Music Monday: Of High School Memories and Age Related Concerns

When I was in high school, a MILLION years ago, I was actively involved in my church's youth program. Kinda hard NOT to be, when one is the eldest daughter of the minister, right? Anyway, we were constantly raising money for one trip or another, and one of those fundraisers came in the form of a talent show (and maybe spaghetti dinner? I can't remember). My good friend and resident Duckie (IYKYK Pretty in Pink), Sean, and I did a rendition of "Just You Wait" from My Fair Lady, and then Sean, another friend, and our MYF (again, IYKYK) leader (who is now in the Virginia State Legislature) did a skit that involved the SC state dance, the Shag. Shag is in the Swing family, I think. 
So, I heard this song on telly recently and had to add it to my summer playlist. I've forgotten the steps in the TEN MINUTES AND I WILL NOT BE TAKING QUESTIONS since that talent show, but I still remember it fondly when this song comes on. Enjoy (lyrics are in captions).
PS - because my brain is about half British at this point, you can imagine how CAREFUL I had to be to write a blog post about this dance style. Giggles abundant. 

Appearances Update: MULTIVERSE!

(I'm a teensy bit excited...) Come see me in Atlanta!!

Music Monday: It's coming...Nano is coming...

I may have posted this one already, but if I did it deserves a repeat. When I was a kid taking piano lessons, this song was OF COURSE in my repertoire as it was for every kid. But this version...it speaks to me of a storm brewing, a conflict coming, a reunion just on the verge of happening. It makes me want to write, and that is my favorite kind of music...especially on the cusp of another Nano month in July. Enjoy. 

(No lyrics this week because this is just instrumental.)

Music Monday: Don't Dream, Con is Over

This weekend was amazing! I spent my time with a table and some authors at ConCarolinas in Charlotte, NC and got to see faces I only see now and again and hug a lot of necks (more on that later). It is never long enough, and I'm reflecting on why this morning with the help of a little Crowded House (I mean, 80s music...GenX, y'all). Enjoy...I'm going to need more coffee.

(lyrics are in the CC)

Music Monday: Memorials to Better Days

It's Memorial Day here in the US, and my mind is drawn to the service people in my life that aren't with us any longer, even though none of them died during active combat. I am thankful to them for their dedication to the safety and security of others and for their willingness to serve.

I may have shared this song before. To me, this is one of the best things to come out of the pandanini of the last three and a half years, and I think it speaks to anyone in a tough spot that needs a little encouragement. I know that I can imagine many of my characters when I hear it: Gin and Sath in the time traps, Tairn, Elys, and Hack in Eh'soi's dungeon. Em and Lex just...being Em and Lex.

We will all find better days. (lyrics are in the video)

Music Monday: Of Booms, Shakes, and Funnel Fries

I am back from a glorious* weekend at the Georgia Renaissance Festival! This was a new experience for me...for the first time, I joined other amazing authors to sign/sell books at GARF instead of following a large dog around all day. 

I was looking for something that could convey the music that we were treated to at our tables on Saturday and Sunday, but how do you combine majestic trumpets, thundering drums, Italian pipes, and violins? Well, you don't...at least I don't. So I thought that I would instead treat you to this gem I heard on the television as it was on in the background of a mad editing session. (Thank goodness for Shazam!)

This song IS the 20 years I've been affiliated with the Georgia Renaissance Festival. It is me sitting in the car on day one, afraid to go in with my greyhounds. It is me putting on my Wild Hunt cosplay and searching for oathbreakers with the rest of the Hounds. It is the quiet just before FIRE IN THE HOLE and after, in the parking lot, when the car door is closed and the A/C is blasting. 

Enjoy. The lyrics are in the captions.

*by glorious, I of course mean exhausting, hot, muggy, and in a few cases painful...and 100% worth it.

It's here!!! Launch Day!!!

I'm so pleased to announce that Storm has joined Rift in the World of Arcstone series. From the back cover:

YOU'RE ONLY AS REAL AS YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE.

Welcome to Arcstone. Game loading, please wait...
Madelyne Laurent is Em, an elven warrior in the massively multiplayer online game, Arcstone. She’s made it safely back to the real world, but what does that even mean now that her father decided to stay in the game world? And who is Alex, really - is he Lex or someone altogether different and more sinister? In this Nanowrimo 2021-winning novel, Nancy E. Dunne takes us back through the monitor to the world of Arcstone, a world on the brink of a catastrophic storm. Em’s objective is clear until she again looks up into the Tyreanan Sky and treads the boards of the docks by that massive typhoon. Old longings resurface and this time it is up to more than just Em to figure out what is real...and more importantly, who?

