A to Z Blog Challenge -- B -- Beauty and the Beast Story NOT YOUR AVERAGE BEAUTY

Welcome to Day 2 of this year's April blog event -- the A to Z Blog Challenge!

Today it is my pleasure to introduce you to Michelle Helliwell, currently serving as president of my local chapter of Romance Writers of America.

Our writers' group Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada just celebrated 15 years together this past September.

This is Michelle signing copies of her debut release last June at her book launch for NOT YOUR AVERAGE BEAUTY, a Beauty and the Beast inspired Regency romance.

What does that mean, exactly?

Well, retelling a myth or a fairy tale in a new way gives readers two things that they desire every time they open a book: a sense of familiarity in a genre sense, meaning that if they open a romance they expect to find a Happily Ever After by the end, or if they open a thriller they expect to find the murder solved by the end. Yet they don't simply want to read the same old, same old. They want something fresh, something new.

Stating in the book's back cover blurb that it's a Beauty and the Beast story sets up certain expectations in the reader:

- a dark, troubled hero (check)

- a heroine who looks past the obvious to see the real situation (check)

- a curse (check)

- an imposing estate with an impressive library (check)

NOT YOUR AVERAGE BEAUTY takes us into a world where we're longing to go, and delivers characters we're certain that we want to meet. Retelling this story in her own voice gives Michelle Helliwell's readers that freshness that we also desire.

Is this the furry, grotesque 'beast' from the classic fairy tale or the animated musical? No, rather a member of the nobility who suspects he has been cursed to act out in a mindless, beastly fashion.

Do the cups and saucers talk? Is there overt magic involved? Is there perhaps an underlying folk belief in curses in a rural British village, instead?

If you're already a big fan of Once Upon a Time as I am, then you already know the allure of settling in for a fairy tale retold.

  

A to Z Blog Challenge -- A -- 5 on Friday - Set 311

Welcome to Day 1 of this year's April blog event -- the A to Z Blog Challenge!

This is my sixth year participating. I've finished the challenge every year except for last year -- ironically enough, I was home from work on medical leave and was shocked to find that my wide-open time schedule could not make up for the fact that I was not feeling well enough to keep up the pace.

However, as this year's challenge dawns, I am back to work and feeling up to taking on twenty-six blog posts in thirty days.

Let's begin!

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

Time for my once-a-month project for 2016.

This year I'll be focusing on Songwriters. Check back on the first Friday of each month as I take a look at the work of artists whose creative voices are most often brought to us through the performances of others.

April belongs to Andy Razaf.

The Jazz Age and Depression-era songwriter was born as Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo, the grand-nephew of the last queen of Madagascar. His father died during the French invasion of Madagascar, forcing his pregnant mother to seek refuge in New York City.

Raised in Harlem, Andy worked as an elevator operator while writing poetry and lyrics. When he met up with Fats Waller, a songwriting duo was born that turned out classics such as Ain't Misbehavin' and Honeysuckle Rose.    

1 - A Porter's Love Song to a Chamber Maid - John Dyer  

2 - Honeysuckle Rose - Mildred Bailey

3 - Stompin' at the Savoy - Judy Garland 

4 - Ain't Misbehavin' - Leon Redbone 

5 - The Joint is Jumpin' - Fats Waller 

If you'd like 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.

5 on Friday -- Set 310

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

This week's set goes out to former CBC broadcaster Jian Ghomeshi in the wake of his aquittal yesterday on all charges of sexual assault, and overcoming resistance by choking.

For those unfamilar with the case, you can get up to speed with Anne Kingston's Maclean's article:

The Jian Ghomeshi verdict is in. But the story isn't over.

1 - Here Comes Flash - The Kinks 

2 - Hello, Little Girl from Into the Woods - Johnny Depp 

3 - Creep - Radiohead 

4 - Fiddle About from Tommy - Keith Moon 

5 - When You're Evil - Voltaire 

If you'd like 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.

5 on Friday -- Set 309

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

Hope your St. Patrick's Day celebrations were filled with friends and laughter!

Mine was quiet and at home, as is usually the case. Last year marked the first time that I ever spent it out with friends -- my high school choir friends Shelley and Maureen (Maureen being in town from British Columbia at the time.)

We headed out to an Irish pub-style restaurant in our neighborhood complete with live music and a great crowd. Although we knew a snowstorm was brewing, and reserved our table early so we could get off the roads before they got too bad, no one knew that Snowmageddon was forming overhead, ready to dump 50 centimeters (nearly two feet) of the white stuff overnight.

As a bonus track, here's a song recorded at The Old Triangle, an Irish pub in Halifax that was packed with St. Patrick's Day revellers beginning early in the morning and lasting well into the night -- featuring Evans and Doherty

Right on schedule, a bit of snow fell this St. Patrick's Day, but it was a mere dusting. Nothing over which to worry our pretty heads.

For this week's set, let's go to the Emerald Isle.

Photo by Michal Osmenda

1 - Somewhere a Clock is Ticking - Snow Patrol 

2 - If I Should Fall From Grace With God - The Pogues 

3 - Linger - The Cranberries 

4 - Even Better Than the Real Thing - U2 

5 - The Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy 

If you'd like 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.

5 on Friday -- Set 308

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

Earlier this week, legendary music producer George Martin passed away at the age of 90.

For this week's set, let's listen to five tracks produced by a master arranger with a golden ear.

1 - Penny Lane - The Beatles 

2 - Ferry Cross the Mersey - Gerry and The Pacemakers 

3 - Tin Man - America 

4 - Live and Let Die - Paul McCartney and Wings 

5 - Say, Say, Say - Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson 

If you'd like 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.

5 on Friday -- Set 307

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

Time for my once-a-month project for 2016.

This year I'll be focusing on Songwriters. Check back on the first Friday of each month as I take a look at the work of artists whose creative voices are most often brought to us through the performances of others.

March belongs to Irene Higginbotham. 

Tuesday, March 8th will bring International Women's Day, so this month's Songwriters feature showcases that rarity among the composers who will grace A Piece of My Mind this year. African American Irene Higginbotham managed to hold her own in a competitive field of songwriters known collectively as Tin Pan Alley, dominated by white males in the early 20th century.

In her late twenties, she even managed to join the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, a significant accomplishment.

1 - Good Morning Heartache - Billie Holliday 

2 - I'm Pulling Through - Diana Krall 

3 - Hello Suzanne - Ella Mae Morse 

4 - It's Mad, Mad, Mad! - Duke Ellington featuring Dolores Parker 

5 - Harlem Stomp - Louis Armstrong 

If you'd like 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.

5 on Friday -- Set 306

Spinning Friday tunes since 2010...

My friend Shawna Romkey's final book in her Speak of the Devil series released this week. To celebrate, here are five songs that give a nod to the devil.

The Devil You Know

"Holy Hell! 

After battling her way back from Hell only to discover Luc didn't make it out, Lily must rally the angels to descend back into the Devil's domain. Now she has thirty days to rescue her angelic warrior boyfriend and break the curse to free God before Lucifer and his demon army destroy all of humanity on Earth. Forget passing the eleventh grade. Lily must face the ultimate final exam to give the Devil his due and save the world before the reapers catch up and deliver the death she cheated from them a year ago." -- Shawna Romkey

1 - Devil Inside - INXS 

2 - Sympathy For the Devil - The Rolling Stones 

3 - Running With the Devil - Van Halen 

4 - Highway to Hell - AC/DC 

5 - The Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden 

If you'd like 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.