A Musician's Requiem

I originally told myself that I would keep my personal and professional self separate, but I am finding that both are so tightly intertwined that sometimes one bleeds over into the next.  So with that said, it is with a heavy heart that I write this blog post.

Once upon a time, when I was a very young girl, I was introduced to music by a most wonderful couple who shared the orchestra classes between 4th and 12th grades-- she taught the younger grades, and he taught us in full orchestra for the last several years of our schooling.  There were times that it was questionable, at best, but as I grew, year by year, I realized I had a deep-rooted love of music.  Being an "orch dork" wasn't a dirty secret, it was a mark of pride.

I had stayed in touch, and even continued to play long after graduation, when practice cards and audition tapes were a thing of the past.  I found a home within the subtle nuances in music.  A little extra pressure on the bow, or a slight vibrato could infuse emotion to your notes.

He taught me that.

Even now when I write, I play a soundtrack of familiar pieces and composers.  Mozart is especially dear to me, because of my early teachings.  I normally play Mozart's Requiem in D minor and allow myself to feel the emotion in the movements.  The audible sobbing in the Lacrimosa, the building flames and torment in the Confutatis, these are all feelings I might have missed without his guidance.

However, tonight I listen to the Requiem without the excitement of a musician.  It is truly the funeral mass as originally composed.

I received word that my dear teacher passed away today, losing his battle to cancer.  No more viola jokes (How do you protect your violin from being stolen?  Put it in a viola case!  Ha!), or random musical or Star Trek trivia.  I may have forgotten what I learned in high school algebra class, but I still remember what it was like to sit in the music department, to smell the rosin dust and play beautiful music.  I may not have had a salvageable GPA in high school if not for orchestra, sad as that is!  Music kept me grounded then, and it keeps me grounded now.

I may have wandered away from the musician's course-- I can't remember the last time I pulled my poor viola out of the closet, after all-- but my lessons still stick with me.

Thank you for the fantastic memories.  Godspeed, sir.

MSHP Blog Tour Week 8: An Interview with Stevan Ray Richards, Jr.!

I am interviewing Mountain Springs House Publishing editor, Stevan Ray Richards, Jr.  This is what he has to say!

1. What got you interested in writing? When did you get your big start?
I've been writing since I was 12. I started writing to process things I couldn't talk about and to deal with my physical limitations. My 'big start' just happened this week when I signed my fist contract, with Mountain Springs House.

2. Which author do you think influences you the most?
When I was younger, it was Stephen King. For a while it was Shakespeare. Recently, it's been Dashiell Hammett. For a time, it was Joyce Carol Oates. Not sure I really have a predominant influence anymore.

3. If you were only allowed to have five books for the rest of your life, which ones would you choose?
the Bible, the chronicles of narnia, if i could get them in one volume, mystic river, forrest gump, and the life of david gale.

4. What kind of writer are you: plotter, pantser, or a hybrid? Have you ever tried to switch it up?
I can be a plotter, though that's not my favorite way to work. I start with character and internal conflict, most of all, or my own emotional quandary of the moment and see what happens. I tend to talk to myself when I'm writing. Especially dialogue.

5. I know some writers have certain "superstitions" or things have to be a certain way before they can write-- a certain drink, music, etc. Do you have any peculiar things that have to be "just so" before you can get your writing mojo started?
I have no superstitions. But, if I'm stuck, I find that Sean Connery's advice from Finding Forrester is best. Start with somebody else's words. I have also found that sometimes, the first thousand words or so just prime the pump. It can take me a bit to get to the story. I have been known to listen to audiobooks while writing to shut up my inner critic.

6. Tell me about your current "work in progress."
I don't really have a work in progress. I have a story I've been sitting on for about 23 years that I need to type up and submit. It's about a little girl whose grandpa is half leprechaun. I just pitched an idea for a web series called 'The Confessional' to Ian Smith. Allison is pushing me to finish a novel I started in 1991 that's about a vampire who is a priest. It's tentatively titled 'Communion.'

7. If you could follow any writer for a day, who would it be and why?

I don't know if I'd want to 'follow him' for a day, but I would really like to have a few drinks with Stephen King and ask him a few questions. One of which would be, "Did you start wanting to write horror, or did it just work out that way?" A lot of his stuff is deeper than just the scare factor, if you look.


8. Reading reviews of your work, or work you're attached to: is it scary, or is it constructive criticism to learn from?

I've never read reviews of my work, or work I'm attached to. When I was in one of my last writing classes, what surprised and, I hate to admit, hurt a little, was when the readers of my story saw more in it than I did. Then I realized that was a good thing. Layering wasn't something I was trying to, or knew I could do. I concentrate on how I want my readers to feel at the end of a story. I don't expect everybody to like what I write. Opinions are like mouths... everybody's got one. I am willing to learn from anybody, but not everybody can teach me something.


9. Working for Mountain Springs House sounds like a blast. Did you ever see yourself being an editor before?

Working form Mountain Springs House is a blast. I saw myself as a writing teacher before I saw myself as an editor, but I like being an editor. Teaching is a lot more work. I'm an English Geek. I would edit TV commercials and newscasts if somebody would pay me.

10. The absolute best piece of advice anyone gave you about writing: What is it?

Don't judge yourself or your story. Write the damn thing.

MSHP Blog Tour Week 9: Plotter or Pantser?

