Music Monday: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow...

No, I'm not going to quote the Scottish play. But I am going to recommend a singer that I'd never heard before tonight, as I was watching a rerun of a Law and Order: Special Victims Unit episode that had this song in one of the scenes. I closed my eyes while I was listening and the voice of one of my MCs that has been ignoring me lately (I'm spending this Camp Nano session on something other than her) came through in the music. It's lovely, and I'm going to listen to more of Madi Diaz's work thanks to this one.

Tomorrowby Madi Diaz
So loudThe sound of my blood is rushingToo highI'm making myself keep climbingYou keep calling, you keep callingYou keep calling, so I'll turn aroundStill aching, you keep shakingBut I don't hear you nowOoh, never look back, never look backTomorrow, tomorrowOoh, never look back, never look backTomorrow, tomorrowTomorrow, tomorrow, ohSlow downI'm miles away from crashingIt's all over nowI still see your green eyes flashingYou keep calling, you keep callingYou keep calling, so I'll turn aroundStill aching, you keep shakingBut I don't hear you nowOoh, never look back, never look backTomorrow, tomorrowOoh, never look back, never look backTomorrow, tomorrowOoh, I'm over this feelingOoh, I gotta believe itOoh, never look back, never look backTomorrow, tomorrowOoh, never look back, never look backOoh, never look back, never look backTomorrow, tomorrow, ohTomorrow, tomorrow, ohTomorrow, tomorrow, ohTomorrow, tomorrow, ohTomorrow, tomorrow, ohTomorrow, tomorrow, ohTomorrow, tomorrow, oh

Music Monday: Road Trips, Camp Friends, and Philosophy Of Loss

[From a post on the Book of Faces] I want to tell you about my good friend Brina. She was able to get some tickets to see the Indigo Girls last night at App State and had a plan to have former camp folk come up to share what is absolutely a core memory for those of us in the Bob Lanford/Jimmy Moor/Bob Cagle eras of Camp Glisson.

Sadly, as is the case when you try to get as many of us as you can together - even those who live fairly close to each other, life gets in the way. But a few of us battled rain and snow to get there and as always, Amy and Emily did not disappoint. 

I needed to be with those people and hear that music. I needed to laugh at a memory of Robby shrieking at the line, "are you on fire?" in the middle of Kid Fears. I needed to get big, happy tears in my eyes as Brina and I sang along to The Wood Song. I needed to be overly amazed with Malinda's gracious and wonderful son Harper, whom I hadn't met other than in Facebook photos. And I needed a non-camp friend like Amanda to go along because sometimes I'm not at back to normal as I think I am AND she loves the Indigo Girls with a Glisson-adjacent fervor. 

All of us Glisson alums have busy, vibrant lives...and yet, we can come together in a moment and I'm 18 again and standing outside the Chapel, hearing that bell ring.  Then, we depart to serve until the next time. 

To quote the Girls..."Thanks, y'all."

Music Monday: Mr. Blue Sky

Yeah, I know it's eclipse day. Well, here in South Carolina, where we won't see the totality, the skies are blue and lovely today. Blue skies on a MONDAY require a little ELO. Enjoy (lyrics in video).

Music Monday: LABOUR (the cacophony)

I know, I've posted this before, but for the one year anniversary of this song being released, the artist took note of everyone that did a cover/lip-sync/other video on TikTok all rolled into one big video to speak to the shared understanding of feminine rage that has heightened since the song's release. I wasn't going to say anything about this new version at first. I was just going to let the video play and let you see the effects of patriarchy, misogyny, and centuries of oppression play out on your screen. But y'all...look at the amazing diversity of faces, self expression, and lives represented in this video. How much more does this hit home with this may voices behind the original? I wish they'd included deaf talent from TikTok on here performing the song in ASL, but when you think about how global this video has become that would have been just more oppression, IMO, to pick one signed language over another. Perhaps a video will be forthcoming in the future with that many Deaf performers from all over the world?

