Last weekend my husband and I visited a few nurseries looking for some landscaping ideas and plants for our yard. We were about to leave the last store, when I noticed a display with some garden fairies and stepping-stones, one of which said “I believe in fairies.”
Well, given the subject of my upcoming Crescent Moon Press release, Fairyproof, I do believe. I fell in love with two of the fairies, and my husband purchased them for me for Mother’s Day. The next day, I was telling a friend of mine about how much I loved them and how serendipitous I thought it was to find them at a time while I’m working to get my book about my kind of fairies ready for publication.
The next morning, that same friend emailed me a few pictures of fairy gardens that her sister had taken at another local nursery that I hadn’t visited with the subject line “Fairy Gardens are In.” Of course, this sent me on my own internet and pinterest search.
Wow. I never knew. See what you miss when you live in a writing cave.
Over the next few weeks, I’m planning to build a fairy garden in my yard. No, this isn’t the type of world that Monique, Keiran and the other fairies in Fairyproof come from, but in my Thursday posts highlighting the gardens, I will be sharing tidbits and news about my upcoming release.
If you have a fairy garden, I’d love to see pictures. Please post a link in the comments or email pictures to phillips (dot) connie (at) gmail (dot) com.
Featured in today’s Character Playlist, is my fellow Crescent Moon Press author Wendy Russo. Since becoming a part of the CMP family in March, I’ve discovered that Wendy is a wiz on the internet and social media as well as a supportive peer. I’m so pleased she agreed to be here.
Welcome, Wendy!
January Black Playlist
Hi everyone! And thank you, Constance, for inviting me to share my playlist. January Black will be released by Crescent Moon Press, and I hope that you will all check it out.
I began writing January Black during November 2009. (Yes, it was a NaNoWriMo project. I fell short of 50k.) Anyhow, at the time, I had a single image in my head…a boy in an overgrown garden. And, I was listening to Dream Theater’s new album, Black Clouds and Silver Linings. I have been a huge fan of the Knights Templar since reading Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum. Anything regarding them, the Rosicrucians, the Freemasons, etc., immediately catches my attention.
A Rite of Passage (Official Video) (Warning: Obligatory commercial followed by corny video.)
A key and a forbidden door play key roles in January Black. They were sparked by this line: Turn the key, walk through the gate…
Also at the time, Taylor Swift’s Love Story was getting overplay on the radio. Couldn’t drive around the block without hearing it. When I gave Matty a girl to obsess over, I used Taylor as a model…hair, eyes, and personality. But, while “Love Story” was on my playlist, it was “You’re Not Sorry” that influenced the tone and direction of middle of the book.
“You’re Not Sorry” (Live)
Apocalyptica’s Faraway vol.2 has been on most of my playlists since I first heard it. It is one of my favorite songs of all time. After Matty does something reckless, Iris begs him, “Don’t slip away from me.” The line is from that song. (Embedding has been disabled by YouTube. The video was shot in a desert. The band dresses up as Bedouin to play their cellos in a desert. And there’s a blond chick singing.)
I finished January Black in April 2010, but during my first major edit, I was listening to Christian Kane. I’m a Leverage fan; Elliot is my favorite of the crew. This song was featured in Season 3, and I played it to death while editing the last third of the book.
Christian Kane: “Thinking of You”
While I was writing January Black, my son turned 2. Songs that he wanted to listen to ended up on my playlist, and got more play than mine, to be honest. They didn’t influence the story much (or maybe they did), but they are a part the story’s creation so I’ve included the videos. I have added what he calls these songs before the titles.
(Baba Riley) The Who: “Baba O’Riley”
(The Guy Ra-Ra) Sam Tsui: “Lady Gaga Medley”
(The Friends Ra-Ra) Glee Cast: “Bad Romance”
Yes…these were my son’s favorite songs for more than a year. (If that seems unusual, try his fear of Disney films. The only one he’ll watch is Cars, but not on a screen larger than an iPhone.) He’s four now. His favorite song is Adele’s “Rollin’ in the Deep,” although “Rumor Has It” recently made a big impression. I think it’s all the hand clapping.
