Note from Susan: I had to cut this from the follow-up to Trevor’s Song, but I like it. So I’m sharing it with you guys.

“If Val knew you were here, she’d say we’re both on the rag or something,” Daniel said as greeting. His eyes were only half-open, he had no shirt on, and he was wearing green plaid pajama bottoms. Or sleep pants or whatever the fuck you called them. They were all creased up, too, like he’d actually been sleeping in them.

In all the years Mitchell had known Daniel, he’d never once seen the guy wear sleep pants. If you’d asked, Mitchell would have answered that Daniel either slept where he dropped, fully dressed, or stripped down to bare skin. That’s how it went when they were on tour.

And then there was his hair. This might be the only time in the guy’s life it wasn’t perfect. In fact, it stood up in spots, like Val had been using it for something to grab onto. Which was way more than Mitchell wanted to know about Daniel’s night so far.

We’ll end this grand Rocktober month with one of my favorite bands: Apocalyptica.

During the luscious month of Rocktober, it seemed I was getting word of an upcoming book every few days. I told you guys about as many of them as I could. Here’s one more.

Apocalyptica, those hot Finnish cellists, brought a photographer friend on the road with them, intending to put out one of those behind-the-scenes books that make music junkies like me pine for a return to the days when working in the music business was practical — and happening.

I guess no one is smart enough to fund this project because, in true Kickstarter fashion, they are asking their fans to chip in and help the cause. Baby, if I weren’t busy trying to fund my OWN cause over here, I’d be involved in this, especially if it would get me my very own copy of the book. (and I ought to read more carefully because this is better than Kickstarter. It’s called Pledge Music and it’s got a charity component. AND you get a copy of the book.)

The band is also offering some nice-sounding goodies, most of which are already gone as I type this, way earlier in the month. Go look it over, yourself.

Ahh, this is one I truly covet, to the point where if I ever get my hands on it, I just might sleep with it under my pillow…

As I’m typing this, the book on my nightstand, for before bedtime reading, is Aerosmith’s famed autobiography, Walk This Way. I hadn’t realized it was published in 2003; I have no idea how long it’s been hanging around in my house, waiting for its turn to get read. And I’ve got to admit… the early stuff is slow going.

Now comes word that, hot on the heels of Steven Tyler’s Does The Noise in my Head Bother You (Yet ANOTHER long title!) comes his Aerosmith bandmate, Joey Kramer. Joey’s written his own biography: Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top. (Another title that goes to 11…)

At first, I kinda groaned. Here we go again. How many train wreck rock star autobiographies can there be, already? And given the plethora of them, is it any wonder that so many entries in the rock fiction genre are so amazingly stereotyped?

Well, guess again. This is the story of Joey’s battle with depression — and more. Not a train wreck, at all.

Bring it.

I know! I’ve spent this WHOLE month coveting books. Rocktober, baby. I hope you’ve been following the reviews over at Rocks ‘n Reads, too. It’s not all been wishful thinking.

Here’s one that’s a little bit off the beaten path, but I will want it once it has a title and a cover and … well, a spine. And I don’t mean that metaphorically.

WAAAAY back on October 4, it was announced via GalleyCat that Duran Duran bassist, John Taylor, has signed a half-million dollar deal for his memoir.

I know. What I could do with a half-million dollars.

He won’t GET a half-million dollars. After taxes and agents’ fees and the way deals are structured, he’ll really only get a part of it. If you thought Hollywood accounting was convoluted…

Anyhoo, the book is described like this:

This book recounts the million tiny seductions that are required to make the journey from English suburbia to selling out Madison Square Garden—seductions that go by a hundred different names; family, friendship, romances, collaborations and strategic alliances. Here is my journey and where it took me; into fantastic success, more than a little decadence, darkness, and finally, I like to think, a little enlightenment.