In the world of writing, there are two extreme groups of writers:  Plotters and Pantsers.  Plotters, like the name implies, plot out their stories before writing.  Outlines, notes, and diagrams all lay out the road map they will take.  Pantsers go in by the seat of their pants, coining the term "pantser."  There are a multitude of hybrids, shades of gray in between the two, but they are all variations of plotting and pantsing.

For me, I think I'm somewhere in the middle.  I started of as a full-on pantser, but then I would never finish the projects.  I would end up writing myself into a corner that I could never write myself out of, and I would scrap it.  I would then feel like a complete failure, and "give up" temporarily until another idea hit me, and then I would repeat the process.

I have recently started a hybrid blend of both.  I start off pantsing it, but then follow up with summaries per chapter.  This gives me the guideline of what needs to happen in each chapter, and how they tie together.  If I come up with a cool quote or detail that just has to be in there, I can go back to that chapter and stick it in.  So far, it seems to make sense to me.  I haven't officially finished a project, but I have gotten twice as many words written.  It's impressive what a change in style will accomplish!

Any new writers out there, I would recommend playing with both styles, and create your own method.  There's nothing wrong with dabbling!  Experiment, and find what fits you!

So how about you:  Do you plot, pants, or fall in the middle?

MSHP Blog Tour Week 7: An Interview With a Character!

Today, I am interviewing one of my own characters for the blog tour!  I'm choosing to interview my hero and heroine, Justina and Gabriel.  In my story, this couple has to overcome centuries of hard feelings in order to overthrow a vampire dictator.

So, how did you meet?

Gabriel:  My blood-brother turned her in the early 1700's.  We lived together in Italy for many years before we had a...disagreement of sorts.

Justina:  (laughs) A disagreement?  He married another woman.  I'd hardly call that a disagreement.

Wow that can make life complicated! So, how is this "working together" thing working out?

Justina:  Surprisingly well, I think.  We used to make a great team before, so I wasn't surprised when we worked in sync again.  It was just a matter of trusting each other again after...

Gabriel:  Don't say it.

Justina:  I'm telling you, nothing will happen.  She's not Rumplestiltskin or Beetlejuice!

Gabriel:  It never fails, someone says her name and she calls.  Don't do it!

So, who is this mystery woman, is this the one that caused your estrangement?

Gabriel:  Yes, technically she's my wife, although according to our customs, our bond has dissolved.  Damien, my blood-brother and the leader of our family, forced our bond, many years ago.

Justina:  Damien has a habit of forcing many things upon those he "loves."  However, I think things will get much, much better soon.

I certainly hope things start looking up for you!  So, anything you would like to share with my readers about this partnership you have?

Gabriel:  No, not until it's complete.  Talk to us again after you publish our book, okay?

MSHP Blog Tour Week 6: Introducing, Cody Martin!

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This week's blog tour post is provided by Cody Martin!  I thoroughly enjoyed reading his post, and I hope you will too.  I think I have found some new music artists for my oldest child, who is quickly becoming a huge J-Pop fan.  

And now, introducing...Cody Martin!   

This week's theme for the MSH blog tour is "What blogs do you regularly follow and why?" To be honest, I hardly follow any blogs. Most of the blog posts I read come from links posted on Facebook and Twitter, either from fellow authors or from various blogs found around the Net. If a particular post title catches my attention or a writer recommends reading it, I'll often click on it.

Unlike tweets or Facebook posts, blogs are more in-depth. They require more time to read, if I have fifty friends, I don't really have time to read fifty posts a day. I usually just read the ones that catch my interest. But I feel I should read more blogs and follow them more closely. There may be quite a bit of instructional posts and advice I'm missing out on.

I like blogs (and Facebook posts and tweets) that mix the personal and the professional. I don't want every post to be about marketing, promotion, or reviews. I like knowing about the person behind the author or celebrity. I don't need to know every little detail they have done, but I like getting a feel for them, their likes and dislikes, what they do on weekends. One of my favorite tweeters is comic artist Rob Liefeld. Along with his work and business-related tweets, he talks about movies he likes or dislikes, his thoughts on whatever basketball game he is watching, and so on.  Now, I don't like basketball. But I know Liefeld does and it is fun to see him tweet about games and players that make him happy or upset him.

I try to balance my own blog and Facebook page with professional and personal content. When I started my blog, it was called Cody L. Martin - Author. Pretty boring name, huh? I struggled for a long time with what to write about, trying to keep it all writing and reading related. I then branched out into movie reviews, my life in Japan and more. After about a year, I decided my blog needed its own identity. I renamed it Resonant Blue, after my all-time favorite Morning Musume song. I did more posts by doing blog tours, having guest posts from fellow authors, and more. I like my blog but feel it has lost some of its focus. I've done a little too much that wasn't about me, and I may cut back a little on the guests and blog stops.

I'm hoping that readers of my blog and Facebook page are getting to know me. I hope they feel there is a person behind the author, and I want them to feel comfortable enough to comment and interact on any post I do. That's really the point of blogs and Facebook pages and tweets: to bring writers and authors together. That's what I love about publishing now, and the digital age we are in. Writers and readers are not so separate anymore. Readers can learn more about their favorite author as a person and interact with them in a way never before possible. Gone are the days when an old-fashioned fan letter may have gotten you an autographed picture, if you were lucky. And authors can get to know the readers buying their books and commenting on their posts. It's a wonderful level of interaction that was never possible before.