Anyway...I can't listen without getting goosebumps as well as very angry at the truth presented here. Lyrics included at the bottom.

labour (the cacophony)

by Paris Paloma

All day, every day, therapist, mother, maid

Nymph, then a virgin, nurse, then a servant

Just an appendage, live to attend him

So that he never lifts a finger

24/7 baby machine

So he can live out his picket fence dreams

It's not an act of love if you make her

You make me do too much labour

[Verse 1]

Why are you hangin' on so tight

To the rope that I'm hangin' from off this island?

This was an escape plan (This was an escape plan), carefully timed it

So let me go and dive into the waves below

[Pre-Chorus]

Who tends the orchards? Who fixes up the gables?

Emotional torture from the head of your high table

Who fetches the water from the rocky mountain spring?

And walk back down again to feel your words and their sharp sting?

And I'm gettin' fucking tired

[Chorus]

The capillaries in my eyes are bursting

If our love died, would that be the worst thing?

For somebody I thought was my saviour

You sure make me do a whole lot of labour

The calloused skin on my hands is crackin'

If our love ends, would that be a bad thing?

And the silence haunts our bed chamber

You make me do too much labour

[Verse 2]

Apologies from my tongue, never yours

Busy lapping from flowing cup and stabbing with your fork

I know you're a smart man (I know you're a smart man) and weaponise

The false incompetence, it's dominance under a guise

[Pre-Chorus]

If we had a daughter, I'd watch and could not save her

The emotional torture from the head of your high table

She'd do what you taught her, she'd meet the same cruel fate

So now I've gotta run, so I can undo this mistake

At least I've gotta try

[Chorus]

The capillaries in my eyes are bursting

If our love died, would that be the worst thing?

For somebody I thought was my saviour

You sure make me do a whole lot of labour

The calloused skin on my hands is crackin'

If our love ends, would that be a bad thing?

And the silence haunts our bed chamber

You make me do too much labour

[Bridge]

All day, every day, therapist, mother, maid

Nymph, then a virgin, nurse, then a servant

Just an appendage, live to attend him

So that he never lifts a finger

24/7 baby machine

So he can live out his picket fence dreams

It's not an act of love if you make her

You make me do too much labour

All day, every day, therapist, mother, maid

Nymph, then a virgin, nurse, then a servant

Just an appendage, live to attend him

So that he never lifts a finger

24/7 baby machine

So he can live out his picket fence dreams

It's not an act of love if you make her

You make me do too much labour

[Chorus]

The capillaries in my eyes are bursting (All day, every day, therapist, mother, maid)

If our love died, would that be the worst thing? (Nymph, then a virgin, nurse, then a servant)

For somebody I thought was my saviour (Just an appendage, live to attend him)

You sure make me do a whole lot of labour (So that he never lifts a finger)

The calloused skin on my hands is crackin' (24/7 baby machine)

If our love ends, would that be a bad thing? (So he can live out his picket fence dreams)

And the silence haunts our bed chamber (It's not an act of love if you make her)

You make me do too much labour

Music Monday: Of Living Masterpieces

I will admit to being low-key obsessed and potentially hyper fixated on the latest album from an artist I'd never really heard of before TikTok - Livingston. The lyrics to Last Man Standing have jumped out at me, and I am seeing the MCs for several of my novels through the images this young man creates. The fact that he not only sounds like Imagine Dragons but has recorded a song they gave him? Priceless. Sublime bliss. Enjoy. (lyrics in the video)

Music Monday: Sweet Lark...I mean, Melissa

Yeah, so today's song is speaking to my current #WIP but only in the eyes of the male MC I think. But at the same time, it is a call back to a different version of me at a very different time in my life, when all I had to worry about were my grades at school and remembering the bug spray when I went for a campout or creek hike (those two things have their own songs). Enjoy.

