C.P. Cabaniss's Blog, page 4

Depression, Music, and Meeting David Cook

When I was around sixteen, I fell in love with David Cook’s music while he was a performer on American Idol. Alright, alright, I will admit I was a little in love with him too. Sheesh. You caught me. I was a somewhat normal teenage girl.

Since David’s run on AI, I’ve followed his career closely, going to see him in concert five times in the last nine years. And while my crush on the man himself has fizzled (mostly due to the fact that he’s married now, so I have no chance of winning him over), my love of his music never has. And during this most recent experience, I was finally able to meet him.

[image error]It was a quick chat, a signed VIP laminate, a hug, a picture, but it was also more. I could never have conveyed to him what, exactly, his music has meant to me over the years, but I tried to get at least a little bit of my feelings across.

Depression has followed me for most of my life, creeping in and leeching out my confidence and happiness at the worst moments, leaving me feeling empty and alone. And through it all, music has been my therapy.

I can’t say the exact moment or day that David became my favorite singer, but he has held that place for many years now. Through many of my darkest moments, his music has helped me pull myself back together when I wasn’t sure that I could continue. Even now that I am in a much better place mentally, listening to his music gives me an extra boost of happiness and inspiration. All it takes is a few seconds, a line in a song, and I’m immediately lifted, ready to face what’s ahead. And that, that is magic.

The power of music is real.

And of course, being a writer, David’s music has had an impact on my writing. In fact, certain lyrics in his songs have inspired entire story ideas and made characters blossom, fully realized, in my mind. And I’m sure that there is plenty more inspiration coming with his new music.

I don’t go to many concerts. In fact, David is one of only four or five people that I have seen live, and the only one that I’ve seen multiple times. I am not one to idolize entertainers (at least not now, as an adult), but meeting David was definitely a highlight of my year thus far. As a creator myself, I know how it feels to have your work appreciated, and I hope that came across in those few moments we interacted.

Now my hope is that I can help someone and inspire someone the way that David has helped and inspired me.

Discovering Michael J Sullivan

I’ve seen Michael J Sullivan books around the book community online and locally for years now. According to goodreads, I first added The Crown Tower to my shelf in January of 2014, though I think I had heard of the Riyria books (and had them recommended to me) before that.  But it wasn’t until June of this year that I finally picked up one of his books. That book was Age of Myth. And that was just the beginning.

Since picking up Age of Myth, I have read Age of Swords (the real catalyst behind this sudden obsession), the Riyria Revelations series, and begun the Riyria Chronicles. I have nearly caught up with Sullivan’s backlog of books. In less than two months. Yes, they are that good. And yes, you should read them.

As a writer, there are many things that I hope to learn from reading Sullivan’s work. First and foremost on that list is writing compelling characters. His novels have some of the best characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading. They each have strengths and weaknesses, pasts full of shadows and demons, and I can’t help but love them all for these things. Or hate them. It really depends on what you should feel toward the character. They just seem so very real. So, as a writer and as a reader, his characters are at the top the list for why his books are so compelling.

His plotting probably follows just behind character. In the beginning of the Riyria books I wasn’t entirely sure what to think of them. I had a lot of fun, but they seemed more like lighthearted adventure stories than anything else. Which is fine, but not really what I expected. But with each new book in the series something else was uncovered. All of the small things that seemed insignificant before suddenly had meaning. And it was really beautiful to watch it unfold.

I hope that I can learn something from Sullivan’s writing that will help me with my own. The best way to learn is to take lessons from those who do something right.

If you haven’t read Michael J Sullivan yet and you are at all interested in fantasy novels, then you should pick them up. They would be a great introduction to high fantasy for those worried about the genre being “over my head” in some way as well, because they are told in a very accessible way and have a lot of similarities with the real world.

If you have any authors to recommend, I would love to hear about them. It’s always a great feeling to find an author you love and I hope to find many more.

 

 

How Rolex Kentucky 2017 Inspired Me to Write

Last year when I visited London I was able to go to Cross Country Day at the Badminton Horse Trials, which was one of the highlights of my trip. That was the first time I had ever been to any portion of a Three-Day-Event, though I have watched televised portions many times. It was an exciting day and not one I am likely to forget soon. Badminton is the largest four star event in the world, and there are only six in total.