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Links:

Resonant Blue - http://codylmartin.blogspot.jp

Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cody-L-Martin/130001853834362

Bio:

An author and freelance writer, Cody L. Martin grew up in the beautiful mountains of Wyoming where he became an avid sci-fi fan. He wrote his first Star Trek fan fiction in high school and has since been branched out into sci-fi and action stories. Cody wrote his first novel Adventure Hunters in the same vein. He currently writes the monthly Star Trek column To Boldly Go… for In Genre. He works in Japan as a part-time English teacher in Yamaguchi Prefecture, and lives happily with his beautiful wife, Yoko. When he isn't writing he enjoys watching movies, reading and listening to Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou, C-ute, and other J-pop singers.

MSHP Week Five: Top Ten lists!

This week is incredibly hard for me to write.  Our mission for this week's blog post is to write our top 10 best and worst books that we have read.  There are so many that I could put on either list, it's really hard to choose!  However, I will try my hardest to narrow it down.

Top 10 Favorite Books, in no particular order.

1.  The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling-- I can't even begin to pick a favorite book out of the lot.  Growing with the characters, watching the conflict build throughout the whole series, it was amazing!  I could read them all again in a heartbeat!

2.  Southern Vampire Mysteries/Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris-- They remind me a lot of Pringles, you can't just stop at one!  Sure, they're quick and easy reads, but they really do build on each other, and before you know it you've lost an entire week or two on a dozen books!

3.  Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen-- I adore this book, even after reading it for a college paper.  I'm also in love with the Ang Lee movie starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet.  Alan Rickman makes a stunning Col. Brandon.

4.  Outlander by Diana Gabaldon-- If you have never read this series, go do it.  Right now!  Sure, looking at the print copy is a little daunting; I believe the paperback copy has somewhere in the neighborhood of 780 pages.  Even still, the details she uses are amazing, and really make you feel like you're in Scotland during the Jacobite uprising!

5.  Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice-- This is the book that started my journey into the horror/paranormal type genres, and really inspired me to write on my own.  I'm a sucker for details, I love a book that makes me feel like I'm sitting right there with the main character and feeling the way they feel.

6.  The Stand by Stephen King-- Yes, it's a big book, but I read it two summers in a row as a teen.  It felt so real!

7.  Daggerspell by Katharine Kerr-- First in a series,  I remember devouring this series (Daggerspell, Darkspell, The Bristling Wood, and Dragonspell) in about a week.  I love a good fantasy series that doesn't make a reader question the validity of the setting.

8.  Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning-- Another favorite where I got sucked into the storyline and couldn't let go! 

9.  Life and Death of Lily Drake by T. Michelle Nelson-- Anyone who can write about vampires in my hometown earns instant cool points.  I never thought Mount Vernon, Ohio had much potential as a book setting before now!

10.  The Rebel Spy by April London-- Maybe I'm a little biased because I've watched Rebel go from a little rough draft to published e-book.  Or maybe because April is my writing buddy and cheerleader/butt kicker/shoulder to cry on, and she's making sure I follow in her footsteps...but it's a favorite all the same.    


Now...Top 10 Least Favorite.  I'm sure some of these are favorites of someone, somewhere, and I do apologize for that.  However, just like the title says, these just weren't my favorite.  Feel free to try them out on your own, though!  Like the old saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure.  

1.  Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James-- I wanted to see what the hype was all about...and I'm still trying to figure out what all the hype was about.  To me, it was too heavy on "oh wow" and "so hot."

2.  A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway-- I tried.  I really did try to like this one, because Hemingway is huge!  However, his writing style just was too dry for my liking, and it was a rough read.  I only managed to finish it because I had a paper to turn in for class.

3.  Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer--  I actually kind of liked the first three books.  This one, however...somehow fell flat to me.  I don't know if it was the focus on the pregnancy or how the "imprinting" among the werewolves came off as more creepy than sweet, but it wasn't my cup of tea. Crazy as it sounds...I liked the movie better.

4.  1984 by George Orwell-- Another book that I muddled through for a grade. 

5.  In loose general terms, e-books that are maybe 20% book, and 80% ads and teasers for other books.  If you're going to "publish" a book like this, please acknowledge that it's a sampler instead of a full book! 


Really, there's not too many books that I dislike! 


How about you:  What's your favorite book?  Your least favorite book?

Week Four: Pet Peeves with Stacey Bee!

This week, I'm hosting Stacey Bee in the Mountain Spring House Publishing Blog Tour!  Stacey is a mother of four on the coast of Florida, who writes a little bit of everything-- screenplays, short stories, animation, fiction, children's stories, and more!

Our theme of the week:  Pet Peeves!  This is what Stacey has to say about hers.


Pet Peeves, we all have them ranging from something small to outright rage instances. For a writer pet peeves are major distractions that disrupt our flow of creativity, and can result in a meltdown.
For me, pet peeve #1, begin with missing pens and paper!

I love to write free hand then transfer my writings to my Mac. However, having four kids things like pens and paper have always seemed to have been a free for all for them and a luxury for me. It don’t matter if it is notebook paper or printer paper when my little Picasso’s have art on their mind I can kiss my paper good bye. Then like a mad woman I am running around looking for more, praying to keep my idea fresh in my mind!

Pet peeve #2, When I am happily (or not) writing along and my Mac, iPad whatever decides that it is going to freeze for some reason or shut down because I wasn’t paying attention to my low battery and I cannot work any more. Worse yet, suddenly and all my work is lost. I am forever grateful when I have that hard copy to fall back onto! If not, I will surely loose my mind, and cry at all I have lost.

