First things first, I finished Nanowrimo this weekend. The lucky thing about having it in November is that there is a holiday in there that sees me off work and full of cheese, wandering about and asking what day it is...and with plenty of time to write. The manuscript isn't done but I can slow my pace a bit.
Now, that said, the story is turning out to be a lot darker than I'd originally thought, and with that darkness comes me seeking out writing inspiration that matches. This is one of the most emotionally evocative songs I know and when it came up in my playlist I had to take a moment and just live in the feelings. The first time I heard it I think I gasped out loud in the third act. I would say enjoy, but...sit with it for a bit.
The Highwayman
by Loreena McKennitt
The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon the cloudy seas
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moon
A highwayman came riding
Riding, riding
A highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door
He'd a french cocked hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin
A coat of glaring velvet, and breeches of brown doe skin
They fitted with never a wrinkle, his boots were up to the thigh
And he rode with a chill and a twinkle
His pistol butts a twinkle
His rapier hilt a twinkle, under the jeweled sky
And over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark of night
And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter
Bess, the landlord's daughter
Plaiting a long dark red love-knot into her long black hair
One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize tonight
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light
Yet if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day
Then look for me by the moonlight
Watch for me by the moonlight
I'll come to thee by the moonlight, though hell should bar the way
He rose upright in the stirrups, he scarce could reach her hand
She loosened her hair in the casement, her face burnt like a brand
As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast
And he kissed its waves in the moonlight
Oh, sweet waves in the moonlight!
Then he tugged at his rein in the moonlight, and galloped away to the west
He did not come at the dawning, he did not come at noon
And out of the tawny sunset, before the rise of the moon
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon, looping the purple moon
A red-coat troop came marching
Marching, marching
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door
They said no word to the landlord, they drank his ale instead
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed
Two of them knelt at the casement, with muskets at their side
There was death at every window
Hell at one dark window
For Bess could see, through the casement
The road that he would ride
They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jest
And they bound a musket beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast
Now keep good watch and they kissed her
She heard the dead man say
"Look for me by the moonlight
Watch for me by the moonlight
I'll come to thee by the moonlight, though hell should bar the way"
She twisted her hands behind her, but all the knots held good
She writhed her hands 'til her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness and the hours crawled on by like years!
'Til, now, on the stroke of midnight
Cold, on the stroke of midnight
The tip of one finger touched it!
The trigger at least was hers
Tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs ringing clear
Tlot-tlot, in the distance, were they deaf that they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill
The highwayman came riding
Riding, riding
The red-coats looked to their priming
She stood up straight and still
Tlot in the frosty silence, tlot, in the echoing night
Nearer he came and nearer, her face was like a light
Her eyes grew wide for a moment, she drew one last deep breath
Her finger moved in the moonlight
Her musket shot her in the moonlight
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him with her death
He turned, he spurred to the west, he did not know she stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her own red blood
Not 'til the dawn he heard it, his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter
The landlord's black-eyed daughter
Watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there
And back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky
With a white rope smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high
Blood-red were the spurs inthe golden moon, wine-red was his velvet coat
When they shot him down on the highway
Down like a dog on the highway
And he lay in his blood on the highway, with a bunch of lace at his throat
Still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees
When the moon is a ghostly galleon, tossed upon the cloudy seas
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moon
The highwayman comes riding
Riding, riding
The highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door
So, I'm taking this crazy show on the road again, but not that far up the road this time. I will have my own booth (provided I can get that sucker set up and it isn't too windy that day) at the Upstate Renaissance Faire in Greer, SC this coming Saturday (Sept 10th).
Y'all... I'm nervous. The good thing is that if I need something I have loads of people nearby that can come help - instead of at least two hours away like at the Carolina Ren Fest or the Atlanta Steampunk Expo. My trusty Sherpa, Anne, will be at the same faire but is working with the Hounds of East Fairhaven, and while hubs has the day off we don't want to leave the dogs alone that long.
