What's the Score Blogfest

Today’s blogfest is brought to us by Rosie Connolly @ East for Green Eyes and it is all about music! It's the “What’s the Score Blogfest” and for a music geek like me it was very necessary to do. The instrustions are simple “Post any number of songs, artists, composers, posers, who/whatever that you might want to include in the soundtrack to your WIP.” Done!

My WIP Born for This is a futuristic fantasy/ dystopia (for lack of a better word) aimed at the “New Adult” demographic (ages 17-27 ish) And like I said in my last post I love to write to music, I love finding music that fits my themes and every so often I find a song that fits a character or event so completely perfectly I can hardly stand it. And those are the songs I will be talking about today. 

And first and foremost is a song by Katy Perry called “What Am I Living For?”. This song IS my MC Calista (you can get the down low on my characters here) Now there are a million reasons I love this song but mostly I think Katy cheated. After all the first line of the song is “I can feel a phoenix inside of me” And my MC does have a phoenix inside of her (think totem animal) and is represented by fire and when I first heard this song she instantly had my attention. But it is not only that lyric that applies to Calista, it is every lyric. This song is the musical version of her story.  But this song goes beyond just lyrics to relate to my character, it is the tone of the song, this is not the Katy Perry we are used to, and this song is not a pop song. It is deep and dark but also has a feeling of hope.

Take a listen here 

The next song is “The Drumming Song” by Florence and the Machine and is about my other MC, Tullio, who is Calista’s antagonist for most of the book (have you seen the Avatar the Last Airbender cartoon? Think Zuko’s story line) and this song is pretty much what happens to him every time he is around Calista. And it’s not really a love thing, it’s an energy thing. They are drawn together because of what they are and for Tullio (represented by water) especially he has a hard time dealing with her, she clouds his mind and spins him around, she is the hot to his cold and he has a hard time dealing.  And he spends most of the book trying to clear his head of her.

Take a listen here

Ok, I’ll admit it. My book has a little bit of a “love triangle” (actually it would be more of a love square, or a weird star. Since in the end all 4 of my ensemble all love each other in different ways.) But the song "Breath Again" by Sara Bareilles embodies the connection between Celest and Calista. They have a quick and fast connection in the book but Calista at this point in her journey cannot settle for what is easy, or what she needs. And Celest knows this and does not hold it against her and basically tells her “I love you, but you need to figure your shit out before I can even begin to be there for you. But once you do, call me.”  And this song is about knowing who it is that you need but not being able to choose them just yet but hoping that someday you will be able to be with them. And while Calista is represented by fire, Celest is represented by air/wind so in that way this song relates on an even deeper level. 

Take a listen here

And for the other half of my MC’s love triangle, the Calista/Tullio side, who have an amazing energy together but just ultimately destroy each other “Love the Way You Lie” by  Eminem featuring Rihanna is the perfect song for them. Because this song is not about blame, it is about both people knowing they are poison for the other person but also to being able to let go of them.  And about half the time I am rooting for Tullio and Calista to work out this song reminds me why they never will. (also i think the video is amazing)

Take a listen here

So that is that. Ultimately I am still looking for the perfect song for Evee and for Celest in their own right but I will know instantly when I find them. So in conclusion I will leave you with a song from Born for This’s companion book that is still untitled. This song is beautiful, but hauntingly so in reflection of what it means in context of the book. This song is for Agalia who is a woman represented by light, and this song in the back drop to her death right after her lover tells her not to worry and they will be able to save her, she kills herself as the only way to save them. “The Light” by Sara Bareilles.

Take a listen here

Anyway, I love music and I hope you all had fun looking at my choices ^.^

Keeping your head space

So you may not know this about me but I’m a bit of a film nut, but I mostly blame working at the movie theater for that. Now, I’m not so much into film as some people but I get into what I like quite a bit. A little over 5 years ago my good friend Lindz introduced me to film scores, and it had been a process but I am in love.  But not only did she introduce me to film scores she introduced me to writing to them. And I have found it is the perfect way to set up in my mind the tone of a character/chapter and the best way to keep my mind in the moment.  And so I began to collect soundtracks, many to movies I have never seen even just so I have the music if I need it (lol). Now I have well over my fair share of soundtracks, well around 120 or so. and it has opened up so much to me it feels. I tend to not be able to focus very well but I find that even when I wander away and then come back to my writing if I have one of my play-list running I can get back into the bit so much faster than without.