Pet peeve #3 of mine is when people THINK they KNOW what it is exactly that us writers do… WE JUST WRITE! Sure we are intelligent and well educated but good things take time! They have this grand illusion that we walk up to our computers and pour out our souls like it is nothing to whip up complete books, or movie scripts in minutes. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is painstaking, creative torture some days to get  perhaps even a single complete sentence out, let alone everything we wish to accomplish! Some days we are just a plethora of great ideas or page after page of writing that is sunshine for our souls!

What people don’t realize is that most days to even get to the picture perfect story written or edited  or simply get a decent amount of pages we wish to get out of our brains is impossible enough, let alone have someone discredit our abilities.  Let’s see them create the worlds in which we do!

Pet peeve #4, when a writer looses their writings! It is tragedy when a writer looses their writing. We just want to drop to out knees,  pulling  a Marlon Brando only we scream “Why, why  me?? Dear God why me??? What ever have I done to deserve such malice??? “
It ain’t easy being an non-paid, under paid, under appreciated, not feeling the love  writer……


Stacey's personal blog can be followed at Stacey's Blog.

Blog Tour, week 3: My Routine!

Week Three of the Mountain Springs House Tour for Mountain Spring House Publishing is kicking off today! The theme: 

"Describe your writing routine. Are you more creative in the morning, evening? Do you write when you can? On your commute? Do you have your own workspace or share an area?"

 

 I am a total night owl.  A good 90% of my writing comes out after 9pm.  I do try to write whenever I can, letting no spare moment going to waste, but I am most productive after most of my household is asleep.  I've always been like that:  sporadic writing during the day, heavy writing after dark.

It's really hard to focus on the task at hand, immersing myself into the plot, setting, or conflict, when I have a toddler, teenager, and husband all jockeying for my attention.  They are all supportive-- well, some more than others, because the toddler doesn't understand-- but that doesn't mean that my writing is more important than them.  The silence in my house after everyone is asleep gives me the uninterrupted window to finish a thought process, at least until my contacts start to flip out of my head or I nearly pass out at the keyboard. 

I wish I had my own workspace, but currently I do not.  My computer is set up in the nook by the kitchen, off of the dining room and living room.  If inspiration strikes while I'm doing my daily tasks, it's no big deal to walk by, type something out, and go back to my routine.  It's a bit of a problem if I want to write or do school work while everyone is milling about, though, since I don't have the privacy or seclusion that I need to write my best.  I'm hoping to replace my broken laptop this next semester, so that I can take my writing with me into another room or even to the library, but until then, my desktop is it.  

I have a dream, though.  Someday we will move to the middle of nowhere with a nice house, and I will have a writing cabin on the property.  Kind of like a mother-in-law cottage, some place where I can lock myself away from the hubbub of my daily life, but not so far away that I have to actually run away from home.  

 

Bio:

I’m an Army wife, mom to two beautiful girls, and our diva English Bulldog named Duchess.  I’m also a full time student working toward a BA in English Literature from Grand Canyon University, set to graduate in 2015.  For the moment we call Virginia home, but I’m originally from Central Ohio.  In the last 13 years we’ve lived in Germany, Tennessee, Ohio, Hawaii, Texas, and now Virginia.  

I hope to have my first book completed before the year is out, if the stars all align correctly.  From the first time I opened a book, or maybe as soon as I learned how to write, I have wanted to become a writer.  No matter how often I tried to plan something else to do when I grew up, I always came back to writing. 

 

Introducing: Veronica Cronin!

BIO:

Veronica Cronin received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Full Sail University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Florida Atlantic University. While writing into the wee hours of the night as a wife and mother, Veronica found success with the publications of her short story, “Bean Talk” in Second Chicken Soup for a Woman’s Soul, her poetry, and her photography. She taught high school writing, wrote the light-hearted “Forty-Something Relationships” as a columnist for theexaminer.com, and worked for The Walt Disney Company before writing her dramatic screenplay about a woman with bipolar illness, All My By Self, which earned her the Advanced Achievement Award in her graduate program. While pursuing writing, she’s hoping some of the pixie dust from being a Fairy-Godmother-in-Training at the Magic Kingdom’s castle hasn’t worn off.

She’s So Bipolar, Non-Fiction

That’s me! I decided to write She’s So Bipolar, because I could never find practical information on how to handle the illness. There are chapter titles such as, “Telling Your Children,” and “I’m Manic Now, An Experiment in Writing.” Most of my feedback has been very good, as people are learning. That was my main goal, to enlighten people about what it feels like to have it and how a person can handle it.

Putting a book out there about your own illness is scary and risky.  I did it for my daughter.  I wish there had been a book like mine at the time I was diagnosed in 1998.  There wasn’t.  I had Kay Redfield Jamison’s An Unquiet Mind, and the medical book for Bipolar, the main source for doctors!  It was a difficult read, but I read it anyway.  Mine is easy-to-follow, straight forward, and honest.  It’s real. 

I had to write the truth of the illness to make it believable.  I utilized my own photography, taking pictures of myself in different moods, as I was studying for my Master’s degree, and used them to show, not simply tell what the illness is like.  Some of the pictures may be shocking to see, if you know me, but I had to include them.  The book wouldn’t be the same without them.  It makes more of an impact with my words. 