You know what will make it better, though? If you come out to see me! You don't even have to buy a book (though that would be amazing, I really don't want to have to take all this stuff back home with me). Just come say hi and hang out in what I hope is a properly decorated booth run by a mostly properly decorated author.
Question...can I actually sign books while wearing my usual rennie garb? Only one way to find out...for more info, check out the link above or go to my website.
Right, so I'm a child of the 80s. Anyone that knows me knows I wear my GenX with pride, and will even when I turned HALF A CENTURY OLD on Saturday. This song called out to my teenage years from an ad for a video game on telly and I couldn't stop until I found it. This is Em fighting the Shadow Guardians in Rift and [redacted because I cannot seem to avoid spoilers] in Storm, even before I wrote the part where [omg seriously?] that fits it so perfectly. I even had another traffic light moment, though I didn't cry this time. That could be due to the fact that [it's out in January, can you please just wait till then?] in the climactic scene, and this was just a fight. Who knows.
Anyway, let's finish this Nano month strong with a piece that could go behind so many of my fight scenes or just as a camera pans over the Oranian landscape...
And speaking of my current Nanowrimo project...I will have copies of the first book in the series (plus the rest of my Orana novels and Proud Racer/Clobberpaws) this weekend at the Carolina Renaissance Festival. I'm participating again in a book signing/author meet and greet event with other local Fantasy and SciFi authors. Come out and see us if you're local!!
So, Camp Nanowrimo starts again in a few days and I am again cheating a bit and working on a rewrite of the third Guardians of Orana novel that still does not have an official title. The overarching story involves a temple in Calder's Port that honors the god of justice, Indarr, and how the temple's brothers seem to have become less of an order/militia and more of a cult. Murders happen in places where the initiates have been. The sister temple to Isona in the city joins the hunt for the killer but falls victim to the same cult - so the Guardians call in the Fabled Ones to work out what is going on on the docks of the southern port. What they discover may be more than even the Guardians can handle.
This song spoke to me of a related story arc within this novel - but once I heard this version, I could see all of those arcs coming together under the seemingly benign banners of the Temples to Indarr and Isona, as well as nods to the twin deities they worship.
Set Fire to the Rain
Original song by Adele, Cover by No Resolve
I set fire to the rain To the rain, to the rain
I let it fall, my heart And as it fell, you rose to claim it It was dark and I was over Until you kissed my lips, and you saved me My hands, they were strong But my knees were far too weak To stand in your arms Without falling to your feet
But there's a side to you That I never knew, never knew All the things you'd say They were never true, never true And the games you'd play You would always win, always win
But I set fire to the rain Watched it pour as I touched your face Well, it burned while I cried 'Cause I heard it screaming out your name Your name
When laying with you I could stay there And close my eyes, feel you here forever You and me together, nothing is better
'Cause there's a side to you That I never knew, never knew All the things you'd say They were never true, never true And the games you'd play You would always win, always win
But I set fire to the rain Watched it pour as I touched your face Well, it burned while I cried 'Cause I heard it screaming out your name Your name I set fire to the rain And I threw us into the flames When we fell, something died 'Cause I knew that that was the last time The last time
Sometimes I wake up by the door That heart you caught must be waiting for you Even now when we're already over I can't help myself from looking for you
But I set fire to the rain Watched it pour as I touch your face Well, it burned while I cried 'Cause I heard it screaming out your name Your name I set fire to the rain And I threw us into the flames When we fell, something died 'Cause I knew that that was the last time The last time
I heard this song first on "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" which I have talked about before here - this show just gets better and better and more painful to watch. And while I love the Skylar Astin version from the show, this one by the original artist is just like that show...almost too painful to watch, but so beautiful that you must bear witness. You MUST. Demi Lovato has been through so much that they deserve for us to hear them sing this song in their own voice, and it is beautiful.
