Couton, an ancient clan of women who feed off the memories of others. His goal is to get in and out before he or his prey are discovered in a world they don’t belong.

Fate, however has a different plan for Tegrin. He encounters Kristina, a young woman whose parents were brutally murdered by the Couton.

Headstrong and set on revenge for the murder of her parents, she runs a collision course with a man who will lead her to discover she is more than meets the eye in both worlds.

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Stage 32

Back in August, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to covet Dirty Deeds: My Life Inside/Outside AC/DC. I mean, I did … and I still do. I doubt it’ll turn me into some huge AC/DC fan, though.

I doubt this will, either. It’s another AC/DC book, so it’s got a fair shot of turning me into a fan of the band, just not their music — if THAT makes any sense. If you’re a music fan, it will.

This one is called Treasures of AC/DC and it was written by Jerry Ewing. I’ve never heard of Ewing, but that’s not surprising. I haven’t heard of most people (although I’d love to change that). I am sorry I haven’t heard of Ewing before, though. He’s got an impressive resume, which is good ’cause this book description? I’m hoping it doesn’t do the book any justice. It’s pretty bland.

But this is about the book, not the author (who is, however, free to stop in and change that fact). This is what I found about the book:

This book tells their story that spans five decades of the best rock ‘n’ roll. The book tells the story of the band and all members including the Young brothers and of course the late Bon Scott, and looks at every album the band has released, from 1974’s groundbreaking High Voltage to 2008’s hugely popular Black Ice. It also covers the major tours and more. All of it is accompanied by superb photography and rare items of removable facsimile memorabilia. Experience the most successful hard rock band ever with this box set.

It was supposed to be released in conjunction with the start of Rocktober, but it’s been pushed back to November 6. And people wonder what’s wrong with publishing? They’re ignoring Rocktober!

By now, you should all know that my good friend Mary at Bookhounds is one of my top sources for finding new Rock Fiction. I need sources (why aren’t you one of them?); I’m so darn busy with editing and my own fiction and my own marketing and my own, my own, my own…

Yeah. Hard to look beyond oneself when scrabbling to make a living, you know?

But I’m trying. Rock Fiction is my passion, after all, and it deserves as much of my reading time as I can give it.

The author of the moment is Marlene Perez, whose Dead is Series apparently has seven books. Only two of them are on my radar over at the Rock Fiction page. Should the other five be?

Inquiring minds… want to know. Need to know.

If any of you manage to make the inquiries before I do, holler. While you’re at it, remind Ms. Perez (as well as yourself, if you’re an author) that I’d love to host her (you) for a Featured New Book spot here on Mondays.

Yep, it’s time for that annual celebration we call Rocktober in these parts. If you’re new around here, that means we celebrate the collision of music and books all month long.

I don’t have a super-awesome lineup like I did last year, but I did drop the prices on my books at Smashwords and (supposedly) Amazon. there are some fun things ahead, and there are more players this year, too.

If you’re one of them, drop me a note in my comments here or on the West of Mars Fans Facebook page.

If you run into one, encourage the site owner to drop in and leave it him/herself.

As you guys give them to me, I’ll link them up at the bottom of this post, so be sure to bookmark it and check back frequently.

As October rocks on, do the same, will ya? Let’s celebrate the amazing collision of books and music.

I met author Michelle Hughes via a Triberr tribe, but it took us awhile before we started chatting. That’s some ice I’m glad is broken… read on and see why.

I released my book 10 Nights, which is a contemporary romance. The song it reminds me of is “Love the Way You Lie“. With Rhett, he’s just such a strong Alpha Male and his dominant personality just seems to override Leah’s common sense. That song talks a lot about how they were like two freight trains destined to collide, and not in a good way. Their relationship is just volatile when it starts, and it continues on that way until the last chapter. I don’t want to give away everything in the book, so I’ll just leave how it ends up for readers to find out.

I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to include a question, but if I am… What would you do if you were asked to surrender ten nights and in return you had the opportunity to have all your desires fulfilled?

There is something about that song that is SO powerful and hypnotic… it’s in the chorus. I love this one, and I’m NOT an Eminem fan, now am I? Call it proof of the magic of a good song.

