The Curse of Selwood (Week 1)

At last, it's here!  After all the months of writing, editing, and pre-publication setup, the Curse of Selwood is ready.  The final cover art is being commissioned as we speak, and the first episode is posted for free online.  Go over to Hall Brothers Entertainment to read "Blood on the Tracks," the first of six free installments that will be shown prior to the book's release.

In week one, readers will reconnect with the characters they came to know and love in West of the Warlock.  See Ron Grimes and Joella Talus in action, and peer into the life of warlock sheriff James Doliber, as he does some soul searching.  On top of that, meet the horrific creature stalking the Nevada desert, and experience its bloody wrath.  It's just the beginning, so return to the wild west the way it wasn't with "The Curse of Selwood."

My Upcoming Anthology

After months of anticipation, it is finally time to reveal the theme of the Anthology that I'll be compiling and editing for Hall Brothers Entertainment.  Without further ado, I'm pleased to announce this great endeavor into short story excellence:

The Temporal Element: Time-Travel Adventures, past, present, & future!  Since the dawn of the modern era, mankind has dreamed about the possibility of traversing the bounds of linear time, to explore the dark mysteries of pre-history or seek out the wild possibilities of the far future in person.  This collection of stories does the next best thing; allowing readers to dream of the possibilities of such a theoretical trip.

The anthology will contain stories all about traveling through time, and not in the natural way.  From spell-casting wizards, to mad scientists, and government-sanctioned time agencies, The Temporal Element will feature the best stories of people traveling beyond their native time.  Explore ancient history, the distant future, or anywhere in between.

I'm sure to get a lot of talented writers submitting to this anthology, so I'm giving you all a heads-up.  The Submission Period will open on October 1, 2012.  At that time, I'll post a contact email where you can submit your stories, along with other submission details.  Here are a few pointers, to help you with formatting prior to the submission period:

1:  Stories must be formatted in either Times New Roman or Courier New, single-spaced.  Do not add an extra space between paragraphs.  I know, a lot of writers separate their paragraphs into blocks, like they're writing a blog post.  It's something I'd just have to undo, so please don't submit it that way.

2:  Keep your stories PG-13 or softer in nature.  While I'm putting together a collection for adults, I'm also seeking to assemble something that would be appropriate for high school students.  If you write the best piece of Erotica about a time traveling gigolo, more power to you, but it's not going to fit this market.

3:  Format stories as either a .doc or .rtf file format.  No .docx files!  I still use Windows XP, so if you send me a .docx file, I will not be able to read it.  Please, no argument about how "there's a patch for that."  I don't want .docx files, period, so make sure your file is in one of the aforementioned, acceptable formats.

These are the only major pointers at the moment.  So, get writing your time-travel story, and let's see what happens.  Remember to visit this blog on October 1, 2012 to submit.

UPDATE:  Check out a more comprehensive list of submission guidelines!

Boycott Downeast Glass

There's nothing like a bad experience to snap me back into writing mode, and my latest quest for quality service in automotive glass replacement has me fired up.  You can already tell from the title of this post that things did not go well, and "quality" is still something I'm searching for.  Bear with me as I explain my frustrating experience, as I hope to spare you the trouble of finding out the hard way.

Not so long ago, I acquired an old car (something I'm planning to unveil in a future blog post once it's ready for display).  It needed a few things when I bought it, and one of those things was a front driver's side window.  The old safety glass was cracked, and it needed to be replaced before I could get the car inspected and on the road.  Since I'm not a professional installer of automotive glass, I decided to take the problem to a shop that purports to be such an installer; Downeast Glass.  I brought them the pane in its mounting rail and the lady at the service desk courteously took it, saying it would be a few days to have it ready.  That was on August 6th.

The following Friday, I stopped by to ask if they'd finished the window (considering 5 days to be "a few") and they politely explained that it wasn't done yet, that their work men were "on the road" and hadn't gotten around to it yet.  They said they would have it done by Tuesday, and that they would "definitely call" when it was ready.

