M.J. Scott's Blog, page 51

Over and over and over again

Listening to one song incessantly as I write this afternoon…which made me wonder just how many plays some songs in my iTunes libary have had thanks to writing soundtracks. So, a rainy Sunday afternoon meme.

Top 25 most played songs (and the book they belong to)

1. The Boy Does Nothing – Alesha Dixon (No soundtrack…I must've left this on repeat at some stage!)

2. The Bitter End – The Dixie Chicks (Witch 1)

3. Sin Sin Sin – Robbie Williams (Wolf 1)

4. Little Lion Man – Mumford & Sons (pretty sure this was in the Half-Light Book 2 play list to start with though it doesn't seem to be in the current version)

5. Glycerine – Bush (Wolf 2)

6. Red – Daniel Merriweather (Shadow Kin)

7. Not Ready To Make Nice – Dixie Chicks (Witch 1)

8. Who Wants to Live Forever – David Garrett (Shadow Kin)

9. Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad – Moby (Witch 1, Wolf 2)

10. Everybody Knows (Dixie Chicks) (Witch 1)

11. Linger – The Cranberries (Wolf 2)

12. Comfortably Numb – The Scissor Sisters (Wolf 2, Half-Light 2)

13. The Long Way Round – The Dixie Chicks (Witch 1)

14. So Hard – The Dixie Chicks (Witch 1)

15. Easy Silence – The Dixie Chicks (Witch 1…this soundtrack is also known, particularly in its revision version as All Dixie Chicks All The Time)

16. So Cruel – U2 (Wolf 2, Half-Light 2)

17. Angels – John Farnham (Shadow Kin)

18. Crazy – Icehouse (Shadow Kin)

19. Ghosts – Robbie Williams (Wolf 1)

20. Shout – Tears for Fears (Half-Light 2)

21. Tragedy – Brandi Carlile (Shadow Kin)

22. Two Gods – Attrition (Shadow Kin)

23. Kiss The Bride – Elton John (One of my categories plus most of my 'dance round the house like a nut playlists : ) )

24. This Year's Love – David Gray (The big fat unnamed fantasy plus one of my categories)

25. Dancing Queen – Abba (One of my categories plus another "on all Mel's cheerful playlists" song)

I have no idea if the play counts include iPod plays but there you go, twenty five songs I have heard more than 130 times each.  The highest play count is 494 (which I why I think I left The Boy Does Nothing on repeat at some point), the next highest 264 (told you that playlist was all Dixie Chicks, all the time…I swear I was hearing The Bitter End in my dreams by the time I finished revising Witch 1).  Anyone else want to play along?

And now, back to Adele singing "Set Fire to the Rain" which is the muse's current obsession. Here's a cool acoustic version. Girl can SING. Go listen.

 

Cover reveal

And lo, there was a cover for Shadow Kin and it was kind of awesome!

I'll be the one staring at my computer screen for the next little while and grinning….

ETA: Just also added the official blurb to my books page.

Icy

These are cool…colour photos from the Shackleton Antarctic expedition in 1915…I love how the colours are so delicate yet the images still give the impression of bleak and cold. (Hat tip to Two Nerdy History Girls for the link.)

A few years back when I went to Hobart, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery had an installation which featured some of the same photographer's stereoscopic photo from the same trip.  Between the 3D images and the soundtrack of Antarctic winds and creaks and groans from a wooden ship etc, it was quite eerie.

I find images really evocative for my writing…it's why I keep a Tumblr of things that catch my eye. Things that remind me of my worlds or characters (plus the obligatory amusing animals, hero inspiration shots, cool craft things and general geek related entertainment) or just have a certain feel to them.  I like flipping back through them from time to time to remind me of a mood or colour or sense of place. Or to use something to build into one of my story collages.  I've even been looking at them recently for ideas for how I want my new website to look and feel.

Photographs can contain whole worlds and I admire people who can shoot really beautiful and intriguing images.  Getting a good camera and learning a more about photography is definitely on my life list. Then maybe I can inspire my own muse.

Anyone else use visual inspiration for stories?