Music Monday: My new low key obsession

If you have been on socials this month I'm sure you have heard Livingston's new single, Shadow, along with others from his new album that dropped yesterday.

Can we take a second to acknowledge that I am clearly morphing into a teenager here in my self imposed exile while in treatment for cancer? Honestly.

Anyway! I heard that first verse in a TikTok and I haven't been able to get Taeben and the novellas I'd planned to write IN A FEW YEARS out of my head, so here we are. It's also a...bop? It slaps? I don't know. It's an earworm and I'm not mad at it. There. Enjoy.

Music Monday: I've Found Mine

So I survived the last minute surgery and then some. I'm back to progressing fairly normally, though there has been a bit of a shift in the timeline...an I'm not even mad at it, as the kids say. I've been told that I have a positive outlook and if I do, it's because of my tribe. My found family. My people. It's taken me 50+ years, but I have a group carefully cultivated that lifts me up and keeps me moving forward. Negativity? Nope. Criticism? Can't use it. Things I need to hear said with all love? This is what I have been looking for my whole life and what I have now, and I can only hope that you can find them too. Is it any wonder so many of my books have such strong found family vibes? Write what you know, they say. Write what you know.

Music Monday: Still Unwritten

This has been a weird couple of days, culminating in Music Monday almost being forgotten. Last Thursday I went to my appointment with "plastics" (as my oncologist calls the reconstruction doctor), expecting to have made progress that would not only move me forward in the journey but also allow me to sleep in the bed again for the first time in a month.

Instead, I was booked in for last minute surgery on Friday at 2pm - which meant I was WAY HANGRY by the time we got to that point. But I think now I'm back on the road to healing and ready to get back to writing. I need to write so badly it itches. That's why this song speaks to me this week. I'm still looking out that dirty window, but I'm getting ready to let the sun illuminate the words I can't find. Enjoy. (Lyrics in the video.)

Music Monday: Willow, hold the Pickle.

 This week's Music Monday has a dual meaning. I first heard it and thought of the project I'm working on with an author friend of mine. Some of the lines make me think of the two MCs and their relationship. But also, this has been a rough time lately for our youngest dog, Willow-Pickle. So...here we are with Taylor Swift. The video has captions and is absolutely charming and worth a watch. Enjoy.

Music Monday: Not See Ya Later, Goodbye.

I would love to say that this song is just research because I'm so bad at writing crime fiction, but really it's just very catchy and makes me laugh every time I hear it. I need that kind of laugh on a Monday, don't you? Enjoy...the lyrics are in the video.

 
50 Ways to Say Goodbyeby Train

Music Monday: Of Moons and Bouncing

 I'm back from hiatus/surgery! Thanks again to my two guest hosts, Tony and Shannon, for those amazing posts/song recommendations. Y'all rock. These two weeks have flown by without a lot of writing time, sadly, so no real inspiration to share, there. However...

I know that I have used "Little Hercules" by Craig Carothers for a Music Monday before, and it was through that song that I found this one. This song to me is nights in the North Georgia mountains, working at summer camp, the smell of campfires and my deliciously talented friends with guitars and listening to it is like a warm hug. Enjoy.

Bounce It Off the Moonby Craig Carothers
I always come out here at nightWhen I can't think inside my roomAnd everything will be all rightAfter I bounce it off the moon
I tried to tell you on my ownBut every time it falls to ruinBecause I'm no good at this aloneI have to bounce it off the moon
I look for the wordsThat tell you I love youWith no moon above youbut they won't come
So I sit quiet in the darkI count the shadows in my roomAnd I will memorize my chordsAfter I bounce it off the moon
Tonight the sky is cold and blackYou need to know that love is trueI wish I were just holding backAnd not depending on the moon
I dream of the dayWhen I'll win you overBut over and overNo, it won't come
So I sit quiet in the darkI know that change is coming soonI find the language of the heartAfter I bounce it off the moon

Guest Post/Music Monday: Shannon Bridwell (poet and novelist)

Photo courtesy Redhouse Photography

[This week's guest host for Music Monday is a friend of mine who is a writer, a teacher, a phenomenal dancer, and shares my love for all things canine and D&D. Shannon is a jack of all trades and a master of most anything if she puts her mind to it.]