So…I gave you Dream Theater, Taylor Swift, Apocalyptica, Christian Kane, Glee and Sam Tsui. What else? Oh yeah…King Hadrian has a habit of changing subjects mid-conversation. This might have had some influence on that….
Rock Sugar: Don’t Stop the Sandman
January Black blurb:
Sixteen-year-old Matty Ducayn is a disappointment to everyone who knows him. As the son of The Hill’s commandant, he is expected conform to a strict, unspoken code of conduct. Small acts of defiance over years—like playing in the dirt and walking on the grass—have earned him a reputation for being unruly, but it’s his sarcastic test answers that finally get him expelled from school. Instead of punishing him, King Hadrian offers Matty a diploma, with a catch. He must answer a question: What was January Black?
With the help of Iris, a gardener on his father’s staff, Matty takes his quest beyond The Hill’s walls and tightly controlled media. But trying to solve the puzzle puts him on a collision course with the Janus Law, a royal decree mandating death to those who trespass in a forbidden garden. Has Hadrian set him up from the beginning to lose?
Wendy’s Bio
Wendy Russo got her start writing in the sixth grade. That story involved a talisman with crystals that had to be found and assembled before bad things happened, and dialog that read like a homeroom’s morning roll call. Since then, she’s majored in journalism (for one semester), published poetry, taken a course on short novels, and watched most everything ever filmed by Quentin Tarantino. It’s possible to see his influence in her work if you look.
After spending her formidable years in Wyoming’s Big Horn Basin, Wendy moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she now works for LSU as an IT analyst. She’s a wife, a mom, a Tiger, a Who Dat, and she falls asleep on her couch at 8:30 on weeknights.
“ Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” Mother Teresa (1910–1997)
I love this quote from Mother Teresa and the many, many variations on it that you can find any day on any number of motivational sites. It’s simple really, but oh-so-hard to actually practice it in day-to-day life.
I’m guilty of over thinking what I did yesterday and belittling myself over the mistakes I’ve made. I’ve also been known to worry about the tomorrows that have yet to come. The ones that may never come. When what I should be thinking about it today.
Enjoy the now. Don’t spend precious moments worrying about mistakes that can not be undone or tomorrow’s that may never come.
I’m guest blogging today at The Maummee Valley RWA Group blog about the importance of arts programs in schools. Please head over to the site to read and comment.
Also, Sasha Summers is featuring the cover to my soon-to-be-released Fairyproof, and interviewed me for her website. Please head on over and check it out.
I have a special edition of Character Playlist to share with you this week, because the book Primal by today’s guest, Raven Bower (and Lain Bower) released this week. Please welcome Raven to the blog and check out their book!
Primal:
Pursued by a ruthless crime lord after witnessing the murder of a FBI agent, Wrey must rebuild the life they stole from her. When she meets mysterious Arvon Night, her precious new life unravels as she’s thrust into a web of betrayal, lust and violence.
Arvon knows he must slay Wrey to keep his secret safe from those who hunt him. Each hour his enemies stalk closer, ready to kill.
Can Wrey’s powers of nature and spirit help her survive the yearning and dangerous Arvon and the tide of peril he brings with him? Or will an opportunistic hitman take advantage of them both?
I have a love/hate relationship with music in regards to writing. It can be either a wonderful boon or dreadful bane.
Besides dreams and the Sacred Pool (aka whirlpool), many of my ideas come from listening to varied music, especially while lounging or driving, it instills such vivid imagery. Ideas seem to flow right from the radio right into my head granting visions of scenes, characters and sometimes those splendid ‘ah ha! That’s what’s missing!’ moments.
Music is very helpful to set mood too. If I’m set to write a gritty action scene, I’ll plug in some fast paced music with lots of drums. The novella I’m working on right now has a heavy nautical element in it so I’ve been listening to a lot of folk songs about ships and mythical sea beasts.
Where music really shines for me though is with characters. All of my characters have at least one theme song that embodies who they are. Not on a physical level, usually, but one that captures their spirit or the way the see the world. My main characters usually have several theme songs that depict how they have changed or how they see things in different parts of the story.
