Yep, I really HAVE been working on expanding this series. I hope you’re having fun with it; everyone picks such varied music. Personally, I’m having a ball.

Today I’ve got Renee Pawlish, who’s got a new YA novel out, The Emerald Quest. I asked what song makes her think of her book and she said…

When I hear the song Miserlou by Dick Dale I think of The Emerald Quest because Miserlou reminds me of the ocean, surfing and fun in the water, and The Emerald Quest is all about boats, the ocean, treasure hunting, scuba diving and fun in the water.

There ya go. Boats, the ocean, treasure hunting, scuba diving, and fun in the water. Can’t go wrong with THAT combo, can you? And the song??? Be sure to click through… this is old guitar work that still resonates today. You may even recognize shades of songs YOU grew up with (assuming you’re an old bat like me).

How’d you like the more formal book blurb?

A long-lost emerald, a missing treasure map, and a wealthy villain combine for an action-packed adventure!

Thirteen-year-old Noah Winter, the son of sea-exploring treasure hunters, dives the San Isabel shipwreck with his parents in search of a mysterious treasure map lost in the murky depths off the Florida Keys over a century ago. The map reveals the hiding place of the priceless De La Rosa emerald. But before the Winters can find the map, a wealthy treasure-hunting rival kidnaps Noah’s parents. Now Noah must match wits with a dangerous adversary, not only to discover the treasure map first, but to rescue his mom and dad before it’s too late.

Get your own copy!

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With less than a week to go until the debut of King Trevor, here’s another snippet from Kerri’s Diary. This project is a side piece to the current books in print that are part of the Trevolution. This post, inspired in part by real life, incorporates this week’s Three Word Wednesday prompt words.

You know those romantic images of the woman who always sleeps in her lover’s arms? Mitchell and I sleep like that. I’ll admit it. Scary thing is that it’s hard to get to sleep if I’m not using him as a pillow.

Don’t buy the hype about how it’s nothing but great. Neither of us moves much when we sleep, so sometimes, we’ll wake up and find we’ve gone stiff during the night – especially Mitchell, especially the night after a show. These early shows have been the hardest on him. Sometimes, one or the other of us will have an arm or a leg – or shoulder, or whatever – go numb.

The worst happened this morning. I can’t even tell you how it started because I was asleep, but I guess I sneezed.

And, of course, when you’re using a man’s body for your pillow and you sneeze while you’re asleep…

Well, his growls were what woke me. Even then, I was groggy. I’m not trying to justify it, so bear with me. I wasn’t sure what had happened, and I wasn’t even entirely certain I had sneezed in real life even though I’d sneezed in the dream I’d been having.

I moved my hand over his chest and … it was all wet. Not the sweaty kid of wet, either. This was… different.

“What happened?” I asked him.

“You sneezed,” he said. It came out mostly as a growl.

I couldn’t help it. I started to laugh. “You mean I sneezed on you?”

He got out of bed. It was obvious this was funnier to me than it was to him.

I rolled onto my back and laughed some more. He stayed in the bathroom until I stopped giggling, but as soon as he came out and I saw him, I started again. I couldn’t help it. In a way, this was worse than any of those other random body functions that happen while making love.

“Payback’s a bitch, Ker,” he finally said and got back into bed. He made it clear I wasn’t allowed back on his shoulder, and when I rolled onto my side, he fit himself against me.

And that’s when I realized: I had my back to him. And his face.

And paybacks are, indeed, bitches.

Remember a few months back, when I joined in a mega-huge give over at Darcia Helle’s site?

We’re at it again.

Only, this time, it’s e-books. And, instead of one winner taking home the bacon — well, okay, half the pig — this time, there will be multiple winners. Five of them (you?), in fact. Each winner will get five books.

Stop in. Check it out. Enter. Spread the word and all that jazz…

I’ve been putting out calls to authors who aren’t necessarily my friends (yet). Why leave them out of the Featured New Book fun? Why miss out on a potential new friend?