There are a lot of bipolar books on the market, but I had it in me to write this one and I had to do it.  There are non-fiction and fiction books.  There are movies and television shows.  However, any attention to the plight of those with mental illness in a positive light should be written or filmed.  There is entirely too much stigma surrounding bipolar illness.  I had a student ask me once, who did not know of my illness, “Aren’t bipolar people murderers?”  I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to write what I know, and what I know is that there are millions of us out there that are hiding their illness because of that very reason. 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Shes-So-Bipolar-Memoir-Photographs/dp/0615813763/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369945243&sr=8-1&keywords=she%27s+so+bipolar

Web site:  www.veronicacronin.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veronicacroninauthor

Vcronin67@gmail.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VCronin67

You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UwRs13lUS0&list=FLhESD1VFDFhkX_OvE1dIDWA&index=1

Blog: http://croninandhanrahan.blogspot.com/

Review of 'Til Death Do Us Part

I can't believe I finished this book in 24 hours!  Wait, yes I can:  I couldn't put it down! 

'Til Death picks up where "Life & Death" left off, after the marriage of Lily and Val.  It's back to business as usual for the newlyweds, as they're thrown into training vampire hunters to take out the Austere.  From there, though, things go crazy.  Lily comes home to find the house thrashed, her husband missing, and her son locked away for safe-keeping.  The rest of the book is an emotional roller coaster ride-- is Val turning Austere, was he killed, did he just run off with some tramp? 

I spent the entire time channeling Lily's feelings-- hurt, rage, heartbreak, relief, denial, hope, and moments of happiness.  As soon as I could settle into a feeling of comfortable acceptance, there was a new surprise thrown at me.  Way to keep a reader on their toes!

A thoroughly enjoyable read, I definitely recommend it!  Now to wait (im)patiently for book three to come out!  I can't wait to see what happens next! 



To purchase 'Til Death Do Us Part:
http://www.amazon.com/Death-Part-Lily-Drake-ebook/dp/B00CHYJRAQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369915125&sr=8-1&keywords=Til+death+t.+michelle+nelson

Mountain Springs House Blog Tour!

Mountain Springs House Publishing is kicking off a blog tour!  From Memorial Day until Labor Day, all interested authors connected to MSHP-- signed, prospective, and anyone in between-- will be hosting and guest posting along each other's blogs!  You can learn more about Mountain Springs House Publishing at www.mountainspringpublishing.com or their facebook group, Mountain Springs Facebook Page.  Be sure to like them for all the latest news of their up and coming titles!  

Now, I'm going to preface all this by saying that I'm a blog tour virgin.  I'm looking forward to seeing where all I end up over the course of the summer, chatting with new people, and maybe even getting the kick in the rear I need to keep up with regular postings!  This entire process is going to be a learning experience for me, so please...be gentle! 

Next week, I will be hosting Kathy Ree, and I will be hosted on Veronica Cronin’s blog.  We will be discussing what has inspired us to write our current books.  I'm excited to see how similar (or different!) our inspirations may be! 

A little bit about me: 

I’m an Army wife, mom to two beautiful girls, and our diva English Bulldog named Duchess.  I’m also a full time student working toward a BA in English Literature from Grand Canyon University, set to graduate in 2015.  For the moment we call Virginia home, but I’m originally from Central Ohio.  In the last 13 years we’ve lived in Germany, Tennessee, Ohio, Hawaii, Texas, and now Virginia.  

I hope to have my first book completed before the year is out, if the stars all align correctly.  From the first time I opened a book, or maybe as soon as I learned how to write, I have wanted to become a writer.  No matter how often I tried to plan something else to do when I grew up, I always came back to writing. 

Tiny tidbit of trivia:  I was a Girl Scout in the same troop as MSHP founder Allison Bruning way back when.  I had earned the Silver and Gold Awards as a Girl Scout, and my oldest daughter is currently working on her Silver Award project with her troop as well.  

Deadly Ever After-- It wasn't that bad!

I made a point of reading Deadly Ever After, the last book in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris.  I've been waiting anxiously for this release since about last summer, when I managed to devour the rest of the series in about a month.  I'll admit, I was a bad girl and even read some of the rumblings on Amazon and the facebook world about what may have happened, or what did happen.  Since I had to finish Jane before I could start Charlaine, it seemed like the rest of the world got to finish the book before me.  I was positively gobsmacked by the level of hate that I saw spewed at both Ms. Harris and the series. 

Now, let me preface this by saying I'm firmly on Team Eric.  Maybe it has to do with Alexander Skarsgard playing him on True Blood, or maybe it's because I have a weird fascination with all things Viking.  Either way, my heart hurt at the end of Deadlocked when he just up and left.  What the heck was that all about!  So for months now, I've been hoping/praying/daydreaming of Eric coming back and giving this passionate fight to keep Sookie...and he didn't.  It felt kind of like he shrugged his shoulders and said, "oh well, he can have her," and gave up.  Threw in the towel, didn't put any effort into salvaging 4 books' worth of relationship (or more like 12 if you include the back-and-forth banter from book 1!), and just cut his losses.  It felt a little "un-Eric-like" to tuck tail and ride west to Oklahoma like that, but it's not my story to write.

