Let’s welcome another new writer friend of mine to West of Mars!

The best part of this anthology may not be the stories themselves, but the people and their fascinating lives and the personal tales they tell, beyond their fiction. That said, the fiction’s pretty damn good, too, so don’t miss out on it — and remember to leave your reviews. Reviews help more readers discover a book, and even if you list your favorite story titles and say nothing else, that’s a helpful review.

Okay, off my soapbox and back to the story at hand. Today’s focus is on Rebecca and her story, Visiting Friends. Which means we gotta ask that one famous question: Rebecca, what song makes you think of your book?

As soon as you asked this question the song that came to mind was, People Are Strange by The Doors. It’s an eerie song that I think aligns itself well with my short story, “Visiting Friends” in the Running Wild Press Anthology of Short Stories Volume 2. The main takeaway from the song and I think “Visiting Friends” is that things are not always as they appear. The song also lends itself to the darker components that tend to creep into most of my fiction writing.

Ooh, I love me some dark fiction!

Want to know more about the story? Here you go:

In the short story “Visiting Friends,” Bram Samper is thrust into Tarriton, a small Upper State New York town to attend his best friend’s wedding. While he is trying to navigate his own torments, Bram meets a strange couple, the Bakers and is taken to the bride’s family home, the Van Meertan mansion. A lavish party is being held where he meets his friends and soon-to-be married couple, Jeff and Maryke. As the night before the wedding continues, a brewing storm and strange occurances eventually draw Bram into a precarious situation. This eerie short story with a supernatural twist asks the one simple question, are things always what they appear to be?

Pick up your copy of the anthology today!
Amazon
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And connect with Rebecca, too.
You can find out where to find Rebecca’s other published short stories at www.smalltowngal.com. You can also find her all over social media at Twitter (@rhhouse), Instagram @rhousewriter) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/smalltowngalwriting/)

I can’t say I KNOW Nico Rosso so much as I can say that his wife, the amazing Zoe Archer, is my fashion advisor. Probably without her consent, but she knows where to find the great stuff. How can I resist (as I sit here in a seven-year-old t-shirt and holes in my shorts)?

So when Zoe Tweeted that her main squeeze had written a work of Rock Fiction, well, how could I resist? I HAD to invite him to stop in, and for Rocktober, even! The stars have aligned and … well, here’s Nico.

The one song that reminds me of my book, HEAVY METAL HEART, is Soul Kitchen by The Doors. Much of the book takes place on the Sunset Strip, and that band is iconic for that scene. Rocking, partying, tearing up society’s rules. The raw energy of this particular song captures the quick heat and passion between my near immortal demon rock star, Trevor Sand, and the mortal, Misty Grant, who becomes his Muse.

Okay, so we’ve got a rock star named Trevor. Right there, you gotta like this book. (Not sure why? SERIOUSLY? Oy.)

Here’s the blurb:

Rock Star. Front man. Demon. A descendant of satyrs and the lead singer in a band that feeds on the energy of its audience, Trevor Sand is growing weary of the constant need to perform. He needs the legend of the Muse—a woman destined to be a demon’s eternal companion and only source of sustenance—to be true.

Misty Grant has never been bold, but when Trevor singles her out among hundreds at a concert, she takes him up on his explicit offer. During an erotic night in his hotel room, she learns that his touch is as electric as his lyrics. But when Trevor’s demon is aroused, her desire turns to horror and she runs.

Knowing that he’ll die if he loses her, Trevor must find Misty before his enemies do. But even if he can save her, he knows that regaining the trust of his fated Muse will be his greatest challenge.

Now, how often have we run into Satyrs in paranormal fiction? Even though this Trevor is only a descendant, how’s THAT for a fun twist???

I’m thinking this is a don’t miss. An Under Any Circumstances, Do Not Miss.

So go get your copy!
The e-book can be found here:
Carina Press
Amazon Kindle
Barnes & Noble Nook
All Romance eBooks

The audio book can be found here:
Audible

And I can be found here:
Web:
Twitter: @Nico_Rosso
Facebook

Author David Biddle got a hold of me. He’s written a work of Rock Fiction, and he wanted me to review it.