Tuesday came and went, and no call was made.  I decided to give them a few more days, as driving to their location was out of my way, and they had promised to call when it was finished.  Time ticked by, and still no call.  Yesterday we hit the two week point, and I decided to go find out what was taking so long.

Tuesday, August 21, I made a special detour to their shop, and asked about my window.  I heard the magic words, "It's done," and for a fleeting moment I had my hopes up.  Sadly, they were dashed when they carried out a piece of glass along with my mounting rail wholly unattached.  Their shop goon had finally gotten around to cutting the glass, but no attempt was made at mounting the thing.  They slapped down a tube of automotive calk and made up a cockamamie excuse as to why they didn't do their job, and expected me to do it myself.

Tell me, what would you say if you went to a shop, asked them to install a part, only to have them hand you the part and say, "Here you go, do it yourself," while acting as if this was standard operating procedure?  I'm sure you'd be pissed off, as well.

The "excuse" they used for not installing the window is that it "has to be set just right, or it won't fit in the car."  Obviously, they know nothing about the car or glass in question.  If they had a clue, they'd know how full of crap their excuse is.  First off, their goon should have measured the position of the glass in the rail before ripping it out.  Barring that logical step, the window assembly in the car is adjustable, so even if they didn’t put it back exactly the way it came out, the window rollers are easily adjusted, so long as the glass is the right size.

So, after not doing their job and handing me a piece of glass that I'm supposed to install myself, they charge me $142.85.  $77 of that is "labor."  Almost $30 of it is for the tube of "automotive adhesive" they expect me to use to install my own glass, and  just over $32 was for the piece of glass itself.  Talk about a rip off.  There's a shop in Pennsylvania that sells glass for my car, and I could have an exact pane for $56.  Even with the shipping, it would've been less to have it ordered and delivered, and I would have gotten it faster.  Too bad I thought a local shop could actually do something right.  If I'd known they weren't going to install the damn pane, why would I have bothered to take it to them in the first place?

This isn't the first example of bad service I've encountered from Downeast Glass.  Back in 2006, a friend of mine had them install a windshield in her truck.  This was a straightforward job done on a fairly recent model.  When they installed the windshield, they couldn't get the gasket back into place so they just smeared some "automotive adhesive" (they must really like that stuff) around the top of it and called it good.  The thing leaked like sieve and looked like hell, and they didn't give a damn.  I thought after six years they might have improved and acquired some competent workers, but obviously nothing has changed.  I should have known better.

Downeast Glass is a piss-poor operation, and I would never recommend their services to anyone.  On the contrary, I'm telling everyone I know to avoid them.  There are other glass places, and I can't believe they'd all be this incompetent.  I will certainly find out about their competition the next time I have a window to replace, as Downeast Glass will never get my business again.

Spread the word; the boycott is on!

Back to the Blog

It has been far too long since I posted to this blog, and even though it is a busy time of year for me I wish to let you all know that I haven't forgotten about you, my loyal readers.  In the coming months, things will hopefully calm down enough for me to resume a more regular posting schedule, or at the very least I'll make more time to keep you updated.

Among my many activities, the Summer Shootout writing contest is taking up a bit of my time.  As the host/moderator of the event, I have the pleasure of reading stories and coordinating everything, and that does take a bit of energy.  We've just entered the 2nd round review period, where the writers review each other's second batch of short stories, which were composed on a most whimsical theme: "Write a story containing a silver plate, an angry woman, and a cannon."  As always, we have some very talented writers competing.  Remember, the grand prize will be publication in a forthcoming anthology that I'll be compiling for Hall Brothers Entertainment.  The theme of that collection will be revealed on August 26, 2012!

There are several other things I'll be sharing in the coming months, concerning several things I've been doing recently.  There are a few big news items that are waiting to be revealed, though at present I'm not at liberty to discuss them.  Keep your eyes open for more blogging excellence!

