Books Make Life Beautiful

The past few months have been a bit of a bummer in the work place. Our shop’s suffered two losses recently: a former co-worker, who retired two years ago, died of cancer before Christmas, and a loyal customer who’d become a quirky fixture of the shop also passed away four days ago of a heart attack. Herbert, my co-worker, was the sweetest, gentlest person I’ve ever known, and he inspired me to create Ernie George the Fourth, Henning’s sage guardian and mentor (current WIP). Earl was a real hoot, who’d sometimes bring a box of sandwiches for the staff or even leave a twenty-dollar tip for us to use for coffee or other treats. Herbert and Earl will be sorely, sorely missed. I bonded with Herbert for those seven or eight years I worked with him, and I still get all misty-eyed when I think back to the old days.

So I’ve been in a weird head space for a while, with other daily stressors really not helping me a bit.

I decided to dip my foot again in the gay historical romance market and recently purchased and read five books, which I enjoyed, though my heart will always be with alternate universe fiction (historical or contemporary – magic realism will always make me a very happy reader). Those books have helped me get out of this weird head space – or at least have drawn me away a number of steps, and I’m looking forward to shifting my attention back to my favorite genre. I’ve already bought a few titles, which I look forward to diving into.

Incidentally, as a bit of a break from my usual reading, I’m currently plowing through The Good Lord Bird by James McBride, which is historical fiction that I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend. The book won the National Book Award last year, and while I normally ignore large, mainstream lit awards because they never touch on stuff I like, last year’s award snagged my attention like whoa because not only is the book a historical novel, it’s also a comedy. And I never expected to be laughing my butt off reading a book about slavery. It’s been compared to Mark Twain’s work, but it’s more light-hearted than Twain’s satire, which is a lot more caustic and angry.

Since I’m still reading it, I really can’t post a full review, but you can easily Google critics’ reviews of McBride’s book and get an idea what it’s all about.

Also, my friend, Lindsay, who turned me on to the Johannes Cabal series by Jonathan Howard, just gave me a heads up on the next book in the series, which makes me very, very happy. Called The Brothers Cabal, it won’t be out till September, and here’s the blurb via Amazon:

Horst Cabal has risen from the dead. Again. Horst, the most affable vampire one is ever likely to meet, is resurrected by an occult conspiracy that wants him as a general in a monstrous army. Their plan: to create a country of horrors, a supernatural homeland. As Horst sees the lengths to which they are prepared to go and the evil they cultivate, he realizes that he cannot fight them alone. What he really needs on his side is a sarcastic, amoral, heavily armed necromancer.

As luck would have it, this exactly describes his brother.

Horst is back, people. Horst. I love the world. It’s a beautiful place. Hell, I might even be willing to pay an arm and a leg for the hardcover. Now it’s all a matter of seeing whether or not Howard’s fourth book echoes the first in tone and wit.

Yay, Bach (Or, Rather, Petzold)!

Yeah, I did learn this piece way back when I was taking piano lessons, but that’s not the point. I’ve been abusing the replay button on Youtube listening to both versions of Bach’s “Minuet in G Major” – and frowning at Peggotty’s screen while doing so – largely because the song itself has been eating away at me, and it’s turning into one of those pieces that could very well end up being “turned” into a story.

I’m pretty much stating the obvious when I say that it’s interesting how different arrangements / interpretations of a piece can affect the way a listener perceives it. Or more like this: it’s pretty damned cool how different pictures come to my mind when I listen to two different performances of the same composition. This arrangement is really what got me going, and please note that I’m responding to these videos as a classical music fan and not a scholar.

It’s got such a sweet, pastoral quality to it that makes me think of a Watteau painting. :) But things can get pretty interesting when this puppy gets into the mix:

The thing about harpsichords versus pianos is that harpsichords tend to have a colder sound to them – at least to me. Pianos offer a wide range of volume (ergo, expression) since their hammers strike their strings to produce sound, which can be controlled by the performer according to how hard he presses the keys. With harpsichords, the strings are plucked, which doesn’t really allow the performer to control sound. And you can easily hear how the piece in the video stays in the same volume throughout. The only thing Ton Koopman is able to do is add flourishes to it.