Even still, I didn't think the book was all that bad.  Was I bummed that it didn't go the way I envisioned?  Maybe a little.  But I still had a bit of, "oh, well isn't that interesting, I didn't see that coming...." which, honestly, I like.  I don't always want to read a book where I get what I predict.  Twists and turns are nice!  It may not have had the shock value that other books in the series had given me, but if Ms. Harris is happy with the final product, then that's what matters.  It's her baby, after all. Just read it and enjoy the journey! 

Feeling a little Austen-tacious

Corny title?  Maybe.  But even still, it fits.

I can't believe it has taken me so long to get around to reading anything by Jane Austen.  Seriously, that should be a crime against humanity, or at the very least put my reputation as an English major in jeopardy.  The fact that I waited until I had an assigned reading of "Sense and Sensibility" actually makes me sad.  I should have gotten to this point a lot sooner, and if you haven't read it yet...GO. 

I'll admit that I watched the Ang Lee movie first.  I'm a bit of a fangirl over Alan Rickman, so of course, I absolutely adore Col. Brandon, and would like to beat Kate Winslet's Marianne soundly around the head and shoulder area.  Poor chap, strung along the entire time while watching her getting all moony-eyed over a total cad.  I adore the movie, it has a permanent location on my DVR, and a DVD in our library.  Even still the movie doesn't even come close to describing ever little detail of the book! 

So now I demand that everyone runs out to either see the movie, or read the book, but both would be best!  I love coming across a gem that I have overlooked before.

Brushing off the cobwebs

Well, that didn't go as expected.

I had every intention of keeping up with blogging writing, and school, but I ended up completely buried.  Twelve or more pages between two papers, a midterm in math (Lord, I detest math!), and two finals that I had to take back-to-back in history and literature.  Don't get me wrong, those are my two favorite subjects, but that was a painful experience. 

Now that summer is almost here, I'm giving myself a fresh start. 

The Life and Death of Lily Drake!

Kudos go out to my friend, Hope, who told me about this book I just finished reading:  The Life and Death of Lily Drake by T. Michelle Nelson.  It was honestly a fun read!

Lily is a down-to-earth character that a reader can really relate to.  As a mother myself, I connected with her "mom on the go" exhaustion, especially with an older child.  How she found the strength to juggle parenting, dating a vampire, being a vampire killer, all while holding down a full-time job...wow, is all I can say.  Many of the vampire characters introduced are colorful, and a never-ending source of entertainment.  Mathias and Val, I had an alternating love/hate relationship with.  At one point, I even told them both to quit being a butthead, as if yelling at my Kindle Fire accomplished anything.

Now...as a (temporarily displaced) Mt. Vernon resident, I'll admit to having some reservations.  A vampire story in Mt. Vernon?  Is Mt. Vernon capable of living up to all that?  It's a pretty small town, and I suppose being there for the last couple decades had left me jaded to its small town charm.  Reading about my hometown from a different perspective opened my eyes to just what the area has to offer! It's also funny that the school Lily mentions in the beginning-- I went there for elementary school.  Coincidentally, we all used to sit on the playground and look at that mansion (yes, the mansion exists!) and scare everyone else by saying it was either haunted...or full of vampires!  It's a very, very fitting residence for Mathias and Val!

Speaking of vampires, it's refreshing to read a book about vampires that doesn't either fall into old and tired stereotypes of coffins, or the new age stretch of sparkling in the daylight.  They're regular people, working regular jobs-- who knew? 


The plot moves very quickly, I don't think there was ever a lull in the storyline from beginning to end.  I'm looking forward to the second book in the series now, I can't wait to see what's next!  I would definitely recommend snagging this book!


Here is the link for the book at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Death-Lily-Drake-ebook/dp/B009LX8P3Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1363994856&sr=1-1&keywords=t.+michelle+nelson

Dreary Weekends and Progress!

I don't know what it is about nasty, overcast days, but I do some of my best writing on days like that.  Saturday was just kind of okay outside.  Warm enough for my husband and I do go out and finish cutting the pieces for a dresser refinishing project I've wrangled him into, but still too cold to go out on his bike.  Really a bummer, I love riding with him, but I think that's another blog post for another time.

Saturday night, I just broke the 5k word count mark on the piece I'm tentatively calling "Justina."  It's taken me far too long to get to that point, but breaking that barrier has really given me a burst of energy to finish it!  Although, I do want to find a better title to put it under, because Justina sounds far too much like Marquis du Sade's "Justine," and it's so, so not the same book!

  Anyway, Sunday had been straight nastiness.  Rain, snow, cold...one of those days where curling up with a good book and a cup of tea would complete your day.  I'm so pleased that I was able to get something accomplished, still!

Today has been a bit of a waste, unfortunately.  It's hard to get work done with little eyes hanging around, thanks to a snow day!  Oh well.  I had grand hopes of writing over coffee, but on the bright side, all the cleaning for the week is done today, so I don't have to do that the rest of the week.  Next week is spring break, and I'm seriously hoping the weather will cooperate some so the kids can get out of the house a bit.  If they're in the yard, they're not trying to eyeball my computer screen!  ("What are you writing, Mom?"-- Yeah...don't ask, please!)

 I've also gained a new found love for Spotify.  I have a playlist of inspiring music for while I'm writing, and set it to random.  So far this weekend the songs that I have always pictured at certain parts of my story have started to play, right when I'm there.  It's like musical fate!  I cannot express just how giddy that makes me! 

Look what I did!

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One of my final grades for my American Lit course was a paper on Edgar Allan Poe, and his influence on the writers who came after him.  Since I got an amazing grade on it, I thought I would share!  

