Win a Signed, Personalized Copy of The Consuming Fire

Posted on October 8, 2018    Posted by      991 Comments

I got my author copies of The Consuming Fire! So now I’m going to give one away! Specifically, the one behind Smudge there. Also, I will sign it and personalize it to the winner or whomever they choose.

You want it? Here’s what you have to do:

I’m thinking of a city, in North America, featured in at least one (1) song that was a hit in the United States. Name the city. 

That’s it!

Now, the rules:

1. You may guess only one (1) city. Also (and obviously) one comment per person. Extra guesses and posts are disqualifying. When posting your comment, leave a valid email in the “email” field, otherwise I will not be able to reach you (I don’t make your email public and don’t use it otherwise). All comments other than those guessing a city will be deleted.

2. All guesses must be in by noon Eastern time on October 9, 2018.

3. In the event that more than one person guesses the city, I will tally up the number of people who correctly picked the city and ask Alexa to pick a random number between one and [number of people]. The person who corresponds to that number wins the book.

4. This contest is open to everyone around the world. I will cover shipping. However, if you live outside the US, it might take a while for the book to arrive to you. International shipping is weird.

5. I’ll pick the winner after the contest closes and contact that person by email for a shipping address. That winner will have the option for the book to be signed and personalized, to them or someone else.

And now, the hints:

1. The city currently exists and has people living in it.

2. The city’s name does not start with “X”.

3. The city is an incorporated city (or the equivalent in its country).

4. “North America” in this case can be understood to mean Canada, the United States, and Mexico. It does not include Central American or Caribbean nations (but may include cities in territories and islands possessed by Canada, the United States, and Mexico).

There you go.

Now make your guess, and good luck!

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991 Comments on “Win a Signed, Personalized Copy of The Consuming Fire”

  5. Windsor, Ontario (the best geographical match for “South Detroit” in Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”).

  31. Guadalajara, as featured in ‘My Old School’ by Steely Dan. Why? Because Steely Dan, that’s why.

  33. “In Allllllllllllbuquerque!”

    By Weird Al Yankovic – now it’s stuck in my head, too. Thanks :)

  35. Saginaw

    Is getting to 97 on the top 100 chart a hit? Heck if I know. (Simon and Garfunkle, America)

  46. Mozambique
    Kinda hope I’m not right, as it would be a little early for a correct guess. ;)

  54. Because it popped in my head when you mentioned Mexico…Tampico.

    As in Jimmy Buffet’s Tampico Trauma.

  76. Havana “ooh na-na” lol
    All the other guesses were so good, like Winslow! I started singing so many songs in my head while reading the comments! But my first and final guess is unfortunately Havana

  149. Walkin’ In… Memphis.

    First song with a city that popped into my head! Is it the right city, probably not.. but worth a shot!

  151. Kansas City (not an endorsement of said city, but not an insult either – decidedly neutral!)

  153. That’s easy! (/SirRobin)
    Baltimore.
    In at least two major hits (so far). Possibly more, if you stretch the time to before the advent of radio, but I suspect that’s pushing the rules a bit beyond the tested limits.

  157. I thought I was so original because I haven’t seen Wichita in other comments, but Mike Adamson beat me to it. Oh well, I’m sticking with it.

  193. Lodi. As in “Oh, Lord, Stuck There Again.”
    I had to go to high school in that city. May as well get something positive out of it!

  225. So many great songs to choose from! A long shot, but I’ll go with The Battle of New Orleans (Johnny Horton) b/c it’s fun. :-D (If I win I’d like Smudge to sign the book with a paw print) :-D

  243. Rockville, MD. As in “Don’t Go Back to Rockville” by REM. As in the Ubiquitous Michael Stipe.

    Of all the cities in all the songs, this is the city to which I’m most closely geolocated at the moment, so why not?

  249. New Orleans

    “New Orleans is sinking, man, and I don’t want to swim”

    Tragically Hip

  306. Gonna hope you’ve been listening to a lot of Macklemore lately, and go with: Seattle!

  329. I’m going to go with Manhattan. First we take Manhattan….

    (I’m hoping that “made it to 11” on “US Billboard Alternative Songs” counts as a hit. Most songs don’t hit any list!)

  339. Scranton, PA- my hometown and the site of 30,000 lbs. of Bananas. Fun fact- the accident in that Harry Chapin song was real, and happened about 3 blocks from where I grew up. I remember it. It wasn’t the only truck crash on that street during my childhood.

  340. Going on the knowledge you’re old enough to remember the Partridge Family, I’ll go with Albequerque.

  358. Memphis, just based on playing the odds of picking the city with the most songs that mention it.

  427. Because Clue #2 isn’t really a clue if the city *doesn’t* have an X in the name, we’ll go with

    Phoenix, AZ.

    And assume it’s been featured in a song at some point….

  492. Tucson, AZ (was going to go for Winslow, but, that seems to be a popular choice.

  505. L.A. (As in “I Love L.A.”)

    (Don’t know if it’s the right guess, but I definitely now need to go through my Randy Newman collection again.)

  542. Glen Campbell came to mind and while my first guess was ‘W— Lineman’, I’m going with ‘Galveston’

  554. Cleveland–Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot (which also mentions Detroit, but Cleveland comes first both alphabetically and in the lyrics)

  561. Somewhere near *Salinas*, Lord, I let him slip away.
    The city where I was busted flat waiting for a train was already taken.

  575. Scranton, Pennsylvania, as featured in Harry Chapin’s “30,000 Pounds of Bananas.”