Grab your eBook or paperback copy today, or meet me at an upcoming event to get a signed copy. I'd love to hear what you think!

Music Monday: Right Outta Nowhere

Once upon a time, I was an interpreter who moved to a new state and, while dreaming of being a writer, hadn't gone in that direction. Yet.
Once upon a time, I was a fledgling writer who had published some fairly entertaining stories about my dogs but hadn't yet tried to write in the genre where my heart lives and thrives. Yet.
Once upon a time, I was a newlywed--again--who was moving to a new country and was utterly terrified and excited in equal measure. Okay, that part isn't really true, I was just terrified. But I remembered this song by an artist introduced to me back in those first days as an interpreter here in SC. 
This weekend I'm going to a brand new event, and while I'm not MOVING TO ANOTHER COUNTRY terrified, I'm pretty apprehensive. But this time, I revisited this song that my friend Katy introduced me to and found...hope. I found freedom. I hope you will too.
Leap...and the net will appear.

Right Outta Nowhereby Christine Kane
Midwest morning October snowfallShe packed her ChevorletAnd brushed her fear awayShe got a great big dreamAnd a history of playin' smallAnd everybody seems to thinkShe'll be back by Christmas dayWell, She hit that highwayWith every bit of faith she could summonWhen courage finally comes you never see it comin'
Right out of nowhereOpen your heart, that changes everythingYou're goin' somewhereAnd all you need to knowIs that you're free to go
Summer night the soft smell of seashoreAnd all the deadheads dancing out on the beachHe's got a 10-year tanAnd his own little junk store he saysSome people got a lot to prove and that's the way I used to beI'm just an old hippy with a half dozen PhDsSome choices hold you downSome chances set you free
Right out of nowhereOpen your heart, that changes everythingYou're goin' somewhere.And all you need to know...Is that you're free to go
And you dreamAnd the way will be clearAnd you prayAnd the angels will hearLead and the net will appear
Right out of nowhereBelieve in everythingYou're going somewhere And all you need to know Is that you're free Right outta nowhere You open your heart And have faith in everything You're going somewhere And all you need to know Is that you're free to go 

Music Monday: ESC 2023 is HERE!

It's Eurovision Week! Oh, to be in Liverpool this week...but here's the next best thing. All the entries are in one video! Standouts for me are Austria's Who the hell is Edgar? about two writers that are apparently possessed by the spirit of Edgar Allen Poe, France's Évidemment, which I posted previously, Tattoo by former ESC winner Loreena for Sweden, and Norway's Queen of the Kings. 
Keep an eye out for the absolutely MAD My Sister's Crown from Czechia and--in true ESC fashion, Cha Cha Cha from Finland. And finally, Blood and Glitter by Germany...pure ESC insanity and I am HERE FOR IT.

Home again, home again... May 2023 Newsletter

At this point, it's like going back home. 😏

I've been accepted as an author guest again at ConCarolinas, 2-4 June, and I'm so excited! I'm already working on my Kaylee Cosplay, with maybe a Vala Mal Doran thrown in for good measure...I'm a sucker for anything that lets me wear coveralls.

The big news about ConCarolinas this year is that it will coincide with the launch of Storm, the second in the World of Arcstone series. I will have a spot in Author's Alley, and I will definitely have copies of Storm with me so watch this space for more info on how to get yourself a signed copy if you come to the event.

From the blurb...

YOU'RE ONLY AS REAL AS YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE.

Madelyne Laurent is Em, an elven warrior in the massively multiplayer online game, Arcstone. She’s made it safely back to the real world, but what does that even mean now that her father decided to stay in the game world? And who is Alex, really - is he Lex or someone altogether different and more sinister? Em’s objective is clear until she again looks up into the Tyreanan Sky and treads the boards of the docks by that massive typhoon. Old longings resurface and this time it is up to more than just Em to figure out what is real...and more importantly, who?

As always, if you want signed copies of my books and can't make it to one of the events, contact me and let's talk about how I can make that happen. If you have a copy of one of my books, I'd love it if you'd leave me a review - that's the best way for others to find my books and for me to know how my writing is being received!

