For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.
As we head for my 300th set, coming up in seven weeks, let's look back on some of the sets that have led to this milestone.
During my second year participating in 5 on Friday, I decided to do a little Elvis tribute as January of 2011 arrived, since January was his birth month.
This was the first of several musical projects that grew into year-long features like 2015's Spotlight On individual instruments, 2014's The Hit Makers, which looked at the songs or compositions that launched careers, and 2013's birthday celebration featuring singers born each month.
For my look back as we approach the next milestone set, here is:
For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.
Wishing you all a very Happy Valentine's Day!
1 - Wooden Heart - Elvis Presley
2 - Somewhere in Your Heart - Frank Sinatra
3 - Shape of My Heart - Sting
4 - Don't Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake - Kate Bush
For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.
I'm in such a Christmas mood! I'm rescheduling the final Hit Makers of 2014 to Boxing Day, because A Piece of My Mind is in the middle of the yuletide season.
This week I've got a romantic Christmas songs set for all you lovers out there.
1 - Merry Christmas Darling -- The Carpenters
2 - The Christmas Waltz -- Frank Sinatra
3 - All I Want For Christmas is You -- Mariah Carey
For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.
This weekend is all about giving thanks here in The Great White North.
To all of my readers, friends and family -- I wish you many blessings on this Thanksgiving.
For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.
My writers' group had a busy weekend last week, making our second appearance at Word on the Street in Halifax. That's me above with fellow Romance of Atlantic Canada authors Jennie Marsland and Donna Alward at the opening reception, which took place at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design's Institute of Applied Creativity on Saturday night.
As I was heading out following the reception -- just before the East Coast literary awards were about to start -- I bumped into Stephen and Jeanie Kimber. If you can seriously believe it's been basically 30 years ago, I was the Kimber's nanny (mostly for their youngest, who is now 30!) Stephen went on to win the Evelyn Richardson Non-fiction award for What Lies Across the Water: The Real Story of the Cuban Five.
On Sunday, RWAC prez Taryn Blackthorne and I set up our table which was then run by rotating teams from our group. Thanks to everyone who took part!
This week's set is dedicated to writers everywhere as we carry on, shaping our stories no matter that there are only 24 hours in a day, unexpected emergencies, day jobs and unco-operative fictional characters that won't behave while we're trying to get our word counts.
1 - One Way or Another -- Blondie
2 - Hit Me With Your Best Shot -- Pat Benatar
3 - Tubthumping -- Chumbawamba
4 - I Won't Back Down -- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
For anyone who wants to join in, simply choose five pieces of music and post them for other bloggers to enjoy. Then check out the set posted by the other 5 on Friday blogger -- you can sign in over at Golch Central's Rambling Stuff.
It's June, and time for my monthly feature for 5 on Friday -- The Hit Makers.
Once a month I'm going to feature the songs that launched careers. I'll be looking at different musical styles and the groups or singers from those styles who I love the best.
This month, let's look ahead to Father's Day. Here are five of my favorite male vocalists who are also dads.
1 - All or Nothing at All -- Frank Sinatra -- 1943 (was released in 43, although originally recorded in 39)
Father to daughters Nancy and Tina, and son Frank Jr.
2 - Heartbreak Hotel -- Elvis Presley -- 1956
Father to daughter Lisa Marie
3 - Whole Lotta Love -- Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin -- 1969
Father to sons Karac, Logan and Jesse Lee (Karac passed away at age five)
4 - You've Made Me So Very Happy -- David Clayton Thomas of Blood Sweat and Tears -- 1969
Father to daughter Ashleigh
5 - Time is Running Out -- Matthew Bellamy -- 2003
For a final week, Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.
After today, Travis is retiring his four-year-old musical meme which immediately became the highlight of my week and remained so since February of 2010. Putting together my sets each week gives me joy, retaining the sense of play I need in my creative life.
Travis invited the regular 5-on-Friday-ers to carry on without him if we wished, and it appears that Jamie, Mike and I will continue to spin the tunes that we love.
But I just want to let Travis know that in coming up with his Friday musical feature, he has given me hours and hours and hours of happiness. Sending you love and ((hugs)) today as we bid farewell to an amazing run.
Well, we did it. Last Saturday, Shawna Romkey and I gave our first convention panel on Heroes and Villains during Hal-Con 2013.
Thanks to everyone who attended our panel. You asked great questions!
Last week I spun four superhero tunes plus one super villain tune. This week -- since I was giving the villains part of the panel -- here are five tunes that come to us from the villain's point of view.
1 - Devil in Disguise -- Elvis Presley
This song illustrates the sort of villain I mentioned at the panel last Saturday, the sort of character who seems like a 'suitable catch' on the surface -- until you get to know him a little better, and if you're an historical female character, it may very well be too late by then. You may have been married off to what seemed like a strong alpha male character, only to discover he is actually a villain, making all the wrong choices based on fear, self-preservation and self-interest.
