Archive for June, 2016

On Sale Now: Daron’s Guitar Chronicles Volume 9 by Cecilia Tan

Posted: June 30, 2016 in Rock Fiction on Sale
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When I told Jett that the newest volume in Cecilia Tan’s Daron’s Guitar Chronicles was on sale today, she went nuts. Just totally flipped out.

You guys know that Jett’s a total Cecilia Tan nut, right?

If you are, too — and really, Cecilia’s worth the read, so if you haven’t yet, be sure to jump in and get reading — then you should rush over to your favorite retailer and grab a copy. Especially today, because it’s on sale for only 99c. Today, June 30, only, though!

Get buying!!

Here’s a link to Smashwords, but it’s available pretty much anywhere you like to shop. I’m using this one ’cause I’m an affiliate and I get a few pennies if you use my link. You know how it works. Those pennies help support this place. And I love Smashwords, so if you haven’t started buying books from them, why not?

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Rock Fiction Coveting: Trinity by Andi Bremner

Posted: June 28, 2016 in Rock Fiction Coveting
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Here’s one for all you who love when the rocker is a chick.

Trinity Laker is the tough-talking, sexy, and talented lead singer for all girl rock band Moonstone. Broke, emotionally and physically damaged from her relationship with her abusive mother,and sometimes homeless, she doesn’t have the time or energy for romance of any kind. For Trinity, her world revolves around the band.

From the moment she steps on stage, rich boy Luke Morrison is intrigued by her and knows that he has to have her, no matter what secrets he has to keep.

Hey, tell me more about Rich Boy Luke! That says… NOTHING. You gotta tease me with something specific here, folks. We know what Trinity’s up against. But what about Luke? Huh?

Tell me about the dude! (Seems I’m not the only one. As I’m drafting this, GoodReads is showing three ratings and zero reviews.)

Better yet, send me a copy so I can read about him. And help get those reviews started — reviews are one of the best ways to help a good book get noticed. And we at The Rock of Pages want to help Rock Fiction get noticed.

Rock Fiction Coveting: Black Light by Martha J Allard

Posted: June 24, 2016 in Rock Fiction Coveting
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Another one set in the 80s! Susan’s gonna go nuts. She has a hard time believing they are over. Note from Susan: Untrue. Music’s better these days.</em

It’s 1983, Los Angles, and Trace Dellon, lead singer, knows exactly what he wants; the white heat of the spotlight. When his band, Black Light is offered a record deal, Trace grabs for it, eager to move up from their club gigs. He will do anything it takes to make it.

Asia Heyes, bass player knows what he wants too. It’s not the fame or the adoration of fans and groupies. It’s Trace. It’s always been Trace. Though it’s been unspoken between them- his other lovers-his audience-push Asia aside.

With the contract, comes Albrecht Christian into their lives. He is a man with everything but what he needs to live: the energy that runs just under Trace’s skin. But even Trace isn’t enough, and Albrecht finds himself starving

When everything crashes with a bullet, they all learn the truth. Rock and roll, like magic requires both love and sacrifice. Then Black Light’s fragile trajectory to greatness really begins.

So… love triangle!

What else is there to say? I strangely don’t see a lot of love triangles in Rock Fiction; I guess too many authors are considering the groupies or the music or the fame to be the third arm of the triangle. Not so much here, huh?

Will this reek of the eighties? Was it okay to be gay back then? (Yeah, Susan just groaned at me.) Seems maybe it’s a sensibility of the current times being slapped onto the past. I know a lot of people had trouble with it in Cherry Cox’s book, so…

Only one way to tell. Bring it on!

Rock Fiction Coveting: Notes of Temptation by Rebecca Halsey

Posted: June 21, 2016 in Rock Fiction Coveting
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I guess a hundred years ago is now considered historical fiction, huh? Because this one takes place during the jazz years, which totally stokes Susan but leaves me only mostly stoked. Sorta stoked? Something like that.

