Leon Stevens's Blog, page 35

Music Monday Sept 30: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

I’ve featured many indigenous Canadian musicians over the last few years and I don’t think I will run out anytime soon.

Elisapie Isaac is a Canadian Inuk musician, broadcaster, documentary filmmaker, activist, and actress. She spent her childhood in Salluit, Nunavik, Quebec, and moved to Montreal in 1999 to pursue communication studies in order to become a journalist.

I could not find a translation for this first song but did find this very good explanation if the song at:

http://markrozema.com/never-forget-where-you-are-from/

Some spoken words at the beginning are translated: “I’m a woman. I give you life. I give you love. So you can give it in return. It becomes your mirror. Never forget where you are from. I’m a woman.” 

I was not able to find a translation for the whole song. Some Inuit singers are not quick to offer English translations. This seems like a perfectly reasonable choice on their part. I’m not their primary audience. And after all, I could learn Inuktikut. 

In searching for some information about this song, I came across the explanation that the song is an exhortation to men to value women and girls, to cherish them, and to “never forget where you came from.” This line, to me, does double-duty; it hearkens back to the womb, and, also, back to home. The village, and the land on which it sets. 

Although I didn’t find a translation, I found an interview with Elisapie in which she says this: “I’m telling men they are the balance in women’s cause. In our history, women have always been close to their families, to care for them, while men had the duty to hunt and understand the territory… at the end of this role that was central to who they were, men lost a part of themselves. I want them to know that it’s possible to have both that strength, and the kindness…”

I love the scenes in this video that are of Inuit men, with their daughters, on the land. 

You probably don’t need this to be translated:

That was from an album she put out with popular tunes sung in Inuktitut.

Only listeners of a certain age will recognize this one:

I love the original but I do like this rendition:

The lyrics of “Quanniuguma” speak to the idea of the freedom afforded by being a snowflake; the ability to be directed by nature and travel everywhere, with no worries about the future. 

Note: this is the same post from last year.

Each year, September 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The day honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process. [from Canada.ca]

Indigenous children were taken from their homes and forced into schools run by the church. They were physically and mentally abused, while being denied the right to speak their native language and observe their culture.

Many did not return home, and over the past several years, unmarked graves have been discovered at these residential schools all across the country. But it didn’t stop there.

In the 60s, the government took children from their families under the guise of child protection and adopted them to non-indigenous families in and outside the country. Many of those children never saw their real families again. This is commonly called the 60s scoop and this practice continued into the 80s. The last residential school closed in 1996.

According to a UN document, here were residential schools in the US, Central and South America and Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, Russian Federation, Asia, Middle East, and Africa, with the purpose of cultural assimilation of the native population by the newcomers.

The pain indigenous people suffer from because of government continues.

History of Residential Schools

On my blog this week:

Free Book Friday Sept 29: Book Promos and Author Features
Thursday Thoughts: Seasons
Weird Wednesday Sept. 27th: Cartoons and Wordnesia
Tuesday Tidbits: Whahappen? (and It’s All About the Bass – Music Monday)

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/

Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!

books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup

Songs for a Sunday: Sister Ray

Sister Ray is the stage name of Ella Coyes, a Métis singer-songwriter. They were born and raised in Sturgeon County, Alberta. Their debut full-length album Communion was released in May 2022 on Royal Mountain Records, and was longlisted for the 2022 Polaris Music Prize.

When is a cover not a cover?

Some musicians will take an existing song and record their own version, keeping the essence and feel of the original song. Others will create a piece totally unrecognizable.

And that’s okay.

I heard this song and had no idea what the original was. If you are a fan of the band (I am but this song eluded me) you will know it by the title, if not you might be surprised at who it turns out to be.

Did you guess? Listen to the original here: Answer

And since I missed it yesterday:

In case you missed it:Songs for a Sunday: Sister RayFree Book Friday Sept. 27: If it’s fall, I’m not feelin; it.Weird Wednesday: Really?Tuesday Top Ten: FallsMusic Monday: 2014

-Leon

Want to read more music blogs? Here are some of the ones I follow: Mostly Music Covers, Take it Easy, Beetley Pete, A Sound Day, PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture, SuperdekesVinylReviews, Fox Reviews Rock

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/

Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!

books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup

Free Book Friday Sept. 27: If it’s fall, I’m not feelin; it.

Yesterday the temperature reached 30C, which is double the normal temperature for this time of year. And the wind. Yikes. Any leaves that decided to turn got their wish and are now mulch candidates unless they landed on the street. In that case, they will soon be a soggy, stinky mess covering the storm sewer grates.

Great.