It is speaking to me as well in terms of my Nano for July. When everything has been taken from Elys, things that she didn't even know that she had...what is left? Who is there to pick her up when everyone is gone? (I promise, I'm still a fantasy writer, but I'm driven by my characters and their stories as well...)
Anyone by Demi Lovato
I tried to talk to my piano I tried to talk to my guitar Talked to my imagination Confided into alcohol I tried and tried and tried some more Told secrets 'til my voice was sore Tired of empty conversation 'Cause no one hears me anymore
A hundred million stories And a hundred million songs I feel stupid when I sing Nobody's listening to me Nobody's listening I talk to shooting stars But they always get it wrong I feel stupid when I pray So, why am I praying anyway? If nobody's listening
Anyone, please send me anyone Lord, is there anyone? I need someone, oh Anyone, please send me anyone Lord, is there anyone? I need someone
I used to crave the world's attention I think I cried too many times I just need some more affection Anything to get me by
A hundred million stories And a hundred million songs I feel stupid when I sing Nobody's listening to me Nobody's listening I talk to shooting stars But they always get it wrong I feel stupid when I pray Why the fuck am I praying anyway? If nobody's listening
Anyone, please send me anyone Lord, is there anyone? I need someone, oh Anyone, please send me anyone Oh, Lord, is there anyone? I need someone Oh, anyone, I need anyone Oh, anyone, I need someone
A hundred million stories And a hundred million songs I feel stupid when I sing Nobody's listening to me Nobody's listening
June is hard, y'all. My dad's birthday and my parent's wedding anniversary are both in June, and I'm still not far enough out that I can be certain that I WON'T burst into tears at the thought of either. On the good side, though, my Bryn turns 8 the day before my dad's birthday which is also Hubs's Welcome to the Thunderdome Day ie he officially began Life as a Permanent Resident in the US. I remember how pleased my dad was to "get a son-in-law" for his birthday...we'd been married for 2.5 years already, but the fact that Hubs now lived in the US was so important to both my parents. I really think they liked him better than they did me...or they were just glad that I wouldn't be whining about how much I missed him anymore. One or the other.
This song isn't from that era of my life, but it does speak to me about this very tumultuous month - as well as to my July Camp Nanowrimo project which sees two of my characters fight to find their way back to each other when they don't even know that together is where they were. Yep, vague, I know.
They keep fighting the good fight as they always have but something is different. All they know is that maybe one day that weird awkwardness between them will fade, that strange longing for someone that they can't quite place will ease, and those all too familiar moments will finally make sense. Just a chance that maybe they'll find better days...
Better Days
by Goo Goo Dolls
And you asked me what I want this year
And I try to make this kind and clear
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
'Cause I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
And designer love and empty things
Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
So take these words and sing out loud
'Cause everyone is forgiven now
'Cause tonight's the night the world begins again
I need some place simple where we could live
And something only you can give
And that's faith and trust and peace while we're alive
I will be appearing this year at ConCarolinas in Charlotte, NC as an author guest. The Con is 4-6 June 2021, and is in person this time!
So last year, ConCarolinas was completely virtual. I did one panel about strong women in history and how they influence our writing. I had a new book out, but nothing really came of it because it was virtual.
This year is a completely different experience. I will be on several panels. I will be in Author's Alley when I'm not on panels, signing copies of all my books including, hopefully, the one there in the picture. Darkness, the first book in the new Guardians of Orana series, releases right before ConCarolinas and I can't wait for folks to read it!
So come see me, grab signed copies of the Nature Walker Trilogy, the Tales of the Forest War, and Rift, and just enjoy the Con! Do note, though, that the Con is requiring attendees to wear masks in all indoor public spaces.
Coming next year: A new series set in the world of Orana: Guardians of Orana. The origin stories of the characters from the Nature Walker Trilogy and the Tales of the Forest War intertwined with the ongoing story of Orana, due out in the autumn of 2021.
Watch this space, and visit nancyedunne.com for preordering information.