And here ends my layman’s version of what makes classical arrangements pretty darned awesome. Now to get really way out there with Bach’s (or, rather, Petzold’s*) composition.

I’ve also always associated the harpsichord with all things gothic. Every time I hear something performed on that instrument, I don’t think pretty Baroque scenes or glittering salons and silk and lace and wigs. I instantly default to crumbling abbeys and castles and old, shadowy mansions. Maybe because I’m naturally morbid, I don’t know, but that’s how things work in my head.

So the combination of both arrangements of Petzold’s minuet make for a pretty interesting picture. What, something bucolic with an undercurrent of fear? Oh, yes, please. To quote Sherlock Holmes:

“It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.”

And:

“Do you know, Watson,” said he, “that it is one of the curses of a mind with a turn like mine that I must look at everything with reference to my own special subject. You look at these scattered houses, and you are impressed by their beauty. I look at them, and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their isolation and of the impunity with which crime may be committed there.”

I love Holmes. He’s such a cynic.

I’m not thinking of crime in my case, though. Of course, that really means nothing at the moment considering what I already have on my plate. It can take shape way down the road, and it may not. But lawdy, lawdy, how fun it is listening, making weird connections, and playing with all kinds of stuff in my head.

* The “Minuet in G Major” has been attributed to Christian Petzold, not Bach, by scholars.

Banshee Cover and Other Stuff

I just finished my edits for Banshee, and the file’s with my publisher. I finally get some breathing room before the print proofs show up in my inbox, and then we’re on to the edits for Wollstone. I also got the cover for the 2nd edition of Banshee.

Click image for enlarged view


Nicely moody and ghostly. :) I can’t wait to get my hands on a print copy.

Working on the edits for this book really stoked some embers. I’ve had this plotbunny for another Victorian ghost story hanging around for at least a couple of years now, but I haven’t gotten around to poking at it with a brainstorming stick. I do think about it from time to time, and the main story’s pretty much complete in my head. It’s just a matter of sitting down and doggedly fleshing it out, subplots and all.

Come to think of it, this still-unwritten book is already formed, while Book Seven of my Masks series is still nothing more than the equivalent of unicellular organisms idly floating around in a petri dish. I’m already pretty much resigned to the fact that there’ll be quite a bit of a gap between the release of Book Six and Seven. Dr. Morbid’s Castle of Blood came out in 2012, I think, and it’s already been two years. I’d love to have the last book done by the end of this year, and when it’ll be released is up to the publisher’s schedule.

All the same, that new Victorian ghost story will have to wait till after I’m done with Masks even though the logical step would be to work on it once my current WIP is done. At this point in time, I need closure for that series. Here’s to hoping that I’m able to achieve just that this year.

Guest Blog and E-Book Giveaway

Over here, ladies and gents. I upped and talked about Arabesque (behind the scenes look!) and am doing an e-book giveaway. You’ve got till Feb. 28 to throw your name in the hat, and Lisa will be contacting me with the winner. Oh, and there’s a link at the end of the entry that takes you to a review posted two years ago for this book. Coincidentally, it was posted exactly two years to this date. Good luck!

Now Available: Arabesque (2nd Edition)

Arabesque (2nd Edition)Okeedokee, here we go (again)! Arabesque is now available in e-book format over at JMS Books. The print book will be out at the end of this month if you prefer it.

As always, there’s a 20% new release discount available only through the publisher’s site, and it’ll be there for a week after the book’s release. As another bit of a heads up, I’ll be guest-blogging over The Novel Approach Reviews on Tuesday, which means I’ll be doing another e-book giveaway for Arabesque. Again, please note, this book isn’t young adult. Nowhere near that, I’m telling you. There are graphic sex scenes as well as scenes of violence.

I’m also cutting it exceedingly close as I’ve yet to submit my guest blog, and I’ll have that sucker done and sent out by this evening. o___O;;; Don’t try this at home, kids.