I don’t mind a warm fall. The warmth in Sept/Oct definitely feels different than the same temperature in July, and you can sense everything is just waiting to shut down and go dormant. The days are shorter, so each hour of sunlight is enjoyed with extra enthusiasm.

Time to pull out the vitamin D.

-Leon

Sign up to review here!

-Leon

The story behind Free Book Friday:

I’ve met many authors and readers during my time marketing, cross-promoting, and blogging. I think writers have a responsibility to inform readers about all the indie authors out there in the very crowded world of book publishing. You can’t do it alone, and why would you when you have a supportive group available?

Readers don’t just read one author – they stick with their favorite genres. Therein lies the power in cross-promotion. If one of my readers buys a book from an author I promote, then chances are there will be a reciprocal effect, or so is the hope. Do I want to boost sales? Of course I do. Do I want to boost other’s sales? Why not. It’s called karma.

Some free book offers require a newsletter sign-up, which is a small non-monetary price to pay to try out a new indie author.

Reads From StoryOrigin

StoryOrigin allows authors to advertise their books to each other’s audience. I hope you have been able to discover a new favorite!

Free Books/KU Sales/Purchase Links

Review Copies (These are free!)

Review copies: Like reviewing books? Try my two poetry collections: Lines by Leon and A Wonder of Words

Newsletter:

Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book (poetry or science fiction): Leon’s Newsletter

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/

Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!

books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup

Weird Wednesday: Really?

A few weeks ago I decided to enter the Kindle world. I’ve had a Kobo reader for a while. but seeing that my books are all on Amazon (along with many of the authors I know), it made sense to be able to read them on the platform they were designed for.

After a few days of looking for the best deal, I finally ordered my Kindle —I’ll refrain from naming the retailer I ordered from.

When my package arrived, I thought two things: “Why is there such a box box” and “It feels empty”. Upon opening the box and removing the 4 wads of packing paper, I finally had my Kindle.

Conserve paper and buy an E-reader they say…

-Leon

My newsletter goes out every Wednesday: Lines by Leon Super Newsletter Extravaganza

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/

Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!

books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup

Tuesday Top Ten: Falls

In case you are not aware, Sunday was the first day of autumn. So let’s countdown a bunch of falls in no particular order of importance—except for maybe the last one.

The Top Ten Falls

10.  Niagara. Not the tallest, but still impressive.

9. Prat. Although a pratfall is defined as a falling on one’s buttocks, the physical act of clumsily falling has been a comedy staple. Chaplin, Chase, Farley were among the best

8. The season. It can be a bit sad that summer has come to an end, but reaping the rewards of the harvest is a highlight.

7. Fall Out Boy. The band.

6. Freefalling. The song.

5. The Fall Guy. Haven’t seen the movie, but I grew up watching the TV show with Lee Majors.

4. Falafel. Okay, that was a stretch.

3. Falljökull glacier. The one in Iceland, of course

2. Fall River, Massachusetts. If you are into the macabre, it is known for the Lizzie Borden case.

1. Fallout. The game and the TV show.

What’s your favorite fall?

-Leon

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/

Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!

books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup

Music Monday: 2014

There is a radio show on CBC here in Canada that occasionally does a feature called SYNTH: Songs You Need To Hear.

Now, I can’t say to someone, “You’ll like this song” (or book for that matter) because I can’t presume that others will share my taste in music (or books), so it is safer to say, “You might like this” and if they don’t like it, so be it.

Maybe you will find a new favorite.

CBC MUSIC, Central · Mornings with CBC Music

[Note: If you are reading this on my Goodreads page, music videos do not display]

2014

Happy spent 10 weeks at the top of the charts.

Who was second? This song had eight weeks:

What about Taylor, you ask? She was on top for nine weeks, but with two different songs, Shake it Off and Blank Space.

Third place goes to this song by Iggy (no, not Iggy Pop). Honestly, I always thought this was Gwen Stefani’s song.

Okay, onto the good songs…

I previously stated that Paradise was my favorite Coldplay song. This one gives it a run.

Here is a catchy song even if you don’t understand the words.

And a couple more to end off the year:

And that’s a wrap for our musical journey that started in 1980. We’re done for a while. Now I have to think of what to do next Monday.

-Leon

Euphrates Vanished is available for reviewers!

Want to read more music blogs? Here are some of the ones I follow: Mostly Music Covers, Take it Easy, Beetley Pete, A Sound Day, PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture, SuperdekesVinylReviews, Peat Long’s Blog, Fox Reviews Rock

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/

Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!

books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup

Songs for a Sunday: Valley

Valley is a Canadian indie pop band based in Toronto. The band members are lead vocalist Rob Laska, bassist Alex Dimauro, and drummer Karah James. They received a Juno Award nomination for Breakthrough Group of the Year at the 2020 Juno Awards as well as a nomination for Group of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2022.

