Let’s all welcome Naima Haviland and her new book, The Name I Chose, to West of Mars and the Featured New Book Spotlight!

(Insert sound of crowd cheering and confetti flying because it’s just that sort of day and we all need cheers and confetti.)

Naima Haviland and I share a mutual friend who sent her over… so if you would like to be a mutual friend, I’d love it! Your other friend will, too, I’m sure. After all, this is a fun place. (Points to cheers and confetti.)

Let’s put the focus back where it belongs, on Naima Haviland and… the song that makes her think of her book, The Name I Chose. (Awesome, kickin’ title, by the way.) Naima? What say you?

You’re Dead by Norma Tanega:
You’ll never get a second chance
Plan all your moves in advance
Stay dead, stay dead, stay dead
Stay dead and outta this world
Run fast don’t stand in the sun
There’s too much work to be done
You’re down, you’re down, you’re down
You’re down and outta this world

It’s a last-minute warning to a sheltered society girl before she dives headlong into London’s underworld to catch up with the man she loves before her family sees him hanged.

Whoa. This is oldie but WOW goodie. I’ve never heard it before; had you?

And how about that last line? Does that make you curious, or WHAT? I mean, let’s just get right to the book’s cover description because whoo boy, it sounds like a don’t miss.

A story of passion and peril in alternative Victorian England.

It’s the late 19th century. Bold inventions usher in a new age, while genetic and cosmetic sciences reinforce an age-old class system. For the rich, immunity to disability and disease justifies their hold on power. Born disfigured, Mordecai Michaelson has employed his musical talent to rise above a life of poverty. Philomena Paulson appears no less perfect and no more talented than her upper class world requires. But she has secrets only Mordecai understands. Acceptance, trust, and a passion for music compose bonds of forbidden love between them. When chance discovery of Philomena’s darkest secret threatens scandal and revolution, she’s determined to save Mordecai from the gallows. But Mordecai is just as determined to keep her from social suicide, even if it costs him his life.

Whoo boy, there’s a lot going on there. And WOW.

I need a copy. Do you need a copy? Get yours here:
B&N
Amazon
Apple

And be sure to connect with Naima Haviland, too! You never know when you’ll run into a lovely person, although I’ve been doing this so long, I feel safe in saying everyone who stops in here is lovely. Like attracts like, right?
website
Facebook
GoodReads
Pinterest
Twitter

As always, remember that the best way to thank an author for a good book is to buy a second copy for a friend. Or more copies for more friends, of course! But if you can’t do that for whatever reason, leaving a review online is also great and helps other readers find the book you’ve read.

Pay that kindness forward. Tell others about your reading experience.

And, of course, send your author friends my way, too! I love meeting new people, I love learning about new music, and I love hearing about new books. Win-win-win!