That’s a quote from Mr. Taylor, himself. Sounds like it’ll be good, juicy, and inspiring to me, no? I’ve been lately wanting to learn more about pop music and how it differs from Rock and Roll. My one experience with a bubble gum tour wasn’t terribly enlightening. Except, of course, for the ways in which it was…

By and large, I’d consider it against my religion or good sense to consider reading a book with more than ten words in its title. Maybe it’s against both.

We live in a world where it’s okay to make exceptions, and I’m glad of that. I’d like to read this one. It’s about Deep Purple, after all. In fact, the fist part of the title is Deep Purple and Beyond. And yes, it IS about the band Deep Purple.

Want to know how I know? It’s easy. The author is none other than Deep Purple singer Glenn Hughes.

Want a bonus? My buddy Lars Ulrich — yeah, THAT Lars — wrote the foreward.

Need another bonus? The highly esteemed (by me) Joel McIver was Glenn’s co-author.

I’d read pretty much anything Joel McIver wrote. I say that ’cause I’ve already had the pleasure. More, Joel! More!

I’ll own up to it. I will. I own two cookbooks full of Rock Star Recipes. (maybe one day, we should sponsor a cookoff? Hmm.)

I still don’t have a copy of Mosh Potatoes, but I’d love one. (HINT)

And now comes word of a new one: For Those About to Cook. It’s brought to us by Bruce Moore, and at $35, it’s a bit pricey. Too pricey for me here (fix that! Buy my books!). Is it too pricey for you?

This isn’t your typical cookbook, I don’t think. It’s described thus: “a collection of recipes, anecdotes and pictures from musicians and music industry personnel” and twice in the book description are mentions of this being a collector’s item.

But… there’s no mention of who the musicians and music industry personnel are. No mention of the recipes included. Of course, the book insists this is perfect for collectors. Does that mean collectors don’t cook?

I know that if this one finds its way to me, I’ll devour it the same way I devour every other rock and roll memoir and rock novel. At least, I begin to devour them all the same way. If they lose me, they lose me and life goes on.

Will this one lose me? I have no idea. Only one way to find out!

Now, here’s the thing. The subject of the book is a singer whose music I pretty consistently turn off when it comes up on my radio dials. It’s not that I don’t like his stuff, it’s that … well, it’s old. I’m tired of it. And the new stuff I’ve heard… well, okay. I don’t like what I’ve heard of that.

That doesn’t mean someone whose career is as long-running as Rod Stewart has a life story that’s going to be as unwelcome in my world as some of his songs have become. For one, Rod’s old enough to have lived — and to have the wisdom (one would hope) to share some nuggets with us. For another, Rod’s lived through some pretty darn amazing times. He’s seen shifts in the music business that kids today only read about.

Yeah. I’ll read Rod Stewart’s forthcoming memoir. Absolutely.

I know! What IS it with these long book titles on autobiographies this month??? Sheesh, people. Rock and roll relies on a four-count to make music. What’s with the 11-word book titles?

(Yeah, yeah. These go to 11. Bite me.)

Today it’s the famed, great, amazing Tony Iommi who has written a book. Not just any book, of course, but his autobiography. Tony Iommi is a legend.

I shouldn’t need to say another word.

I hope I’ve made it clear that despite my best attempts, I am NOT a musician. I really am not. I wish I was, but … it’s not in the cards for me.

I’m usually at peace with this. But every now and then, a luxury item pops up and makes me wish things were different. Here’s one: it’s a line of guitar straps made for Kirk Hammett — you know: that Metallica dude — that look so lush and wonderful that I wish I had a reason to justify one. But… I don’t.

If you do, go for it. Me, I’ll stay over here and dream…

Been having fun with Rocktober?

I sure have been. I’ve been here, I’ve been there, I’ve been … well, not everywhere yet, but I’m sure trying!

Now come hang with me at Horror. Punk. Buddhism. I’m talking about everyone’s favorite rebel, Trevor Wolff.