I’ve found too, that each story is different – not only in how we write it, but also in the way we select the music. For Primal, our saucy urban fantasy, most of the songs in its play list encompass story elements, the spirit of the story per se, with only a few being true character theme songs. Bleeding Edge, our epic fantasy, is the opposite. Almost everything on there revolves around a specific character and when played together, forms a united feel for the world and their conflicts.
Strangely however, music also can thwart my efforts to turn the awful white page with glorious black! Muahah * cough *
It would seem that with all the inspiration music brings that it’d hold true during the actual process of writing scenes. But for me it’s the opposite. I can listen to music before writing or after, but not while I write.
At that point, in the process music distracts me from the characters and scene I’m creating. It’s the ‘real world’ infringing upon me and I get annoyed when it yanks me out of my fictive dream. No matter how much I love the song or lyrics, they’ll grate on my nerves – you know, the chalk board and nails scenario. * shudders *
On the opposite spectrum is my husband and often co-author, Lain. He loves to play music while writing and for him it doesn’t matter how loud it is or how appropriate (or inappropriate!) it is to the story or characters.
Thank God for ear buds! They keep both of us happy.
Bio:
Raven and Lain Bower are a wife and husband team obsessed with creating worlds, creatures, stories and chaos. They live in North West Michigan with their four rambunctious kids, two reneging Hell Hounds and alien doom cat. When not occupied with the aforementioned minions or writing, they enjoy gaming of all sorts from PC to console to tabletop, voracious reading, target shooting and gardening – gothic style.
Their books include the Apparitions supernatural suspense series, the Vengeance urban fantasy series and their new epic fantasy series – Weeping Dark: Bleeding Edge.
Writers of the screenplay, Apparitions, optioned by Dead Mouse Productions.
Welcome to another Character Playlist Wednesday. This week’s guest on my blog is my RWA Chapter mate and friend, Deanna Wadsworth. This Decadent Publishing author is well-known for her steamy stories.
Welcome to the blog, Deanna.
Music has always been a huge part of my life so I was really excited when Constance asked me to blog about my writing and music. Though I cannot play an instrument—I tried once to take guitar lessons but I missed my fake nails, lol—and I cannot sing a note—seriously birdies die when I sing anywhere but my shower and karaoke—music is very important to me. Not a day goes by in my home where something isn’t on the radio, from Hank Jr. to Andrea Bocelli.
So it would stand to reason that the characters I write would love music, too. Sometimes I include it in the book, sometimes they have theme songs and mix tapes that they don’t even realize, lol
My latest book ACCIDENTALLY BEAUTIFUL has a theme song. It’s not exactly the most romantic song, and in fact it has an X-rated version they don’t even play on the radio.
Enrique Iglesias hit song Tonight I’m Lovin’ You (Watch Video).
The first time I heard it, this story was just an idea in my head. When I was writing it, I heard the song again and realized…Oh My! This is the song my hero Garret would be hearing in his head when he meets his date Martin and takes him out to an exotic gay bar secluded on the beach of Grand Turk.
Of course, I have been known to have a potty mouth, lol, so I would be remiss if I didn’t include the link to the unrated version of the song….. Tonight I’m F***ing You (Video).
Despite the blatant sexuality of the song, the story is quite romantic, even for a D/s story. Of course there is also lots of hot sex, too!
Do you write with music? Do you give your favorite books theme songs? I would love to hear from you!
Post a comment below and be entered to win a copy of ACCIDENTALLY BEAUTIFUL!
Check out an excerpt:
ACCIDENTALLY BEAUTIFUL
A 1Night Stand Story
Martin Baird is perfectly content in his safe, predictable job as head concierge for Castillo Resorts, but when a handsome stranger whisks him away for a night of tropical escapades—first visiting an isolated gay bar then to a secluded beach where erotic delights await—Martin’s world is thrown upside down. He’s never met a man like Garret Fisher, but it seems he has been waiting for a night like this all his life.
Could something truly beautiful come out of this accidental meeting? Or was it really not an accident at all?
~Excerpt~
“Nice to meet you, Marty.”
