I’m extra excited to bring today’s Spotlight book to you. It’s written by my friend Anne-Marie Klein, and it’s part of her Behind Blue Eyes series. This one’s called Love Reign O’er Me, and you may recognize that lyric. I hope you do, anyway!

Let’s get to it. Anne-Marie, what song makes you think of your book?

A question tailor-made for me and for my book series, at least, and one that is answered by looking at the front cover. The music of The Who captured me as a teenager in the late 70s, so much so that I began to imagine a narrative of who the bad man, sad man Pete Townshend had so famously written about might be: many pages later, the Behind Blue Eyes series of rock novels was born. My four books follow a troubled young rock musician from his arrival in Toronto from London in 1978 to 1994, and readers will see how the lyrics echo his difficult path to success amidst family drama and great love stories in rock and rock and fashion settings on both sides of the pond.

This might be the first time EVER that an entire band’s work inspired a novel. I linked to the Song “Behind Blue Eyes” but I know Anne-Marie well enough to know that the entire band is this lady’s muse. And honestly, I admire her fandom.

Ready for the entire description? Here goes:

Son of a wealthy, successful, and famous British designer, Ian was born into the world of the rich and shameless. He blames himself, and his father, for his mother’s death, and has run far away to start a new life. Beautifully blond, musically talented, but emotionally troubled, he hides his pain behind pale blue eyes and drinks to numb the guilt that has followed him across the ocean. When he meets Sarah, the fiery-haired singer with all the connections to make his dreams come true, will the burdens of his past destroy their love and everything they’ve ever wanted?

Behind Blue Eyes is a new four-part series following a young musician’s turbulent life as he makes his rock and roll dreams come true in a city far from where he grew up. Equal parts family saga, love story, and rock and roll circus, this first novel will take you back to the late 70s in Toronto for a dramatic roller-coaster ride through the world of music. Inspired by the Pete Townshend song made famous by The Who, the series is at once a nostalgic love letter to the author’s hometown and to the music she listened to while growing up there.

Ready for your own copy? I sure am.

Here’s some links:

Amazon
iTunes
B&N

And connect with Anne-Marie. You’ll be glad you did because she is awesome.
Website
Facebook author page
Twitter: @badmansadman

And we’re back! Thanks as always to the amazing and wonderful Magnolia Belle for creating really cool graphics for us. If you don’t know Belle, I suggest getting to know her. Pick up a copy of Lady Gwendolyn, why don’t you?

But we’re not here to talk much more about Belle, unfortunately. (But once she puts out a new book…)

Today’s brave soul is Michael C Bayer, and I might or might not have read an earlier draft of this one. And I am definitely dying to see how it turned out in the end!

Michael put The Absconded out back in November, and now that the holidays are over and we need some distraction, he’s decided to see how many West of Mars Fans he can entice to read his book. I know you guys won’t let him down…

Ready?

Here goes…

Michael, what song makes you think of your book?

That was a tough one, since I listened to a lot of music while writing The Absconded. But once I turned everything off and started thumbing through a couple of chapters, I realized that the song I listened to the most while writing it was Take Flight by Lindsey Sterling. Give it (and the rest of her songs) a listen. There’s an ebb and flow, highs, lows and struggles in the song that match the plights of three of my main characters – Kaliria, K’Pol and Scott. To varying degrees, each one finds themselves thrown off a cliff. They can either plummet or take flight (natch!), and some do it better than others. That, and when creating my characters, I always have a style of music in mind for each one. For one of the aliens, whenever she listens to music (from her world, not ours), to me it was always Lindsey Sterling. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out which character enjoys her music. Lastly, since this is my first novel, I was taking flight myself. There you have it! If you take a chance on my novel, please feel free to leave feedback.

You guys know I’m all about leaving reviews… they are important things!

This is also the spot in which I confess that I’m a Lindsey Sterling fan. Not all of her stuff, but an awful lot of it. And her single with Lzzy Hale of Halestorm? One of those songs I just cannot ever get enough of. So I concur: she is an incredible artist to be inspired by.

So. What’s the book actually about? Here’s the back cover copy:

Unfortunately for Scott, aliens exist. Snatched from Earth, he finds himself added to their collection of creatures gathered from throughout the universe. His cage is a window to the wondrous varieties of life, and the atrocities that can be inflicted upon it. Atrocities that are clues of what awaits him.

Nearby is Kaliria, a furred being that’s equal parts wild and wily. A long, torturous captivity has filled her with a righteous rage. She spends her days alone, simmering in her cramped confinement, pining for the fields and forests of her world. Pining for companionship.

While happenstance makes Kaliria and Scott neighbors, it’s desperation that makes them allies. In order to survive, they must overcome each other’s language, culture and mistrust, all while keeping their interactions hidden from their captors. And if they succeed, there’s still one more obstacle to surmount — escaping an alien ship traveling through space.

Get your copy — but only if you’re a Kindle reader! (aargh, I know!)

Personal links!

My self-publishing imprint. It’s run by a very energetic corn snake.

My Amazon author page

My Facebook page is still a work in progress

Just a reminder: The Featured New Book Spotlight runs on Mondays, when I have submissions. So send them in! Send your friends over here, too. It’s free (unless you want to reserve a date) and it’s easy and it’s fun. What more can you ask for?

And another reminder: If you want to post a review but are squeamish about any typos or if you need help, I’m always glad to tip my editor’s pen in your direction, and for a super cheap amount, too. Reviews are important for authors, and there’s no need to feel insecure about yours. Not on my watch. Drop me a line and I’ll be glad to help you out.

Angela Conrad came into my life in a funny way: she was referred by one of my editing clients — but not for editing (sadly. You guys know how I love to edit and wish the world could be my client!). She came to me looking for someone to format her e-book.

Of course, I have someone handy for that! And look: she also used my good friend Carol for her book cover. Geez. If I’m not helping build community here at West of Mars, I am a banana. And I may be wearing a yellow shirt today, but that’s as far as it goes.

Yeah. Two-stop shopping, for all your publishing needs. That’s us at West of Mars.

So. Livy is out at Amazon only (sorry, folks!) and that means Angie has one more thing to do before she can truly say her book is for sale. YES! Answer the Famed One-Question Interview!

 

Angie, what song makes you think of your book?

Dear Prudence by the Beatles.  The lyrics of the song are simple and innocent and praise the beauty of nature and the  lines.

 

I think I’d have to agree!

Ready for the description from the back cover?

 

Livy is an 1816 regency historical romance, taking place in London and the countryside of Suffolk and Essex, England.  Livy is the first of a series, Rayburn Park.

 

This book sparkles with witty conversations and heartbreaking romance.

 

Livy, Lady Olivia Rayburn is an artist who has sketched and dreamed of marrying her childhood sweetheart for eleven years.  Sheltered, living on her viscount brother’s palatial estate, Rayburn Park, she hopes for a future with Lord Nathan Wentworth.

 

Now on her twenty first birthday, beautiful and kind Livy overhears Lord Nathan tell her brother Sam that he will never offer for her.  Nathan has other plans.

 

Driven by hurt, despair, and compassion, Livy goes into the park and meets another gentleman, the handsome Earl of Essex who needs a wife immediately, that day, and she says yes to his marriage proposal.

 

This starts the story of Lady Winston, the Countess of Essex, her loves, struggles, heartbreaks, and joys. Livy’s love story, her marriage to a rogue and her growth as a woman intermix with the saga of Rayburn Park, a thoroughbred racing park in Newmarket, and its four owners, all dashing, unmarried lords.

 

I love a good Regency, and this one sounds like fun. To marry a man you only met that day… brave woman!

Pick up your copy at Amazon.