Constance Phillips - A Writer's Musings
Powerful stories about passion and surrender.
Today, in Character Playlist, I’m so pleased to have fellow Crescent Moon Press author, Aaron Ritchey. He’s talking about the playlist he listened to while writing his novel, The Never Prayer, which I’m currently reading and enjoying.
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When I sat down to write my angel book, I searched through my massive music collection for all songs with “angel” in the title. The nice thing about having so many MP3s I’ve acquired from friends over the years is that there are gazillions of songs I’ve never heard of before.
And it’s nice to have a playlist for a novel because the songs put me in the mood of that book, so during the revisions, the many, many, many, many revisions, I can get back into the groove of the book. What if I get out of the groove? Well, then I’m in trouble. That was a little Propellerheads reference there.
Like other writers, I’m a music lover, and in my debut novel, The Never Prayer, there are a ton of music references because when I was in high school, my life revolved around music. But I get freaked out about copyrights, and so I made up all my own bands. For example, my heroine, Magdalena “Lena” Marquez listens to an old 80’s band called The Sympathies, kind of like The Cure. And her loser ex-boyfriend, Santiago, loves opera and speed metal, so he listens to Bertoglio and Scattershot. I’ve had readers comment they googled the bands and didn’t find anything. Ha.
But let’s get on to the music! The song that probably captures the heart of the novel, or at least the climax, is Jeff Beck’s “Amazing Grace.” At the very climax of the novel, after Lena’s heartbreaking decision, it’s such a bittersweet moment, so full of tension, sorrow, and yet so much hope, that it reverberated with the power of Amazing Grace.
Before I did my search, I had never even heard of John Prine, but his song, “Angel From Montgomery” is Lena’s theme song. The line, “To believe in this living is just a hard way to go,” sent shivers down my spine because as Lena knows, life is hard. His version is good, but I like the Dave Matthews cover a little bit more. In the version I had, it’s from some little bar, and at the end of the song, you can hear the waitress asking for people to clean up after themselves. I couldn’t find that version, but the link below is almost as good. No waitress talking at the end though. Sad face.
My novel is tragic. Is that a selling point? Prolly not, but another sad song, “Seven Spanish Angels”. Again, never heard this song before in my life, but I love Ray Charles. And the song is about sacrifice and desperation, two more themes in The Never Prayer.
I would read my book, and listen to these sad songs and cry and cry. Ah, the life of a writer. Tears and bloodshed. However, there is hope in The Never Prayer. It’s not all heartbreak. I always liked The Black Crowes, and their song, “She Talks to Angels,” has such a fragile hope in it about a troubled girl, like Lena. But I think the song also points to change—hope for the hopeless. In my mind, this was Santiago’s song because he starts out as a drug addict, but things change.
Angels are a very human way to express our hope that there is something out there, some force that wants our lives to be good and for us to succeed. I could list a million other songs that I listened to while working on my book, and some would be far more hopeful, like Melissa Etheridge’s “Talking With My Angels” or A-Ha’s “Angel in the Snow.” But I’ll end on a song I found that I had heard before, but not the orchestral version of it. The Scorpions with the Berlin Philharmonic, “Send me an angel.” Well, the angels are on their way. There is always hope.
Bio: Aaron Michael Ritchey was born with Colorado thunderstorms in his soul. He’s sought shelter as a world traveler, an endurance athlete, a story addict, and even gave serious thought to becoming a Roman Catholic priest. After too brief a time in Paris, he moved back to the American West and lives semi-comfortably with three forces of nature: a little, blonde hurricane, an artistic tornado, and a beautiful, beautiful blizzard.
The Never Prayer: Shattered by the death of her parents, Lena will risk everything to keep her disintegrating family together. In love with two enigmatic boys, Lena must unravel the mysteries of heaven’s fury and hell’s desire before she loses everything. Who is the demon? Who is the angel? Lena can’t tell the difference and every minute pushes her closer to the edge.
For more about me and The Never Prayer, you can visit us both at www.aaronmritchey.com. And of course, I’m on Facebook, as is the book at http://www.facebook.com/TheNeverPrayer. And I tweet – @aaronmritchey. If you are at all curious about the novel, our friends at Amazon.com would love for you to visit them!
Today, I’m very pleased to have a sneak peek at fellow Crescent Moon Press author Louann Carroll’s novel A Shadow of Time, releasing this Friday, July 1. But first, a little bit about Louann:
Biography
I was probably 7 or 8 the first time I read a horror story. It was The Haunting of Hill House, straight out of Reader’s Digest condensed stories. I was frightened, curious, and fascinated. The thoughts and ideas expressed within the Haunting thrilled me. One day, I thought. I’d write something that would thrill a reader, well, hopefully that is.