When Carrie Cooper leaves her small gold-mining town to seek her fortune, it’s not until she arrives in L.A. that she learns her college certificate is a fraud. The only work available is in a less-than-respectable speakeasy.

The job comes with the opportunity to take the stage with Oz Dean, the club’s captivating bandleader. But rivals out for her blood along with her place in the spotlight lurk behind the curtain.

Oz Dean has the rare ability to “see” music as brilliant colors, but nothing has ever dazzled him like Carrie’s pure, choirgirl voice. With a mob debt hanging over his head like a guillotine, he organizes a revue that will launch them all to stardom. Unfortunately, his bold move attracts exactly the kind of criminal attention he’d like to avoid.

Mired in Hollywood’s underbelly, caught off-guard by their growing attraction, Carrie and Oz are forced to consider the cost of success. Or their one chance to make beautiful music together could be their last.

Warning: Romance with the flare of jazz and a touch of suspense. Wise guys, jealous dames, a wide-eyed ingénue, and fancy moves—and we’re not talking about the dance floor. May require a little morning-after hair of the dog.

I’m still stuck on a woman at this point in time with a bogus college degree. How does that happen?

And the rest?

Bring. It. On.

This is totally fresh, near as I can tell. And I’m all about the fresh.

Susan Reviews The Baron Next Door by Erin Knightley

Posted: June 18, 2016 in Reviews
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I do a fair amount of Regency romance reading. I like the manners, like the play of wits, like the smolder. And the dresses; I’ll own up to that.

So when Jett sent me the link to The Baron Next Door, she wasn’t kidding when she mentioned that I’d already requested it from my local library. I have the best local library, I swear it, because they already had this new release on the shelves, and they pulled it off and held it just for me.

So we have the story of Charity Effington, who hasn’t had the best of luck finding a spouse among the ton. She broke off her engagement when she realized her to-be was in love with another woman and instead of being understanding about it, the ton decided to be scandalized. And Charity, of course, bore the brunt of that scandal.

What a nice way to thank her for doing the right thing.

And in the townhouse next door, we have the newly made Baron Cadgwith, in the town of Bath to try to find relief for the post-war injuries that would make anyone with sense commit suicide. Holy smoke, this poor guy suffers.

And that’s when and where this turns into Rock Fiction.

That’s because Charity lives and breathes music and her pianoforte. She is to music what some of the best rockers in modern-day fiction are. This woman can close her eyes and the music comes to her, unbidden. And with her cohort of two friends, they make music, indeed—and music with a goal, to perform in the first annual music festival in town.

Of course, her music sets the baron’s headaches off. And so begins the conflict and attraction, all rolled into one. Because the baron doesn’t care about a scandal that happened in some other town. He doesn’t care about much at first, caught up in his pain and misery (and really, who can blame him?).

But Charity catches his attention. And her music drives him away.

This is a romance, so we all know how it’ll end: happily. And for a time, the romance reads like every other romance, with the music fading into the background. But it also becomes a catalyst for action, understanding, and even the pronouncement of love.

Just like the best Rock Fiction out there.

Proving, once again, that Rock Fiction doesn’t have to include Rock and Roll to be Rock Fiction.

Rock Fiction Coveting: Secrets of a Soprano by Miranda Neville

Posted: June 17, 2016 in Rock Fiction Coveting
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I’ll tell ya, man, if this historical Rock Fiction keeps popping up on our radars, Susan’s going to take this place over again. But maybe not; I’m having fun with the fact that there’s new stuff to explore and check out. We may wind up in some big fights yet!

Here’s why:

Teresa Foscari, Europe’s most famous opera singer, comes to London to make a fresh start and find her long lost English family. Her peerless voice thrills everyone—except Maximilian Hawthorne, Viscount Allerton, the wealthy owner of a rival opera house. Notorious Teresa Foscari is none other than Tessa, the innocent girl who broke his youthful heart. Yet Max still wants her, like no other woman.