            Edgar Allan Poe is so much more than just a gothic poet, master of the macabre, or blistering critic. He is also much more than the debt-ridden alcoholic found wandering the streets of Baltimore. To many authors and artists of the 20^th and 21^st centuries, he is a literary hero, an innovator, a father of new genres, and inventor of literary guidelines.  His impact across art forms is limitless.  For an author who claimed to look up to no one, the number of people who look up to him is countless.

            Poe’s guidelines listed in “The Poetic Principle” have been applied over and over in literature classes worldwide. The scientific breakdown of the poetic styles of Tennyson, Lord Byron, and Longfellow has assisted future writers, or even simply readers, to understand the method behind certain patterns.  He explained how meter and tone applied to certain poems. His explanation process has been used by teachers to educate about various types of poetry in English classes.

            Many authors looked toward Poe as an inspiration for their own works, or follow a similar blueprint as his stories. For example, Stephen King has a tale called “The Old Dude’s Ticker,” which is equal parts homage to Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” and a modern-day retelling of the tale. Philip Roth mimicked Poe’s style with, “the narrator who is frantic, frenetic, a little deranged, who nevertheless somehow grows on us.” (Pearl)  Welsh author Arthur Machen had often been compared to Poe due to his mastery of the horror genre, even though he claimed that his overall style differed from Poe’s greatly. 

            Poe’s attention to detail, no matter how grotesque, pushed the envelope in the thriller and mystery genres, before they truly existed. The situations Stephen King continues to toe the line between scary and too horrible to be true, much like Poe did.  Comparing King’s “Carrie” to Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” both tales feel true-to-life yet include imaginary aspects—Carrie’s telekinesis and the destruction of the Usher House.  They both immerse readers into a storyline that feels natural, but with added paranormal or grotesque details that are unfathomable. 

            The inspiration gained from Poe’s literary style, extends outside the literary world as well.  Musicians around the world have put the words and styling of Poe to music as well.  Some musicians have put Poe’s words to music, such as Stevie Nicks’s song “Annabel Lee.”  Others, such as The White Stripes and Lou Reed wrote songs about “Masque of the Red Death,” and “The Raven,” respectively. Actor John Cusack stated that he used Lou Reed’s album, “The Raven,” to get him into the mindset to play the role of Edgar Allan Poe for the movie, “The Raven.”  Even modern artists like Nine Inch Nails and The Cure can attribute their dark, gothic sound to Poe.  Ironically, even the Beatles may have been influenced to an extent; Poe makes a cameo appearance on the album cover art for “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” 

            Several Classical composers of the modern era took on the challenge of setting Poe to music, as well.  Sergei Rachmaninoff set Poe’s poem “The Bells” to music in 1913 in a choral composition, after being requested in an anonymous letter.  Claude Debussy used “The Fall of the House of Usher” as a libretto for an unfinished opera, “La chute de la maison Usher.” Even more recently, Philip Glass composed an opera based on “Usher” in 1989.  English composer Joseph Holbrooke set several poems to music, as well as composing “The Masque of the Red Death” as a ballet.

            Art has been inspired by Poe’s unique style of writing, as well.  The Baltimore Museum of Art held an exhibit for Fall 2009.  Artwork by Paul Gauguin, Edouard Manet, Odilon Redon, René Magritte, and Robert Motherwell were all highlighted.  The exhibit connected several themes between his literature and the art world. Love and loss is a theme he expressed in “Annabel Lee,” fear and terror can be found in “Cask of Amontillado” and “Pit and the Pendulum,” and the themes madness and obsession can be found in “The Tell-Tale Heart.” 

            The creation of the murder-mystery genre, which can be attributed to Poe, has led to the creation of several outstanding characters by other authors.  Arthur Conan Doyle admitted that his Sherlock Holmes character as well as certain cases, were inspired by Poe’s character C. Auguste Dupin, in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue:  The Dupin Tales.” Because of this, C. Auguste Dupin can be described as the forefather of Sherlock Holmes, or even Hercule Poirot.  Without Poe’s initial work, the world may have never met Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, or Mary Higgins Clark.

            Poe can also be attributed to the sci-fi genre, as well.  Jules Verne and Thomas Pynchon found Poe influential.  “The Fall of the House of Usher” had a touch of sci-fi in the final scene, with the bright light coming from the house.   He also wrote stories that touched on familiar sci-fi scenarios like travelling through time or space, as well as reanimation of the dead.  While this concept was not taken very seriously at the time, it opened up a new avenue for authors to explore. 

            While moviemaking is a newer media form, Poe even holds great influence there as well.  One of the all-time greatest horror moviemakers, Alfred Hitchcock, felt a great connection between himself and Edgar Allan Poe. Hitchcock may have felt sympathy for Poe and all the misfortunes he suffered through his lifetime, but he admired and utilized many of Poe’s tactics in his own writing and directing.  Both Poe and Hitchcock also placed great importance on the perfection of their product.   Similarities can also be found between Poe’s story arcs, and Hitchcock’s; both men used a slow build of tension with a climactic twist at the very end.  They both also presented very uncomfortable situations realistically.   

            Another characteristic that Poe put forward for future writers was his high standard.  As a perfectionist, he was exceptionally critical of not only his own work but also the work of fellow authors.  If it doesn’t pull your reader in, engage them, leave them gasping for more, then it isn’t worth putting out for public consumption.  Write with a purpose, write to Poe’s standard, is a great motto to stand by. 

