Coolest Concert Story Ever
Plus last minute order link, book, and home front news
I have the coolest concert story ever, but first, really quick, I need to remind you that we are in the final hours remaining to order your signed, personalized hardcover or paperback copies of ARSENIC AND OLD LADIES.
These are priced the same as unsigned copies will be. They’ll be mailed on release day, September 22nd. Locals can pick them up at All My Friends Books, 51 Main St. Cortland, NY.
Use this link to pre-order signed copies. This is the only way to get them. Put your name and anything special you want mentioned in the personalization box. If you’d like the ebook edition for free, take a pic of your receipt from buying the signed paperback or hardcover and email it to maggie@maggieshayne.com. I’ll send a link to download a free copy of the ebook on release day, 9/22.
Click on the button above, click on the image above, or aim your camera app at the QR code above and tap the address that appears on your screen.
You can continue to order regular copies in paperback and hardback at all retailers and the ebook at Amazon.
We’re aiming to release the audiobook as close to rest as we possible. Our goal is the same date as all other editions, 9/22, but there are a lot of moving parts, so stay tuned.
Now, the fun concert tale.
The Band Story: Stroke 9
In the nineties, a few of my daughters were obsessed with a band called Stroke 9. They would gather older friends as chaperones and drivers, and go to concerts any time the band played anywhere they could journey by car.
Last night, Stroke 9 played in Vallejo, CA, and two of my daughters, all grown up now, and two of their friends flew out there for it. But wait, that’s not the story.
Jessica, my middle daughter, was the most devoted fan in the family. (Though we all became fans after what happened.) Jessie has seen Stroke 9 eighteen times in eight different states and the District of Columbia. Mostly during her younger years. She says that’s why she grew up to be a concert junkie. She still goes to a lot of them. Her friend and former college roommate Jamie had only been to one concert before rooming with Jess: The Charlie Daniels Band. But while sharing space with Jessie, she attended her first Stroke 9 event and then another. She became a true fan too.
So Jessica and Jamie, and my youngest daughter Lisa and her friend Suzy all went to the west coast from their homes here in central and southern tier New York. Lisa and Suzy got sick (possibly from ingesting food while in the USA) and had to stay in their hotel room watching Practical Magic instead of the attending last night’s concert. BUMMER. I mean, at least they had one of the all time great movies for comfort, but still.
Anyway, back in the teenage years, at a concert two hours from home, three of my daughters arrived with their older escorts-slash-drivers to find that the venue was a bar, and the girls were too legally young to come inside. But they had tickets. So they were taken to a game room, and the music was piped in or maybe on a TV screen, I’m not sure. After the concert, the band learned what had happened and came to the game room to hang out with the kids for a while. The kids got T-shirts, autographs, and pictures, and actually got to hang out and play games with the band. The girls had an absolute blast. Maybe better than if they’d been allowed in to begin with.
They got the photo below. Left to right, Lisa, Jessica, Luke Esterkyn of Stroke 9, and Stacie.
Well, last night after the Stroke 9 Concert all the way across the country, twenty-seven years later, look what happened.
They got to meet the band after the concert! And once again, Jessie (left) got a photo with lead singer Luke Esterkyn (middle) and this time with Jessie’s former roomie, lifelong friend, and concert-convert Jamie (right).
Isn’t that great? I just found that whole thing incredibly cool, and just a happy, upbeat tale to share. Look at those smiles, in both photos.
I love the then and now photos. I love what wonderful human beings the members of this band are. But even better is the female friendship aspect underlying this entire tale.
Lisa and her friend Suzy got sick together, skipped the concert together, stayed in the hotel together, and took care of each other. That’s friendship.
Meanwhile, Jessie and Jamie have been friends since college, can go without seeing either other for years, but pick up right where they left off when they do. There’s something about college roomies, I think, but something even deeper about the bonds of woman to woman.
We need to pay more attention to those bonds, I think, as a culture. It’s probably the first step in bringing back the matriarchy.
Here’s one of Stroke 9’s biggest hit songs, Little Black Backpack. I particularly love the way it ends. Enjoy.
Updates from Chez-Shayne
Things are looking up. Roxanne is getting along nicely, and the new fridge is up and running. I have 40 pages left to write on the first draft of Arsenic and Old Ladies 2, which is about another 4 or 5 days’ work, depending on how it goes. The rest of September is going to be a month of polishing, polishing, polishing. First edit at month’s end.
In between now and then, Book 1 will drop on September 22nd in hardback, paperback and ebook. The audiobook is in progress too, and I have every reason to hope it will release the same day, but there are a lot of moving parts. If not it will be very close.
Our pre-order blitz has gone extremely well, and the book orders close at the end of business tomorrow. (Monday 9/31.) So get those orders in now.
Once more, here’s the link.
And here’s one link that has every available edition of the book it could find. The audiobook links are not there yet. Stay tuned.
The leaves are turning all of the sudden as if out of nowhere. We’ve had several nights in the forties, including last night at 40º (4.4-9.4 c) and I think that must be what’s triggered the early onset of the change. I wonder if this means the colors will come on rapidly and vividly this year. Oh, I hope so. I love a vibrant autumn! It's the very best part of living in the northeastern part of the country.
I haven’t managed to get a pic that shows anything yet. It’s subtle, but it’s there. Maybe next week!
TTYS!
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