Last Call

The last day to sign-up for the Summer Shootout writing contest is Friday, 13 July 2012.  We'll kick things off the following day, and while we have a good crew already lined up, there are still some slots available for writers who wish to test their mettle and write for a shot at publication in my forthcoming anthology.

As many reasons as there are to join the competition, there are some big reasons that writers decide to forego the shootout experience.  I will list the top 10 here, for your consideration.

1. Difficulty:  The shootout can be a grueling experience, and the thought of having to write a story in a single week and then review the work of fellow writers the following week (three times in a row) can be intimidating.  A lot of good writers aren't confident that they can pull it off.

2. Lack of Confidence:  Some writers have the feeling that they're bound to lose anyway, so why waste your time on a longshot?

3. Lack of Time:  We all have such busy lives these days, and many talented writers have day jobs or other commitments that take priority.

4. Fear of Rejection:  This is something all writers deal with, but sometimes it's easer to get rejected by a "professional."  The thought of writing a story that your writing peers criticize can turn off quite a few writers.

5. Fear of Rejecting:  Most people don't like to be negative, and many aspiring writers don't feel it's their place to criticize their fellow authors.  They don't want to run into stories of questionable quality and have to give a poor review.

6. Arrogance:  There are a few writers who consider this sort of contest to be "beneath their dignity."

7. Boring:  Yes, some writers actually don't like to read, or they only want to read specific stuff in their preferred medium, by their preferred authors.  They consider the idea of reading raw work by their contemporaries to be boring, and putting together reviews equally lusterless.

8. Greedy: Some writers will only write or review something if there is a check attached to it.  "What do you mean you don't pay 5-8 cents per word for my shootout stories?"

9. Insecure: It's possible that some writers don't want to expose their "unpolished" works to strangers, and there is something to be said for this.  I, myself had misgivings about showing others my work when I first started out, though it is a necessary part of the creative process.

10.  Just Plain Don't Know:  There are a lot of talented writers out there who would love to participate in this sort of writing competition, especially with publication as the Grand Prize.  However, it's impossible to tell everyone, and with only word-of-mouth and a few internet postings, this event is generally unknown.

Well, there you have it, the top ten list.  Of course, not everyone who has chosen to forego this contest has done so for these reasons.  However, these are the main things that have come up when I've asked different people about their lack of participation, though some are purely speculation.  Hey, it's just a list.

Those writers who want to jump on board at the last minute, be sure to post in the sign-up thread before Friday night!

One Dollar Reviews

As we get closer to the release of The Curse of Selwood, sales of its predecessor, West of the Warlock, continue to rise.  I can say without any doubt that more people have read my first Fantasy Western novel than any of my other works, yet of all my published books it is the only one lacking Amazon reviews.  Out of all the people who have purchased it over the last year, nobody has taken the time to post one there.

It's no secret that reviews sell books, and I believe this book would sell even more copies if some people spread the good word about it.  Since appealing to people's good nature has thus far failed, I'll fall back on the old standby: money!

Now, I don't want fake reviews, and I'm not capable of forking over large sums of money for reviews.  However, anyone who has purchased West of the Warlock from Amazon and takes the time to post a review (thereby having a review of a "confirmed purchase") will receive $1 from me in gratuity.  That means anyone who buys the Kindle version from Amazon.com will get a 33% rebate for posting a review.  That isn't shabby, and you'll have the book to enjoy, as well.

This is a serious offer for those who read and enjoy my work enough to post a review.  However, 1-star & 2-star reviews will not qualify for the payment.  If you honestly hate West of the Warlock, venting your frustration should be payment enough.  For those of you who actually enjoy the book, the dollar is just a little thank you.

If you have already purchased West of the Warlock from Amazon, post your review there today, and if you haven't bought it yet, pick up a copy now.  Remember, The Curse of Selwood will be released momentarily, so read the first book in the series in preparation for the fantastic sequel!