Here’s the book blurb for you:

After graduation, twenty-four-year-old Leah was determined that no man would destroy her plans for the future. Or so she thought. Her best laid plans and well-ordered life were turned head over heels after her best friend, Janie, invited her to a “coming-out” party.

One look at Rhett and all previous thoughts went straight to hell. He made an unbelievable offer to her: “Give me 10 nights and I’ll show you pleasure beyond your wildest dreams.”

Was this an invitation to paradise or would his request destroy her mind, body and soul?

From virgin to courtesan in 10 nights? Was Leah even willing to consider it?
In a game of cat and mouse in which 10 nights, 10 choices and 10 fantasies could change everything, who would declare victory?

Buy links!
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Out of the blue came an e-mail.

“We had recently received
a nomination for your book, Trevor’s Song and have selected it as the
Indie Book of the Day Award winner for 24th of September 2012.”

I have no idea who nominated my book, two years after it came out. I’d like to know, only so I can say a huge thank you. While Trevor’s Song hasn’t sold more copies than Demo Tapes 1 (yet), it’s getting close, and it’s certainly my most consistent seller. As I type this, it’s once again my top seller of the month.

Best of all? Rocktober approaches, and you guys know that means I’ll be celebrating by putting the books on sale. All of ’em. Yes, even King Trevor — after all, don’t you NEED to know what happened to Trevor after he wound up in that heap on the stage? And, more importantly, what’s the secret Kerri’s been keeping from Mitchell????

I’m part of a forthcoming anthology of essays. I’ve mentioned this before. They’re built around Stacy Juba‘s book, Twenty-Five Years Ago Today, and will be out sometime in the fall. You’ll want to check it out, I know — if only to read my essay. Which you know you want to.

Anyway, I told my fellow anthology contributors to feel free to drop in for a Featured New Book Spotlight. Last week, Michele Drier did. This week, it’s Karen McCullough with her new book, A Question of Fire

I asked her: What song makes you think of your book?

Metallica – Nothing Else Matters

So many lines of this song resonate with me and remind me of my novel, A Question of Fire. In the larger sense, it’s kind of a personal theme song. I’ve never been one to write to the market or even to stick to a particular genre. I wrote A Question of Fire at a time when there was no real market for romantic suspense, but I HAD to write that book. It was in my head, begging me to get it down. And when it was done (and revised several times), a number of the rejections I got from agents and editors played that theme: like the book, don’t know how to market it. It took almost ten years before it finally found a publisher. It’s been out of print for a long time, but I have the rights back to it, and I’ve recently released it in ebook format. I’m incredibly thrilled to make this book available again.

“Every day for us something new, Open mind for a different view.” When Catherine Bennett is the recipient of Bobby Stark’s dying words, it catapults her into a world of danger and new possibilities. If she were a different sort of person, she might have ignored the plea the dying man made of her and just hidden out until the peril passed. But that would have left his brother, Danny, in danger of being convicted of a murder he didn’t commit. Danny isn’t a particularly nice or attractive person, but Cathy isn’t the sort who would leave him in danger when she has the key to rescuing him. Or part of the key, anyway.

“Trust I seek, and I find in you” is one of the themes of the book. None of the main characters in A Question of Fire are particularly trusting sorts, for a variety of reasons. The heroine is a journalist and professionally skeptical. The hero has been burned by a former wife who cheated on him. Danny is a young man whose violent, abusive upbringing has taught him to trust no one but his late, older brother. In the course of the story, all three learn to believe in each other, sometimes painfully, sometimes stumbling toward it. And several times in the course of the story that trust is tested in desperate situations.

“So close, no matter how far.” In a pivotal scene in the story, the heroine is separated from the other characters and her life is in mortal danger. There’s only one thing she can do, but it’s risky, and it involves a huge leap of faith in her distant companions.

“And nothing else matters.” In the end…. Well, you’ll just have to read the book to see.

Oh, yeah. You guys KNOW I approve of the choice. (Be glad I didn’t link to Godsmack’s version of the song. Heard it yet? Heard it when Sully and James sang together when they toured together? Mmm. Yeah. Good stuff, there. Anyway, back to the book.)

book blurb!

