Rebecca Connolly's Blog, page 9

Headphones In

It’s another “Headphones In” day, guys!

Just means we are getting down to business, not messing around, and getting some awesomeness done!

At least, I think it’s awesomeness. We’ll see what y’all think once I actually finish!

Fun projects coming up soon! Stay tuned!

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Music

Let’s talk music.

Every writer has their little quirks, and I have mine. I know I’ve talked about some songs that inspired scenes, but did you know that I put together full soundtracks for my books? Every book that I have written has a soundtrack, or had one at one point. Even some works in progress have songs in their notes if I have found something that reflects a scene the way I want.

When I’m just writing and haven’t yet plotted a musical course, I listen to a playlist of soundtracks and instrumental tracks. For some reason, that helps me to focus and to write with more feeling.

Have you ever really listened to a movie’s soundtrack? It’s absolutely amazing what a song can do for a scene. It can get your pulse racing along with the action, make everything so intense and exciting, and drive the story to its epic conclusion. It can wring tears from your eyes at the death of a beloved character (Little Women, anyone??? That gets me EVERY TIME!). It can make the love scene for a couple exciting and passionate or sweet and heart wrenching.

Soundtracks are magical things. I think it’s only right that the stories I create should have them too.

I’m not a musical genius, I can’t write a soundtrack, though I wish I could. So I find existing soundtracks or songs and assemble them into a playlist.

Did you know that you can find some truly stunning instrumental versions of some of your favorite songs if you look hard enough? It’s my new favorite thing. Then I can have a recurring theme in my playlists based on the “over the credits” song or any song that I find sums things up pretty well!

Now if only I could find someone who would make instrumental arrangements of any song I needed at my request… Then I would be all set!

Check out the soundtracks page on this website and see what you think. It will get updated as I release more books, but it’s just a taste of some of the madness that goes on in my process.

What are your favorite soundtracks? Any songs you think would be perfect for a scene? Let me know!

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Special Guests

We have some special guests that hang out in the Cove when they can get away from their regular task of generally being swoony heartthrobs. I present to you Mr. Darcy and my very own dashing Highlander!

Such handsome figures, don’t you agree?

I let them keep me company when I’m secluded in the Cove and working on projects. The Highlander, who joined me last summer in Gretna Green (AHEM.) and Darcy, who came to me after a friend was in London, offer their advice on my male characters, and make me smile.

Sigh. Swoon. Smile. Repeat.

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End of the Tour

Well, that brings us to the end of the tour! It’s all meant to be an introduction, and to help you get to know the area better. Now for the formal schpiel:

This has been your tour guide. His name is Rory. He has a Scottish accent and likes long walks along the lochs…

Thank you for joining us on your tour of the Cove. We certainly appreciate your interest and hope it has been an enjoyable experience for you. We do understand that you have a choice when it comes to what you peruse on the internet, and we thank you for choosing to spend your time with us.

If you have any additional questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions, we invite you to share them with us so that we might improve the experience here.

No but really. What do you want to see and know and hear about here?

I mean…

Please watch your step as you exit and if you would like to donate to our cause, you may tip the driver on your way out. Thank you and good day!

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A Little Touch of Austen

Our last stop on the tour of the Cove is along the back of the desk on the windowsill, and there are six of them. They are my little touch of Jane Austen in the whole spread of the Cove.

Aren’t they awesome??? I’m still so happy with them!

Each square has the title of an Austen novel with a particularly romantic section from the text from that novel in each. I saw them at a friend’s house ages ago and said “WHERE DID YOU GET THESE?” Because we all know how much I love Jane Austen…

Now I have a set! And they keep me swooning.

Thanks for taking the tour! Look for more fun to come from the Cove in the future!

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At My Fingertips

We’re nearing the end of our Cove tour! (Which just means we get to have more fun here!) So next we have what is always at my fingertips when I am working at my desk.

I promise, this page isn’t blank now… At all…

On top of the notepad is a cute paperweight/trinket that says “Laugh often, Dream big, Reach fort he stars!” It’s the cutest reminder ever, and makes me smile.

Then we have the notepad… Pretty self-explanatory, right? I go through pages of these things so easily, laying out storylines, timelines, research, notes… I always have to have it close by because IDEAS. It’s a complicated swirl of emotions.

Til next time!

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Wisdom

On the very corner of the desk in the Cove, you will find a small figurine, understated and not on any sort of display. It is called Wisdom.

I find this just adorable and sweet, don’t you?

She’s a Willowtree figurine, and I love so many of those gorgeous pieces of art. When I was assembling the Cove, I knew I had to put her there. She is for inspiration and guidance, remembering why I do what I do, and remembering the little girl I once was who looked a lot like her.

What do you think she is reading? I wonder…

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The Meeting on the Turret Stairs

Our next stop is the corner of the desk in the Cove, where you will find a beautiful piece of art that sums up everything I strive for in my writing.

Isn’t it just gorgeous???

This is “Hellelil and Hildebrand, The Meeting on the Turret Stairs” by Fredric William Burton, and I first came across in on a trip to the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. All I could do was come home with a postcard of it, which is what you see framed on my desk, but someday I want a big one hanging on the wall!

So gorgeous, and so inspirational. Perfect for the Cove, don’t you think?

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The Wall o’ Brainstorm

And to your left, you will see the famed Wall o’ Brainstorm, where our fearless author posts pictures of inspiration for her current project to keep herself on track, and a calendar of tasks and goals to remind herself what that track is.

The Wall o’ Brainstorm

It’s really very complicated. It’s a pre-Pinterest pin board. Otherwise known as a cork board, bulletin board, or story board. It changes often, so you are always assured of having something new to look at.

PS. Don’t try to analyze the board for spoilers. You won’t find any. And you won’t get what’s going on there. Trust me.

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Lovebirds

Continuing on our tour of The Cove, you will find another lovely piece of art, but this one you can’t get in stores. Well, not YET anyway.

Why? Because it’s an original.

Isn’t it adorable???

My friend Whitney is multi-talented, and she had this piece, appropriately entitled “Lovebirds”, in an Facebook art auction a few months ago. The moment I saw it, I knew I had to have it. And that it had to go in my writing area once I had one.

Now it hands proudly in The Cove.

Ugh. Lovebirds. Just love.

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