Music Monday: Celts at Faire

This weekend was my first one back at the Georgia Renaissance Festival (spring) and despite the dust and a slightly skittish wolfhound it was glorious. One more Irish tune to play for this weekend of pipes, drums, and Celtic culture, i nGaeilge of course. It mentions Grace O'Malley! How could I not...enjoy.
Lyrics below.

Oró Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile by Seth Staton Watkins
Óró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró 'sé do bheatha ′bhaile!Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh!
Óró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaile!Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh!
′Sé do bheatha a bhean ba léanmharB'é ár gcreach tú bheith i ngéibhinnDo dhúiche bhreá i seilibh meirleach!Is tú díolta leis na Gallaibh
Óró 'sé do bheatha ′bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaile!Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh
Tá Gráinne Mhaol ag teacht thar sáileÓglaigh armtha léi mar ghardaGaeil iad féin is ní Gaill ná Spáinnigh!Cuirfidh siad ruaig ar Ghallaibh!
Óró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró 'sé do bheatha ′bhaile!Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh
A bhuí le rí na bhfeart go bhfeiceannMuna mbíonn beo ina dhiaidh ach seachtainGráinne Mhaol is míle gaiscíochAg fógairt fáin ar Ghallaibh
Óró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaile!Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh
Óró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró 'sé do bheatha ′bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaile!Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh

Music Monday: Sanctuary, for those Searching

There seems to be similarity among those of us in GenX when it comes to ways to de-stress. One of them is dancing to fantastic 80s music--whether you're in the car or your kitchen, it is a hit of dopamine that apparently we need from time to time. There's even a group of women of a certain age that I follow on the socials that post nothing but videos of them dancing to the songs that were the soundtrack to my life in the 80s and I am HERE FOR IT.

This one showed up for me this morning and I'd forgotten how wonderful this song is...and how much it helps. Soooooo much. (lyrics below)

She Sells Sanctuary-The Cult
Oh, the heads that turnMake my back burnAnd those heads that turnMake my back, make my back burn
The sparkle in your eyesKeeps me aliveAnd the sparkle in your eyesKeeps me alive, keeps me alive
The worldOh, the world turns aroundThe world and the world, yeahThe world drags me down
Oh, the heads that turnMake my back burnAnd those heads that turnMake my back, make my back burn, yeahYeah, yeah, yeah
The fire in your eyes keeps me aliveAnd the fire in your eyes keeps me aliveInside her you'll find sanctuaryInside her you'll find sanctuary
And the world, the world turns aroundAnd the world, and the world, the world drags me downAnd the world, and the world, and the world, the world turns aroundAnd the world, and the world, and the world, and the worldThe world drags me down
Ah, hey yeah, hey yeahAnd the world, and the world turns aroundAnd the world, and the worldYeah, the world drags me downAnd the world, yeah, the world turns aroundAnd the world, and the world, the world drags me down
SanctuarySanctuary

Music Monday, err...Tuesday?

One more from Chasing Abbey because I am more and more in love with this band...and I'm still waiting for them to release Saoirse... But this one speaks to the state of our country and our world today. 

"The scars of war are hard to fade/so who's to gain?/So who's to gain? Ní mise (not me)/Ní tusa (not you)\Ní mise (not me)/Ní tusa (not you)."

Appearance Alert: SC Comicon!

For my second signing event in 2026, I'm over the moon (with Artemis II) to get to tell you I will be at SC Comicon this weekend! Saturday and Sunday, 10-6ish, I will be in the Vendor Hall in Artist's Alley with books ready to go home with you!

I will be in space 1032 (marked on the floor map below) which is on the opposite side of the hall from last fall if you came to the one day Fall Comicon, and will have all of my Orana Chronicles epic fantasy novels, The World of Arcstone litRPG duology, and the first in the alternative fiction series Luminous Beings series, Strið.

I hope to see you, not just because my books need homes but because the line up for this Comicon is amazing! Anson Mount (Star Trek: SNW), Ron Perlman (Beauty and the Beast), Ruth Connell (SPN), Mark Sheppard (SPN, Firefly)...it's going to be amazing! Also, there will be authors I love there, including Darin Kennedy, Matthew Saunders, and the Crowded Shelf!

For more info, click here. See you this weekend!

Music Monday: Arís is arís for...reasons.

I'm not going to pretend that y'all don't know what is going on in the world right now. We all do, especially those of us in the US as we watch the juxtaposition of reports out of Iran and its neighbors and the rhetoric coming from the White House. Again and again...and it's only been a year and a half. 

This song is not about that, but it feels like the entire world is crying arís is arís (again and again) every time a new atrocity happens. Also, this past weekend was the 110th anniversary of the Easter Rising, and I would imagine that the ancestors are looking at us in amazement and horror that we have not yet learned those lessons. Cén uair a chríochaíonn sé? (When does it end?)

Hopefully before the Dorchadas, Dorchadas, Dorchadas sa chroí (Darkness, Darkness Darkness in the heart)...