Not enough? Need something more? How about some talk about what exactly Rocktober is. I dropped into The Top Shelf for that.

There’s more yet to come… I’ve been working the promo machine and loving every second of it. Loving you guys who share my whereabouts, as well. Vive la Trevolution!

One of the best things about Rocktober this year hasn’t been great book reviews or lovely sales reports (although those are quite nice, as well).

Nope. It’s been meeting other Rock Fiction authors. One of them is ME Purfield, who was kind enough to feature me on his blog — and to let our friend Mary at BookHounds re-run the same post.

Mike is good people. So, of course, on hearing he’d just published a new book, Breaking Fellini, I had to ask him that burning question of mine: What song makes you think of your book?

Here’s what he said:

I’m going to give you a trick answer for this one. The Trilogy songs from Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation: The Wonder, Hyperstation, and Eliminator, Jr. The rhythm of it is so New York, especially the lower east side.

I tried hard to bring a feel of the lower east side during the seventies in my novel Breaking Fellini. With any luck I hope the reader gets something fast, something droning, something weird, and something original. Just like the Trilogy on Daydream Nation.

Definitely like the Trilogy. That is some angry music.

Here’s the blurb for Breaking Fellini:

Breaking Fellini is a novel of No Wave and New York during 1977.

Sixteen-year-old Joni Corso loves to play rock guitar, but being in a local cover band just doesn’t excite her anymore. She wants to perform originals and join the scene in New York City were Blondi, Patti Smith, and The Ramones found fame.

Able to convince her mother to spend some time with her estranged father in Manhattan, Joni jumps at the opportunity to redefine herself and join a band. Amidst a whirlwind of classic rock, drugs, urban recession, and drag queens, Joni meets Phaedra a homeless girl with a mission to destroy rock idols and the mainstream. Joni joins her band No! and starts plays the kind of music she’s been craving. The kind of music that out punks Punk.

But Dad sees her as something else: a famous rock guitarist with a band on the Top 40 charts, something Joni doesn’t want to be anymore. Now she has to decide which musician she can live with being and for who or risk losing her new life and father she just found.

I left the Smashwords link above (oh, look. There it is again!), but if you’re a purist or something equally odd, here’s the Amazon link.

Or maybe we don’t… I’ll let you go read for yourself and decide.

I have neglected to tell you guys about two interviews I’ve given that have been posted over the past couple of days.

First, Cynthia Meyers-Hanson hosted me for some talk about Demo Tapes 3. Stop in and see what I used as an excerpt…

Then, LM Stull asked me some questions about marketing. Oh, stop groaning. Marketing’s too much fun to be a necessary evil.

I usually don’t do a big Book Coveting post for fiction. Instead, I quietly add the books I covet to my wishlists at PaperbackSwap.com and BookMooch and wait for them to arrive.

I wanted to mention this one, though. I wanted to see what you guys think of it.

It’s called How the Mistakes Were Made. Tyler McMahon wrote it. And to me, it screams of Courtney Love.

Here’s the blurb, thanks to Powells.com:

Laura Loss came of age in the hardcore punk scene of the early 1980s. The jailbait bass player in her brother Anthony’s band, she grew up traveling the country, playing her heart out in a tight network of show venues to crowds soaked in blood and sweat. The band became notorious, the stars of a shadow music industry. But when Laura was 18, it all fell apart. Anthony’s own fans destroyed him, something which Laura never forgot.

Ten years later, Laura finds her true fame with the formation of The Mistakes, a gifted rock band that bursts out of ‘90s Seattle to god-like celebrity. When she discovered Nathan and Sean, the two flannel-clad misfits who, along with her, composed the band, she instantly understood that Sean’s synesthesia — a blending of the senses that allows him to “see” the music — infused his playing with an edge that would take them to the top. And it did. But it, along with his love for Laura, would also be their downfall.

