My Six

It's been an incredible week already and golly, it's only Wednesday. I hope the rest of the week goes as well as the beginning.

I mentioned Tuesday that the registration for Book Blogger Appreciation Week is up. So if you are a book blogger and want to get in on the action scheduled for September 14th to the 18th, you can register here:

http://bookbloggerappreciationweek.com/index.php/site/register_for_book_blogger_appreciation_week_2009/

For EVERYONE, blogger or not, you can go and nominate your favorite book blogs for the Book Blogger Appreciation Week Awards here:

http://bookbloggerappreciationweek.com/index.php/awards/bbaw_2009_award_nominations_now_open/

There is a Mystery/Thriller/Crime category again this year if you think Jen's Book Thoughts is deserving of a nomination. But of course, I would never want to influence your vote or anything! ;) But seriously, go and vote. Show some love to those book bloggers that you enjoy visiting.

Some other exciting news to share with you. John Ceepak and Danny Boyle probably have a new publishing home! Chris is going to share details as soon as everything is signed and sealed. Once I have details, I'll share them with you. And he's working on book #6! Yes, yes, yes!

UPDATE: Since writing this post last night, it has been officially announced that Pegasus will be publishing the next Ceepak novel, ROLLING THUNDER. Oh, happy day!

Also this week I received a copy of THE SILENT HOUR, Michael Koryta's fourth book in the Lincoln Perry series. Many thanks to St. Martin's for that wonderful present that showed up and made my day. I want to remind folks around me that Michael will be in this area August 11, 12, and 13 (Fairview Park Library, Rocky River Community Center, Bay Village Library). He will be in Westerville at Foul Play bookstore on August 5, which is the day after the book release. And my friends up near Ann Arbor, here's your chance now to go to Aunt Agatha's. Michael is going to be there on August 10. His complete event schedule is here.

And I'm filling this blog post with 6s. Today is July 16th. October 16th is when I'm headed to my very first Bouchercon. So, I'm beginning the countdown. Counting today, there are 91 days to Bouchercon!

And finally, the most important 6 of this blog post, which is sort of not even book related. But...in another way maybe it's remotely related. Many authors will mention how music influences their writing. Of course we know Bruce Springsteen influences Chris Grabenstein's Ceepak series, ENVY THE NIGHT came from song lyrics, Tom Schreck's Duffy Dombrowski series is influenced by Elvis, etc. So, now I'm going to springboard off my dear friend Michael over at Lazy Thoughts from a Boomer who did this outstanding post on 6 songs that trigger important memories for him. Mine will not be anywhere near as awesome as his, so I encourage you to go check his out. And I will also warn you beforehand that I have very eclectic taste when it comes to music. I'm sure you'll notice that here. The first three were easy for me to come up with. The last three took a little more effort. But here are MY SIX:

1. Thank God for Kids - The Oak Ridge Boys. This song fondly reminds me of every small child that has had an important role in my life. I've always wanted to have children of my own, but as of now, I've had to make due with enjoying others' children.

2. The Little Old Lady from Pasadena - either Jan and Dean or The Beach Boys. My dad has always been an important influence in my life, and he always loved music from the 50s and 60s, especially Jan and Dean. His love of that era rubbed off on me. My very first music concert that I went to was with my dad and it was to see The Beach Boys. We sat on the lawn at Blossom and it rained...horribly. We were soaked. But, I remember that concert to this day.

3. There Once Was a Man - sung by Harry Connick Jr. and Kelli O'Hara in THE PAJAMA GAME - I don't get to travel a whole lot, but one of the greatest trips I've ever taken was my trip to New York City with my sister and mom. We went with the express reason of seeing Harry Connick Jr. in THE PAJAMA GAME, but we made a weekend of it. This song was my favorite from the show and I can't help but think of this weekend whenever I listen to it. I think it was also my sister's favorite. She calls it the "Wo-Man song."


4. Go Rest High on That Mountain - Vince Gill. I debated including this one because the memory it evokes is extremely painful. But, since it is still a powerful memory, I think it merits being included. My sister dated a young man in high school who was very well liked by our whole family. He died suddenly and inexplicably during his freshman year in college. Vince Gill released this song as a tribute to his own brother right around that same time. To this day I can't listen to that song. It just brings all the pain of that loss right back.

5. Playing with the Boys - Kenny Loggins. In high school, I was a student assistant for the football team and a statistician for the baseball team. I loved these jobs more than anything else in high school. That's where my fondest memories of those years are. I had the soundtrack to TOP GUN on cassette at the time and I remember one especially nice day on the way to a baseball game I had it playing in the car: windows down, volume up, typical teenager. I remember that day as though it was yesterday, and while the day wasn't anything distinctly special, I always remember it. And I, likewise, always associate this song with those jobs in high school.

6. 19 Somethin' - Mark Wills. This song reminds me of almost everything significant that was going on during my youth. And to understand what I mean, you can hear the lyrics and see the video here. (Sorry, I can't embed it.) I think they speak for themselves.

Did you notice the Atari there at the end? So, those are my six. Yeah, like I said, Michael's post was way better! But it was still fun to do. Thanks Michael!!

Now, while I have a couple of reviews I SHOULD be working on, I'm going to sneak off for a date with Lincoln Perry (shhh, don't tell Amy!). Have a great Thursday and Happy Reading!!