Cheers, y'all!

Music Monday: Out with the Nano, in with the Eurovision

I've packed up my tent and left my laundry in front of the washing machine, and I'm jetting off* to Liverpool for the Eurovision Song Contest because May is the month of magnificent music!! I mean, it's like the French entry says... Évidemment. 

(No captions because it is captioned already and in English.)

*There is no jetting anywhere except to the sitting room to watch the ESC 2023.

Music Monday: How Very Dare You (Warning: NSFW)

Once again, I'm diving into Tiktok for the song of the week, and like the one I posted last time, this one does not disappoint. Have you got some rage left over after you've had Paris Paloma's labor on repeat for a week? I got you, fam. While not safe for...work? Male ears? Dinner parties and other such fanciness... This song is on repeat in my head and has resurrected my connection with my MC in this month's Camp Nano, just in time to get in those last 10k words to the finish line.

What?

Anyway, enjoy...or rage. Your choice. I would also suggest checking out Chinchilla's other music because there are some amazing moments in their back catalog.

On Writing, Nanowrimo, and Writer's Block

This happens every time I attempt a Nano month, and you'd think that I would have learned my lesson by now. After all, this Camp Nano that's going on right now is the 37th time I've committed to a specific word count goal in one month.

It's a funny thing, being a writer, especially when you aren't writing for your DayJob™ income. Some days I am so ready to throw off the day's frustration and will make my target word count and then some. Other days, I know what I want to get done but none of it it happening. Every sentence is awful.

Usually, the Nano months will pull me out of that ofnadwy (my favorite Welsh word these days, means terrible) slump and get me back to putting words down. You can always sort out the good from the bad later.

Until this month. Holy Shnikes, is this an uphill battle! It's a new project but not a new genre, if you will. I've got two "manuscripts" in my hard drive that are vampire fiction and the fits and starts of a third. I think the difference is that this one is a collaboration with another author, and I'm frustrated by only hearing one of the two main characters in my head.

There is still plenty of time to go, at least. My word count target is very low, so I don't have to worry about not being able to finish, no matter how ofnadwy the end result is. If you've gotten to this point where NOTHING IS HAPPENING, how do you pull yourself out of it?

Music Monday: Not like you haven't heard this one before...

If you've been anywhere near TikTok lately, I'm sure you have heard this song by Paris Paloma. It is... well, I don't know how to contain the enormity of this song's importance in words so I'm just going to let it speak scream for itself. Please...listen. Also, no lyrics this time because the video has captions.

Music Monday: More than a little unsteady...

 Week...two of Camp Nano? Three? It has been a struggle this time, I will not lie. A lot of that difficulty is caused by trying to write in an unfamiliar world with new characters that are not that willing to speak to me yet. Meanwhile, Sath and Gin are screaming in the back of my mind to get back to their story, while Lex and Em are at the edge of the cliff, ready to jump in May when the second chapter of their story launches. Annie and Lucy have been quiet, probably because they are scouring the early 20th-century Yorkshire countryside with the constabulary, finding supernatural threats to investigate. Whatever is keeping them occupied is a good thing, because I feel they will be making a similar racket soon.

Unsteady is a good word for the character I'm working with now. More on her later, because, "Spoilers, Sweetie."

Unsteadyby X Ambassadors
Hold, hold on, hold onto me'Cause I'm a little unsteadyA little unsteadyHold, hold on, hold onto me'Cause I'm a little unsteadyA little unsteady
Mama, come hereApproach, appearAnd Daddy, I'm alone'Cause this house don't feel like home
If you love me, don't let go (hold)Whoa, if you love me, don't let go (hold)
Hold, hold on, hold onto me'Cause I'm a little unsteadyA little unsteadyHold, hold on, hold onto me'Cause I'm a little unsteadyA little unsteady
Mother, I knowThat you're tired of being aloneDad, I know you're tryingTo fight when you feel like flying
But If you love me, don't let go (hold)Whoa, if you love me, don't let go (hold)
Hold, hold on, hold onto me'Cause I'm a little unsteadyA little unsteadyHold, hold on, hold onto me'Cause I'm a little unsteadyA little unsteady
Hold, hold on, hold onto me'Cause I'm a little unsteadyA little unsteady