Book: Shapeshifter: The Demo Tapes, Year 1 by Susan Helene Gottfried

Wouldn't you have loved to be in on the early days of your favorite band? To be there for the ups and downs, the triumphs and the tears, to be part of it all? This book is your chance. Susan Helene Gottfried, also known as Bookcrosser WestofMars, has collected the first year of out takes that she has written for her fictional rock band Shapeshifter. This collection of brief glimpses takes you from the first time Trevor and Mitchell meet, to when the serious girlfriends and later wives horn in on the boy time, to when they've hit the big time and are rock gods.

Currently this volume serves as a teaser for the novel to come, working title "Trevor's Song", and you can clearly see Susan's devotion and dedication to her characters in each out take. These guys and their friends and family are real to her, and she makes them real for her reader as well. Her writing style is very comfortable and familiar feeling, drawing you in and making you part of the scene, rather than just an outside observer.

I'm looking forward to more volumes of out takes (all material not to be repeated in "Trevor's Song", though sometimes taking place at the same time), maybe even a Roadie Poet collection (you'll have to visit the blog to meet Roadie Poet, and many other colorful characters), and what I hope could be a series of novels set in Riverview, and centered around these folks.

Think you might be interested? Head on over to WestofMars - the Meet and Greet where you can learn all about Shapeshifter, and how you can get your own copy of the Demo Tapes, Year 1, sorry, mine's PC, cause it's signed to me, I'm selfish like that!

Yeah, I'm gushing... Why? Because this is a tough thing to try to do, and I'm proud of her! It takes a lot of guts to put your writing out there and then take whatever comments come, good and bad, even after you've been told that your topic isn't "in" right now. You've got those guts woman, keep it coming!