Music Monday: In Which I Almost Crashed my Car...

 Not really.

I was driving along listening to my latest playlist and I'd added this version of Hoist the Colours because it represents one of the amazing parts of social media - several creators came together who aren't physically together to make this cover. But it was the last line that hit me and screamed WRITE MY STORY that nearly made me drive off the road. 

Y'all, I don't write pirates well, just ask poor Lucian the Black (when you get the sequel to Rift in May). But this needs to be part of a story (and NOT another Pirates of the Caribbean): 

"The bell has been raised from its watery grave/ Do you hear its sepulchral tone?/ A Call to all, pay heed to the squall/ And turn your sail towards home!"

Enjoy. No lyrics below this time because they are on the video. 

Upcoming Appearances, 2023

At 742 North, Rock Hill, Fall 2022

So I sat down the other day and looked at my travel calendar for this year. Whew! There is a lot coming up, and I can't wait to get started.

(I have submitted applications to DragonCon and will submit to Multiverse, both in Atlanta, and if I'm successful this time, y'all will be the first to hear about it!)

First is the Atlanta Steampunk Expo, where I will be signing copies of Strid (and my other books, too), February 10-12 at the Atlanta Marriott Northeast/Emory Area. My table will be in the Decatur Exchange - come see me!

After that, I will be running up the road to hang out with one of my favorite groups of authors at 742 North's Springtime Blooms event from 10-6 on March 4th. I will have all of my books there and would love to see you if you happen to be in the Rock Hill, SC, area. 

April and May are the Georgia Renaissance Festival, and I'm hoping to get together a signing event one weekend there now that I don't really have a dog that can work with the Hounds. I'm sure that I will be traveling down there with my vaudeville partner, Anne, even if I am without hound...you can take the girl out of the rennies, but you can't take the Rennie out of the...no, that sounded better in my head. Never mind. Moving on.

April is also Camp Nanowrimo, and while that isn't an appearance, it's something that I love dearly. The second round will be in July, so if you don't hear from me during those two months, I'm likely writing.

The second book in the World of Arcstone series, Storm, is set to launch on the 15th of May, just in time to take it to the next event on the list (if I get space in Author's Alley).

The first weekend in June is ConCarolinas at the Hilton Charlotte University Place. I really consider this my home faire, and I've been an author guest there since 2020. I will definitely be an author guest and on panels, and I'm hoping for space in the juried Author's Alley to sell/sign copies of my books. The Kaylee cosplay will be returning, and I'm thinking maybe something Stargate or Star Trek related? We'll see.

July sees me heading up the road to Winston-Salem, NC, for Congregate 9. I had to bow out of Congregate 8 last year, and I'm feeling so lucky and thankful that they are having me back this year. I will be in Author Alley there at the Downtown Marriott.

August will be Back to the DayJob™️ for the most part. September 8-9, I will be setting up at the Upstate Renaissance Faire in Greer, SC, and hoping that we do NOT have weather like last year. I'm excited to decorate my tent and figure out which piece of my Rennie garb will work best for sitting in a chair and signing books. That faire is fantastic, complete with a dragon. Come visit if you're nearby!

September is also my professional development month - and I will return to the Broadleaf Writer's Association annual conference in Decatur, GA. This event always recharges my batteries and prepares me to tackle my next WIP.

November is a busy month, as I'm tentatively planning the launch of the next book in the Guardians of Orana series, Hero. It will also bring another chance to participate in the Time Traveling Authors event at the Carolina Renaissance Festival. More on that event later in the year, and next year I've already been invited to the Dahlonega Literary Festival, which I believe is in March of 2024.

I hope to see you at one or more of these events, so I can ask, "what kind of books do you like to read?" 

Music Monday: We never failed to fail, it was the easiest thing to do...

This past week, the world lost an amazing musician. Rooted in the hippie counter-culture of the 1960s and 70s, David Crosby wasn't just a member of the amazingly talented group Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, but he was an example of sticking to your principles. So many of those songs were the soundtrack of my early uni days when I worked at a summer camp in Georgia, and they still bring a smile when I hear them on the radio.

Southern Cross

Crosby, Stills, and Nash

[Verse 1]

Got out of town on a boat, going to Southern islands

Sailing a reach before a following sea

She was making for the trades on the outside

And the downhill run to Papeete

Off the wind on this heading lie, the Marquesas

We got eighty feet of the waterline

Nicely making way

In a noisy bar in Avalon, I tried to call you

But on a midnight watch I realized

Why twice you ran away

[Pre-Chorus]

(I think about)

Think about how many times I have fallen

Spirits are using me, larger voices calling

What heaven brought you and me

Cannot be forgotten (I've been around the world)

[Chorus]

I have been around the world (Looking)

Looking for that woman-girl

(And I know she knows)

Who knows love can endure

And you know it will

[Verse 2]

When you see the Southern Cross for the first time

You understand now why you came this way

'Cause the truth you might be running from is so small

But it's as big as the promise

The promise of a coming day

So I'm sailing for tomorrow, my dreams are a-dying

And my love is an anchor tied to you

Tied with a silver chain

I have my ship

And all her flags are a-flying

She is all that I have left

And music is her name

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Crosby, Stills & Nash

Emily I’m Sorry

​boygenius

[Pre-Chorus]

(I think about)

Think about how many times I have fallen

Spirits are using me, larger voices calling

What heaven brought you and me

Cannot be forgotten (I've been around the world)

[Chorus]

I have been around the world (Looking)

Looking for that woman-girl

Who knows love can endure

And you know it will

And you know it will

(Yes)

[Verse 3]

So we cheated and we lied and we tested

And we never failed to fail

It was the easiest thing to do

You will survive being bested

Somebody fine

Will come along, make me forget about loving you

In the Southern Cross

Well, that was unexpected...

Truer words were never spoken...or written...on an image...nevermind.

Lots of things have happened, and even more...haven't. There's no Music Monday today, mainly because I've been sick off and on throughout the holidays. Ho, Ho, NO. Crappy New Year. That sort of thing. But also...I'm stuck in my writing, so I haven't been able to come up with anything that really inspires me.

I'm currently revising Storm, the second in the World of Arcstone series. While manning my table at the Carolina Renaissance Festival's Time Traveling Authors event, a young man approached - one I recognized from the event in 2021. He had purchased Rift at the time and had some questions. This is amazing and terrifying as an author, but I went with it. 

I had announced elsewhere that I would publish Storm in the late spring of 2023. He was glad to hear that and made sure that I knew I needed to clear up why things happened the way they did at the end of Rift. (HEY! I didn't spoil it! Go me.) This statement kick-started my revisions because now there was a person out there that wanted to know what happened next...and it wasn't someone that I know. 

And once again, they stalled out. It isn't that I don't love Em and Lex or that I'm bored of Arcstone. Quite the opposite - if this was my game world, I'd never leave. (Norrath and Azeroth, just pretend you didn't hear that, okay?) I'm just...having trouble. So I decided it would be a good idea to re-read Rift, and maybe Em, Lex, and the others would start talking to me again. Even better - I will have my voice assistant read it!

Y'all. I am not a romance writer. Ugh. So cringey! But I've powered through, and I've found the source of the problem...I left some things untied at the end of Rift on purpose, but now I haven't even reached for those strings, let alone tied them up in Storm. So...here I am, starting again with revision.

How long till March?