When Catherine Bennett agrees to attend an important party as a favor for her boss, she knows she won’t enjoy it, but she doesn’t expect to end up holding a dying man in her arms and becoming the recipient of his last message. Bobby Stark has evidence that will prove his younger brother has been framed for arson and murder. He wants that evidence to get to his brother’s lawyer, and he tries to tell Cathy where he’s hidden it. Unfortunately, he can only manage to give her a cryptic piece of the location before he dies.

The man who killed Bobby saw him talking to her and assumes she knows where the evidence is hidden. He wants it back and he’ll do whatever it takes to get it, including following her and trying to kidnap her.

Cathy enlists the aid of attorney Peter Lowell and Danny Stark, Bobby’s prickly, difficult younger brother, as well as a handsome private detective to help her find the evidence before the killers do.

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Help a reader out!

I was chatting with a woman at the Hoity Toity Health Club because I noticed her Kindle. She said she doesn’t read much because of school, but when she does, she likes Lisa Gardner.

I went to suggest other authors to her and … my mind went blank.

Now, as soon as we started talking 50 Shades, I immediately was able to suggest Tilly Greene, Lorelei James, Megan Hart, and Lauren Dane.

But romantic suspense?

Help us both out, will ya? The only parameter is that is has to be available in e-book format. That’s it. Being publisher-blind is a good thing, so long as the books themselves are good.

(This is particularly embarrassing, as I READ Romantic Suspense and really like it… but I still blank on authors who write it!)

Following on the tails of last week’s semi-rant about how easy it is for anyone to get the wrong idea about the quality of self-published books, I got a new assignment from TWTBC.

My eyes bugged. My jaw dropped open.

The book is only 150 pages or so, barely long enough to call a novel.

The only commas are there so you can accuse the author of comma splices, rending most sentences unreadable on the first try.

The paragraphing is bad — there’s dialogue and then, instead of a new paragraph, there’s narration. Right after the dialogue. Except, the narration and action (usually someone shrugging or sighing) is attributed to the next speaker.

So it goes like this.

“Whaddya think?” Trevor sighed.

“You know thinking’s bad for your health, dumbass. Quit bothering me.” Mitchell giggled.

“What makes you think you’re always right?” Trevor shrugged.

It SHOULD read:

“Whaddya think?”

Trevor sighed. “You know thinking’s bad for your health, dumbass. Quit bothering me.”

Mitchell giggled. “What makes you think you’re always right?”

Trevor shrugged.

Did you notice that the characters aren’t particularly nice to each other? There are also a couple of adverbs that describe how EVERYTHING happens. Thoughtfully. Carelessly. Okay, those aren’t the real ones, but imagine if they were, and used in the wrong spots, too. Actions completed thoughtfully, during a fight scene? (Not to mention, in the above example, Mitchell giggling. First of all, it’s out of character. Second of all, it’s not appropriate for the scene.)

And yes, there is MORE. On the one hand, I feel terrible for the author. S/he’s got his/her name associated with this hot mess of a book. On that same hand, I wish I could edit it for him/her. But on that other hand… I’m glad I didn’t. A hot mess this bad would have cost way more than the book review eventually did. And while I know I’m a really good editor, I also know that one can only do so much with what you’re given. For all I know, the author DID hire an editor, and then refused to listen to what s/he had to say. In a year since I returned to editing, I’ve had that happen. (The client didn’t pay the full bill in the end, either. Go figure.)

This is one I can’t wait to be done with. And sadly, when people want a poster child for what’s wrong with self-publishing, it’s this book they’ll turn to. It’s so much easier to be negative in today’s world, after all, and overlook the good stuff… and let me say it again: there is PLENTY of good stuff out there.

I think I’m going to start featuring it. Once I finish this hot mess.

(If you’re new here and don’t know who Trevor and Mitchell are, well… shame on you! But use this link to learn everything you need to. Welcome to the Trevolution.

**Thanks to my own impromptu editor, Robin at Around the Island, for catching a rare Susan typo!

It feels like forever since Darcia Helle and I met, but in truth, it’s only been a few years. There’s an energy to our friendship, a synergy, and I have trusted Darcia with some of my deepest secrets.