[Their story is coming, for those who have laughed along with and fallen in love with the most unlikely duo in all of Orana.]
So, I was first introduced to this song by a Rennie friend of mine when he mentioned how perfect it was for a workout. Y'all, I am so far away from a workout if it involves leaving my house...but it ended up in my Music from Orana rotation and I had never associated it with any one character or place until recently.
I've been doing some drafting for the Guardians of Orana series where I want to be able to tell the backstories and current exploits of the cast of characters from the Nature Walker Trilogy, and this song is just Elys and Hack. Their unlikely friendship hit like the thunder before the lightning. Readers of the trilogy know Elys's backstory and how she never takes anything for granted. She is the line in the first verse that is dreaming of bigger things. Hack is the lightning strike that either illuminates her way or blasts it clear for her - sometimes/often both. Conversely, Hack is the thunder that warns the enemy - Elys does love to burn things, just like a lightning bolt.
Also, Imagine Dragons. Y'all. Perfection. Have a listen.
[For everyone that is currently thinking that Nelenie didn't have a surname, she does. I just haven't gotten that book published yet. So, as per usual, SPOILERS and YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED, etc.]
There has been a topic floating in a fantasy writer's group I belong to for a while now. It ebbs and flows and resurfaces. "Do you feel inspired by music/Do you have music on while you write?" The five or six of you that are regular readers of the Lettuce know the answer for me, but it has been interesting to see how much my experience is not the norm, at least because I listen to music with words. Many of my colleagues in that group listen to ambient music/sounds or instrumentals only. Does that mean I'm cheating because I'm listening to music with lyrics that speak to me about my characters?
Nope. At least, I don't think so. Everyone is inspired by something, and this inspires me to create them. I think that's fair.
So, this week, a minor character turned major character as the story moved along. Nel and Gin grew up as friends until the differences between the Alynatalans and the Aynamaedeans pulled them apart. Their friendship influenced Nel's relationship with Elys and Tairn's reverence for Gin as a mother figure. Gin's feelings of inadequacy took root when Ben chose Nel over her. Not so minor, eh?
I have been thinking about her because she resurfaces in Guardians of Darkness, the beginning of the Guardians of Orana series and because the woman that inspired her is a good friend of mine who is accomplishing amazing things against incredible odds. So as I always do, I sat with a few songs before I found one that really is Nel's song to me.
Nel experienced so much upheaval during the events of the Nature Walker Trilogy. Her life changed when she came of age and realized that she and Gin were different. Her life changed when she followed the path of a warrior rather than a magic-user and took on all the difficulty that choice entailed. Her life changed drastically when she bucked the system of her people and trained Elys, an Aynamaedean, to fight in the way that Nel was taught. Her life certainly changed when that relationship was discovered and reported - by someone she had loved and trusted for her entire life - and she was exiled, forced to live as a mercenary.
But with each trial, Nel held her head high and just got on with things. It's what drew her to Elys, I think because they are very similar in personality and threshold for surrender. But there comes a point where you have to just stop, reassess, and take the steps to get back on your path. The song "From Now On" from the musical/movie "The Greatest Showman" really spoke to me when I thought about Nel, and how she comes to that point - and I'll stop there before Nancy Spoilers spiral out of control.