Today’s guest is author Angela Scott, who’s got a new one out called Wanted Dead or Undead.

What song makes her think of her book?

I had to think on the song for a bit, but I would have to say Christina Perri’s ARMS works.

Hmm. Can’t say I knew that one before now. It’s a pretty song. I sorta dig it. I like the refrain: You put your arms around me and I’m home. (If I’m hearing that wrong, holler. Won’t be the first time.)

Book blurb:

Trace Monroe doesn’t believe in luck. He never has. But when a fiery-headed cowgirl saunters through the saloon doors, wielding shotguns and a know-how for killing the living dead, he believes he just may be the luckiest man alive.

Trace wants to join “Red’s” posse, but she prefers to work alone—less messy that way. In order to become her traveling companion, Trace has to agree to her terms: no names, no questions, and if he gets bit, he can’t beg for mercy when she severs his brain stem. He agrees, knowing only that Red is the sharpest shooter he’s ever encountered. The fact she’s stunning hasn’t escaped his attention either.

What he doesn’t know, is that Red has a very good reason to be on top of her game. She not only has the answer for how they can all outlive the plague taking over the wild, wild west, she is the answer.

Buy link (Hey, you fellow non-Kindle people, speak up if you want to read this but can’t due to lack of Kindle stuff. I’m there with you.)

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Okay, so it’s March, not July, when I’m posting this, but the weather here makes this a fitting piece. Less than two weeks until the release of King Trevor — are you ready??

Mitchell called last night and asked me to bring some warmer clothes for him when I come back out on the road. He said he’s already stolen a sweatshirt from his own merch, but it’s not enough. He needs a coat or something.

I don’t get it. It’s the summer, for crying out loud. July. And the band is in the States, where it doesn’t exactly get cold enough to be coat weather. At least, it usually doesn’t do that in July.

You don’t argue with Mitchell when he gets in these moods, though. You shut up and dig through the coat closet and find something that’s not as heavy as his ShapeShifter jacket, but is still warmer than the denim he’s got with him. Maybe even warmer than the warm-up jacket I was eyeing, but then my choices are this horrid stadium jacket that had to have been one of those prank presents from Amy or Beth, or this even worse barn jacket.

That’s what makes me think that Mitchell doesn’t need a coat right now. That he’s looking ahead and knowing he’ll need one soon, and that if he whines about being cold in the middle of July, I’ll take pity on him and buy him something nicer than either of these two. Yet why he thinks I won’t come up with something worse is beyond me.

Unless he’s planning that if I do, he’ll just make me wear it. Me, who wants nothing more than a heavy leather ShapeShifter jacket like the one in the closet. The one I’m half-tempted to take out and sleep with. I mean, it reeks of him. I may be home for only a week but damn, I miss him.

Maybe I’ll wait on the whole coat thing and drag him out shopping on a day off once I’ve gotten back out there. That way, any ugly thing he winds up with will be his own doing.

But I’ll pack him an extra pair of sweatpants, just in case he really is cold. Maybe another sweatshirt, too. A heavier one. Just in case…

Be sure to check out the other FridayFlash folk and see what they are creating… It’s always fun to sample the depth of experience on the Net…

It was just a few days ago (okay, a couple weeks now. Whatever) when I posted about Shinedown’s song, Bully.

Now I’ve got MORE Shinedown news (and no, it has nothing to do with my current lust for Brent Smith, which is really odd ’cause he’s not my type, which means it’s all about the lyrics, baby. Maybe I ought to take a page from Ginny and start self-uniting with some of these men. I’m allowed to dream, no?)

Ahem.

Shinedown. Books.

Yeah. That’s the topic of the day.

I pulled this one off Brave Words:

Mashable.com reports that Atlantic Records has taken an uncommon approach to using Apple’s iBooks Author — touted as a creation platform that will “reinvent the textbook” — by building an interactive eBook for SHINEDOWN\\\’ next album, Amaryllis.