As I grew older different ideas about my first horror story surrounded me. My friends and I played with ouija boards, automatic writing, we put tape recorders in graveyards. Elements of the paranormal surrounded my family and close friends. Each of us had our own unique experiences. I often wondered if in some way I was trying to find my father whom I lost when I was five.
Still, things happened to me–continue to happen to me. In some way we are all interconnected. You run into old friends, people you haven’t seen in years but you think about them and the next thing you know you run into them in the grocery store. You have the odd dream that sparks into reality a week or so later. You think of someone and the phone rings. A friend’s son sees the future. Your dog runs around the house, barking at someone or something that floats near the ceiling, something she can see and you cannot. You get a phone call from a relative with a warning about someone in the family.
I held my nose, took a deep breath, and jumped into theoretical physics. What a miraculous place we live in where thoughts can influence reality. Strange things happen outside of our visible world. There are more dimensions than we can comprehend, a world filled with wonder and delight. And ofttimes cruelty.
I wondered, is evil real? Or is it genetic, crossed wires, written in our DNA.
From all these thoughts A Shadow of Time was born. It is a world of possibilities, multidimensions, evil, and the overpowering force of love. Welcome to my world, where things that go bump in the night are all too real.
Louann Carroll has written numerous radio talk shows, articles about adoption, Gemini Rising, a sci-fi romance, and The Journey Series, helping our children navigate through life.
Blurb:
Consumed by a childhood filled with terror and pain, Kellyn O’Brien strives to create the perfect family.Then, disaster strikes. Her husband is dead. Three weeks later she discovers her son is heir to Shadow Ley, a nineteenth century estate located in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
Still reeling from Michael’s death, Kellyn moves to Shadow Ley. Soon after her arrival, the ordinary becomes the extraordinary: broken drinking glasses repair themselves, stair rails that were once old are now new and suddenly the estate of Shadow Ley is not what it seems.
She turns to the local historian and hears the tale of Shenahobet, the portal guardian, and the Hutto-pah, a tribe of Native Americans related to the Maya. She meets John Aldridge, a physician who experiences visions of other times and places. Her dreams turn into nightmares with windows into past lives, hints of multidimensionality, and the promise of life beyond death.
Legends abound and so Shadow Ley, the home Kellyn had hoped would bring peace to herself and her children, becomes mired first in doubt, then in terror, and finally in love eternal.
You can contact Louann at:
While working on book two in the Fairyproof series, I’ve also been playing with a contemporary novella over the past couple weeks.
Because I’m a pantster I start with a very rough sketch of what I think the plot is going to be, but it doesn’t take long for things to change up. Sometimes a lot.
I knew this story was going to be about regrets and choices not made, but I what I didn’t expect the hero (see post from Tuesday) to have such a positive outlook on life, despite his problems. I tossed a lot of baggage on his shoulders, but he’s very centered and focused on the blessings in his life.
Seeing the good in the storm is something I personally need to work on, so it sort of surprised me when this line of narrative flowed through my fingers into the hero’s head:
Nate was reminded that precious gifts often came wrapped in tragedy.
I’m not going to say too much more, for fear of giving away too much of a story that is still in rough-draft form. I will say that this was one of those situations when I gave myself something to think about by digging around in my own emotions.
Today (and moving forward) I’m going to try to be more like Nate, and look for the good where it seems to not exist.
Please welcome to my blog and the Character Playlist feature, fellow Crescent Moon Press Author Avery Olive. But first, a little bit about her novel, now available:
A Stiff Kiss
Who knew kissing a corpse would change everything?
Death always hits Xylia Morana too close to home, but she likes it that way. She hangs out with the terminally ill, attends random funerals, and every so often, when the weather is right, she sleeps in open graves.
But after Landon Phoenix, the high school hottie, dies in Xylia’s hands, she sneaks into the morgue to say goodbye. How could she know stealing a kiss from his corpse would wake him up?
With Landon returned to the living and suddenly interested in Xylia, life has new meaning. But what Xylia doesn’t realize is that by kissing Landon back to life, she’s thrown Life and Death off balance. The underworld demands a body, and it might just have to be Xylia’s this time.
Now, let me turn it over to Avery:
To be honest when I was writing A Stiff Kiss, sure I had a constant stream of music playing, but I never really sat down and thought about a playlist.