He should correct him—he hated being called Marty—but Garret had not let go, his playful gaze rendering him unable to assert himself. He swallowed hard, envisioning those palms running over his body with deep appreciation, stroking his budding erection, caressing his ass, parting him…spanking him?
Shite!
He dropped Garret’s hand at once, cheeks reddening.
Grinning, Garret returned to making the drink, his cocky demeanor a solid indicator he knew where Martin’s thoughts had wandered.
Damn Jagger for putting those ideas into his head—and awakening ones he’d not entertained in a long time.
Then again, maybe Garret Fischer held all the blame.
When Garret presented the cocktail—an illicit-looking, frothy, white concoction which again had Martin’s mind going to places it shouldn’t—he placed both arms wide on the bar, waiting for a reaction.
“Slainte.” Martin raised the drink to his lips, and the creamy, sweet beverage went down smooth. The alcohol warmed his blood but the intense way Garret studied him brought him to a full boil.
“Well?”
He placed the glass down, hand shaking. “Quite good. Not too sweet, either.”
“Glad you like it, Marty.” Garret leaned forward. “Here. You have something….”
Before Martin saw it coming, a masculine thumb brushed across his lower lip.
A visceral reaction shot molten fire through his center and he gasped. When Garret slipped that thumb between supple lips to suck away any residue of alcohol, Martin swore his cock grew two inches.
Garret pulled his thumb out of his mouth ever so slowly, purposefully. His green eyes, full of wicked promise behind those glasses, never left Martin’s. “Delicious.”
Deanna’s books are available at all reputable ebook retailers.
Bestselling erotica author Deanna Wadsworth leads a pretty vanilla life in Ohio with her hubby of 15 years and three demanding little dogs. She has a fascination with the exotic and taboo but her love of love in all its stages and incarnations motivate her to write Romance with Spice and Love without Boundaries.
Today I’m over at Blinded by Sound talking about my new cover for novel, Fairyproof (coming soon) and the Bruce Springsteen song “Red Headed Woman.”
It’s not rocket science people, but it is about the music.
My study may not be scientific, but as I compile the reactions I’m finding that Mr. Springsteen isn’t the only one whose jaw drops and libido stirs for a pretty woman with a lot of red hair.
Those of you who are close to me know how long this story has been near and dear to me. I was so excited a couple of months ago when Crescent Moon Press offered me a contract so that I can share my baby with the world. Today (Well, yesterday actually) Fairyproof took one more step toward publication. It was given a wonderful cover.
So, let me tell you a little bit about Fairyproof!
When Monique finds out her brother, Kieran, is planning her future with the one fairy she wants nothing to do with, she seeks refuge in the human world. Now Kieran fears she will be the next victim in a string of murdered fairies and is determined to bring her home.
Hiding should be a breeze. She can control any human with a flirtatious smile and an attraction spell. Until, meets Daniel Elliot, the only human who’s immune to both.
A year ago, Daniel’s fiancée disappeared with the engagement ring, an Elliot family heirloom. He’s ready to move forward with his life, but his mother’s obsession with retrieving the ring makes that impossible. Then Monique walks into his office to apply for a job.
Daniel and Monique can’t deny their attraction, but will the reason he’s Fairyproof be too much to overcome?
Sasha Summers is part gypsy. Her passions have always been storytelling, history, and travel. It’s no surprise that her books visit times past, set in places rich with legends and myth. Her first play, ‘Greek Gods and Goddesses’ (original title, right?), was written for her Girl Scout troupe. She’s been writing ever since. She loves getting lost in the worlds and characters she creates; even if she frequently forgets to run the dishwasher or wash socks when she’s doing so. Luckily, her four brilliant children and hero-inspiring hubby are super understanding and supportive.
Sasha is an active member of RWA and several Texas Chapters. A self-proclaimed movie-addict, she is full of all sorts of useless movie tidbits and trivia.
Congratulations, Sasha on today’s release of Medusa, A love Story!