From Now On
Zac Brown Band/Hugh Jackman
I saw the sun begin to dim And felt that winter wind blow cold A man learns who is there for him When the glitter fades and the walls won't hold
'Cause from then, rubble What remains can only be what's true If all was lost, it's more I've gained 'Cause it led me back to you
And from now on, these eyes will not be blinded by the lights From now on, what's waited 'til tomorrow starts tonight Tonight, and let this promise in me start like an anthem in my heart From now on, from now on
I drank champagne with kings and queens The politicians praised my name But those are someone else's dreams The pitfalls of the man I became
For years and years, I chased their cheers At the crazy speed of always needing more But when I stop and see you here I remember who all this was for
And from now on, these eyes will not be blinded by the lights And from now on, what's waited 'til tomorrow starts tonight Starts tonight, let this promise in me start like an anthem in my heart From now on, from now on, from now on
And we will come back home And we will come back home, home again And we will come back home And we will come back home, home again And we will come back home And we will come back home, home again
From now on, these eyes will not be blinded by the lights And from now on, what's waited 'til tomorrow starts tonight Starts tonight, and let this promise in me start like an anthem in my heart From now on, from now on, from now on
And we will come back home And we will come back home, home again And we will come back home And we will come back home, home again From now on, from now on, home again
Yeah, I couldn't sit on this one any longer. Anyone who knows me or has seen me talk about Gin and Sath and the Orana Chronicles knows how much I love these two characters. When I first heard this song I was captivated. It seems like it was written for them, documenting the path they take in the Nature Walker Trilogy. Please find the lyrics below and enjoy the music of this band from Dublin as they talk about my superheroes, Gin and Sath.
Superheroes
The Script
All the life she has seen
All the meaner side of me
They took away the prophet's dream
For a profit on the street
Now she's stronger than you know
A heart of steel starts to grow
All his life he's been told
He'll be nothing when he's old
All the kicks and all the blows
He won't ever let it show
'Cause he's stronger than you know
A heart of steel starts to grow
When you've been fighting for it all your life
You've been struggling to make things right
That's how a superhero learns to fly
Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power
When you've fighting for it all your life
You've been working every day and night
That's how a superhero learns to fly
Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power
Oh-oh, oh, oh
Oh-oh, oh, oh
All the hurt, all the lies
All the tears that they cry
When the moment is just right
You see fire in their eyes
'Cause he's stronger than you know
A heart of steel starts to grow
When you've been fighting for it all your life
You've been struggling to make things right
That's how a superhero learns to fly
Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power
When you've fighting for it all your life
You've been working every day and night
That's how a superhero learns to fly
Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power (power, power, power, power, power)
Every day, every hour turn the pain into power
(Power, power, power, power)
Every day, every hour turn the pain into power
She's got lions in her heart
A fire in her soul he's a got a beast
In his belly that's so hard to control
'Cause they've taken too much hits, taking blow by blow
Now light a match, stand back, watch them explode
She's got lions in her heart
A fire in her soul he's a got a beast
In his belly that's so hard to control
'Cause they've taken too much hits, taking blow by blow
Now light a match, stand back, watch them explode
When you've been fighting for it all your life
You've been struggling to make things right
That's a how a superhero learns to fly
Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power
When you've fighting for it all your life
You've been working every day and night
That's a how a superhero learns to fly
Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power (power, power, power, power, power)
[SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE TALES OF THE FOREST WARS.]
When I first started working on the Tales of the Forest War, I had plans for one book. Just one. Simple characters. Focus on the conflict and the aftermath. Easy, right?
Yeah, not so much. Once I got in there and started really thinking about what would cause this kind of conflict and how anyone other than the supremely powerful dragons (and the gods, of course) could come out the other side of it at all intact, it became clear that the personalities had to be as powerful as the overall story. This story was about more than just a war.
There are always names. There are always places. War spawns heroes and villains, winners, and losers. This war could be no different. This war would forge a bond between two very different family lines that lasts for many generations to come. And so, knowing that meant that I knew that one of my characters would be the Nature Walker. But what of the other?
D'Ayna (named thusly because the first time I said it out loud it sounded like Diana and I was smitten) Turlach is an Ikedrian. She is a lieutenant. She is military-minded. She possesses magic that her family will not accept. She is every one of us that has tried to suppress who we are to fit in, and finally comes to the turning point where that isn't working anymore. She follows her heart. She loves her family. And all she has, in the end, is her battle cry: a mighty roar combining anger and fear.