At the moment of their greatest fame, the volatile bonds between the three explode in a mushroom cloud of betrayal, deceit, and untimely endings. The world blames Laura for destroying its rock heroes. Hated by the fans shes spent her life serving, she finally tells her side of the story, the “true” story, of the rise and fall of The Mistakes.

I know… it’s NOT a Roman a Clef, like my first impression led me to believe. But still. Don’t you see Courtney in here?

I sat down to write all about On Board Flight 666, the pictoral book created by Iron Maiden’s official photographer. I can’t find a link at Powell’s about it, but I found these two books, instead.

First is the book written by the dude who sang with Maiden before Bruce Dickinson. His name is Paul Di’Anno and it sounds like his autobiography is a dark exploration of addiction and all sorts of other ugly issues. The Beast: Singing with Iron Maiden is the name of the book. I’m glad I surfed my way to this one. That’s a definite covet.

The next one is another slam-dunk, at least as far as I’m concerned. Photographer Ross Halfin (yes, he who did the sorta recent Metallica book I am STILL coveting. The respect for this rock and roll writer seems to be missing here, folks!) did a similar book, only with Iron Maiden as his subject. Mrrrow again. Ross Halfin is a kick-ass photographer. I’d love to be him for a day. Of course, if I get that chance, I’ll rename his book. Iron Maiden isn’t a very exciting title.

Guess he saves his excitement for the camera. I can live with that, given how darn good he is.

Now, back to On Board Flight 666. Here’s the info from the press release I saw:

…official photographer John McMurtrie travelled with the band on board their Boeing 757 jet named Ed Force One from January 2008, capturing on camera not only the five continents visited on the Somewhere Back In Time World Tour but also the Round The World In 66 Days leg of The Final Frontier World Tour earlier this year. This extensive coverage will be made available later this year as a photographic book, entitled ‘ON BOARD FLIGHT 666’. Published by Orion Books it will feature hundreds of stunning photos with explanatory text, giving an exclusive, behind-the-scenes pictorial documentation of both tours.

Yep. That’s another one I need. In fact, that’s three. A three-fer this week!

You guys know it. Trevor’s eyes just lit up.

Did you EVER think there could be four books about ONE band?

Wait. I know there are a million of books about certain (ahem) bands. I’ve posted about a bunch of them. Coveted them.

In this case, we’re talking about four books written by ONE man. About ONE band.

The author is the very-prolific Martin Popoff.

The band? This is where it gets a bit odd. It’s Deep Purple!

Deep. Purple.

FOUR BOOKS following their career. Holy smoke!

I am curious as to what can be in there. I hope it’s not how often each visited the privvy…

Here’s the press release, which adds a whole new level of mystery to things:

According to a press release I came across from Popoff himself, “this is the second and closing chapter to the elaborate and experimental hit project that was The Deep Purple Royal Family: Chain Of Events Through ’79

Second? Then why did they say it’s the fourth book he’s written? Mr. Popoff, are you repeating yourself?

I suppose that’s better than details of their privvy visits…

Let’s kick off my first Rocktober post with a doozy.

Thirteen months ago, I posted about how badly I was drooling over the concept of Corey Taylor’s book, Seven Deadly Sins. That hasn’t stopped. If anything, my need has gotten worse, not because every review I’ve read has been amazing (far from it; the reviews have been pretty polarized) but because I’ve spent more time getting to know Stone Sour’s lyrics.

I want to be friends with Corey Taylor.

Now, let’s face it. That’s never gonna happen.

But I can have something that’s not even close to the next best thing, but easy enough to pretend. And I say this as someone who LOATHES audio books, too. I simply can’t concentrate on them. I’m a WRITER, after all. I have to keep my eyes entertained (and my ears full of music, not speech, even … Wait. I’m getting ahead of myself here.).

Did that clue you in? Know what I’m about to say?

Yep. Corey Taylor reads his own audio version of Seven Deadly Sins.