The Tuesday Triple (6)

Here we are, on another Tuesday morning.  I'm feeling pretty tired right now, as my back has been aching much of the night.  It is being a real bother lately, but it's something I'll just have to live with for the time being.  It only hurts when I'm lying down for extended periods, anyway.

All right, let's see what pops up this morning.

It Came out of the Sky –Credence Clearwater Revival:  This is quite a spirited song for the morning.  Good beat, rousing, and humorous.  This is one of their better tunes.  Yes, I'd say this is worth listening to.

Out of Touch –Darryl Hall & John Oates:  Here's a typical mid-80s tune.  Not really a bad song, but first thing in the morning? 

Daytime Nighttime Suffering –Paul McCartney & Wings:  One of McCartney's B-sides.  Not something I'd call a favorite, but it's better than most of the junk people put out these days.

Okay, this week we had one really good song and a couple of okay selections.  Enjoy the rest of the week!

Edits, Forthcoming Releases, and There's Still Room

The Summer Shootout writing contest will be kicking off a week from today, and there is still room for those who want to join.  With publication on the line, any writer who has the time should really give it a shot.  The sign-up thread with all the details is here.

Well, it has been an interesting week, with the Independence Day parade, and all the little happenings in my life.  I've managed to get a bit of editing done on several things, though new writing has been limited.

The final edits for The Curse of Selwood were completed a few days ago, and soon we'll be seeing the first sample chapters appearing online, as we build up to the book's publication.  Unlike West of the Warlock, which had most of the story released for free, this second installment will not be given away.  Even with the large amount of unreleased material that still exists in the first book, there is a complete story told via the free episodes, so people are less inclined to purchase the remainder of it (though we are still selling quite a few).  With the Curse of Selwood, the plan is to release enough of it to give everyone a generous sample online (perhaps as many as 6 chapters), and the balance will be left for those who want to buy the published book and finish reading the tale.

I have also finished my last round of author edits for the 3rd book in the West of the Warlock series.  In addition to polishing it up to the best of my ability, I have given the book a new title, which I expect far surpasses it's previous moniker, "The Six-Gun Conjurer."  Henceforth, the book will be entitled, "The Man Who Shot Thomas Edison."  I know, that gives a little something away, but it also makes you wonder, doesn't it?  I expect the label alone will spur a number of sales for this exciting work, which I consider to be the best book in the series thus far.  We're still looking at an early 2013 release for this one, possibly around springtime.

With any luck, the editing process will help to spur my creative juices anew.  I'm going to tackle revisions on the largely unfinished Time Traveler's Illegal Harem this weekend, and see what can be done to bring it up to publishable status.  It's a very complicated tale, one that deserves to be told.  There aren't enough Time Travel stories out there, in my opinion.  Let's see if we can't remedy that.

4th of July Parade bonus picture:  Busta the Clown.
I'd pick him in a fistfight over Stephen King any day!

Eastport's Gloomy 4th of July Parade, 2012

Every 4th of July, thousands of people descend upon the small island community of Eastport, Maine, to celebrate Independence Day.  This year, it was somewhat disappointing.  It was cool and gloomy most of the day, there wasn't much to buy at the junk stands, and the food made my stomach upset (yucky fried dough).  Other than the ice cream, it was a pretty drab experience.

At 2PM, the parade started, and here's a brief summary of events:

It started with an Eastport police car rolling down the street.  Watch out, you troublemakers.

It was followed by a long line of fire trucks and ambulances which made the typical honking and siren sounds to wake sleeping children.

Here we see a nervous Elmo being consoled before facing the Honor Guard firing squad.

There was a ship in port for the 4th again this year, so the Navy seamen kept coming once more.