That’s why I’m proud to host her today. Her new book is called Secrets, and … well, read on. See what song makes her think of her book.

Music is sometimes an inspiration for what I write. Other times, it’s not until after I’ve written something that a particular song strikes me as significant to the story. The latter is the case with Secrets. While I’m very much tuned to lyrics, everything about a song has to fit. The tempo, the mood of the music, and the tone of the voice all have to mesh perfectly. I have to hear, feel and see my characters in the song.

The song I most relate to with Secrets is Cold Water by Damien Rice; the version sung with Lisa Hannigan.

This is a video of the two of them singing Cold Water stripped down and live.

Everything about this song is haunting. The mood, for me, is one of both sadness and hope. The lyrics are simple. In fact, there aren’t many words to this song at all. The ability to move someone doesn’t come from a lot of words; it comes from the words we choose. Songs and stories have this in common.
Damien sings the first verse. He opens with:

Cold, cold water surrounds me now…
And all I’ve got is your hand.

The cold water here isn’t literal. I hear it as a man who feels he’s drowning in a metaphoric sense. This is Jeff, Samantha’s husband. He’s clinging to her hand and, without that connection, he’s lost.

Lisa sings the second verse and her opening words are striking to Samantha’s story in Secrets:

Love one’s daughter…
Allow me that.

As a child, Samantha was sexually abused by her father and despised by her mother. In these words, I hear Samantha’s plea for all parents to grant their daughters this one basic gift.

Then she sings:

And I can’t let go
Of your hand.

Samantha’s lifeline is her husband.

This song hits me deep each time I hear it. Damien Rice’s voice can move me to tears. For me, it’s powerful and raw, and speaks volumes with few words.

Did your jaw drop open? Mine did, the first time I read this.

Here’s the official blurb:

SURVIVAL
Samantha’s monsters aren’t under the bed; they’re the people she calls Mom and Dad.
ESCAPE
She makes it out alive, her sanity barely intact.
LIES
She creates a new past that fools everyone, including herself.
HOPE
A life filled with love and security teeters on its base of lies.
SECRETS
When it all comes crumbling down, will Samantha make it out alive?

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Okay, so that’s a heck of an incendiary headline up there. I did that on purpose; I want you guys to be reading what I have to say.

You know I work for The World’s Toughest Book Critics. I am a paid reviewer for them, and they assign me to read indie books, or self-published books, or whatever term you want to use for books NOT put out by an organized business such as Harper Collins, Penguin, and the like. Not even books from places like Coffee House Press or The Mysterious Press. You know: us people who are riding the wave of the Kindle, the Nook, and the iPad.

The books submitted to The World’s Toughest Book Critics that find their way to me are submitted along with money from the author to the reviewing source.

We can argue the value of a paid review until the cows come home. But I’d like to point something out: the big publishers have the finances to help fund these book review sources via advertising. We indies usually don’t have a couple hundred — or more — to throw into an ad that may or may not sell books. (Better to give that kind of money to a good editor or…)

The review sites need to find a way to replace the lost revenue, after all. And so, the paid review was born. It’s a win-win for everyone involved, or so the thinking goes. The site or publication (or, in today’s world, both) doesn’t take a hit in their revenue stream. The author hopefully gets to brag about their really good review from The World’s Toughest Book Critics, or the World’s Oldest Review Publication, or The Librarian’s Favorite Review Source.

Notice what I said there, about the author? HOPEFULLY.

That’s because of the 20 or so books I’ve read for TWTBC, I’ve been lukewarm, at best, about three of them. The most recent book WOULD have been fantastic if it had been copy edited by someone with a clue and an eye for more than their bank account. (Yeah, I’m talking to you, lady, who thinks it’s fine to add an apostrophe s to a plural in one line, but not when the same word, still a plural, appears on the next.)

Now, take a step back and pretend you’re a famous author of the best-selling variety, and some journalist has called you up and asked for a quote about the self-publishing phenomenon overtaking the world. And you go to those review sites and look a few over before answering and … all you see is negativity. Why on earth would you NOT say you think all that’s coming out is garbage? Those reviews you just read… they didn’t exactly give you the warm fuzzies.

