Burst transmissions.
This is where I will add interesting reference points as I do my book research!
“When you’re on the right path, the universe winks and nods at you from time to time, just to let you know. And once you start noticing these little cosmic clues. Once you understand that you’re on a path at all, you’ll begin to see them everywhere.”
“You’ve got to stay patient, stay in the moment, keep grinding, … You never know what can happen. And it turned out well.”
“I’ve got a friend who is a lion tamer. He used to be a school teacher till he lost his nerve.”
Yes, it's true. Ruffian and I were the stowaways on Artemis 1's trip around the Moon.
“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
— e. e. Cummings
“Don’t be distracted by criticism. Remember — the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you.”
— Zig Ziglar
Question: What music do I listen to when I write?
Answer: At the back of each of my books I post an epigraph listing a few vocalists who routinely help my thoughts flow.
Here’s the latest update (September 2022): Geike Arnaert, Lotti Benardout, Colleen D’Agostino, Helen Marnie, Elizabeth Morphew, Roisin Murphy, Jennifer Paige, Susanne Sundfør, Becky Jean Williams, and Noémie Wolfs. I invite you to give each of them a solid listen.
Also, while finishing Quantum Tempest, I’ve been buying more Haelos (Lotti Benardout), an album from Michelle Branch (Hopeless Romantic), and several albums from Morcheeba (Sky Edwards).
I also listen to specific tracks when I want to establish a scene or character’s brief but certain disposition. Here’s a sample.
Character themes:
…For Hipshot (Lissaya Anning), I try: “Wolves” (Helen Marnie), “The Hunter” (Marnie, Stephen Morris remix)
…For Waylay (Dessa Leeds): “Neon” (Cocoon, Queen of Hearts)
…For Daryle Chantree: “Time Traveler” (Conversing with Oceans, Wild/Dreams)
…For Janek Larrivay: “Perfectly Broken” (Haelos, I’m There)
Emotional triggers:
…Amusement: “Feel it Still” (Eden Mary), “Badaboum” (Hooverphonic)
…Anticipation: “In the Air Tonight” (Alex Midi), “Collide” (Colleen D’Agostino)
…Anxiety: “Running to the Sea” (Röyksopp, featuring Susanne Sundfør)
…Awe: “Echoes in Rain” (Dark Sky Island, Enya), Pray (Full Circle, or any of Hælos), Oblivion (featuring Susanne Sundfør)
…Betrayal: “Not This Time” (Jennifer Paige, Flowers - The Hits Collection)
…Confidence: “Tuesday” (Burak Yetter, featuring Danelle Sandoval)
…Contemplative: “Nights in White Satin” (Collide, These Eyes Before), “Slimcea Girl” (Mono, Formica Blues)
…Curiosity: “Still Loving” (Andrea Roma)
…Defiance: “Seeya” (Colleen D’Agostino, while (1<2), deadmau5), “Kiss the Sky” (Voices and Choices, Shawn Lee)
…Despair: “Friendly Fire” (Antilles, Something New), “Running Away” (Acoustic, Colleen D’Agostino, The Material)
…Desire: “Heavenly Eyes” (AM, Precious Life)
…Determination: “Monument” (Röyksopp, The Inevitable End), “Sunshine” (Adagio in D Minor, John Murphy)
…Elation: “Blue Water” (Black Rock & Debra Andrew), “Lights” (Ellie Goulding), “Just Dance” (The Fame, Lady Gaga), “You Never Know” (Marly)
…Euphoria: “In My Arms” (Kylie Minogue, Step Back in Time), “Lose Yourself” (Armin van Buuren … by Genix & Sue McLaren), “Miss Mood” (Satin Jackets Remix, Novika), “Ice Machine” (Röyksopp, Late Night Tales)
…Excitement: “DARE” (featuring Shaun Ryder, Gorillaz)
…Grief: “Without You” (Colleen D’Agostino)
…Happy: “More Than Just a Dream” (Fitz & The Tantrums), “Pocketful of Sunshine” (Natasha Bedingfield)
…Hope: “Bones” (Alex G), “Synthesis” (Evanescence), “Afterlife” (Ingrid Michaelson, Lights Out)
…Joy: “100 Stories” (Andrea Burns), “Distraction” (Slaptop)
…Loneliness: “Time Rider” (Chromatics), “Making Mirrors” (Gotye), “Empty Streets” (Late Night Alumni)
…Love: “Crush” (Jennifer Paige, Flowers - the Hits Collection), “Another Word For Love” (Eclipse, Late Night Alumni)
…Mysterious: “Roads” (Portishead, Dummy)
…Nervous: “Terra Firma” (Lara’s mix, Delerium, The Best of Delerium)
…Nostalgia: “Far Away” (Quiet Things, Colleen D’Agostino), “Off Shore” (Lost in Time, Geike)
…Paranoia: “Puppet Theater” (Claptone, Charmer)
…Peacefulness: “Gran Turismo” (The Cardigans)
…Pride: “Superhuman” (BlackGummy & Colleen D’Agostino)
…Remorse: “Bloodline” (Sleepwalk, Colleen D’Agostino), “Breathe” (EMBRZ)
…Sadness: “Silence” (featuring Sarah McLachlan, Karma, Delerium), “Me and You” (Colleen D’Agostino, With Beating Hearts)
…Unease: “Good Luck” (Broken Bells), “Destroy Everything You Touch” (Ladytron)
“Life can only be understood by looking backward, but it must be lived looking forward.”
Question: What is the best reading order for my books?