Right behind the long parade of seamen, we had the Washington County Republicans.  Here we see our next Congressman, Kevin Raye, waving to the crowd.  Left, is his old boss and mentor, outgoing Senator Olympia Snowe.  Behind them, we see State Representative Joyce Maker wearing one of her own stylish shirts, and State Rep Beth Turner behind Kevin's right shoulder.

This nice old '52 Chevy belongs to Chris Gardner, Director of the Port of Eastport and Chairman of the Washington County Republican Committee.  Coincidentally enough, all the signs attached to it are Republican, too.

And here come the bagpipers!

There was only one Mountie at the parade this year.  He looked a little nervous.  Perhaps he's afraid of being deported, since he's over 30 and therefore doesn't qualify for President Obama's Executive Order Amnesty Program.

The forest rangers brought out their very nice Dodge Power Wagon.

And Smokey the Bear made a showing, as well.

Go Navy... in a Mustang!

They had quite a few beauty queens from different age groups.  Here's Miss 4th of July, Amber Stevens.

Here's a really nice '57 Chevy Belair.

And right behind it is a Model A.

Here's a float from the First Light Farm Equine Shelter.  They rescue abused and neglected horses and nurse them back to health.

The first wave of Shriners appears out of the mist, riding their mighty mopeds.  Right behind them was a handful of mini sportscars.

Once the Shriners buzzed by, we saw this 1935 Ford Truck.  I'm pretty sure it made an appearance last year.

Right behind is an early 60's MG.  This sucker really jumps when given a little gas.

Here's a really nice Model-T.  The car that made the modern age!

Moose Island Trolley Tours: I'm sure they do a booming business.

The Coast Guard brought their boat along for the day.

Here comes the Border Patrol to get that Mountie!

After the Shead High School class of '73 rolled by on their tree-laden float, we had an appearance by Tigger.  My father says that is an offensive name, and we should use the more socially-acceptable Teegro.  Somebody should warn Disney!

Atlantic Clarion Steel Band makes their annual appearance.

The Democrats had a pretty mediocre showing this year.  Other than a handful of candidates and this truck, there was nothing from their side.  "Independent" Angus King had a bigger contingent, and he's just a crooked ex-Governor running for US Senate.

We had a few more floats that really weren't much to look at, and then we had this beauty from "Dave's Garage."

The British occupied Eastport during the War of 1812, and in 1814 they built a Powder House (for their gun powder, not makeup), which is apparently in disrepair.  Hey, it's historical, we should save it.

The Wreaths Across America crowd were out, handing out pins to Veterans.  Very nice of them.

The Shriner Lobster Boats roll on down the highway.

The next time you want to exercise your "rights", thank a Veteran for preserving them!

Following another troupe of Shriners, we have a Canadian marching band.  It started to rain about this time, so we had hundred of people fleeing up the street, which made photography more challenging.

Here we have the four branches of Maine's armed forces:  Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, & Lobster Force!

St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada hosts Chocolate-Fest every summer, since they have the Ganong's Chocolates factory there.

The Pirate Festival hits Eastport in September, and they had a pretty large contingent this year in the parade.

The Shriner Go-Karts rolled along, but they didn't have their usual truck ramp for some reason.  Instead of going up and over the truck, they just buzzed around behind it.

Closing out the rear of the parade we had the boat school truck followed by the Old Man of the Sea.  Can I get me a trident here?

Thus concludes the parade overview.  Run for your lives, it's raining!  Aaaaaahhhhhh!

The Tuesday Triple (5)

I didn't sleep well last night.  The heat of summer months tends to disrupt my rest, and my back has been bothering me as well lately.  I'm sure I'll be fine, but in the meantime I'll have to muddle through everything feeling a bit tired.

So, on to this week's three random songs...

My Generation –The Who.  A true classic!  It's the song that really kicked off their career.  Before this song, they were relatively unknown.  It's a bit dated now, but isn't a bad song.

Holy Cow –Lee Dorsey.  Here's another one out of that 1965 hits collection.  Nothing really exciting here, though it isn't offensive or annoying.  It's okay for background ambience, but not anything that would cause me to stop and really listen.