Hello everyone! My name is Shannon. When my friend Nancy asked me if I wanted to do a guest post for Music Monday I jumped at the chance. Music is poetry set to words and has the power to move people in incredible ways, from the goofy nonsensical songs that bring a smile to the deep, powerful songs that touch the soul. As a dancer, music is an integral part of my art and my life. When Nancy asked, I had one immediate song pop into my head. The past few years have been incredibly difficult for many of us and whenever the struggles and burdens got too heavy, I would remind myself that “we can get better, because we’re not dead yet.”.  It’s a simple phrase, but it means so much more. We can get better and heal our minds, bodies, and souls. We can get better and improve ourselves. We can get better and forge a new path and take chances. Life is filled with darkness, and we can get better and reach for the light. So, I leave you with a song that touches my soul in its simple message. As Frank encourages us, try and get better and don’t ever accept less. We have this one life to live, and we deserve to make it our own stories.  (Lyrics in video.)

Guest Post/Music Monday: Tony Daniel (author of Return to Sender: from the Files of Pyramid Investigations)

photo courtesy Tony Daniel

[Your first guest host is a dear friend and one of my "big brothers," Tony Daniel. We crossed paths plenty, I'm sure, at our alma mater, YHC, but only got to know each other once we figured out we were both writers. Check out his debut novel here.]

When I think about music, I think about the power of the songwriter. Their ability to bring you into their world, their vision, their ability to tell a story. A great song will capture your brain for a moment and just transport you into a place where everything else vanishes for a moment, and you find yourself living in the song, an observer, seeing everything, taking it all in. For me, Nanci Griffith did this with her beautiful song " Love at the Five and Dime." It's a very simple song, nothing fancy or intricate, yet it sends me into a sublime comfort zone of the true art of storytelling. Close your eyes and listen. You can hear the distinct "ping" of the elevator doors in this magical store Griffith sings about, hidden in the rhythms of the song. You can see every detail described in the lyrics. And the blend of voices, hers, and Darius Rucker's, mix perfectly. Enjoy, people... 

Love at the Five and Dimeby Nanci Griffith and ft Darius Rucker
Rita was sixteen years, hazel eyes and chestnut hairShe made the Woolworth counter shineAnd Eddie was a sweet romancer, and a darn good dancerAnd they'd waltz the aisles of the five and dime
And they'd singDance a little closer to me, dance a little closer nowDance a little closer tonightDance a little closer to me, 'cause it's closing timeAnd love's on sale tonight at this five and dime
Eddie played the steel guitarAnd his mama cried 'cause he played in the barsAnd kept young Rita out late at nightSo they married up in Abilene, lost a child in TennesseeStill that love survived
'Cause they'd singDance a little closer to me, dance a little closer nowDance a little closer tonightDance a little closer to me, 'cause it's closing timeAnd love's on sale tonight at this five and dime
One of the boys in Eddie's band took a shine to Rita's handsSo Eddie ran off with the bass man's wifeOh, but he was back by June, singin' a different tuneAnd sportin' miss Rita back by his side
And he sangDance a little closer to me, dance a little closer nowDance a little closer tonightDance a little closer to me, 'cause it's closing timeAnd love's on sale tonight at this five and dime
Eddie traveled with the barroom bands'Til arthritis took his handsNow he sells insurance on the sideRita's got a house to keepDimestore novels and a love so sweetThey dance to the radio late at night
And they singDance a little closer to me, dance a little closer nowDance a little closer tonightDance a little closer to me, 'cause it's closing timeAnd love's on sale tonight at this five and dime
'Cause Rita was sixteen years, with hazel eyes and chestnut hairShe really made the Woolworth counter shineEddie was a sweet romancer, and a darn good dancerAnd they'd waltz the aisles of the five and dimeAnd they'd waltz the aisles of the five and dimeAnd they'd waltz the aisles of the five and dime

My 2023 was a blur...