Answer: It’s a moving target.
My stand-alone books:
…Many Moons includes most of my short stories. Here and there, a few crossover characters briefly visit various acquaintances in my novels. For example, Captain Noémie Barnett of the ark ship Stella Clara (from “When the Morning Stars Sang Together”) appears in Significant Others. That is the story with the trans-dimensional honeybees that everyone liked. But you wouldn’t ever have to know that sort of thing to enjoy the short story or novel.
…At the moment, Home Before Dark (Haven Lofting’s book) is a stand-alone novel even though I hope to follow up with a sequel called Seasons of Illusion.
…While Broken Bells (starring Dasjenya and Rennen) stands alone, it is slated to have several sequels, starting with Visions at Dusk.
Books already in a series:
…Janek Larrivay is the central character in the River of Light series, which includes (in order): Lesser Beings, Rituals of Sacrifice, Significant Others, and Inherit the Night (forthcoming). Two notes. Lissaya Anning’s heist crew (fresh from Cross the Sky) appears in Significant Others. Janek then returns the favor by briefly appearing in Double Take. And one of my editors has suggested a series prequel tentatively called Diplomatic Circles. We’ll see about that.
…Daryle Chantree is the main character in my Time Wing Six Series. These are all independent novels, but do follow along as Daryle advances within America’s Time Travel Forces. This includes Fire and Forget, Holding on for Life, Orphans of Fire (due out soon!), Quantum Tempest (in progress), Crimson Abyss (planned), and Never for Ever (planned).
…In the “Sapphire Sky” series, Lissaya Anning leads an all-women heist crew. Cross the Sky kicks off the series, followed by Double Take and (someday) Sapphire Sky. As mentioned above, Cross the Sky’s characters also appear in Significant Others, and Double Take starts during Significant Others’ epilog. Each book stands alone, and you won’t miss much if you’re not already reading the other series.
The editing team at Hawk’s Grove Press tracks every single minute of progress along the way, and I’ll try to keep everyone up to date.
All my eBooks are FREE with Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program! And Amazon has paperbacks, too! Oh, and don’t forget to check out Murdoch McRae’s narration of Fire and Forget on Audible.
“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”
“Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board.”
“Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain.”
“A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.”
“To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.”
“Don’t be distracted by criticism. Remember–the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you.”
As I train our new puppy (a total productivity killer), I have finally made it through chapters 7 & 8 of Quantum Tempest. Just for fun, I’ve copied last week’s list of web searches as I fact checked and found inspiration. And yes, I’ve copied these subjects directly from my browser’s history file. For you writers out there, I’m sure your on-the-fly look-ups are just as crazy!
Human gestation
Blogs: pregnancy, the first trimester
Panpsychism
The Dalai Lama’s reincarnation crisis
Holistic self-care
Body changes in pregnant wildcats
Snow leopard reproduction timeline
Domestic cat: labor signs and care during labor
Scientific rivals
Dramatic scientific breakthroughs
What happens when a monarch dies?
Space conspiracy theories
Inventions and inventors
The scientific revolution
Angular momentum
Snow leopard eye color
How do cats always land on their feet?
Mumbai skyscrapers
Near-death experiences
Aspen groves
Pineal gland DMT
Electric circuits
Neurons and brain chemistry
The darkest color in the world is darker than Vantablack
Sandstorms
The 7 base units of the metric system
What are Lamborghini scissor doors?
French vs. Double doors
Parts of a bridge
Thomas Jefferson Memorial, buildings with a dome-shaped rotunda
Plant roots
List of Fibonacci numbers
National Command Authority
The Rolls-Royce MT30, twin spool gas turbine
Feline arthritis study
Russian artist Maxim Ksuta has been helping me design some of the aliens for Quantum Tempest. Here’s an example of how he combines portraits to make a new composite portrait. The composite Unity beings from the far future look somewhat like this. You can see Maxim’s full portfolio HERE.
A portrait by Maxim Ksuta
“He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.”
“Everyone must choose one or two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.”
“Some men see things as they are and say ‘why?’ I dream of things that never were and say ‘why not.’”
“Our actions may be impeded . . . but there can be no impeding our intentions or dispositions. Because we can accommodate and adapt. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
I found Kristen Kieffer’s terrific web page that discusses some of the steps involved with creating a magic system for your stories. You can read more at her site [here], but the basic steps come down to:
defining the magic’s use.
identifying its users.
outlying its limitations.
deciding on the possible dangers of using magic.
deciding on the origin and history of your magic.
defining your society’s acceptance and understanding of magic.
Why not take a moment to check out Kristen’s other articles? (But don’t forget to come back!)
As part of my research for Quantum Tempest’s opening chapter, I also found an interesting article that discusses how to achieve your fastest running speed. Back when I was a big time (and high speed) sprinter and hurdler, this would have come in handy. Here’s the link!
“There are too many distractions in this life for quality of thought, and it’s the quality of thought, not quantity, that counts.”
“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
“If we had a keen vision of all that is ordinary in human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow or the squirrel’s heart beat, and we should die of that roar which is the other side of silence.”
Make it stand out
Here’s a fun fact: I will be expanding our honeybee sanctuary and just ordered six pounds of new bees for next Spring. I love my local Apiary Shop but prices have gone up everywhere. The bees I like — “Carniolan” bees who have been working in California — are now $50.81 a pound. Now there are roughly 3,500 bees in a pound. So, that’s more than 1.45 cents per honeybee!
“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”
Here’s an awesome reference for plotting fiction! Save the cat!
“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.”