The 75-page iPad ebook will be available March 27th, coinciding with the Amaryllis album release. The eBook visually tells the story of the multi-platinum rock band’s new songs, creative process and cover art.

Frontman Brent Smith says the eBook, titled For Your Sake: Inside The Making Of Shinedown’s Amaryllis, revives the complete album experience, which changed when CD booklets and liner notes became less prevalent.

Hmm. Think they’re past the editing stage? If not, if I promise not to self-unite, can I have the gig?

The world works in funny ways. I think I first really became aware of Ash Krafton through Triberr. When she released her new book, Bleeding Hearts, I realized she’s also a Pennwriter.

Triberr friends are cool. But to be BOTH a Triberr AND a Pennwriter? Well, Pennwriters… I consider Pennwriters to be MY people, you know? These are the people who (by and large) know me in real life. Many of them know what my face looks like — and the rest of me. And they suffer my often big, opinionated mouth. (Who, me? Hell, yeah!)

So when Ash announced the release of her first book, you KNOW I had to have her come by. I pretty much put it to her in those terms, too. It seems, though, that our favorite question wasn’t so easy when placed in Ash’s capable hands. Read on…

I’m sure you weren’t being mean when you asked this question, Susan. How were you to know the book was written, not with a single song in mind, but rather an entire playlist?

That means it’s going to be tough to answer this question.

Most of the songs on the Bleeding Hearts Soundtrack (not available in any store because, apparently, copyrights are ridiculously tricky things) aren’t by mainstream artists. How many readers are familiar with Lacuna Coil, Type O Negative, and Blind Guardian? Didn’t think there’d be many. And how many of you are devoted Rush fans? Yep. Thought so. (I won’t tell Geddy, though. He’d just be hurt.)

So answering this question is a lot harder than it should be. After all, if nobody’s heard of the song, then nobody’s going to relate to the book for the purpose of this article. What a failed promotional jig this would turn out to be!

Then I remembered—there *was* a band that got lots of radio play, that had Billboard-Chartable hits, that was mainstream despite their not wanting to be mainstream. There *was* a band that produced several emotional songs that really affected me in a creative way…songs like “My Immortal” and “Going Under”…and “Bring Me To Life.”

That’s it. That’s the song.

“Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence reminds me of the book every time I hear it. However, in my head, it’s not Amy Lee singing—it’s my hero, Marek.

Marek is a Demivampire who is dangerously close to Falling. If that happens, he’ll evolve into a vampire and will be lost forever. There’s slim hope for a demivamp who gets that close to the edge…unless they are found and Saved by one of the Sophia, a group of mystical oracles who are able to undo the spiritual damage responsible for a demivamp’s evolution.

Marek believes he’s too far gone to save. But that’s when Sophie finds him—and she’s not going to give up on the man she loves.

The song “Bring Me To Life” begins with the words:

How can you see into my eyes
Like open doors?
Leading you down into my core,
Where I’ve become so numb.

Without a soul,
My spirit’s sleeping somewhere cold,
Until you find it there and lead it back
Home.

Marek’s sure he’s beyond redemption when he meets Sophie. Neither of them realizes what she is at first, but he knows she’s something special. Her quirky little spurts of wisdom never fail to catch him off guard and he’s determined to find out.

As their love story progresses, Marek tells Sophie no one has ever touched his heart the way she does. It’s echoed by this line:

Frozen inside without your touch,
Without your love, darling.
Only you are the life among the dead.

Marek is desperate to rejoin the living and is confident Sophie can lead him back.

Evanescence performs the song with a haunting mixture of fierce determination and desperation, two sentiments that drive the soul of Bleeding Hearts. If the group ever re-records the song, reversing the male/female vocals, I think it would be a perfect match.

Even as it plays, “Bring Me To Life” takes me to my book every time I hear it. And, while a lot of music played in the background while I wrote Bleeding Hearts: Book One of the Demimonde, giving plenty of emotional fuel to create the character of my empathic heroine, this one seems written especially for her hero.