            The foundation that Edgar Allan Poe left for future writers and artists is impressive, even though his work did not leave that great of an impression during his lifetime.  His sharp criticisms did not gain him many admirers among the literary world at the time.  However, with time, his impact has become greatly appreciated.  There are at least 251 projects on television or film, with the tally going up continuously; the number of poems, short stories, or novels that have either mimicked or retold Poe’s tales are too numerous to count.  Today, artists and authors can feel free to push the envelope with their fan base, suspend reality, or drive them to test the limits of their own comfort or fear.     

Works Cited

Demarco, Laura. "Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King are masters of macabre page turners." The Plain Dealer, 27 Oct 2012. Web. 8 Mar 2013. <http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/10/edgar_allan_poe_stephen_king_a.html>.

Estrin, Elana. "Music inspired by Poe’s works." 12 Nov 2009: n. page. Web. 8 Mar. 2013. <http://www.utexas.edu/opa/blogs/culturalcompass/2009/11/12/music-inspired-by-poes-works/>.

Mannix, Anne. "Spine-Tingling Events Inspired by Poe at the BMA This Fall." . Baldimore Museum of Art, 10 August 2009. Web. 8 Mar 2013. <http://www.artbma.org/press/documents/Poe-BaltimoreIcon_programs_final_000.pdf>.

Marchese, David. "John Cusack Lists the Music That Inspired 'The Raven'." Spin Magazine. 27 Apr 2012: n. page. Web. 8 Mar. 2013. <http://www.spin.com/articles/john-cusack-lists-music-inspired-raven>.

Meslow , Scott. "Pop Culture's Undying Edgar Allan Poe Obsession." 26 Apr 2012: n. page. Web. 8 Mar. 2013. <http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/04/pop-cultures-undying-edgar-allan-poe-obsession/256417/>.

Pearl, Matthew. "Matthew Pearl's top 10 books inspired by Edgar Allan Poe." Guardian. 22 May 2006: n. page. Web. 8 Mar. 2013. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2006/may/23/top10s.poe>.

Perry, Dennis. "Imps of the perverse: Discovering the Poe/Hitchcock connection." Literature Film Quarterly. 24.4 (1996): 393. Web. 8 Mar. 2013. <http://www.cswnet.com/~erin/eap4.htm>.

Phillips , Mark. "Top Ten Artists Influenced by Edgar Allan Poe." . Artist Direct, 07 Oct 2011. Web. 8 Mar 2013. <http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/yradish/songs-inspired-by-the-writings-of-edgar-allan-poe.html>.

Quinn , Patrick, ed. "http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=90." Edgar Allan Poe:  Poetry and Tales. Library of America. Web. 8 Mar 2013.

Walters, Edgar. "Arthur Machen Turns 150." Harry Ransom Center, Cultural Compass. University of Texas Austin, 5 Mar 2013. Web. 8 Mar 2013. <http://www.utexas.edu/opa/blogs/culturalcompass/2013/03/05/arthur-machen-welsh-horror-fiction-author-turns-150-this-week/>.

Happy Monday, everyone!

I had a Social Studies teacher who always started Monday morning classes with that phrase:  "Happy Monday!" I thought he might have been a little nuts, but it's catchy, and maybe some Mondays aren't that bad after all.  This Monday is shaping up fairly nicely, even though it's still early in the day!  For starters, before I went to bed last night I checked for my final grade in American Literature, and my final grade posted on my transcript-- I got an A!  It was a real nail biter there at the end, I made a few missteps on the last couple assignments, and if I had calculated everything right, I would be less than 1% off of having an A.  Apparently, my professor was more awesome than I previously thought, and she believes in rounding up-- I love it! :) 

I'm hoping I can get some time in for writing this week, last week turned out to be kind of a bust.  I did get a little working in on Justina, Damien was tired of sitting in the shadows and before I knew it, he had part of a chapter all about him.  What a diva!  The next couple weeks are looking a little hectic, I have an overlap between a few classes, so I'm technically in four classes for 3 weeks, and my comfort zone is definitely three.  In the words of Gloria Gaynor, "I will survive," but it'll be kind of hairy.  The sooner I get German wrapped up, the easier it will be on me! 

Also, April starts the kick-off of Camp Nanowrimo!  I'm going to Nano, are you?  I haven't had a lot of success with the November Nano, just because it seems like everything and anything happens in my house in that month!  Hopefully, this one flows better!  I'm excited to participate, as always, and who knows, maybe something will come out of it. 

A Toast to New Beginnings

I should give many thanks to my friend April London for giving me a kick in the rear I needed to do this.  I'm watching her go through the steps to get her first book published, sticking herself out there.  To be honest, it's a bravery I didn't think I possessed, until now.

I am my only roadblock.  I have a husband who, for the moment, thinks this sounds like a grand idea.  It is a grand idea, and I agree.  However, it's a damn scary grand idea, as well!  This means not only sacrificing hours of sleep, but also placing my hard work in someone else's hands and hoping that they love it just as much as I do.  However, I have to put that all behind me.  Fear gets me nothing but a hard drive full of plot bunnies, snippets, and quotes that would look fantastic in print, but will never see the light of day.  I am better than that. 

So on that note, here we go.  I'm putting myself out there, no matter what. 

So here's to new beginnings.  Let's see where this little road takes us.