Duuuuuude. Has my drool flooded you out yet?

(Hey, check it! You can hear an excerpt here!)

Ahh, blogosphere. Connecting writers to writers and writers to readers and readers to writers and everything bookish like that.

Today’s Featured New Release comes from an author I met online, Melissa Luznicky Garrett. Or, rather, she met me. I think she surfed over to check out some of my fiction — always the perfect reason to be here — and stayed. A friendship struck up, as it often does with me (as many of you know first-hand).

Which means that when I got word that Melissa had a new book coming out, you know I had to rush over there and ask her the Famed One Question Interview: What song makes you think of your book?

This question was super easy for me to answer. Although there were many songs that got me through the writing of TURNING POINT, only one became the unofficial anthem. And that’s Bling (Confessions of a King) by The Killers. I have no idea how or why they ended up giving the song that title, but I’m sure someone smarter than I can probably figure it out!

As is often the case when I’m writing a book, I listen to music. Usually it serves as nothing more than background noise. It’s not like I play music with the intention of finding my book’s theme song. But usually I just know, without a doubt, when I’ve come across that special song, the one that makes me think specifically of my book. Sometimes it’s the tone of the music, or a certain phrase. Sometimes it’s one specific word in the lyrics! (example: the word “perforated” from Death Cab for Cutie’s Transatlanticism – that song became the theme for my first book, PRECIPICE)

From the very beginning, I had a younger version of Brandon Flowers (lead singer of The Killers) in mind for the role of Dominic. Brandon sometimes has this vulnerable look about him that makes the audience instinctively feel “something” for him, and that’s the way Jenna (TURNING POINT’s MC) initially felt about Dominic. She couldn’t put her finger on why she felt so instinctively protective of him, she just did. It wasn’t until she figured out who he really was that she realized just how much he needed her. In fact, his life depended on her helping him out of a really crummy situation.

There are certain lyrics in the song that I can just imagine Jenna speaking to Dominic:

“When I offer you survival,
you say it’s hard enough to live.
And I’ll tell you when it’s over . . . Shut up . . .” (that makes me laugh, because Jenna would *totally* tell Dominic to shut up!)

and then

“Higher and higher, we’re gonna take it down to the wire, we’re gonna make it out of the fire . . .” (they have to go through A LOT of bad stuff before it gets better)

The LIVE version of this song is especially good. The energy is AMAZING, and it makes me want to jump up and down and scream: “Go Jenna! Go Dominic! You can do it!”

This is one of those songs that is so awesome, all I can say is, “Dude! This rocks!”

Here’s the blurb for Turning Point:

Convinced a fresh start is all she needs to escape the problems at home, seventeen-year-old Jenna Lyons runs away in the middle of the night. But when her car breaks down on the outskirts of La Grange, Missouri, population less than a thousand, she gets sucked into the small town, and one family in particular. Jenna discovers there’s a liar in La Grange, and he’s deceived everyone. Now she must decide whether to run away from the truth, or blow his secret wide open.

Here are some buy links!
Smashwords
CreateSpace
Amazon

**
Melissa left us a comment: When your readers are done here, they should click over to my site for the TURNING POINT Book Launch & Giveaway and enter to win one of five print copies.

The link to her website is above… use it well.

So WHAT if today’s the last day of September. Rocktober begins in less than 24 hours, and I am EXCITED. I’ve got posts scheduled to go here and over at Rocks ‘n Reads.

Come join the fun, will ya? Celebrate the collision of music and books however you see fit. Come on back here or over to the West of Mars Fans page over at Facebook and share what you’re up to. If you’ve got a link, leave it and I’ll add it to this post. No link? Who cares, so long as you’re rockin’ with me!

Oh, and since I’m nice and kind and stuff, check out the price discounts on my books, at Smashwords and Amazon. All month long — just to make sure YOUR Rocktober rocks along with mine.