I’d like to dedicate this song to you, Marek.

WHAT, Ash?? MY readers not know Lacuna Coil? To not still mourn the loss of the (warped but) creative genius who was Peter Steele?

You need to hang out here more often. You just do.

But Evanescence?? Still holds a high place of regard on my iPod. Have you heard Ben Moody’s spinoff band, We are the Fallen, yet? Sounds a lot like Evanescence, but the songwriting shows who in the band has/had the chops… I may be a bigger Ben Moody fan than an Amy Lee fan, and that’s saying a lot…

Anyway, back to the book.

Hey, how’d you like the blurb?

About BLEEDING HEARTS: Book One of the Demimonde

Saving the world one damned person at a time—shy advice columnist-turned-oracle must find a way to save her dangerous demivampire lover from the fate that threatens each of his race: evolution and the destruction of his soul.

When advice columnist Sophie meets dark and alluring Marek, she learns life-changing secrets about them both—he’s a demivampire struggling to avoid evolution and she’s an empathic oracle destined to save him. Sophie possesses the rare ability to reduce the spiritual damage that causes a demivamp to Fall, making her the only thing that stands between a DV and evolution.

However, as Marek’s dangerous past propels him toward his desperate fate, his enemies make darker plans for him: once vampire, powerful Marek would be second only to the Master himself. The vamps want to cause Marek’s Fall and they intend to use Sophie to do it….

Hook up with Ash at these places:

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This week’s Three Word Wednesday and #FridayFlash combines with my new Kerri’s Diary series. This piece, obviously, is set during Trevor’s Song. As we get closer to the release of King Trevor, the newest book in the Trevolution, you’ll be reading more snippets from Kerri’s Diary. Hope you’ll join me for the ride — and pick up the books, while you’re at it.

After all these months, it finally happened.

I got to see ShapeShifter play live. A real, live concert. Not a practice, not a warm-up show in a mostly-empty arena. A concert.

Mitchell was right. I didn’t get it until I experienced it.

Amateur that I was, Eric told me I had to go down into the crowd and watch that way. Right down there, at the barrier, he said. He found a member of the local security team to put me in place and stay with me, to make sure I wouldn’t get trampled. I laughed, but it turns out, Eric was right. I needed the guard’s diligent ways; ShapeShifter fans are rough. It’s not that they mosh so much as they almost have this need to get up in the band’s face and touch them and be close to them, especially Mitchell. He’s more than just the guy in front, as he calls himself. He’s electric up there, magnetic. He’s calling people to him, and I doubt he even realizes what he’s doing.

I watched big, beefy guys get hauled over the barrier, red-faced and gasping for breath. Girls who looked like they were about to pass out, who’d immediately burst into tears at where they found themselves. So close to the band and yet being shown the way to someplace that’d only move them farther from their heroes. They’d get yanked free, and there’d be six more people cramming into that space they’d just come out of.

The crush was incredible. And there were only eighteen thousand total fans in the arena. The security guy said he’s been on the road with bands who’ve played in front of fifty or sixty thousand. This, he said, was nothing. When you get numbers like that, the floor’s packed. People can—and sometimes do—get trampled.

I believe him. And … I don’t. It’s just too hard to get your brain around. I’ll admit it here since I can’t admit it anywhere else, but at times, I was scared.

I spent the rest of the night drawing, and yet I couldn’t draw anything. I was too busy watching, taking it all in. This was my first experience with the whole spectacle: the hurry-up-and-wait once you get to the venue, the interviews, the pre-show, the after-show, the fans, the media types, the label people. And the groupies. Oh, yeah. Don’t forget the groupies. They hate me already and half of them don’t even realize the woman standing in the band’s shadows is the wife. They hate the very concept of me. I’ve taken Mitchell from them.

Eric said the thing to do is get to know a few. I’ll know which ones, he promised. Nurture a friendship with them, he said. Let their influence pave the way. I’m betting he’s right.

