I gotta tell you what’s going on over at e-Book Builders.

If you don’t follow along at home, you may not know that Deena and I are buds, fellow lovers of Rock Fiction. Deena’s also done some e-book formatting for me, and from time to time works with West of Mars clients as one of my formatting subcontractors.

In short: Deena is good people, and I’m proud to support what she’s up to. In this case, it’s extra-exciting stuff, in the form of a number of box sets that fit all sorts of genre conventions.

Here’s the list of what those genres will be (be sure to note Rocktober’s theme!):

• July 2014 – American Historical Fiction – Taking submissions – Tentative Release July 6^th
• August 2014 – YA – Taking Submissions – Tentative Release August 18^th
• September 2014 – Mystery/Thriller/Suspense – Taking Submissions – Tentative Release September 4^th
• October 2014 – Rock Fiction – Taking Submissions – Tentative Release October 20^th
• November 2014 – International Historical Romance – Taking Submissions – Tentative Release November 10^th
• December 2014 – Non-Fiction ( Author Help) – Taking Submissions – Tentative Release December 6^th

So… if you write in one of those genres, speak up and get yourself in consideration. If you’ve seen this call for submissions around already but been put off because there were requirements such as a number of posted reviews, rest easy. Deena’s changed the formats … there may be multiple sets, of authors of similar visibility. The more submissions — and, ultimately, the more overall success — the more likely it is that other genres will be included.

Here’s the link to the post. Read it over carefully, and if you’re so inclined, fill out the form. If you can think of an author this would be a golden opportunity for, there’s a spot where you can suggest an author. And, of course, spread the word. This is one of those “the success of one is the success of all” sorts of things, and I’d love to see a lot of authors benefit from it.

I’ve known Deena Rae Schoenfeldt for a long time now. In fact, if you like the e-book formatting of Demo Tapes 4, she’s the wonder behind it. (What? You mean you don’t have a copy yet? Why not?) And if you’re a West of Mars client and you ask for book formatting, Deena is one of the women I’ll send you to.

I’d say she’s very qualified to have written her book, Navigating the World of e-Book Publishing. If you’ve got questions, start finding the answers within.

Deena stopped by not only so I can plug her and her work and her book, but so she can take over the Featured New Book Spotlight! Deena, what song reminds you of your book?

Save You by Matthew Perryman Jones

Just a sample of some of the lyrics and what they convey to me:

“Wanna give my soul” – isn’t this the true essence of writing? Pouring out your soul on paper for the masses to read and experience…

“Don’t want to let you down” – Wanting to get the whole thing right on every level to reach the largest audience and exceed their expectations.

“Help me decide, Help me to make up my mind” – The book is about laying out information to make an informed decision about directions to take in publishing.

“You gotta swing the bat, too many years have died” – You have waited long enough, you have to take the chance and see if your decision was the right way to go and if it resonated with people. Seize the day!

Save You – the title just conveys helping and saving. Besides that it is an absolutely beautiful song.

Those that know me are probably shocked that I didn’t choose something by Lisa Marie Presley but lets face it, most of her lyrics are pretty angry and while I identify on a personal level nothing she has out so far really fits this book. But if you get a chance be sure to listen to her first album in it’s entirety and if you are ever going through a break up – Idiot is AWESOME.

Here’s the blurb:

With a no-nonsense, conversational style, Deena Rae of E-BookBuilders gives advice to aspiring authors about indie publishing. Filled with information about social media, pricing, formatting styles, covers, reviews and platforms (to a name a few) there is a wealth of information for the novice author. Even experienced authors and publishers will find this book helpful and informative.

With sections such as ‘Authors — Quit Doing This!’, ‘In Praise of Audio(books)’, ‘Twitter Primer for Authors’, and ‘Should You Use Amazon’s Author Central’, Deena Rae gives detailed information that anyone in the industry of publishing should know and consider.

Whether you are just starting on your publishing journey, considering entering the literary world or have 30 books for sale, there is something for everyone in this book.

Go pick up a copy! You know you need it!

And connect with Deena, if you’d like (and you do like!).

If you would like to add the book to your Goodread’s shelf – just click the button!

Ahh, it’s been a fabulous month of Rocktober goodies, has it not? Found something awesome to read this month?

And don’t forget to pick up your copies of Trevor’s Song and Demo Tapes 4 while they’re still on sale for 99c.

Already got ’em? Given them to friends? Then check out these titles, once again featured by the lovely Deena at e-Book Builders:

Rockin’ Across the Galaxy by David Kimmel. On the surface (very on the surface!), this reminds me of Rob Reid’s awesome Year Zero: science fiction, music, aliens attracted by rock and roll… But that seems to be where the similarities end. Year Zero, after all, was satire. Brilliant satire. This? Seems to take itself more seriously. I’d like to read it.