This year I was able to go to Rolex, the only four star event in North America. This trip was definitely more involved than our day trip to Badminton last year. My sisters and I stayed in the area for four nights and had tickets for each day, with stadium seating for the three days the arena was used. And it was an amazing trip. I learned a lot about many of the athletes (and have become a tad obsessive about following some of them online), walked the cross country course, met Boyd Martin, watched Phillip Dutton finish his 40th Rolex ride (while bringing all three mounts into the top ten), and witnessed Michael Jung and fischerRocana FST become the first pair to have a Rolex three-peat.

[image error]There was fantastic riding all around, beautiful, extremely talented horses, and plenty of inspiration to be had. And this is where Rolex impacted me the most. While I was at Badminton last year an idea formed in my head for a novel set around eventing. The characters were so vivid in my mind that I regularly dreamed about them for weeks. And then I got stuck, lost my nerve, became overwhelmed with the process, take your pick. Whatever the cause, I let this story sit, untouched, for many months. Only the very basics were ever put on paper. But the characters still wouldn’t leave me alone, popping up at random times in my thoughts, demanding to be heard. While at Rolex, I finally decided that it didn’t matter how inadequate I felt myself to write this story, I was going to write it anyway. And so the process began anew. And so far it’s going very, very well. It isn’t–and will never be–perfect, but it’s a story that I want to tell.

I hope that over the next few months I am able to give some more concrete details about this story and tell you when it will be released. As of now I’m just trying to write. My goal is to have it complete, polished and all, by the end of the year, if not sooner. But life happens and there are no guarantees, so I can’t make any promises.

If you are at all inclined to follow my journey with this horsey story, please keep in touch. The more people who ask me about it, the better it will go. Here’s to hoping that I have another update soon. And if you would like to know more about my adventures at Rolex, please let me know. I would be happy to give a more in depth view of what happened there and my overall experience in another post or two.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman | Review

[image error]Neal Shusterman is a world-building genius. There is simply no better way to say it. He takes the earth we live on and morphs it into these societies that should seem far fetched, but don’t, with customs and peoples that provoke fascinating–oftentimes frightening–questions. Because when we look at our world, how far off the mark is he really?

Scythe is the newest addition to the already rather vast collection of stories Shusterman has produced. In this futuristic sci-fi dystopian society, where humans no longer die natural deaths, we meet the Scythes. These individuals are those burdened with the task of preventing the population from expanding too far–by “gleaning” the population at random.

Yes, it does sound a bit crazy. But it works. The story follows two teens who are chosen as apprentice Scythes and enter the political power game that is the Scythedom. Advanced technology may have eradicated death, a computer may rule the world, all of your basic needs may be met, but it is the Scythdom that decides if you live or die. But not all the Scythes take the moral high ground. Some enjoy to kill for pleasure.

The world crafted in this was brilliant. Aspects of it were a little over the top, but it was still overall a believable society. This world was very vivid in my mind and I think that owes to Shusterman’s attention to detail. There is an explanation for everything.

I was a little underwhelmed by the characters at times and found myself somewhat detached from them. They were all facing some extreme challenges, but I was never able to feel that invested in their overall development. Rowan (one of the two leads) and Scythe Faraday were definitely my favorite characters (although I was even a little detached from them part of the time) and it was painful to see what they had to face.

The only other real downside to this was the touch of romance we were given. I found it quite unnecessary. Since it wasn’t a central focus I could ignore it most of the time, but then it would pop up and annoy me. I think this could have been handled differently and still packed just as much of a punch.

This novel is the beginning of a series, but I think it stands well on its own. There is just enough closure that you don’t immediately need a sequel, but enough of an open ending to allow more development. I am excited to see where Shusterman takes Rowan and Citra in the next installment.

Worlds with Ruby Cover Reveal

Ok. I know I’ve made promises in the past to keep up with this blog on a regular basis, but obviously that hasn’t happened. But I promise I will at least try to be better in the future.

