Music Monday: Familiar...Advice

Yesterday I played Dungeons and Dragons in a one off in between our regular group, Lorem Ipsum's sessions. As it turns out, the real big bad in D&D is scheduling when you are playing as an adult with jobs, side gigs, dog shows, dance gigs, and author signings to try to sort through. So the son of one of my friends from LI (who also runs a character in that current campaign) DM'd for us and our regular DM got to play a character. Very cool.

[Note to self: It doesn't matter how long you have researched to find just the right name for your character...Róisín (Roh-sheen) looks like raisin to everyone that doesn't have any experience in the Irish language, and they will call you that. Anyway, back to the post...]

One of the things we do to frustrate our regular DM is that we keep picking up familiars. Strays, they are. I honestly don't remember how it happened with the first one, Terrence the Wombat, but since then we have another wombat, two goats, and several horses in our group. So this song by Colm R. McGuinness jumped out at me the first time I heard it, and I thought it was appropriate for this week. Enjoy, and remember, a troll is not a familiar.

Music Monday: Uninvited but still Inspired

On that same drive that inspired last week's post, I also heard a song that has been in Lark's playlist for awhile: Uninvited by the fabulous Alanis Morissette. I have loved this song for awhile now and it has stuck in my head like someone WANTED me to hear it. Apparently that person is Lark. She is a demanding soul, for sure.
Anyway, as I listened to that one in stop and go traffic, I thought of a scene that I've had trouble visualizing: the final battle with the big bad (I'm trying to avoid spoilers, y'all, I really am). Lark has to stare down her mortal enemy and potentially end him, coming out still...alive? on the other side. The tricky thing with writing vampires is that there is SO MUCH lore about what they can do to humans and to each other, and I have been working on not letting one of those...things ruin this scene. 
Whew. I may need to sit down after all that avoiding.
Well, anyway, as I was listening to that song, I was seeing other scenes in my head. Other battles she fights along the way, both physical and mental. And it came to me...the battles we fight lead us to a place where we are strong enough to do the really hard things. They don't "make us stronger," exactly; I'm not a fan of people telling me how strong I am to have beaten cancer and be still standing because I am not strong. It was awful. There were times when I wanted to just give up but I didn't have a choice. Lark doesn't have a choice in the memories coming to her because of the others in those memories and that's what makes her strong enough for that fight. 
Well. We hope so. I mean, it could go sideways. Spoilers, sweetie. Anyway...here's her inspiration--and mine. 

Music Monday: Carry You Home

I was driving back from an interpreting gig recently and heard a song come on my playlist that I think I added after hearing it in a commercial. Now, y'all know that my style of writing is to watch my characters do whatever it is they want to show me and then write up the incident report, right? Well, sometimes they decide to talk to me when I can't write...like when I am driving. I've tried doing a speech to text note in my phone but the Google is a fickle mistress when I'm stuck in traffic on I-85.

Last week on my way down to see my sister I saw a trailer being towed by a vehicle (because it merged in almost on top of me) that was painted red and had the name Lark in the upper left corner. Lark. Sweetie. Please, I want to hear from you and I want to get you and Connor out into the wild but THAT IS NOT THE WAY TO GET MY ATTENTION. Creole vampires, I tell ya.

Well this song hit me today in almost the same way, so my co-author (bless him) got a speech to text message from me detailing what popped into my mind. I think we have sorted out another bit of our take on vampire lore which is good, but again, NOT IN THE CAR and NOT WHILE I'M DRIVING, PLEASE?

Anyway, here's the song. Might be more like 150 years for Connor and Lark, but it still applies. Enjoy.

Music Monday: Beauty and the Beast

I'm a long time fan of Beauty and the Beast. I mean, come on...Sath and Gin? Also, the tv show with Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton? Yes please. So when I heard last week that Greenville, SC native Peabo Bryson died, this was all I could think of. Thank you for this amazing performance.

LyricsSongwriters: Howard Elliott Ashman / Alan Irwin Menken

Tale as old as time

True as it can be

Barely even friends

Then somebody bends

Unexpectedly

Just a little change

Small to say the least

Both a little scared

Neither one prepared

Beauty and the Beast

Ever just the same

Ever a surprise

Ever as before

And ever just as sure

As the sun will rise

Ever just the same

And ever a surprise, yeah

Ever as before

And ever just as sure

As the sun will rise

Tale as old as time

Tune as old as song

Bittersweet and strange

Finding you can change

Learning you were wrong

Certain as the sun

(Certain as the sun)

Rising in the east

Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

Beauty and the Beast

Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and...

Beauty and the Beast

Music Monday: Ghosts...in the Machine?

I am a recent convert to all things Yungblud. I discovered this amazing young artist at the time we lost Ozzy because they had an absolutely beautiful friendship...and I've gradually been listening to his work. This song hit me pretty hard today when I saw a concert clip of him performing it on social media, and now it is in the back of my head singing to me about Sath and Gin, Em and Lex, and Lark and Connor (who you haven't met yet but I hope you will soon). It's is just beautiful, and I hope you enjoy it. Lyrics are in the video.