Mitchell said that after tonight, I can go down into the pit, the area between the stage and the barrier, and watch from there. He said Eric was right: my first time had to be done right.

Then he winked, the horny bastard.

One final plug: if you like serial fiction, be sure to stop in at Alice Audrey’s spot on the Net for us Serialists. Read a few, add your own… it’s all good.

Yo.

A couple months back, Sharlana Williams interviewed me for Hellfire Publishing. It took so long to get posted that I thought… nah. The editors didn’t like it. They dropped it in the circular file.

Surprise!

I’m lousy with jokes of this sort, so if you can think of one about the one-armed drummer who begins making gorgeous art, let me have it.

I don’t have much info on this, other than to think that on the surface, it’s not that different from what Matt Sorum is doing.

Here’s from the press release, or the article posted at Brave Words, or wherever this originated from (it’s posted on Allen’s website and is credited to Blabbermouth, so… clear as mud. Which could be another art form, I know):

DEF LEPPARD drummer Rick Allen\\\’ collection of visual art, “Electric Hand: Rhythm + Change”, is set for release on April 18 exclusively at RickAllenArt.com. Allen is translating rhythm into a visual art medium through an extensive process involving drumbeat, light, photography, and graphic design. The result is a collection of abstract imagery built directly from Allen’s rhythmic prowess. And as one of the pioneers in this new medium, Allen is holding true to a lifetime of breaking barriers and new ground.

Jokes aside, even though I’m too lame to make them, I met Rick Allen once, way back, not long after the whole arm thing and his triumphant return to the stage. He was a nice enough bloke. Very NOT a rock star, you know?

He’s gone on to form the Raven Drum Foundation and other cool things that are changing the world.

So… check out the art. It comes out a mere six days after King Trevor, so you should budget accordingly (King Trevor, of course, being a book and not one-of-a-kind art that makes Susan drool, will be significantly less money, so if you have to choose…).

Let me know what you think!

It began when I approached the lovely Shayna Gier about having her review Trevor’s Song. A friendship has struck up, one that I hope will continue.

That has nothing to do with my saying this interview was a hell of a lot of fun. Not only does she ask good stuff, she’s the FIRST person to comment on Cool Dude!

Go see. Go see what her other fun questions are. If you think of some you’d like to ask, I’m always game for an interview. You guys know that. I love promo, love meeting new people, love chatting with folk. Take advantage. Even ten years ago, this sort of access to an author was unheard of.

In my quest to see what happens when books and music collide, I decided to expand the Featured New Book spot here at West of Mars. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m having a ball with it. We have yet to have a repeat song, and the choices all these various authors are making are endlessly fascinating.

Like this one. Ernie Laurence Jr. is our guest today, and man, he blew me away with the song that makes him think of his book, Islands of Loar Sundered.

What song makes me think of my book/series? There is an old spiritual entitled “Wayfaring Stranger” that fits this book (and the Islands of Loar series). The song is set in a minor key. It is my favorite song, ever. [Note from Susan: here’s another version, one that Ernie likes.]

vs 1- I am a poor, wayfaring stranger while traveling through this world of woe.
vs 2 – I know dark clouds will gather round me. I know my way is rough and steep.
vs 3 – I’ll soon be free of every trial. My body sleep in the graveyard.

These are the first lines of all three verses. Each verse opens with loneliness, weariness, and a desire for rest. That is the perfect image of what I want Loar to look and feel like to the reader: the remnants of a shattered planet orbiting its star. Its inhabitants have been abandoned by their deities and know nothing of any life beyond their world. This makes them feel alone, vulnerable, and causes most to despair. Now, numerous enemies outside of Loar seek to finish off all life in the Islands. The populace is trodden under by the tyranny of the elite Aeromancers and there is rebellion fomenting that threatens to tear the civilization apart from within. The rest are wearied with merely surviving. Even the plant life has weakened and looks like it is giving up.

vs 1 – Yet there’s no sickness, toil, nor danger in that bright world to which I go.
vs 2 – But golden fields lie out before me where God’s redeemed shall ever be.
vs 3 – I’ll drop the cross of self denial and enter on my great reward.

