Ooh, Shiny!

Please welcome today's guest blogger: writer, editor and rock'n'roll goddess Susan Helene Gottfried.

"Ooh, shiny!"

It's become a catch-phrase in today's Internet culture. Back in the Disconnected Ages, I had a shiny of my own: Rock and roll shows.

You know: concerts. Pyro. Lighting. Men sitting behind drum sets and with guitars slung over chests. Live music, baby. There's nothing else like it.

Then comes the ultimate in shiny: one splash of light in a dark arena, even if that puddle is the stage or if it's the singer bathed in a narrow spotlight. There's magic in those lights. There really is.

It stands to reason that I'd love Christmas, right? It's the same spectacle: lights cutting through a dark night.

I do love Christmas lights, don't get me wrong. I may not be the world's biggest fan of those trendy synchronized light shows, but I simply adore the sight of a tree in someone's front yard that's been well strung with a set of white lights, a trunk whose beauty has been emphasized by what looks like blankets of bulbs.

The problem here is that, unlike when I was intending to work in the music business and be part of that onstage shiny magic, I can't be part of Christmas. Not really. Not without feeling like I've betrayed something essential within myself -- and that's before I consider how fast my parents would disinherit me if I strung up lights in the spirit of the season.

So I stare at the gorgeous yards of my neighbors. And the neighbors who live two, three, four neighborhoods over. After all, why limit yourself to an annual treat you truly love to gaze upon?

I come home from that light-gazing to a menorah, which I'll light for eight specific days. Candles, not electric lights. They burn down in an hour or three; they seep in around curtains and blinds and blaze all night long. They may flicker and dance and fill me with a sense of peace that Christmas lights never can, but ...

They're not Christmas lights. They're Hanukkah candles. They're a shiny of their own, they probably save my electric bill hundreds of dollars every year (Maybe it's only ten bucks. What do I know? I've never done it, remember?), and they set me apart.

But at the same time, they remind me that even if I buy blue and white lights and tell everyone they're for Hanukkah, I still won't fit in. This time of year, I'm an outsider, driving past, imagining the time spent decorating, the good-natured arguments between spouses, the mad dash to buy presents, the happy faces on Christmas morning.

Yes, it's an idealized version of how it probably unfolds. And yes, every year at this time, I'm glad I don't have to face the mad rush of grumpy shoppers or fight with my family over whose house we'll be going to, when and for how long. There are a pittance of benefits to being an outsider this time of year. I'll take them.

To all you who decorate for Christmas, thank you on behalf of us whose beliefs don't allow it. Thank you for your shiny, shiny lights.

Susan's latest short story, Mannequin is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords.  If you're an indie writer in need of a quality, affordable editor, contact Susan through her website West of Mars.

Susan Helene Gottfried Rocks Again!

My good buddy Susan Helene Gottfried has a new book out about our favorite fictional band!  Shapeshifter: The Demo Tapes: Year 3 is now available at Smashwords.  Even better, it's 50% off for the entire month on July!  So go get your Trevor fix while the gettin's good!

Now if you REALLY want to pay full price, Year 3 is also available for Kindle or trade paperback.

Blurb
The popular Demo Tapes series continues with The Demo Tapes: Year 3. It's the same format you've come to know and love: short fiction previously posted on The Meet and Greet at West of Mars, and intros to each that let you, the reader, look into the mind of the author and creator of the indomitable Trevor Wolff.
Trevor and his best friend Mitchell Voss are in fine form in these stories, first published online between March 2008 and April 2009. From Thanksgiving to Halloween and a few new characters who help round out The Musical Hanukkah Celebration, we once again get to watch the guys go from kids into the men who ride the wave of being rock's biggest band: ShapeShifter.

3 Questions and a Contest - Susan Helene Gottfried

Today’s guest was introduced to me through a mutual writing associate. About the only thing we have in common is books, books, and more books. Oh, and major league Pittsburgh sports teams. (Really? We have the same name? I hadn’t noticed.) Nope, me, either. Please welcome author and hostess of the fabulous website West of Mars, Susan Helene Gottfried!

Hi Susan! You write great stories about subjects New York publishers won’t touch. Why, thank you! Ironically, I’m referring to rock’n’roll, not the GLBT arts scene. Tell us more about your latest novel, Trevor’s Song.

Here's the blurb: Fame and Fortune have destroyed many a rock star, but Trevor Wolff has a bigger problem when his best friend Mitchell Voss commits an act of monogamy with sexy artist Kerri Broadhurst.

ShapeShifter band dynamics will never be the same with this new woman on the scene, and the distractions of two girlfriends and a world tour aren’t enough to keep Trevor from feeling like his carefully constructed world is crumbling around him. The pesky little illness he’s been hiding from his band mates isn’t helping, either.

Trevor is determined to drive Kerri away so life can run properly. He’ll do whatever it takes, or die trying, and not just because if he doesn’t get well soon, time might be up for old Trevor. The last person he expects help or sympathy from is Kerri herself, but he may have to make common cause with his enemy if he’s to survive the fallout from the secrets he’s been hiding.



I’ve been dying to know, how did you come up with the name, West of Mars, for your online world?

My husband, who is all kinds of awesome, wasn't comfortable with the idea of having SusanHeleneGottfried.com. (And not just because most people spell my middle name wrong) We have kids; he wanted something a little less obvious.

West of Mars is, to put it simply, where I live. West of a town called Mars, in Pittsburgh's northern suburbs. But where exactly that is, only my neighbors know!

One of the biggest perks to being West of Mars instead of Susan-dot-com is that I can expand the site to include more than just me. Like my Win a Book publicity blog. That has no business being on an author's website. But on a literary hub like West of Mars? Perfect.


And for the wacky portion of our interview, what’s the best rock movie EVER?

Spinal Tap, of course! Always has been, always will be. Even if Trevor's Song gets made into a movie. Trevor only thinks he goes to eleven.



Contest:

Susan’s books are available through Lulu or Smashwords. If you want an autographed copy, contact Susan at her e-mail address. For more info on Susan’s own books, her book club and other cool stuff, check out her website West of Mars. You can also follow her through Facebook and Twitter.

Today, we are giving away a coupon to Smashwords for a FREE e-copy of Trevor’s Song to one lucky blog reader. As a bonus, Susan’s also donating a second coupon to a second blog reader for his/her choice of either Trevor’s Song or one of Susan’s short story collections.

That’s right! You’ll have two chances to win!

To enter the drawing, please leave a comment stating your favorite rock movie or book. And please, PLEASE, if you comment anonymously or don’t allow folks to read your Blogger ,profile, leave a contact e-mail!

Per usual, comments will be closed on Thursday, September 16, at 11AM CDT, and GK will draw a name from his Capt. Rex helmet. The winner will be posted at noon.


Legal Caca:

Since we’re giving away e-books, the contest is open to EVERYONE. That’s right, no restrictions! To the FTC right-wing nut-heads, Susan has advertised my interviews and contests on her blog, which officially makes me a publishing slut.