Today’s post is a really exciting one for me (and I hope for a few of you as well). Today I give you the cover to my first published story Worlds with Ruby. It’s a project that is near and dear to me, and one that is still growing. There will be sequels to Ruby, following new characters as they navigate the afterlife. The first installment should be available through Amazon kindle April 1st.

The cover was done by my writing friend Grace Crandall (author of Ashes) and I could not be happier with it. I would love to know what you think!

And so, without further ado, here is the cover for Worlds with Ruby. You can now preorder Ruby on Amazon here .

[image error] When you’re already dead, why should you be afraid?

When Ruby finds herself on the edge of a

cliff in a land between life and death, with an ominous creaking coming from the nearby woods, she is left with no choice but to follow it to its source. Nothing is what it seems and Ruby soon finds herself being whisked away to

worlds beyond her imagination. Worlds in need of saving. Along the way, she discovers that in saving these worlds, she is saving herself.

Sunlight Falls

Sunlight Falls

sunlight falls

through branches

wind blows

leaves spiral

toward earth

closing of

another door

Copyright 2016 by C P Cabaniss

Wanderlust

I have always had a strong desire to travel. Over the years I have gone back and forth in my opinion of what “healthy” traveling means for me. Having always suffered from depression, I have gone through phases where too much travel or moving around would have an unhealthy connotation. Too many people in my life have used travel to run from their problems, and I was worried that my wanderlust was more of that variety than anything else. Recently, I have changed my way of thinking.

Travel or moving around will not fix my problems, however, a change of scenery and exploring new things can give me a better outlook on life and help me to rejuvenate my fatigued mind. It has taken me a long time to accept the fact that wanderlust can be a good thing, if used in a healthy way. So, what does that mean for me?

While international travel is a grand adventure (in my very limited experience), I want to travel the United States more. There are so many treasures tucked away in quite corners, right here in my backyard, that I want to find. My goal is to find some of these treasures here in my home state first and then branch out into neighboring states before making my way further out into this large country. Who knows, in a few years maybe I will have visited all fifty states and found some treasures to cherish forever. There is so much to see right here.

And this will not only help me learn more history and local lore, it will help my writing as well. Travel fiction (you know, all those road trip books) have always been a lot of fun to me. These adventures will give me just the right insight to start writing my own road trip stories. There are so many people to meet along the way, from so many different walks of life. Everything in life is an inspiration, depending on how you choose to view it. And my wanderlust can be healthy. It can help me be happier as I learn and explore, it can inspire new stories that will reach a broader audience, and who knows, maybe along the way I will find the one place that I feel most at home. Everyone is supposed to have such a place in the world, maybe I just haven’t found mine yet.

Are you a traveler? I would love to hear your travel stories or suggestions of places that I should visit on my upcoming adventures, so please comment and share them with me!

Corner of Black and Gay

I was a naive thing when you met me.

It was in that little shop on the corner of Black and Gay,

I’m sure you remember the one?

You walked in off the street in a cloud of misty fog.

There was danger in your smile,

mystery in your eyes.

I fell under your spell from that first hello.

Thought you set me free, but then you clipped my wings.

And the sad thing was, I was only deceiving myself.

You walked away on a cloudy day.

Now I’m back in that shop on Black and Gay.

Learning how to sing and how to dream.

No longer that young naive thing.

In my mind you’ll always be, shrouded in gray

forever walking away.

Copyright 2016 by C P Cabaniss

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Review

[image error]Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has been the book to talk about for the past few weeks. Harry Potter was a series that I grew up with, eagerly awaiting the next installment, but this was honestly not something I was looking forward to. In many ways I expected the magic to be gone, all of those nostalgic moments from my teenage years as I devoured yet another volume to be erased by a new story. Because change is inevitable and I was not looking forward to the changes that would be made to the characters and world that I have loved so much for so long.

When this was first announced I was not planning to read it. Then every reader I know (well, almost), started reading and talking about this and I decided that I had to check it out just to form an opinion for myself. Because there were a lot of mixed feelings about this. And so, I read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Mind set is everything when you go into a book. For this I went in with very low expectations and I think that improved my experience with while reading. Had I expected the eighth Harry Potter, I would have been sorely disappointed. As it is, this is actually quite a lot of fun.