The second phrase of each verse speaks of rest, of an end to labor, and coming to a place where all those who have achieved this rest come together in peace and comfort. These phrases represent the heroes of the tale. Doogan, whose unwavering goodness is matched only by his desire to see the people of Loar lifted out of their misery and do more than just survive. In him is the potential to heal the civil strife. Spenciel, who puts others first and denies himself in all instances to bring justice and peace to the Islands. He is set on a path to understand the power of the departed gods. Thean, who has great faith, endurance, and love for all the people of Loar and comes to desire to bear their burdens on his own shoulders. His path seems to be to stand between the monsters and the people as one of the true Chosen of the Prophecy. There are a lot of them, but they all seek to overcome not just the enemies without: monsters, demons, and so forth, but the most powerful enemy of all: the despair and despondency within.

The song ends with an affirmation of success in all three verses:

vs 1- I’m going there to see my Father. I’m going there no more to roam.

vs 2 – I’m going there to see the Spirit. He said He’d meet me when I come.

vs 3 – I’m going there to see my Savior, to sing His praise for evermore.

all – I’m only going over Jordan. I’m only going over home.

There is another character in the story that we only see twice. Though he only has a small part in the story, in a way, he plays the largest role. I won’t reveal too much here, but I will say that he epitomizes the song as no other character I have written or ever will write again. This character introduces Loar in a very subtle way to a much grander perspective, including the concept of what “God” really means.

There are certainly some faint religious undertones to the story and some not quite as subtle political ones. For those who do not share my own very strong conservative religious or political views, this might cause a twinge of controversy, but hey…that sells too, eh? However, overwhelmingly this is an epic fantasy and those who enjoy the genre will hopefully enjoy the story regardless.

Whew, huh? Like… wow. Ernie definitely wins for the most detailed explanation.

Bring it, folks. I am eating this stuff up!

Need more?

Synopsis (from my wiki):

Surviving fragments of civilization left over from a sundered planet eke out a life in an environment sustained entirely by elemental magic. A few disparate groups of teens and young adults from different species and backgrounds attempt to find adventure and meaning to their bleak existence, or hopelessly search for a remedy to their decaying situation.

An increasingly oppressive government and the growing threat of a veiled enemy will throw some of these groups together while viciously tearing others apart. There are hints of the return of one of the missing gods, but it is one that may finish the Islands of Loar for good unless these young heroes can stop him in time.

So. How do you hook up with Ernie and Islands of Loar Sundered? Well, via these links of course!
Links:

Amazon

Smashwords

Website (My online appendix for all my novels essentially)

Facebook

Blog/Author Page

With the release of King Trevor, the follow-up to Trevor’s Song, coming out in less than a month, I decided it was time to share this project I’ve worked on, off and on, over the years. As always, this is tie-in material and has no spoilers to what awaits you in King Trevor.

There’s snow here and even though we’ve seen snow already, there’s something about the snow here that made me stop and think. It doesn’t snow in Riverview, so this is the first time I’ve seen snow since I left Pittsburgh.

I didn’t think I’d missed it, but there’s something about it that looks so right, I can’t get over it.

I wanted to take a short walk in it. Hear it crunch under my feet and feel the cold seep up my body. Remember the stillness, the quiet of a snowfall. I wish there was a way to paint those sensations, but I don’t think you can get it unless you experience it.

Mitchell came with me. It was four in the morning and all I wanted to do was walk across the lawn of the hotel. Who’d have thought a downtown hotel would have grass, but if it’s not grass under the snow, it’s an unshoveled patio and who really cares? The idea is to just be in the snow.

He got cold before we walked long, and we’re both tired. It doesn’t matter; it was enough.