But… I am horribly behind with my reviews that aren’t for The World’s Toughest Book Critics. So I said no, but that he was, as usual, more than willing to step into the Featured New Book Spotlight for a week.

Well, you guys know how swamped I’ve been with the editing. Maybe you’ve even been one of the people who’s lately been asking me for expanded services. So conversation with David has been slow. And then the holidays hit, and who wants to be posted during the holidays? And then, my feed went down, so I held off again…

That brings us to today. So… because I’ve taken up WAY too much of your precious time already with my saga, let’s get to David.

Hey, David! What song makes you think of your book?

Beyond the Will of God is a rather unique, highly psychedelic novel about the mysteries of loud guitar music and altered states of consciousness. Years ago, after an all-night state of wonder (hopefully you know what that means), I flashed on the notion that our great deceased entertainers, particularly musicians like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison, could possibly still connect to us through their music. I was 17. It was 1975. I was a crazy kid. 25 years later I completed Beyond the Will of God: A Jill Simpson Mystery. It was finally published this year.

The story is chock full of references to every kind of music — from Elvis’ first hit “That’s All Right” and Jeff Buckley’s “Last Goodbye,” to The Doors’ “Riders on the Storm,” the Grateful Dead’s “Playing in the Band,” and Sun Ra’s improvisational jamming Arkestra. But one song rides high over all the others — Jimi Hendrix’s “1983 … (A Merman I Should Turn to Be).” That’s the song that got me so riled up with this notion of musical mystery. It’s a long (nearly 14 minutes), nutty composition that Hendrix described as science fiction poetry. He worked harder on this single piece than all the others on his defining album Electric Ladyland.

At one point, just before a crazy, beautiful, super over-dubbed guitar solo, he sings: “Anyway, you know good and well/It would be beyond the will of God/And the grace of the king…”

Now, I’m not a very religious person (though I do think about spiritual stuff all the time), but that phrase “beyond the will of God” just smacked me upside the head. To me, it said all there needs to be said about why people seek altered states of consciousness.

And the song … well, the song is still an anthem about those wild days of running free. Jimi played all the instruments on it. He was as unbridled and infinite with his vision of the possibilities of music as anyone has ever been. Had he lived, I’m sure he would have gone even further off into that realm. It’s a beautiful and rarefied realm. He had definitely gone beyond the will of God. And he made it possible for me to do the same with my story years later.

Partial lyrics from “1983 …”

Well it’s too bad that our friends can’t be with us today
Well it’s too bad
The machine that we built
Would never save us that’s what they say
That’s why they ain’t comin’ with us today
And they also said it’s impossible
For a man to live and breathe undrerwater
Forever was a main complaint
Yeah and they also threw this in my face they said
Anyway you know good and well
It would be beyond the will of god
And the grace of the king
Grace of the king
Yeah

For the full set of lyrics, go here.

Song on YouTube (this is, ironically, one of those pieces of work that Hendrix would never do live)

Ready for the book blurb?? I sure am!

If you’re looking for something different to read this year, Beyond the Will of God is a mystery/thriller that goes completely off the grid. As much as it begins with a murder, the story ultimately points at secrets to many of the unresolved conspiracies people have wondered about for years.

Police detective Jill Simpson is investigating the murder of an Amish teenager outside of Columbia, Missouri. Tabloid reporter Frank Harris has been sent into the heartlands to interview a clairvoyant who claims she is having an affair with Elvis. As these two work first separately and then as a team, the storyline twists and turns to include bigger questions that will change their lives forever.

Beyond the Will of God is a cross between a Tony Hillerman mystery, Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” and Carlos Castaneda’s Yaqui Sorcerer series. It is serious yet playful, questioning and entertaining. You could call it a YA novel for Boomers. You could call it a paranormal fairy tale for refugees from another time. Or you could just call it weird, a bit sexy, and a good winter read.

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