Thing –Matthew Sweet.  A rarity in his repertoire, this was one of his B-sides.  It appeared on the CD single of Time Capsule, and it really is a great little song, far underrated.  Personally I feel this one had real potential, but it was never utilized.  It could have even been a single, itself.   This catchy tune about dysfunctional romance really deserves to be played more.

Three more brief commentaries, quick and easy.  I wish every American a happy Independence Day tomorrow, and encourage everyone to read a copy of the Declaration of Independence.  How can you celebrate something you don't know?  Read the document that started it all, and enjoy the festivities with clarity of sight.  In fact, here's a copy, so you don't have to waste time hunting for it.  God Bless America!

The Tuesday Triple (4)

After yesterday's big announcement of my new fan forum and the forthcoming Summer Shootout Writing Contest, let's see what kind of songs roll off the old Media Player.  Will they be profoundly fitting, or random garbage... or both?

Send Her My Love (Live) –Journey:  Blah.  That's what hits me when I hear this song.  It's not one of my favorites, just another drippy love song.  This live performance doesn't make it any better.  That's a disappointing start to today's triple.

Say it With Love – The Moody Blues:  Blah x2!  Hey, I really like the Moody Blues, but this is one of their lesser songs.  It was the "big hit" from their Keys of the Kingdom album, but there were so many better songs on it!  While I like this a lot more than Send Her My Love, it is still a pretty unexciting selection.  Two down, one to go...

Sick of Myself –Matthew Sweet:  The Media Player seeks to redeem itself with the third song by throwing out Matthew Sweet's biggest hit.  While not my personal favorite, this is the song was really the peak of his career.  It was the first song on his 100% Fun album, and it was the first of his songs I ever heard (or remember hearing).  Yes, this far outshines the first two songs in this week's triple play.  Bravo!

Well, at least it wasn't a full slate of mediocre songs.  Let's see what next week brings.

Summer Shootout Writing Contest & A New Forum!

This weekend, I set up the Martin T. Ingham Official Fan Forum!  It's something that is still in the early stages, and I haven't had the time to post much there yet, though it is something I have thought about doing for quite a while.  This will be a place for my readers to converge and interact, to share what they like about my stories and learn more about them.  I'm not sure how hopping it'll be, but it will be another venue for activities.

The main impetus behind the forum's creation is the upcoming 2012 Exceptional Summer Shootout Writing Contest, which I will be hosting.  I was planning to have it over at the Pill Hill Press Forum, but as the editor/admin over there is pretty busy at the moment with some personal stuff, I made the choice to move the venue to a new locale.  What better place than my own fan forum?

There will be a pretty good prize for the ultimate winner of this shootout.  I'll be putting together a short story anthology, and the winner of this shootout will be granted publication to that collection!  It's something I've been thinking about doing for a while now.  The finalists are always the best of the best when it comes to writing, so I have no doubt that the winning story will be of sufficient quality.

So, any of my fellow writers who want a shot at the contest, here is the official invitation.  Keep in mind, space is limited, so sign up soon:

I'm pleased to announce the Exceptional Summer Shootout writing competition, which will test the mettle of writers near and far in a grand test of skill and stamina!  It all starts July 14, 2012!

These contests are always fun, and they spur the creation of highly publishable works.  Many shootout stories over the years have found homes in various anthologies and zines, and every participant receives valuable insights into their stories during the review process.

The shootout concept is simple.  Participating writers are given a prompt and one week to write a short story based on that prompt.  The subsequent week, the stories are reviewed by the participants.  Story authors remain anonymous until the reviews are final, and the reviews are kept anonymous for fair and unbiased opinion.

For the Exceptional Summer Shootout, we'll be setting up a team system, where 2 or more groups of writers will be competing head to head.  There won't be eliminations, so each writer will get the chance to write and review in 3 regular rounds.  After those 3 rounds, the top scoring writers on each team will compete for the win.