I don’t know if I’m glad it doesn’t snow in Riverview, but I’m glad I live there now. Like Mitchell, I’m not leaving so fast.

Yeah. Let’s talk the new Shinedown single.

I adore it.

Parts of it even remind me of King’s X. (Anyone else remember them?)

Anyway… here’s the deal. I’m surfing the music headlines over at Blabbermouth and one of them says “Shinedown Singer says Bully Does Not Condone Violence.”

Huh? What?

Okay. Clearly, I missed something here. That’s not terribly surprising, as I’ve been wrapped up in my own stuff over here.

Or… maybe I didn’t. I mean, isn’t part of the magic of a good song the way a listener can give it their own meaning?

And for me, Bully is more about eventuality. It’s about what’s going to happen in the long run. All you’ll ever be is a fading memory of a bully.

Here’s what Shinedown singer Brent Smith had to say, according to that news from Blabbermouth (link above if you missed it):

Brent Smith told The Pulse Of Radio that “Bully” does nothing of the kind. “I’m not condoning violence in this song,” he said. “What I’m condoning is survival. You want to be able to use your words in any situation, but the reality is, is that you have to make sure people realize that you think highly of yourself, and that you have self-respect and you have dignity. And the song is really about, if you push me, I will push you back, and if you hit me, I will hit you back.”

Yeah. Sorry, Brent. I totally missed it. Maybe it’s my age (perish the thought!) — maybe it’s the wisdom I’ve acquired over the past few years. I don’t know. All I know is that to me, it’s a song about biding your time and letting that bully turn out to be nothing more than a faded memory. While me, you, whoever… we go on to bigger and better.

Now that I’m watching the video, hearing all this… okay. I get it. It’s more immediate. I totally see what Brent’s saying. It IS a song about action.

But I still like my vision better. Payback doesn’t have to be automatic, boys and girls. In fact, sometimes, biding your time and waiting… makes it all the sweeter.

Your thoughts, gang?

I haven’t done a Featured New Book in awhile, so I put a call out for some blog fodder. The first person to respond was Jonathan Grant, so here we go…

Jonathan, what song makes you think of your book?

Answer: “One of Us” written by Eric Bazilian, performed by Joan Osborne, inspired me to write Brambleman the way I did. In other words, it actually
made me think of the book. (And they are listed in the Acknowledgments.) Brambleman’s theology is based on the song. Supernatural beings rely on public transportation, and buses are vehicles of both salvation and terrible (and sometimes random) justice. The book attempts to answer the musical question:

“What if God was one of us

Just a slob like one of us

Just a stranger on the bus

Trying to make his way home?”

Wait. WHAT?? Eric Bazilian?? As in … The Hooters????

Yep.

I never knew that! Remind me to tell you guys my Hooters story one day. Or don’t; it’s not terribly exciting.

Back to Jonathan, ’cause he’s got me right curious about this Brambleman book of his…

The book blurb:

Brambleman. a novel by Jonathan Grant

Down-and-out Atlanta writer Charlie Sherman has no idea what madness awaits
him when a mysterious stranger convinces him to finish a dead man’s book
about a horrific crime that’s gone unpunished for decades. Charlie becomes
convinced he’s been chosen by a Higher Power to wreak vengeance on those who
profit from evil. Either that, or he’ll die trying. Eventually, he realizes
the deal is an otherworldly setup.

Sounds good, no? I bet this will be the sort of book I wished I got to edit — not that it’s bad (perish the thought!) but because I’d have gotten to get my eyeballs on it before most others.

Yeah, I bet you never thought that was one of the perks of being an editor!

Anyway, pick up your copy/copies (books make great gifts!) at …

The book is still in the process of coming out, but Barnes and Noble has
listings for both eBook and for pre-ordering the paperback.

Can I tell you guys how much I like Jonathan, already? He’s a B&N dude, just like I’m a B&N chick, if I can’t go indie, that is…

Stop in at his website, too!