I have made so many play-lists for different emotions or character combos but I noticed that I keep returning to a few soundtracks more than a little bit. So I decided to share so of the tracks that I feel best represent my WIP and the overall tone and feel I am trying for.

Serenity composed by David Newman - Funeral / Rebuilding Serenity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtAfe-sY2-g

Fire Fly composed by Greg Edmonson - Inside the Tam house

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4mQ9-J02dI

Unstoppable composed by Harry Gregson-Williams - Are you in or are you out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ-J2IhsGW0

Tron composed by Daft Punk - End of the line

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WujZjzX8WxY

Tudors composed by Trevor Morris -Anne’s final walk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyjVWGn66Uc

What do you do to keep yourself in the right head space for the moment?  

Also stay tuned because on June 1 I will be taking part in Rosie Connolly @ East for Green Eyes “What’s the Score Blogfest” she is holding to celebrate her one year blogiversary. She is giving away some wonderful prizes! And it looks like a lot of fun! For her blogfest I plan to share the "popular" music I have picked out for my characters.

The Now Starring... Blogfest WINNERS!! Happy Birthday to me!

It's my birthday! I'm 25 today so as a gift to the world (and two lucky people) here are the winners of the Now Starring Blogfest!

WOW! Thanks to everyone who participated in Lindz and I’s very first blogfest! We had an amazing amount of fun and we hope you did to; it was so great seeing everyone casting choices and learning more about your characters. There are some great story’s in the making out there that I can’t wait to read. But on to the moment you all have been waiting for: announcing the Winners!

Congratulation to Meika @ Waiting on the Muse!! You have won yourself a set of Magnetic Poetry for Book Lovers!

And

Congratulations to Jess @ Jest Kept Secret! You have won yourself something to Scribble on in the shower!

Thanks again everyone for taking part. Also I updated the look of my blog, do you like it?

The Now Starring... Blogfest!!!

FINALLY! It is here! The Now Starring... Blogfest! I’m so excited to show you my cast and to get to see all of your casts and get to know your characters better through the actors you chose!

For me, because I don’t draw, casting has always been an important part of writing for me. Because I need to be able to picture my characters as people, I never use the actor as my muse or write the character just for an actor. I just find that being able to visually have a physical body to attach to my characters helps me see how they move and act better. I think it is the director in me. If I could draw them, that would be awesome then I could just draw how they look, but unfortunately I cannot. So without much further ado, the cast for my WIP Born For This.

Small note, the drawing of my characters where part of an x-mas gift from the lovely Lindz who is helping me host this Blogfest, she gave me the line work and I half assed colored them in Photoshop just for you, I also Photoshoped the some of the actors badly to look a little more like some of the characters! Also Lindz made the table for me.

Click it! It gets bigger!(and readable!)

Anyways I hope you all had a lot of fun getting to know my characters a little better! Now I am off to look at all of yours! Also don’t forget to check back and see who the winners are of the box of Magnetic Poetry for Book Lovers, and a thing you can scribble on in the shower!

Blogfest Announcement!

In about a month we will be hosting our very first blogfest! And this is Just a quick update to tell you that the linky tool is now fixed! (huzah!) Sorry for the technical difficulties, but everything is better now so please continue think up your cast and submissions for the Now Starring Blogfest being held on April 25^th by Lindz and myself.

Share The Love Blogfest

 

Happy Sunday all!

I have been very remiss in my blogging lately but I swear I will have more posts up soon. Who new life could be so demanding sometimes? *lol*

What brings me here today is Sari Webb’s Share The Love Blogfest she is doing for her birthday! So happy Birthday Sari! I hope it is an amazing year to come!

Ok I fancy myself a writer so I will ask for help, but anything I want to post is WAY too long (re: 1000+ words) so I think instead I will just ask a question.

How do you make your battle scenes flow? I can’t help but get lost in them, struggling through every action. So do you have any helpful tips for writing action scenes? 

And for a little extra credit I will also talk about the other part of the blogfest I will share about a book I LOVED recently and why.