Amidst backstage intrigue and the sumptuous soirées of fashionable London, the couple’s rivalry explodes in bitter accusations and smashed china. Tessa must fight for her career—and resist her attraction to Max, the man she once loved and who now holds the power to destroy her.

Yeah, okay… it’s the loved forever trope. But c’mon! Does it not sound DELICIOUS???

Rock Fiction Coveting: Listen to Me by Kristin Proby

Posted: June 14, 2016 in Rock Fiction Coveting
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New series alert! From the start, I like the premise. Five best friends open a hot new restaurant.

In New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristen Proby’s brand new series, five best friends open a hot new restaurant, but one of them gets much more than she bargained for when a sexy former rock star walks through the doors—and into her heart.

Seduction is quickly becoming the hottest new restaurant in Portland, and Addison Wade is proud to claim 1/5 of the credit. She’s determined to make it a success and can’t think of a better way to bring in new customers than live music. But when former rock star Jake Keller swaggers through the doors to apply for the weekend gig, she knows she’s in trouble. Addie instantly recognizes him—his posters were plastered all over her bedroom walls in high school—he’s all bad boy…exactly her type and exactly what she doesn’t need.

Jake Keller walked away from the limelight five years ago and yearns to return to what’s always driven him: the music. If he gets to work for a smart-mouthed, funny-as-hell bombshell, all the better. But talking Addie into giving him the job is far easier than persuading her that he wants more than a romp in her bed. Just when she begins to drop her walls, Jake’s past finally catches up with him.

Will Addie be torn apart once again or will Jake be able to convince her to drown out her doubts and listen to her heart?

Some familiar stuff here… the star who walked away, the heroine who had a crush when she was younger. A mystery past.

BUT there’s also other stuff. They both admit the attraction. (yay!) A rocker who’s willing to start over again at the beginning.

And this blurb has a good energy. I like the idea of five friends opening a restaurant — think of the fights they are gonna be having. I like that Jake thinks highly of Addison’s brain.

I’d like all this a lot more, I bet, if I had a review copy. Just sayin….

Rock Fiction Coveting: Love Notes by Heather Gunter

Posted: June 10, 2016 in Rock Fiction Coveting
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First in a series alert!

How do you cope when the people you care for hurt you the most? When the way you feel on the outside, smothers you on the inside. And when you are left to face your demons alone, will you learn that only you have the power to overcome them?

Charlie has never had it easy. Between the constant moving and the incessant fat comments and jokes from her father, her self-worth is nonexistent. Her reflection in the mirror shows her nothing but a plain Jane. Music is the only thing that keeps her sanity in check.

Charlie catches the eye of the town star quarterback, Maverick. With her curves, her brunette hair, and the voice of an angel, Maverick has never met anyone like her. Everything that is different about Charlie just makes Maverick like her more. Unfortunately, Charlie doesn’t see it herself.

Proving it to her may deem harder than he thinks, especially when tragedy strikes and tears them apart.

Now standing on her own two feet she may finally learn exactly who she is, what’s she’s capable of and how very un plain Jane she really is.

So maybe this is more about coming into your own than Rock Fiction. Hard to tell; I think it comes down to how much salvation music plays in Charlie’s life.

Bring it! Let’s see for ourselves… does this make the cut?

I sure hope so, and not just because the series seems to come back around and focus, in the third book, on Charlie and her best friend (the subject of Book Two) starting a duo.

Rock Fiction Coveting: Bound to Please by Lilli Feisty

Posted: June 7, 2016 in Rock Fiction Coveting
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Not sure what I think of this ’cause I think it could be more about the erotica than the music.

Ruby Scott is a beautiful, quiet event planner who leads an oh-so-respectable life. Yet the things that go on in her secret fantasies are anything but. She has every intention of keeping her hidden desires under wraps-until she meets a gorgeous, hard-muscled man ten years her junior. Mark St. Crow is a gifted, up-and-coming musician who collects erotic art and loves to “play” women as much as his piano. After one night of uninhibited passion, Ruby realizes there’s no turning back. But as she surrenders to her deepest needs and lets Mark control every forbidden thrill, her passion for him builds. Can the wild, intoxicating nights they share lead to a love that will last forever?