The world created by Rowling still felt the same to me, for the most part. Many of the returning characters had many of the same characteristics we are all so familiar with from the Harry Potter series, although somewhat changed. And the new characters were actually quite enjoyable. Scorpius Malfoy is a character that I could probably read an entire series of novels, or plays, or anything about. He was definitely the highlight of this entire book. And I imagine if I am ever able to see the play he will shine just as much on the stage. (Assuming the actor gets him right.)

So going into this expecting book eight will likely leave many people disappointed.  For one it’s the script for a play, not a novel. It also follows a new set of characters as they struggle with their place among the characters we all know. The plot was a little shaky for me, although interesting.

The main thing that disappointed me in this was that you don’t find anything out about many of the characters from the novels. Sure Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Draco appear, but so many others are not even mentioned. The rest of the Weasley family gets barely a sentence, Luna and Neville are nonexistent, and well, you can see where I’m going. For what it is it was fun, but a few sentences, a little dialogue, explaining anything about these characters would have been nice.

Overall it’s a fun read, but not something that I will forever group with the rest of the Harry Potter cannon.

My “Currently Reading” Pile

The best way to learn is by reading, so I always have one or two books going. Sometimes they are all fiction, sometimes nonfiction, sometimes a mix of both. Today I wanted to share with you the books I am currently reading and a few thoughts about them. (Click the title to go to the goodreads page for each book.)

[image error]The School for Good and Evil has been on my tbr for a long time now. I had the opportunity to meet the author last November, where I had the entire trilogy signed. And now I’ve finally gotten around to reading it.

I’m about 200 pages in and really enjoying it so far. It’s a middle grade/young adult title that deals with fairy tales and how those tales come to be. It’s definitely different than any other fairy tale type story I’ve read and I appreciate the fact that it’s trying to do away with many of the stereotypical fairy tale elements. Hopefully that keeps up!

 

[image error]The Path of Daggers is the eighth book in Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time. One of my reading goals for the year is to read at least one of these books per month and so far I’m on schedule! I’m around 200 pages into this one as well and so far it’s an enjoyable addition to the series. There are some issues that I have with the series as a whole, and some of the characters are rather unnecessary, but overall this is proving to be enjoyable if not enchanting.

 

 

[image error]The False Prince was one of my favorite reads of 2015 and this year I am rereading it with a friend. This time around I’m trying to focus on the actual writing craft used to tell the story, as I find it an absolutely engaging read. There are definitely many things that I can learn from Nielsen to apply to my own writing. This story follows Sage as he is whisked away from an orphanage and trained to take the place of a prince. It’s such a fun read.

 

 

 

[image error]The Start of Me and You is a young adult contemporary novel that I picked up to read with my sister. I was not entirely sure what to expect going into this book (which, I suppose, you never really can be), but so far it has been a really fun and inspiring read. The characters are realistic, it doesn’t gloss over problems, it strays from so many things that I’ve come to expect in YA novels and I am loving that about it. Sure it has it’s problems, but I am learning a lot about writing realistic friendships and teenagers from this and other similar books I’ve picked up recently.

 

 

[image error]Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was a story that I wasn’t sure I was going to read until the day it came out. I grew up with Harry Potter and absolutely loved those books. They are some of the books that gave me a real love for reading. However, I did not want another story. That is why I was on the fence about this one. I decided that I would have to pick it up, if only to form my own opinion. I’ve gotten about 100 pages in and while I don’t think it’s brilliant, I am enjoying it far more than I expected. And Scorpius Malfoy. He’s absolutely fantastic.

Just a warning to those thinking of picking this up. It is a play, so don’t be expecting a novel. It’s also very different from the seven novels, but still has the same magical elements and Rowling’s touch on the world and characters. As long as you don’t go in expecting Harry Potter #8 you will have a better reading experience.

So there you have the list of books that I am currently reading. So far I am enjoying all of them fairly well and learning a lot about writing and story telling along the way. What are you currently reading? Any books you would like to recommend? I am always searching for more great books to read, although it never seems I have the time to get to them all.