This sort of tragic villain character -- someone who sees himself as a thwarted hero -- is shown in the video as Guy of Gisborne from BBC's Robin Hood (played by my fave, Richard Armitage.)
2 - The Sinner in Me -- Depeche Mode
This song perfectly captures the allure of The Gray Character, my favorite. This accounts for the attraction we often feel towards a character who we sense is still redeemable. This sort of villain holds a lot more tension within the story, because we aren't sure whether he'll choose the high road or the low road. A traditional villain will always take the dark choice.
3 - A Criminal Mind -- Lawrence Gowan
I've always loved this song, by Glasgow Scotland-born, Toronto-raised Lawrence Gowan. I love the bald admission given by the narrator: "Ask one who's known me / If I'm really so bad / I am."
This is the sort of internal monologue that would take place inside the traditional villain character. He has no ambitions to change, no desire to reform. He delights in his own horrible rampages.
Strangely, the tone of the song implies a degree of regret -- however, it's clear that the narrator will never make the choices of a heroic character. The greater good, self-sacrifice -- these ambitions won't tempt this villain in the least.
4 - Animal I Have Become -- Three Days Grace
Rumpelstiltskin from Once Upon a Time is a massive fave of mine (played by another of my long-time inspirations for a fictional character in one of my works-in-progress, Robert Carlyle.)
What a tour de force of villainy! As the original village spinner character, his descent into darkness through fearful choice-making is something we can relate to. We even hope that this character is still reachable and redeemable.
As the Dark One / Rumpelstiltskin, he is a cool deal-maker, preying on those who will do anything in a moment of need. He is not without emotion, however -- he has a streak of playful mischief-making, and delights in the sword he holds over people's heads.
As Mr. Gold, the contemporary Storybrooke pawn shop owner, he holds the most tension for the viewer, as we never know how this version of the character will react. Mr. Gold shows the most vulnerability, the most rage and the greatest desire to reach for happiness.
5 - Bad to the Bone -- George Thorogood and The Destroyers
The supervillain tune from my set list last week belonged to the Joker (played by dearly-missed Heath Ledger) -- and here he is again, in all his traditional villain glory.
I freely admit to many forms of obsession. I don't see any of them as minuses in my life as a creative person. An obsessive compulsive disorder detracts from a person's life, getting in the way of doing basic things. A driving passion, however, is not only to be embraced if you're going to master something enough to truly understand your creative medium (or your sport, if that's what you love to do) -- it's actually necessary. If I told you someone repeated the same actions in the same sequence over and over every evening before he went to bed, you might think, wow, that person must have OCD. Yet, if I told you that person was an elite violinist and he was working on musical scales, perfecting his technique, you would have a much different view of that person than if I told you it was a guy who re-sorted his DVD collection into perfect blocks of color according to the packaging spines of the jewel cases -- but only if he looked behind each DVD three times. If you asked hockey superstar Sidney Crosby how many hours he's spent shooting a puck into the net, he probably wouldn't be able to tell you. If he didn't obsessively practise his hockey technique, he would not be the player he has become. For artists and athletes, the word 'obsession' could basically be replaced with 'passion'. One of my most enjoyable obsessions/passions is listening to music while I'm writing. It often has nothing to do with the tone or subject matter of the scene I'm working on. I just have to be obsessed with it. I'll know I'm obsessed with a song or a piece of music when I end up choosing it as the first song of the writing session, playing it about six times in a row, and then returning to it a few times during that writing time. Often, that song will go through my head while I'm riding the bus, and I'll hum it through the day, only to race towards it once again the next evening. For me, I find that my musical obsessions act as a short-cut to placing me in the head-space I need in order to write fiction. I'm telling my brain 'Write NOW' with my obsessive selection. So, here are thirteen of my current and former musical obsessions, all of which have led to the scenes that become my books. 1 - I'm Your Boogie Man -- KC and the Sunshine Band
2 - Assassin -- Muse
3 - Princes of the Universe -- Queen
4 - Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? -- Moby This version specifically, with all of the Dean and Sam voiceovers from Supernatural
5 - Lies -- The Pierces Also, this version specifically, because there are Guy of Gisborne scenes in this one that I will stop to watch.
6 - I'm Crying -- The Animals I guess I can see a bit of a pattern here (LOL!) Guess that's why I'm obsessed with these ones.
Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.
It's that time again, kiddies! Time to revel in all things American.
Happy 4th of July to all of my fellow American bloggers, readers, fellow writers and authors. Have a great long weekend.
Brad and I are off on our 21st anniversary vacation trip. It's the first vacation we've taken where we weren't reuniting with family or combining work with play. It's almost like a honeymoon.
I'm going dark on social media, so I'll return your visits when I get back.
Champion of the Arts - I write historical and paranormal fiction, as well as poetry. I love to showcase creative works by artists of all stripes. Blogging from Nova Scotia, Canada
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