Friends Rocking with me:
Misty at The Top Shelf hosts Jeremy Wagner for a guest blog post.
Jill Elizabeth at All Things Jill Elizabeth is giving away a copy of Voice.
Mary at BookHounds found a book called Metal Rules the Globe. I think these authors are smart.
Not out yet, this is one to covet. A graphic novel about the Sex Pistols. Mary at Bookhounds brings us this goodness, too.
My friend Maria Savva is joining the fun.
Necromancy Never Pays reviewed Trevor’s Song. And what a review it is!
More from Mary at Bookhounds — a mystery box giveaway!
Misty at The Top Shelf has decided to interview musicians about their favorite books. Check out the first in this new series, featuring Derek Martinez.
Julia Smith at A Piece of My Mind does a Five for Friday with a shoutout to me and Wylie Kinson.

I’ve gotten notes from a few of you about autographed copies of Demo Tapes 3. I’ve dragged my heels about it long enough, no? I mean, heck, I put the book out last June already.

I made a smallish order of copies, and I now have two left. They are up for grabs. (If no one takes them, at least one will be offered in a GoodReads give. Why not?)

Holler if you want one. You know how to reach me…

The Aftermath of my Falling Tree Branch story was, quite possibly, even more interesting than the original tale.

Here’s how it went:

At five after eight on Wednesday morning, I filed the claim with the insurance company. Have I mentioned how dearly I love my insurance company? They make it easy: I could use my own people to do the work, not someone picked off a list they’ve already approved. No need for multiple estimates, none of those games other companies make you play.

At 8:30, my neighbor (love her, too. Lots of love ahead. Makes ya wonder how I can have a Trevor-self) tailed me over to the mechanic. Having her there was a soothing presence, as I could see shards of glass coming loose and threatening to fall from the poor windshield. I asked the mechanic for someone to fix the windshield and a body shop. Turns out, the body shop is right across the street. I thought that meant across the street and down a storefront or two. Didn’t think much about it. I should have. Right across the street meant exactly that.

Back at home, I called the windshield people. The plan was to fix the windshield and drive the car until the body shop could take me.

No go.

Turns out, if there’s damage to the roof, they can’t replace a windshield. Makes sense to me. (especially since I’d been scared to close the moon roof, in case it damaged the windshield further.)

At 11:30, the woman assigned to my insurance claim called. I told her where the car was, in case the adjuster assigned to the case was free.

He was.

In fact, the guy from the body shop had to wander back across the street so the adjuster could work. Turns out, they BOTH came back later to finish up. And yes, the owner of the body shop IS the father of the cool twenty-some Eagle Scout who spent a week at Summer Camp with our Troop. Because, you know, it was his son’s Troop before it was mine.

Isn’t this a grand adventure so far? All these people, chipping in so fast and getting to work on my behalf. But wait. There’s more.

At the end of the day, I called the mechanic. The car was done; they were waiting on the person to fix the glass. I told them about the need to fix the roof first and said I’d call the body shop to see if I could leave the car there.

The body shop told me to call the mechanic back and ask the head mechanic to drive the car on over. What service! I didn’t even have to leave the house!

The adjuster called around 5:30 to say he was done and he’d fax everything to the right places in the morning. We are moving so fast, I don’t even have a rental car yet. Picked that up on Thursday morning, then stopped in at the body shop to get my bike shoes out of the car, among other things. (Left my membership card for the Hoity-Toity Health Club behind, though. Ahh, well. They’ll still let me in.)

John, the body shop owner, told me that yes, I did dodge a bullet. A big one. He’ll have me up and running in two weeks.

Two weeks! I can live with that! I think… the rental car (and if you’ve ever wondered, yes, Enterprise really does pick you up) has about as much get up and go as a tree sloth. After six years with a sports car, this is going to be quite the adjustment…

And so the adventure continues. Know what? This might be sort of sick and twisted of me, but… it’s sorta fun.