Don't tell Gin or Tairn, but Ayna might be one of my favorite characters I've ever written. Maybe. So this song spoke to me in that gruff yet soft way that Ayna did while I was writing these novels. She was afraid - OF COURSE SHE WAS - but she knew what had to be done. This song is like an imagined conversation between Ayna and Draoch after the war. And that's as spoilery as I'm going to be.
Also, when the Orana Chronicles become movies I am FOR SURE involving Imagine Dragons - you are going to see a lot of them on Music Mondays. Enjoy.
She's a minor character in the Nature Walker Trilogy, really, but she is so very important. Gin's younger sister who grew up without parents and learned at an early age to take care of herself so that no one else had to do. But this song is very Lairky to me when I think about her relationship with Kam. He's an Ikedrian - serious, dark, broody, methodical. Lairky is none of those things. She grew up swinging from the bridges connecting Aynamaede, playing in the dappled sun, and driving her older sister and brother mad.
I just heard this song recently, but it jumped out at me as so very Lairky. One little wild girl that grew up to take action that would change the fate not only of her sister but all of Orana. Not so minor after all, huh?
Leave Her Wild
Tyler Rich
If you find a girl, hands up, hangin' halfway out on the highway
You find a girl who likes whiskey mixed in her hangover coffee
Find a girl that scares you half to death
You'd kill to be the train she wrecks
And don't tell her I never met someone like you
Then try and turn her into every girl you ever knew
If you're gonna love her, if you're gonna love her
If you're gonna love her, leave her wild
If you're gonna make her, if you're gonna make her
Make her smile, smile
If you're gonna let her, if you're gonna let her
Let her dance, let her sing, let her be whatever she wanna be
Leave her wild
Don't tame her, try to chain her
The second you do you'll break her
Don't dull that shine that caught your eye
'Cause you're afraid somebody will take her
She ain't a dial you just turn on and off
She ain't all found, but she ain't all that lost
If you're gonna love her, if you're gonna love her
If you're gonna love her, leave her wild
If you're gonna make her, if you're gonna make her
Make her smile, smile
If you're gonna let her, if you're gonna let her
Let her dance, let her sing, let her be whatever she wanna be
Leave her wild
Oh, leave her wild, yeah
Leave her wild, leave her wild
Leave her wild
If you're gonna kiss her, if you're gonna kiss her
Kiss her slow
If you wanna change her, if you wanna change her
Let her go
If you're gonna let her, if you're gonna let her
Let her dance, let her sing, let her be whatever she wanna be
If you're gonna love her, if you're gonna love her
Leave her wild
If you're gonna make her, if you're gonna make her
Make her smile, smile
If you're gonna let her, if you're gonna let her
Let her dance, let her sing, let her be whatever she wanna be
Leave her wild
Leave her wild, wild
Yeah, leave her wild, leave her wild
Let her dance, let her sing, let her be whatever she wanna be
If you're gonna love her, if you're gonna love her
So as promised, today's Music Monday consists of music that inspired everyone's favorite villain from the Nature Walker Trilogy, Taeben. I know that there is a hashtag out there among my readers referring to Ben: #benisadick, but he is really a product of his environment more than anything. His story will come one day, but I'm not quite ready to tell it.
Until then, though, when I sat down to think about a song that always makes me think of Ben, this one kept coming to mind. It's an older song, from when I was younger than I am now, and it is what I think of when I think of Ben's motives, specifically his feelings for and actions toward Gin. Lyrics to follow after the embedded video.
Fortress Around Your Heart
Sting
Under the ruins of a walled city
Crumbling towers in beams of yellow light.
No flags of truce, no cries of pity;
The siege guns had been pounding through the night.
It took a day to build the city.
We walked through its streets in the afternoon.
As I returned across the fields I'd known,
I recognized the walls that I once made.
Had to stop in my tracks for fear of walking on the mines I'd laid.
And if I've built this fortress around your heart,
Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire,
Then let me build a bridge, for I cannot fill the chasm,
And let me set the battlements on fire.