I have pretty much the same eternal loop of songs on my iPhone that I listen to over and over… until now. Now I use 8tracks, which gives me a plethora of new and old music to fall in love with. If you don’t know what 8tracks is, or do have a sound track for your novel, consider checking out my post about it.
So basically what I’m trying to say is… This is a really hard post to write… But I am not a quitter. So what I’ve done is pick one song for each character, I’ll give you a little background about the character and why the song fits and then… well we shall see what happens.
Now on with the show…
Xylia Morana—Her theme song would be “Bad Reputation” By Joan Jett
She’s dark, mysterious, a little quirky, but her lifestyle suits her and she really doesn’t care what people think. Xylia is a little rebellious, likes a challenge and likes to get into trouble. But don’t forget she isn’t your normal teenager. She doesn’t go to house parties, vandalize property, or experiment with alcohol. What she does is sneak in to cemeteries. Instead of crashing weddings, she’ll crash a funeral just to imagine what her own, or her mother’s would be like. She’s knows she’s odd, maybe a little obsessed with death, but she “marches to the beat of her own drum”
Landon Phoenix— His theme song throughout the novel is “To Lose My Life” By White Lies
I stumbled on this song completely by accident while researching songs for another post (it was a while ago, and some of the songs I’m mentioning today came from there) If you’ve had the chance to read A Stiff Kiss, listen to this song, or simply read the lyrics. This describes how Landon is feeling, what he is thinking, and shows how much he loves Xylia. This song brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. It feelings like I’m right back with Landon doing the most difficult things he had to do over the course of A Stiff Kiss. He’s your normal, average, ever day teenager, but don’t let him fool you. He is deep, filled with love, and urgency, and worry, he cares with his whole heart and puts himself before others.
Dr. Doug Morana—“Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton
He’s never gotten over the loss of his wife. He carries her with him always, and expects, even though she’s gone that she will find him again. Though he doesn’t always think he’s doing the right thing, he was a wonderful husband, and is an amazing father. At times he has separated himself from Xylia, looking at her brings back all the pain of his broken heart. What allows him to go on is the hope that he will meet his wife again in heaven, if there is one. Since he’s a doctor, he’s not sure what he believes in when it comes to life after death. He is the polar opposite of Xylia but together they make life work.
The Soul Seekers—“Enter Sandman” by Metallica
There are two villains in this story. They go about their business, doing work for an unseen force. I think “Enter Sandman” describes their eerie presence, that one should be afraid of them, that they are the monsters you wouldn’t expect to take control of your soul and decide its fate.
Of course each book has a few central themes. A few songs can describe those last moments. So here they are.
“I Forgive You” by Kelly Clarkson –Everyone in the novel who plays a role (aside from the Villains) realizes by the end of the book they need to forgive something or someone. This song represents that.
“In Love with You” by Jared Evans—I think this is a fun song to describe Xylia and Landon’s love. It’s sung with almost an urgency, and upbeat and powerful version of something that should be romantic and soft. It plays well with how Xylia and Landon move through the novel.
“Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica—This is another one of those great songs that describes how everyone is feeling. That love extends and rises about everything no matter if the person is standing right next to you or a world separates you. Love knows no distance.
Hmm… Alright, I think that’s about it, for now. I will be paying more attention to the songs I listen to the next time I write I book. I had never realized that just like for a movie, there can and should be a soundtrack for your novel!!
Thanks so much for having me Constance!
Even though my new stories often start with a seedling of a plot idea. I probably spend most of my prewriting time sussing out what my characters are like.
In fact, it sometimes take writing as much as 15,000 words of the story before I really feel like I get the character. I way have a handle on the goals and their motivations. I can infuse all kinds of conflict between two people, but it takes spending a little time with them to see inside and know what makes them tick.
I can build a hero from the ground up. Write him a back story that has made him the person he is on page one, but, at times, I feel like there’s something I just don’t understand completely. I can decide he has brown eyes, but until I look at a picture of a man with dark, soulful eyes I’m not seeing everything there is to be seen.
I’ve spoken here before about how I use images to round out my character profiles, but I was reminded of it again as I went on web search looking for the perfect hero for my novella-in-progress.
I’d like to introduce you to Nate Jenkins ( Okay…Jim Caviezel)
Do you have any tips or tricks for getting to know your characters?
I’m so pleased to help celebrate the release of Kate Lutter’s new book today! Please take a few minutes to check out the book and Kate herself, and then pick up a copy of this wonderful book!