It’s said love can change a person. Medusa wasn’t always a monster…
Medusa is ruled by duty, to her Titan father and the Goddess Athena. She’s no room for the tenderness her warrior guard, Ariston, stirs. When Olympus frees her from service, her heart leads her into the arms of the guard she loves… and curses her as the creature with serpent locks.
Ariston goes to war with a full heart… and dreadful foreboding. He learns too late of the danger Medusa faces, alone, and a Persian blade sends him into the Underworld. But death, curses, nor the wrath of the Gods will keep him from returning to her.
Poseidon will use Greece’s war to get what he wants: Medusa. He does not care that she belongs to another. He does not care that she will be damned. He is a God, an Olympian, and she will be his.
“This tragic and beautiful retelling of one of the world’s oldest stories tackles the eternal battle between duty and happiness. Medusa, A Love Story broke my heart then filled in the cracks with joy. Sasha Summers is simply a mesmerizing new talent.” ~Stephanie Dray, Author of the critically acclaimed Song of the Nile
Today, I’d like to welcome my good friend and RWA chapter mate, Kristina Knight to my little corner of the web. When I first started thinking about this feature, Kristina was the first one come to mind. Especially when it comes to ’80s music, we’re soul-sisters.
Welcome to my blog, Kristina.
Hey, Constance, thanks for having me here today. You and I have talked about music and writing – a lot! – especially our love for 80s music. When I was in high school, I got my first job in radio at a local country music station. All my friends were music fans and I used to make them mix tapes – have a break-up? Kristina will make you the best cry-into-your-Coke mix! Have a new boyfriend? Let Kristina make the coolest falling-in-love mix. So when I started writing it was natural to me to create a playlist for the characters in my books, too.
My iPod makes it a lot easier – and less wasteful! – to create playlists at the drop of a hat. Or to add songs in and take them out.
For me a playlist helps me get into the mood of the story or scene. Happy scene? The right song gets that happy, euphoric feeling going right away – even if I’m dead-tired from a crazy day. Black moment? Give me a dramatic ballad and I’m right there, going through the emotions with my characters. I don’t listen to the playlist while I’m writing, though. The editing and planning stages are where my playlists really get airtime in my office. You know what’s funny? I never get tired of a playlist, even if I’ve listened to it a hundred times during the writing of a book…and sometimes I miss the playlist after I’m finished with a book. But I don’t want to cheat on the next characters so I have to delete each one…that’s maybe a smidge crazy, but, it’s part of my process.
My debut novel, What a Texas Girl Wants, comes out in June, and I drew on a lot of country music influences for this one. Makes sense since the book is set in Texas on a horse ranch.
Here’s a sampling of my longer-than-usual playlist for What a Texas Girl Wants:
Carrie Underwood, Wasted:
Dierks Bentley, Come a Little Closer:
Jane Weidlin, Rush Hour
Sara Evans, Real Fine Place To Start
Jake Owen, Barefoot Blue Jean Night
Bio:
Once upon a time, Kristina Knight spent her days running from car crash to fire to meetings with local police – no, she wasn’t a trouble-maker she was a journalist. When the opportunity to write what she wanted – business and family/parenting articles – and to focus a bit of energy on the stories in her head, she jumped at it. And she’s never looked back. Now she writes articles for magazines and such by day and writes romance novels with spice by night. And any toddler-free, five-minute break she has. She lives on Lake Erie with her husband, 3-year-old daughter and 20-year-old fur-kid. Happily ever after. Visit Kristina at her website for more about her books – and some of the music that inspires the writing.
lives in Ohio with her husband, two ready-to-leave-the-nest children, and four canine kids. The perfect fantasy vacation would involve hunting Dracula across Europe with her daughter, who also digs that kind of stuff. When she's not writing about fairies, shifters, vamps and guardian angels, she's working side-by-side with her husband in their business.
Well, given the subject of my upcoming Crescent Moon Press release, Fairyproof, I do believe. I fell in love with two of the fairies, and my husband purchased them for me for Mother’s Day. The next day, I was telling a friend of mine about how much I loved them and how serendipitous I thought it was to find them at a time while I’m working to get my book about my kind of fairies ready for publication.
It’s not rocket science people, but it is about the music.