Then I went off the fight some battle that I'd invented inside my head.
Away so long for years and years,
You probably thought or even wished that I was dead.
While the armies are all sleeping beneath the tattered flag we'd made.
I had to stop in my tracks for fear of walking on the mines I'd laid.
And if I've built this fortress around your heart,
Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire,
Then let me build a bridge, for I cannot fill the chasm,
And let me set the battlements on fire.
This prison has now become your home,
A sentence you seem prepared to pay.
It took a day to build the city.
We walked through its streets in the afternoon.
As I returned across the fields I'd known,
I recognized the walls that I once made.
Had to stop in my tracks for fear of walking on the mines I'd laid.
And if I've built this fortress around your heart,
Encircled you in trenches and barbed wire,
Then let me build a bridge, for I cannot fill the chasm,
Please, while I try to figure it out, enjoy this shot I sent my friend Brina of the mask her daughter made for me back at the beginning of all this.
Seriously, I know what day it is. But I was surprised yesterday by how shocked I was that this is August. I have always had trouble with estimating the passage of time and am a chronic watch looker as a result (even when I didn't have a watch, how sad is that?). So this pandemic has made that little character flaw even more vivid.
How is it August? It was just mid-March a few days ago, wasn't it? Is Christmas tomorrow?
Side note: It had better not be tomorrow because that means we skipped my birthday but in the grand scheme of things that's probably okay as it is the last one before I turn 50 so...what was I talking about?
Right. Notes from Exile. Writerly stuff. Author life. Got it. Rift continues to do fairly well and I had plans to work on the next book in that series over the summer/possibly as the November Nano, but I haven't heard from Em and Alex in a while, so they may just get put back on their shelf in my hard drive for a bit longer. What I have fallen back in love with is Gin and Sath's story - but let's be honest, I never stopped loving them.
I'm in the middle of the second draft of Guardians of Darkness, which is the next chapter for Gin and Sath, and while the story has plot holes you could drive a BUS through I'm enchanted all over again. So, I thought that I would start a new thing here at the Lettuce called Music Monday, while I'm shoveling mad amounts of literary tarmac into those chasms.
The first one is a new one for me in terms of immediately making me think of the Rajah and the Nature Walker: Ride, by Lenny Kravitz. Enjoy. (Lyrics follow the embedded video.) Next Monday, a song that reminds me of everyone's favorite villain from the Nature Walker Trilogy. Let me know in the comments here or on social media if you have a favorite character from any of my work and I will look at my playlists for that character's inspiration.
Today, so far, I have been frustrated with work in the DayJob™ to the point that I posted about it on social media, and then got the whole thing wrong. Y'all, the imposter syndrome is STRONG today in that world. Strong.
As far as the Writer Life goes...well, I need to find motivation there too. Scorch released a week ago on Friday and for those who have it and have or are reading it, THANK YOU. That project meant a great deal to me, as it was my real foray into worldbuilding. The Nature Walker Trilogy was taking a story idea and shoehorning it into a world, but I got to step back with the Forest War and really look at that world. Ignite and Scorch are tied for second place in terms of my favorites in the Orana Chronicles. Wanderer is still my favorite because I love how innocent Gin is and how the whole story is still ahead of her, waiting for her to find Sath and get on with saving the world, already.
Another Nano event starts Wednesday. I'm planning to work on a reboot of a story that I have tried to write several times and have come up frustrated and empty. Kinda like the look on my Willow-Pickle's face there. I know the overarching story, but I have no idea how to get from A to B. I can only hope that my MCs have a bit more insight to share than they have in the past.
Other than all of that, I'm just hanging out here, working from my sofa while I await the arrival of my desk and desk chair. Sounds glam, huh? I will be the first to admit that I have been jealous of my friends that do their job from home - but when I said I wanted to do the same I meant as a writer. This DayJob™ stuff from home is too hard. TOO HARD. But I will get through it and on with it, and make my soup for lunch and listen to the Femmes and deal.