Wild Point Island
Banished from Wild Point Island as a child, Ella Pattenson, a half human-half revenant, has managed to hide her true identity as a descendent of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. Thought to have perished, the settlers survived but were transformed into revenants–immortal beings who live forever as long as they remain on the island.
Now, Ella must return to the place of her birth to rescue her father from imprisonment and a soon to be unspeakable death. Her only hope is to trust a seductive revenant who seems to have ties to the corrupt High Council. Simon Viccars is sexy and like no man she’s ever met. But he’s been trapped on the island for 400 years and is willing to do almost anything for his freedom.
With the forces of the island conspiring against her, Ella must risk her father, her heart, and her life on love.
Kate Lutter (biography)
Kate Lutter believes she was born to write. She wrote her first novel when she was in eighth grade, but then almost burned her house down when she tried to incinerate her story in the garbage can because she couldn’t get the plot to turn out right. Now, many years later, she lives in NJ with her husband and five cats (no matches in sight) and spends her days writing contemporary paranormal romances, traveling the world, and hanging out with her four wild sisters. She is happy to report that her debut novel, Wild Point Island, the first in a series, has just been published by Crescent Moon Press. She is busy writing the sequel and her weekly travel blog entitled Hot Blogging with Chuck, which features her very snarky and rascally almost famous cat.
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Email: katelutter.author@gmail.com
“Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.” ~William Shakespeare
I love that Shakespeare quote.
Though, as with most things, I have my own little twist on it.
It’s true that the world of writing and publishing is a battlefield all its own. And while some may interpret cowardice as not standing up for what you believe in, but there is a more passive way to be cowardly, and that’s to not even try.
If you fail to finish what you’re working on, fail to submit it to industry professionals, or even fail to make the time to write regularly, your dream is dying a thousand deaths along the path.
The good thing about this kind of “death” is it doesn’t have to be permanent. We’re lucky enough to be able to start each new day with a new commitment to our goals and dreams. Don’t let past failures, or past slow-downs, to stand in the way of facing you demons with bravery.
And give it your best. Try.
You may have notice I missed posting last Thursday and Friday. We had a minor medical crisis that resulted in my daughter spraining both her ankles. She was in need of some extra TLC and since she’ll always be my little girl…
Between care-giving moments are started thinking about some of the fairies in Fiaryproof, those with the ability to heal.
Wouldn’t it be nice, I thought, if one of the Woodmoore’s could use their power to take away my daughter’s pain and speed her healing.
Though I will defend the mystical creatures existence to anyone who argue, I do know that the chances were slim and (close to) none that we would be visited by healing fairies.
But isn’t that part of the appeal of fantasy… or any book for that matter: that it can’t take us away from our pain or distract us from our problems. Whether it a healing fairy or just a good contemporary story, a mystery of a non-fiction odyssey; the elements of the story may not be able to come to life and cure what ales, but getting lost in a book can help pass the time while you recover.
Please welcome to the blog today, fellow Crescent Moon Press Author, Cindy Young Turner. I’m so pleased that she’s agreed to share her character playlist to her novel, Thief of Hope.
I’m the kind of person who always listened to music when I studied in high school and college. It just helped me focus. So naturally I listen to music when I write. My music tastes are pretty eclectic, ranging from indie rock to folk, classical, and heavy metal, and I also adore bagpipes.
My first novel, Thief of Hope, is fantasy set in a medieval-based world. I love listening to movie soundtracks when I’m writing because they have such a variety of moods. I can always find something to fit the scene I’m writing. I was already a Lord of the Rings fan before the movies came out, and you can bet I got those soundtracks right away to put into my writing music rotation.
I also listen to a group called the Mediaeval Baebes. They sing medieval music using traditional instruments and yes, they are babes. I’ve seen them perform live and they are amazing. The tone of their music helps set the mood for me. Here’s one of my favorites:
A group called New Model Army has a lot of political-focused music and this song called “The Charge” really appealed to me while writing the book:
Thief of Hope has some dark parts, although it’s ultimately about overcoming loss and finding hope. A lot of Evanescence’s music reminds me of my heroine because their songs deal with love and loss and pain, like this one:
Bio:
Cindy has always been an avid reader and became fascinated by mythology and Arthurian legends at a young age. She quickly decided she enjoyed creating her own worlds and characters and set to work writing her own stories. She won her first writing contest at age twelve, a short story inspired by the style of Edgar Allan Poe. Branching her interests from mythology to classic supernatural tales to medieval history and then to fantasy seemed to be a logical progression.
A native New Englander, Cindy currently lives in the Mid-Atlantic region with her family and each year wishes for more snow.
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