I’m not advocating that us reviewers change our policies and stop telling the truth. Not at all.

You guys know where I’m going… I’m issuing a challenge to us writers. Improve our craft. Expand our storytelling. Find the right editors to work with. Don’t be in such a rush to get something on the market that you become one of those authors who gets an e-mail from a book blogger, saying, “I’d have loved to have read this like I said I was going to, but the typos are so bad, I can’t.” — and then the author says, “I know, but I wanted to get this on the market and start making money.”

Up your game, folks, and there won’t be a reason for anyone to put us down anymore.

I went to Amazon the other day to look up some information to go along with a review I had to write for the World’s Toughest Book Critics. Not that I hang out on my own book pages, but Trevor’s Song popped up, along with all those thumbnails for books others viewed when they looked at my buddy Trevor.

One of them was JP Grider’s Unplugged (A Portrait of a Rock Star).

Will this be just another notch in my quest to be the world’s leading expert in Rock Fiction, or will this be the newest book I rave about?

Once I get a copy and actually read it (oy, my TBR. Those Toughest Book Critics are keeping me busy like you would NOT believe), I’ll let you know.

In the meantime, I’ll keep coveting. And being a Toughest Book Critic. And your resident Rock Fiction expert.

(and someone who gives up sleep in the eternal quest to get things done!)

As part of the hoopla and fun surrounding Stacy Juba’s new release, 25 Years In the Rearview Mirror: 52 Authors Look Back, I’ll be featuring a number of the authors who appear in this book along with myself.

Today, it’s Vicki Delany in the hot seat, talking about her new book, More than Sorrow.

Ready? Here’s the song that makes Vicki think about her book:

What Wonderful World sung by Louis Armstrong. I love this song because of the contrast with the tune and the lyrics. It’s actually very sad, as he sings about the wonderful world. In More than Sorrow, the protagonist, Hannah Manning, is recovering from a Traumatic Brain Injury caused when she was in an IED explosion in Afghanistan (where she was working as a journalist). Hannah has come to her sister’s organic vegetable farm to recover.

Like in the song, as I interpret it, Hannah is surrounded by peace and beauty of the countryside in the height of summer. But she has not been able to find peace and she is largely immune to the beauty of the farm. She wants to get her old life back, not to be dependent on others. She spends much of her time in the atic of the 18th centry house, looking through old letters, letters full of sorrow and she thinks to herself:

Life was more than sorrow.

It had to be more than sorrow.

Yes, I’d agree. Life has to be more than sorrow.

Here’s the blurb:

Once, Hannah Manning was an internationally-renowned journalist and war correspondent. Today, she’s a woman suffering from a traumatic brain injury. Unable to read, unable to concentrate, full of pain, lost and confused, haunted by her memories, Hannah goes to her sister’s small-scale vegetable farm in Prince Edward County, Ontario to recover.

As summer settles on the farm, she finds comfort in the soft rolling hills and neat fields as well as friendship in the company of Hila Popalzai, an Afghan woman also traumatized by war.

Unable to read the printed word, Hannah retreats into the attic and boxes of mouldy letters that have accumulated for more than two centuries. As she learns about the original settlers of this land, Loyalist refugees fleeing the United States in 1784, she is increasingly drawn to the space beneath the old house. More than carrots and potatoes, soups and jams, are down in the dark damp root cellar.

Hannah experiences visions of a woman, emerging from the icy cold mist. Is the woman real? Or the product of a severely damaged brain?

Which would be worse?

Then Hila disappears. When Hannah cannot account for her time, not even to herself, old enemies begin to circle.

In this modern Gothic novel of heart-wrenching suspense, past and present merge into a terrifying threat to the only thing Hannah still holds dear – her ten-year-old niece, Lily.

Buy it!

Amazon

Amazon.ca

B&N

Indiebound

Contact Vicki at vicki@vickidelany.com. Her website is Vicki Delany.com. She blogs about the writing life at One Woman Crime Wave, and you can catch her at Facebook, and twitter