We aren't really quarantined exactly because Hubs is still going to work every day and I have left the house on Sundays to go grocery shopping. That's been a surreal experience - there was a 15-minute queue to get into one shop yesterday because they are limiting how many people are in the store at a time. It's the new normal - but for how long? This is all so weird.
Maybe by the next time I sit down to pen type "Notes from Exile," I will have more coherent thoughts to share or at least a positive Camp Nano update. Meanwhile, keep safe and healthy, y'all. We're all in this together.
This week is just too full of awful news - let's look at some fun stuff to do during this time of uncertainty and possible quarantine/isolation.
I could start with the obvious - read some good books! But that would quickly lead to, "Hey, have you read my books?" and that isn't what I want this newsletter to be. If you are curious about them, though, click HERE.
As I said in the title, this is the introvert's time. I've been joking that I have been training for this my entire life, but that's only partly true. We do all need each other - this pandemic is just forcing us to think about different ways to be there for and support each other, I think.
Introverts unite - separately, and from the safety of our own homes!
So, as promised, good things to do during a bad time:
1. You may be self-isolating and confined to home, but you are not necessarily confined to the inside of your home. Sunny outside? Take your book/tablet/laptop outside. You will get fresh air and sunshine, both of which are good for you. (I am well aware of the hypocrisy in this statement, since lately I have been LIVING on my sofa.)
2. Board games! Puzzles! Unplug and have some analog based fun with your fellow self-isolating inmates. Now, if you are sick with COVID-19, this might not be a good idea since these types of games require using your hands, but if you are simply being a RESPONSIBLE CITIZEN OF THE EARTH and isolating to control the spread, break out Cards Against Humanity and get playing! Other recommended titles include Exploding Kittens, Codenames, and just plain old Scrabble or Boggle. Extra points if you are playing the Klingon version of either of those two games.
3. Write! This isn't just for writers anymore, y'all. Scared of the spread of COVID-19? Tired of people either panicking and running away OR telling you to calm the huppledepup down already when you try to talk about it? Journal that business. Open a word document - you should be working from home anyway, right? Grab a notebook and a pen. This may never see the light of day, but getting those thoughts out will help you stop some of your obsessing - tin foil hat not required. It could be interesting to go back and read this after the danger has passed to see what you can do differently to prepare for the next thing that comes along.
Whatever you do, please think seriously about avoiding large gatherings until the spread has slowed. This virus is no joke, and even if you are healthy and not worried you could pass something on to someone that isn't as lucky as you. We will all get through this.
[Disclaimer: this photo was taken in the elevator upon leaving the testing center at work last semester during final exam week, after a harrowingoverwhelming normal shift helping out.]
Has anyone seen winter break? How am I now mere hours away from being back at the DayJob for another semester? That's my first here we are again. Ready for another one?
I have a book launching at the end of this month. The. End. Of. This. Month. The second and (at least at this point) final book in the Tales from the Forest War series, SCORCH, is due to be available on Amazon (in ebook and paperback) on 31 January.
What that also means is that it should open for pre-orders on 25 January and that I need to have it ready to go by then. 19 days from today. It's in final beta now, then will have one more quick round of edits and then BAM, out into the world.
Ah, the life of an independently published author. Hot on the heels of THAT here we are again is another one - the project that I worked on during Nanowrimo 2019 has become the introductory novel in a new series and new universe - Arcstone. That first novel, Rift, is tentatively slated to be released for pre-order at the end of February because I really wanted to have it release on 29 February. So, it is in the first beta now, has a round of edits and then a second beta if I have time and then editawholelotmoreandthenBAM! Yeah, I may need to rethink that.
And, finally, here we are again, in a new year with new hope and renewed fervor and all that stuff that floods our senses and souls at 12:01am on 1st January. Or at least that is where we should be. Me? I'm still in that elevator, hoping that when the door opens, I will be on the right floor of the right building.