Another Rock Star by Paula Coots looks interesting. An openly gay man on the road? Well, history’s provided us with one — a man who managed to insert the gay culture into the heavy metal culture without most people knowing or even suspecting. (Anyone? Bueller?) Looking at the description of this one, I am most curious to read it, and not just because of the gay angle. Check out the excerpt on e-Book Builders.

And finally, author Sophie Monroe brings her Battlescars series to e-Book Builders. Deena is featuring the second book, but the third looks like it came out next month. I’m not sure what the overall arc of the series is; I need to investigate more. If you know, hit up the comments!

With Rocktober winding down, it’s time to catch up on some books I’ve come across in other areas.

Deena at e-Book Builders has been an amazing Rock Fiction proponent and a huge Rocktober participant this year. Let’s be sure to give her props, shall we?

Here’s what she’s blogged about this month that I have simply run out of time to tell you about:
Sanguinary, by Emma L Edwards. A reporter is asked to investigate why there are rumors of a band that’s linked to blood sucking.

She introduced us all to author Lisa Gillis and her Silver Strings series, which is about a couple trying to make it work. Currently there are two books… might there be a third?

Geoffrey West is featured with an excerpt of Rock and Roll Suicide (a title that sounds like it belongs to RJ McDonnell!

And then there’s the highly regarded Jill Edmondson. She stopped in at e-Book Builders with an excerpt of her third entry in the Sasha Jackson mystery series.

Confessions from Romaholics had the cover reveal for Eden Summers’ Passionate Addiction. This won’t be released until after Rocktober ends… maybe next year, Eden will release a Rock Fiction novel during Rocktober. I’d be glad to host the hoopla for that bit of fun.

Deena at e-Book Builders is at it again! She has exposed me to so much more Rock Fiction than I’d ever expected… why’s everyone hiding from me? I’m really very nice…

She’s featuring author Rick Soper, who writes a Rock Fiction series that sounds intriguing, if a bit overpopulated (By Rick’s own admission, which makes me even more curious to read this series).

Go check him out. Let me know if you’ve read his books, and what you think if you have. I’m curious.

Here I go again with the horsie references… can you tell that a few weeks ago, my dreams of being a jockey (hey, I’m the right height!) came back and smacked me in the face?

Well, I’ve got something better than horses for you today. WAY better.

I have a trio of posts that Deena at e-Book Builders used to feature Rock Fiction author Jill Edmondson.

There’s the interview.

The excerpt.

And a guest blog post.

Wow, huh?

Go check it out. And if you’ve read Jill’s books, be sure to let me know what you think of them.

I probably shouldn’t be referring to any of these notable stars as horses, but sometimes, you gotta use the cliches as you find them.

The horses in question are some of rock’s royalties. And the jockey, if I’m going to carry this metaphor into dark and dangerous places (Hey, it’s Halloween. Why not?), is none other than my Rocktober buddy this year, the awesome Deena at e-Book Builders.

She’s got a feature up about rock memoirs. Most that I want to read, a few that I have in the house… and my ultimate, all-time favorite Rock Memoir.

Go ahead. Take a peek. Let me know which you’ve read, which you’ve loved, which you’ve hated, and which make you insist there’s not enough money on the planet to convince you to read.

If you have been here a long time, or if you’ve already read Demo Tapes (Year 4), you’ll recognize the excerpt from DT4 that Deena at e-Book Builders was kind enough to post.

It’s one of my favorites, but it may not be safe for work, depending on your workplace’s language policy. Are f-bombs okay?

Ahh, you all need to come work for West of Mars. No language policy. No dress code.

But that’s another plug for another day. Go (re)acquaint yourself with Glass. Pick up a copy of Demo Tapes 4 while you’re at it… or any of the books in the Trevolution that you’ve missed so far.

Go on. It won’t hurt.

I’m not just posting about Rocktober over here, I’m over at e-Book Builders, myself, with an interview about myself.

Stop in and learn some things about me. I’m pretty cool.

(And wow, I just realized … this is my first interview since July of 2012. I’ve written guest blog posts, but not given any interviews. No wonder I feel like I’ve fallen into a black hole!)

Part of the fun of Rocktober is when other bloggers and authors join in, and my good friend Deena at eBook Builders (if you need your e-book formatted, she’s the one to call. Either direct or through me) is featuring another good friend of mine — author RJ McDonnell and his third book, The Concert Killer.

Go read the post, of course. Turns out, this is the second of four parts with RJ!

I’ve read The Concert Killer, but think his first novel in the series, Rock and Roll Homicide is the best of the three I’ve read (the other one was the second, Rock and Roll Rip-Off). Loved the quirky characters.

Go see what I mean. And keep on rocking!