From one Annus Horribilis into another...?

So as I was looking for something in my blog, I came across my New Year's Eve wrap up from 2010 and I thought I'd just share this bit before launching into the same for today:

June wasn't hot, but it wasn't freezing anymore either, which was quite nice. I'm going to include July here as well, because there was one event that absolutely stole focus for all of us for the entire month. I found a lump in one of my breasts. I survived having what turned out to be a cyst drained, as well as a needle-core biopsy (google that if you want to be scared out of your mind) that showed absolutely nothing. Mind you, I'd planned my funeral in the six weeks from finding the pitch invader to the results of the biopsy, and I've never been so glad to hear a doctor say he recommended that I not come back to him again.

Yeah, so I think that was the bit of tissue that became Eugene, my breast cancer tumor. I have the gene mutation that won't stop cells from growing out of control, which is how Eugene came to be. But I think it is interesting that I thought THAT was awful. I've done so much more awful since then. 

So, January - June were pretty much status quo around here. I sold books and met wonderful people at the Atlanta Steampunk Expo and the Georgia Renaissance Festival and put in applications/made plans for many other events in the months to follow.

In June, I decided to be a grown up and finally get signed on with a new GYN since my insurance had changed who was in my providers list and I'd passed the 50 years old mark. I also attended ConCarolinas for the fourth time including the virtual weirdness that was 2020.

In July, I was diagnosed with Stage III-B breast cancer that had not spread beyond the tumor itself and some lymph nodes just behind it. I named it Eugene and started a long line of medical appointments as well as attended ConGregate 9 - which was far and away more fun. I started chemo on 31 July.

In August I continued chemo, started awful shots that jacked up my immune system, and waved goodbye to my hair. I will say, though, that experience wasn't as bad as others have experienced and I was expecting...but I'm glad it's over. 

In September, I continued chemo and changed from The Red Devil cocktail every two weeks to a lighter weight poison called Taxol that was administered weekly. I waved a one-fingered salute at those immune system shots with the switch. I also attended the Upstate Renaissance Faire as a vendor for the first time, since the 2022 faire was a monsoon and my tent tried to pull a Poppins so we had to pack up and head home. I met some really great folks and sold more books than I had at any event to date so...good times, if not a little hot.

In October, I continued chemo and attended Multiverse for the first time with two magnificent human sherpas and one canine salesman extraordinaire. A new show is always nerve wracking, and after a rough start (I showed up THIRTY MINUTES late for a panel that I was on...), it was an amazing time.

In November, I attended the Geekery Market in Concord, NC, for the first time. That one was so much fun - again with two amazing sherpas to help me - and I am so excited for the next one. I should have been selling/signing/meeting/greeting at CRF again, but that event has changed to something that doesn't work for out-of-town authors. I also continued chemo and got to have it ON MY BIRTHDAY, but that wasn't so bad - does everyone have an oncologist who lip-syncs to Stevie Wonder and dances in the middle of the infusion suite? No? 

In December, I finished chemo and rang the life out of that bell...for me and for our Ciaragh, who lost her fight with lymphoma. I celebrated Christmas, sort of, and watched SO MUCH AMERICAN FOOTBALL. 

So... what's next? Surgery in late January, possible radiation in February, and hopefully the grand return of my hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes. Then the reconstruction process continues, per "plastics" as the cancer center calls my reconstruction surgeon, in late summer/early fall and I am DONE. Dunne and Done. I promise there won't be too many posts like this because it's all kinds of TMI but fingers crossed that a year from now I have loads more fun stuff to report!