We all have one spot, one place, one moment, one band who is so integral on our musical journeys that without them, life would be so utterly different, we can’t even begin to get our brains around it.

Such as it is for me with Bon Jovi.

I know! Me. Your favorite Metallica fan. The woman who swoons at the honey in David Draiman’s voice. Who has this strange pull and compulsion to the new Machine Head single.

It all began for me with Slippery When Wet. It really did.

Now comes word of a new book, Let it Rock. It’s going to detail the making of this seminal record (seminal for myself and many), and yeah. I’m quite sure it’ll come with a whole slew of memories and flashbacks to high school and beyond, when my only drive and desire was to write books while working for a record label.

Yep. Blame all my Rock Fiction on Bon Jovi. For me, that’s where it began.

Read more here. I’ve got memories to sort through…

It’s Danny Lilker!

Oh. Sorry. He goes by Dan now. Back when I knew him, back in the early days of Brutal Truth, he was Danny. Me, I was just another radio chick, presumed to be eager to meet an honest-to-goodness star! (Truthfully? I wanted to meet this dude my friends kept talking about ’cause he was cool in the good way, and nice, and a doll and … and … damn. Did I just blow the man’s image?)

Anyway, Dan’s the subject of a biography, and it’s going to be released this summer via a publisher I’ve never heard of (Paper + Plastick Records).

Maybe it’s an ominous sign that the press release says the author, Dave Hofer, isn’t “classically trained in long-form writing,” but I for one hope it’s more of a challenge — one that Hofer has risen to.

Of course, with the book not due out until summer, a certain Rock Fiction expert who is also a freelance editor could take a pass through the book and make sure it’s as good as it could be… just an idea…

Hey, it’s one way to read the book before its release date. And to bump it ahead of the stack of other Rock Fiction (and non-fiction, of course) sitting here, waiting for me.

Can’t blame a girl for trying…

I’ve always wanted to go to London. Now I’m positively drooling at the idea — and travelling to Bedford. Wherever Bedford, England is.

That’s because I’m being enticed by a photo exhibit, Slipknot. Yep, as in the band. The masks, the brutality, the whole thing. It’ll be held at Rock City Art, a gallery that looks like it does some pretty cool exhibits. Maybe I’ll need to road trip there often. Regularly, even.

Only 40 pictures are part of the exhibit (ONLY 40. Listen to me, greedy wench that I am), and there’s no good preview online. Bummer.

Think I could write off my travel costs as a business expense? Or should I hope and pray the nearby Warhol Museum will be able to bring something like this across the pond? Yup. Just for me.

Yep, it’s that time of year again, gang.

Read an E-Book Week.

And to celebrate, I’m doing my usual: Mannequin, Demo Tapes (Year 1), and Demo Tapes (Year 2) are all being offered at Smashwords (ONLY) for free.

Trevor’s Song and Demo Tapes (Year 3) are 50% off, or $1.50 each.

Go. Pick up the books if you haven’t yet, or if you have, gift them to a friend. Remember: King Trevor is coming out on April 12. Now’s the time to join the Trevolution.

Remember when I mentioned Steven Adler’s mother was writing a tell-all about her kid? Well, more information has been released. The book will be called Sweet Child of Mine (of course!) and the release date is April 5.

Just a reminder if you’re doing your book budgeting for April… King Trevor comes out April 5.

Now, back to Mama Adler… the press release I saw says:

an honest and revealing look into a life beset by abuse and betrayal and what it was like raising a child who became a member of one of the greatest rock bands in history, and a heroin addict of equally epic proportions. The book emotionally and enthrallingly details a mother’s love for her infamous son, whose phenomenal success is surpassed only by his astounding capacity for self-destruction.

There’s more, but this is the jist of it.

You know, as a mother, we want fame and fortune and all sorts of good things for our kids. But not at this price…

Speaking of price, you can pre-order for $15 (and autographs from Steven and Deanna). This is a 40% savings off the on-sale price.