The book I have fallen in love with recently is Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. This book was beautiful. Bottom line, it was beautiful to read and it was beautiful to hold. Revolution is a contemporary YA novel but with the added aspect of very well researched historical fiction layered in. and it is layers in beautifully. It is the story of a girl named Andi Alpers who is popping antidepressants and flunking out of her New York prep school, grieving over her younger brother's death. She finds solace only when playing guitar. When the school notifies her mostly absent scientist father that she's flirting with expulsion, he takes Andi to Paris for Christmas break, where he's testing DNA to see if a preserved heart really belonged to the doomed son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Andi is ordered to work on her senior thesis about a (fictional) French composer. Staying at the home of a renowned historian, Andi finds a diary that relates the last days of Alexandrine, companion to the doomed prince. The story then alternates between Andi's struggle with depression and Alexandrine's efforts to save the prince.

I truly love this book for touching on so many levels, and wish I had had it to read when I was in high school. Donnelly has such an amazing voice that you really truly feel for each girl and connect with them even if you have never thought about killing yourself or tried to save a dying boy. There are so many layers to this story that I feel are revealed beautiful and at the correct time. You really get to see inside of Andi’s head and to know her completely. Just truly a stunning work. I highly recommend it to any and every one.

My first 539 words

Ok, here it is. My first 539 words of my W.I.P Born For This. Specially for the Catch Me if You Can Blogfest held by Kristina Fugate over at Kaykay’s Corner.  The idea is to answer the question we all have "Does my W.I.P. catch people's attention right away?" this is the first 539 words; minus my prologue that is still under major construction. Luckily my prologue is not necessary to the start of my book (more so it is for a hint and an overall flow for the book)  so it is all good.

So here it is, I’m bearing my soul (and a little scared)^.^ but please feel free to comment and critique. I know it is still pretty rough around the edges but it is only my first draft and I would love to improve my craft. If you have a lot to say, or don’t feel like sharing your critique publicly, you can e-mail me at AvenueBDancer@gmail.com

And without further ado, Born For This:

She could not run forever. On some level even she knew that, but running was the only thing on her mind. Right. Left. Right. Left. Breathe in. Breathe out. In. Out. The only thing that mattered was putting ground between  herself and her pursuers one step at a time. Ahead she saw a fallen tree trunk, pushing herself into sprint her body screamed its protests but the extra speed was what she needed, and with one final push both feet left the ground sending her flying over the obstacle.

She landed, crouched, on the forest floor and everything seemed to slow. Her breath catching in her chest as her small pack slammed into her back. Her black boots crushing into the dirt, a sharp pain screaming up her calves. Her deep crimson hair curling around her sweat soaked face sticking to her pale skin. Slowly lids closed over red irises, fingers digging into rocky soil, nails breaking under the pressure, her breath catching up with her again and with it everything was slammed into fast forward once more. She was off again.

Leaving the slightly worn deer trail the red head darted into the thick foliage hoping to lose the men that where chasing her.  It was an act of desperation, she had never been able to navigate within the tress as well as one would expect from a girl who had lived within their protection for years. To the red head it was as if the tress knew what she was, as if they knew what she could do, that with a flick of her wrist she could destroy this whole forest, and they hated her for it, willing her to be caught, slapping at her face, ripping at her skin and clothing. And just when she thought the forest would have its way she stumbled into a clearing. She would make it out of this alive!

The happy thought had barely crossed her oxygen starved mind before her eyes settled on the only thing worse than more trees. A lake, deep and blue, it didn’t expand far but it cut off her exit. She cursed herself for not sensing it, for not making herself more aware to this danger. Somehow over a flurry of frantic thoughts and her blood pounding in her ear she heard them. Cutting through the trees had only cost her time. Shit. They would be on her in a moment. She needed time to think, she needed longer then she had to think, she needed time to breath.  Lifting her left hand she could feel the heat of her intentions starting to spread down her arm. She spread her fingers turning her hand so her palm faced up. Closing her eyes she pulled at the primal energy housed within her, heat burned through her for an instant and she quickly lifted her arm above her head setting it free. When she opened her eyes she saw the tress surrounding the clearing had been engulfed in flame. She knew it only bought her a few minutes and the wall of fire was not fool proof, but it was better than nothing. And hopefully a few minutes was all she would need to gather herself.

Blogfest, contests and awards... OH MY!!!