There will be one Grand Prize awarded to the writer who wins the final round:  Publication!  The winning writer will have their final story accepted for publication to an anthology that I will be editing for Hall Brothers Entertainment.  There will also be a nominal monetary payment given in addition to the publication acceptance.

To sign up, post in this thread, saying you want to participate:

http://mtifandom.forumotion.com/t2-exceptional-summer-shootout-sign-up-here

Additional purpose and value of the shootout:

For those of you who haven't participated before, you may be asking this question.  Above and beyond the grand prize, these are the main reasons to participate in the shootout:

1: Entertainment –This is the first and most important aspect of the shootout.  It is designed to be a fun experience, something a writer does because they like to write, and they want to test themselves against their contemporaries.  It's a game, first and foremost!

2: Reviews –A lot of writers enjoy the critique part of the contest.  Not only do you receive valuable reviews about your own creations, but you also have the opportunity to give your two cents worth on the stories of fellow writers.

3: Free Stories –If you're a writer, you have to enjoy reading, and participating in the shootout gives you the opportunity to read fresh material from your fellow writers.

4: Prestige –There is a certain level of pride one can have in themselves and their skills when they successfully run the entire gamut of a shootout.  Even though the finalists and eventual winner may have the greatest bragging rights, any participant can feel good about successfully creating new works of fiction in a short amount of time based on a particular prompt.

So, even if you don't win the shootout, you have some very positive reasons to participate!

Contest Caveats:

Participation Requirement:  If you sign up, please be sure you can handle the workload.  You'll need to write a short story in one week and then review 5 to 8 stories the following week (number of stories reviewed will depend on the number of participants we end up having).  This will happen 3 times in a row (write then review), so do your best.

Negative Feedback:  While reviews are expected to be considerate and constructive, they're also supposed to be honest.  It is possible someone may provide actual criticism of your story.  Be prepared to receive a modicum of negative feedback.

Document Format:  Your stories/comments will have to be submitted via email in either a .doc or .rtf format.  No .docx files!  Please make sure you can submit in the stated formats.

Well, I think that covers everything major.  Let's see some volunteers!

The Tuesday Triple (3)

It's the triple triple!  To celebrate our third installment in the Tuesday triple, I'll be giving away a big whopping nothing!  That's right, everyone who reads this week's blog post will receive the legendary no-prize made famous by Marvel Comics during the 70s and 80s.  To claim your no-prize, just listen to each of the three songs listed below and have a great day!

Sometimes Less Is More –Justin Hayward:  This singer/guitarist for the Moody Blues put out a little known solo album in 1996 called "View From the Hill," and this was one of the lackluster songs among the collection.  Now, I can't say it was a horrible release; it's just nothing special.  As I said, it's lackluster, a collection of easy listening songs with soft melodies, but nothing I'd call a hit.  It's a pretty bland beginning for our trio.

Down on the Ground –Tommy Shaw:  Next, we have a song from the singer/guitarist of Styx.  In 1998, he put out a solo album (it seemed to be the thing to do for aging rockers in the late 90s) called "Seven Deadly Zens."  Unlike Justin Hayward's release of the same period, this album had a few good tunes, but also some middle of the road stuff, and a few duds (plus some voice work by ST:TNG's own Deanna Troi).  This is one that seems to sit in the low-mid range of quality; an okay filler song with a catchy tune and enough of a beat to keep you awake. It reminds me of some Bon Jovi songs in that regard.

Long Live Rock –The Who:  It seems to be the day for fillers.  Here's a reject song that The Who shoved on their "Odds and Sods" album, of odds and ends.  This song wasn't good enough to put on a regular album, and it doesn't really do it for me.  There are gems amongst the clutter on the cutting room floor, but this wasn't one of them.

There you have three songs that really don't do it for me.  Give them a try, and see if you feel differently.