Let it Rain is the first song I’ve heard from them, but unfortunately I could only find one other song that appealed to me.

-Leon

Want to read more music blogs? Here are some of the ones I follow: Mostly Music Covers, Take it Easy, Beetley Pete, A Sound Day, PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture, SuperdekesVinylReviews, Fox Reviews Rock

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/

Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!

books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup

Weekend Wrap-up: Lost in the Stacks

How many books are published each year? Half a million? 1 million? 2.2 million? 3 million? Well, it depends which Google result you choose.

According to the article, “The 10 Awful Truths about Book Publishing”, 2.3 million in the US alone. According to the article, “The 10 Awful Truths about Book Publishing”, I’m in the wrong field if I dream of making any money with my writing.

So, when I feel like this:

I’m not altogether wrong.

According to the article, “The 10 Awful Truths about Book Publishing”, I’m crazy to keep at it.

But they’re wrong. I’m not crazy. I like writing. I like entertaining readers, but I don’t like posting about my books too many times during the day, or week. I see some authors posting “buy my book” posts and that’s just not me.

To sell books, you have to be visible. To be visible, you either have to be spend scads of money or be relentless in your marketing efforts.

I guess I’ll stick to providing an entertaining experience to whoever reads what I write, be it a book, a poem, a blog, my newsletter, or a social media post.

-Leon

In case you missed it:Weekend Wrap-up: Lost in the StacksFree Book Friday Sept. 20: Calling all reviewers!Weird Wednesday: Training DayTuesday Top Ten: Ways to help the housing crisisMusic Monday: 2013

Hope you enjoyed the recap! Feel free to share it with others.

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/

Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!

books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup

Free Book Friday Sept. 20: Calling all reviewers!

I sure book reviewers get inundated by review requests. With hundreds (if not thousands) indie books being released each month, there is no way for readers to review them all.

Indie authors want to target popular reviewers with high numbers of followers to get the maximum exposure for their books, but I’m sure many of those requests go unanswered or are declined for various reasons.

I sent out 12 Advance Review Copies of my newest book (which is not a large number) and received 3 reviews from them (which is disappointing), so I am opening up requests to review Euphrates Vanished again.

I would love reviewers that have an engaged following of avid readers, but any avid reader is welcome!

Sign up to review here!

-Leon

The story behind Free Book Friday:

I’ve met many authors and readers during my time marketing, cross-promoting, and blogging. I think writers have a responsibility to inform readers about all the indie authors out there in the very crowded world of book publishing. You can’t do it alone, and why would you when you have a supportive group available?

Readers don’t just read one author – they stick with their favorite genres. Therein lies the power in cross-promotion. If one of my readers buys a book from an author I promote, then chances are there will be a reciprocal effect, or so is the hope. Do I want to boost sales? Of course I do. Do I want to boost other’s sales? Why not. It’s called karma.

Some free book offers require a newsletter sign-up, which is a small non-monetary price to pay to try out a new indie author.

Reads From StoryOrigin

StoryOrigin allows authors to advertise their books to each other’s audience. I hope you have been able to discover a new favorite!

Free Books/KU Sales/Purchase Links

Ends Sept 13th

Aug 14 – Sept 13Review Copies (These are free!)

Review copies: Like reviewing books? Try my two poetry collections: Lines by Leon and A Wonder of Words

Newsletter:

Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and receive a free book (poetry or science fiction): Leon’s Newsletter

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/

Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!

books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup

Weird Wednesday: Training Day

AI Prompt: A bird, a cat, and a dog.
Apparently, AI can’t count.

Every morning, sparrows (I assume they are the same ones) land on my balcony and chirp. That means one of two things: there are no seeds in the feeder or the water dish is dry. So what do I do? I replenish the supply.

At my parents, if you are sitting having your morning coffee, the whisky jacks (grey jays) will see the light in the kitchen and land on the deck railing. If you don’t do their bidding right away, occasionally the will fly up to the window and flap which means only one thing: Get off your ass and bring us some bread and we’ll pretend to like you.

I dog I know will sit at the door to the bedroom when it is getting close to bedtime which means: Turn off the TV and read in bed, I’m sleepy.

My late cat would paw at my face in the morning because he was a lovably jerk (as most cats are) and he wanted to be fed. So I would feed him.

Who trained whom?

-Leon

My newsletter goes out every Wednesday: Lines by Leon Super Newsletter Extravaganza

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.

My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/

Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!

books.linesbyleon.com/Newslettersignup