Of course she’s beautiful but quiet and falls for him and one night is all she needs… yeah. This is familiar stuff. What’s going to set it apart is the music, if there is any. And the sex. Can’t get tired of the sex (can you?). And, of course, the how of the story. How it’s handled. How it’s written. How strong the characters are.

Guest Reviewer: Sarah Tipper reviews Lemmy by Mick Wall

Posted: June 4, 2016 in Uncategorized
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Welcome Rock Fiction author Sarah Tipper to The Rock of Pages! She was Tweeting about reading Lemmy: The Definitive Biography, and so I asked if she’d like to write a review for us here at The Rock of Pages. While we like to focus on the fiction end of the rock, we know that there’s some amazing non-fiction out there, too. We’re glad to represent.

 

When Susan invited me to review Lemmy The Definitive Biography she was kindly making an exception to a rule (well, more a guideline), because usually it’s fiction that gets reviewed around here. The great thing about Lemmy is that he told some tall stories and so there is undoubtedly some pockets of fiction in this non-fiction biography. I remember reading in an interview with Lemmy that he went to see a Harley Street doctor and was told not to give up drinking and drug taking by this medical expert because it’d kill him. Since I read this as a teenager I’ve had this tale recounted to me many, many times in pubs and at gigs. It might be shaggy dog stuff but it added to the myth of Lemmy. I am happy to myth(ologize) Lemmy but very sad to miss Lemmy.

So, The Definitive Autobiography. Definitive, eh? With authority and conclusively? Actually yes, that’s how it reads. Wall spoke to Lemmy himself repeatedly and to a lot of those close to Lemmy. Sometimes the things you say in response to a question from a trusted friend are not things you’ve ever directly thought about yourself and so Wall’s information from those close to Lemmy is often enlightening.

 

Well, that’s Wall’s credentials established, what about mine? I am a long time Motörhead and Lemmy fan. I dedicated my most recent book to Lemmy (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eviscerated-Panda-So-Far-Good-ebook/dp/B01CRJ3G0C). I’ve started a Lemmy shrine (it needs fairy lights and some angels, I’m trying to find some slutty looking ones but typing slutty Christmas angels into Google is producing interesting results).

My Lemmy shrine complete with Mick Wall’s book (fairy lights and slutty angels to be added at a later date).

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In Lemmy The Definitive Biography, Mick Wall covers the areas less well covered in other Lemmy tomes (he’s clearly very familiar with White Line Fever by Lemmy and Janiss Garza). Wall covers the Hawkwind years and Motörhead’s career in detail but he avoids the trap of long dull lists of tour dates and technical information that some rock and metal biographies fall into. Quotes from Lemmy are sprinkled throughout which makes you feel he’s still around, dispensing wisdom.

My favourite parts of the book are;

Lemmy calling Eddie Clarke “Fancy Bollocks”.

Lemmy complimenting Colleen Nolan on her tits in a totally non-sleazy way.

Lemmy claiming Motörhead had the power to make lawns die (neatly skewering and satirizing suburban preoccupations in one sentence).

Lemmy quoted as saying “I live my life as decent as I can, you know, I never made…I hardly ever made a promise I didn’t keep”.

My least favourite part of the book was;

I cried on page 288. Yeah, I knew he was going to die but Lemmy is woven into a lot of metal fans lives, including mine. I last saw him live in 2014 at Wacken Open Air (with Heavy Metal Panda, the mascot for my Eviscerated Panda series) and now I like to think of Lemmy as being in the big backstage area in the sky.

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In summary, Wall’s book is a splendid read that captures Lemmy’s unique philosophy of life. You’ll be able to ask yourself after reading “What would Lemmy do?” and be able to answer yourself. The answer is probably stay determined, stick to your guns, have a drink and don’t let the bastards grind you down. Thank you, Mick Wall for a chunky book of warm Lemmy tales.

 

 

 

 

 

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