I know I have a problem,(and a little early but i have a lot to do on the 2nd so i thought i would post this now while i had time) but I can’t help it I love blogfests! And doubly ones that involve writing. Today’s blogfest is held by Alison Stevens and it’s all about what your character owns and how they live!   The rules seemed simple enough “you need to describe a setting that tells us something about your character's personality. Characters can be of any age, living in any time or place. But don't tell us about the character; tell us about his or her stuff. We'll get to know the character from what you write."

Now, I’m kinda crazy. When I sit down to create a character after I figure out their basics I figure out their stuff, I have folder upon folders saved of color palettes and home layouts pictures of furniture and all that sort of stuff. So I am sure you could see why this blog fest would appeal to me.

I picked the character I did more of less because his lack of stuff, after all I could write pages upon pages about pretty much all of the others.  And I did try to keep it short, truly.

So without any more of my ramblings: this is the home of Tullio D’Anna the III, a character from my W.I.P. Born For This.

It was a small living area, no more than 400 square feet total, and it was cold inside. The walls and ceiling where painted a shade of blue so light it was almost white; the floor was made from wenge wood, so dark it was almost black, and polished to a high shine. The small apartment was Spartan, immaculately clean and held only the most essential of items. All of the furniture was made out of the same wood as the floor, held the same polish and was made for function rather than comfort.

The door opened into a living room, inside there was a short couch with a wood frame and white cushions that sat next to a short book case that held a few books about strategy and history and a small wooden coffee table. In the corner sat a simple desk that held the first evidence of human occupancy, a sleek black lap top that sat open and hummed softly as it slept. The drawers of the desk held little more than an assortment of pens, paper, envelops and the like.

The small living area opened in one direction into the kitchen that held the necessities; a small fridge that was sparsely stocked, stove, sink, and a small wooden table with only one chair. Through the door in the other direction was the bedroom. The bed was made in military precision; its white bedding tucked in tightly and neatly with perfect corners and looked like it might be a little short to hold the man’s six foot frame. On one side of the bed stood a small closet that revealed several sets of the same outfit perfectly pressed; black pants inside of a rich federal blue coat with silver piping and buttons. The coat had a high collar and on the left side of each coat collar sat a perfectly aligned set of silver rank bars. Next to the closet sat a small dresser, the insides of which were a sea of black; perfectly folded pairs of socks, boxer briefs and undershirts. On the other side of the bed was a night stand and on top of that sat the only personalized effect in the whole place, a platinum ring with a wide face that depicted the D’Anna coat of arms.

The bathroom was connected to the bedroom and was the only room that held any warmth. While the floor was made of the same wood as the rest of the apartment the walls and ceiling in here where painted a softer pale sky blue. And instead of the standard shower in the corner as all the other apartments on the base had he, had replaced the shower with a large white porcelain tub with gold claws that kept it suspended above the ground a few inches.  A few plush towels hung next to it.  Above the tub, set into the ceiling, was a light that showed directly down on the tub giving the appearance that it was not a tub but instead an alter for him to worship at. Turning around it was a scant 10 steps back to the front door. It was small, especially for captain’s quarters, but it was more then he needed.  

Thank you for taking the time to read, hopefully you understand a little more about him now ^.~ comments and critique is always welcome, after all I’m still trying to come into my own in this world of writing.

Also since you are here I am holding a contest for my 100 follower so be sure to pot over here and enter! The winner will get $15 at amazon and who doesn’t like free money?

And be sure to sign up and check out the Now Starring Blogfest I am holding with my BFF Lindz. There are TWO prizes up for grabs there and should prove to be a lot of fun!

Finally, but not least of all Thank you to Gina Blechman over at Kaleidoscope Thoughts: Life, Love, and Dystopia for awarding me the Stylish Blogger Award! 

I totally feel the love! And as per the rules here are 7 facts about me

1: My biggest dream (besides being published) is to own my own hair salon that specializes in alternative hair styles and colors

2: I love Anne Boleyn; she is one of the biggest inspirations in my life

3: I’m obsessed with Greek Mythology, I am a virtual hub for all information dealing with the myths and if I don’t know then I can find it very quickly.

4: I love to cook

5: Tamora Pierce and Libba Bray are my favorite authors

6: I’m engaged to the most wonderful man in the world who has turned me into one of the biggest geeks in the world (true the ground work was already laid down, but still…) and proposed to me with action figures of one of my favorite super hero couples. 

7: My cat is currently sitting on my boobs and making it very difficult to type