The best laid plans

Well, I had planned to write 40 pages this weekend but after two good writing days, today the story screamed to a halt and said "nuh-uh". Which usually means I have to stop and think about what's happening.  I'm learning to accept this is part of my process for some books, that they come in fits and starts and my brain needs time to circle the story and find the next point of entry.  Still, it's frustrating for the virgo side of me that likes to see that page count ticking over. But hopefully a day of thinking and reading other things (What I Did For A Duke by Julie Anne Long, for one…if you like historicals….go and read.  JAL manages to marry witty with sheerly gorgeous prose in some places. Luscious sentences that make me faintly green with envy at times!) will shake something loose by morning.  If I can clock up 9 pages around lunch with author friends tomorrow then I'll still have 30 pages for the weekend, which is not too shabby!

March Contest

Contest time again.  This month, another slight genre shift.  Fantasy with humour or satire (though really this guy started out doing satire but has gone so far beyond that he's unique).  Yes, folks, we're taking a trip to the Discworld, creation of the brilliant Terry Pratchett.  Many of Terry's books are set in the Discworld and yes there are recurring characters and storylines but he's managed to pull off something fairly brilliant and create a world that lets him write about pretty much anything that takes his fancy. Movies. Soccer. Politics. Race. Magic. Life. Opera. Newspapers. The post. Money. The internet (sort of). Adult books. Children's books. Brilliant YA books (if you haven't read the Tiffany Aching books, run to a bookstore and do so). All while making us laugh and think.

I could send you right back to the beginning of the Discworld books but because of the way they're structured, it is a series that you can start at various places and figure it out (feel free to yell at me if I'm wrong).  The Discworld books have several subseries, for want of a better term, that focus on groups of characters, the main three groups being The Witches of Lancre, the Wizards of the Unseen University and the City Guards of Ankh-Morpork.  Me being me, my favourites have always been the witches (though it is a tough choice), so I'm starting you there.

Witches Abroad isn't even the first book about the witches but it stands on its own and it's one of my favourites.  It's a book about witches and fairytales and fairy godmother. About story and how it has a life of its own. About friendship and power and choices.  And it's damn good. When I'm old I want to be Granny Weatherwax crossed with Nanny Ogg. So if you'd like to find out why, then one copy of Witches Abroad is up for grabs (the cover is the new cover…I may yet go old school and buy a copy with the same Paul Kirby cover as my copy). Simply comment on a blog post this month to be in the draw.

As usual, my reasons for the contest are here.

 

 

World Book Day

Is a good thing and okay, yes, was yesterday here in Oz but it's the 3rd March still elsewhere.

Book meme snitched from C.E. Murphy

The books I am reading: Kindred In Death – J.D. Robb, The Creative Habit – Twyla Tharp, The Photoshop Elements 9 Book – Scott Kelby, The Iron Witch – Karen Mahoney

The book I am writing: Book 3 of the City series, as yet unnamed.  Dabbling with other wips.

The book I love most: SUNSHINE by Robin McKinley (though this is a mean question!)

The last book I received as a gift: GEIST by Phillipa Ballantine, MOONLIGHT MILE by Dennis Lehane (more books as gifts, I say)

The last book I gave as a gift: KILLING FLOOR – Lee Child, various picture books whose names escape me right now

The nearest book on my desk: For once there is no actual book on my desk.  There is a bookcase full to my left. Closest on that are THE ORACLE'S QUEEN – Lynn Flewelling, MAGICIAN – Raymond Feist, GRAVE PERIL – Jim Butcher and BETRAYALS – Lili St. Crow (yes, it is my fantasy bookcase).

 

Creaks and groans

I started back at pilates today.  So far, my abs are not thanking me for it. After stuffing up my shoulder doing pilates quite some time ago, it's taken me a long time to psych myself back up to do it again.

In an ideal world my fitness routine would be something like private pilates sessions, a nia studio just down the road, a little brown poodle to take for walks and an indoor outdoor pool in the yard of my mansion.  Along with a massage or two every week. Sadly though, I don't live in the ideal world and so I have to try and figure out ways of moving the body that work with reality.  Writing involves long hours in the chair and is hard on the body. I need to move and the muse does too. So baby steps back to pilates and then I'll figure out the rest from there…

February contest winner!

The winner of Magic Bites by the fabulous Ilona Andrews, is Blue Tyson!

Details of the March contest coming soon (aka tomorrow when I am more organised).

Travelling on

In one short month I'll be on a plane to the RT Booklovers convention, which will be awesome.  I've never been to RT before but have heard only good things about it. Plus I'm going to Disneyland too.  With the express intention of meeting Jack Sparrow.  After all, dreams come true at the Magic Kingdom, right?

RT is just the start of the travels of Mel this year…in June I'm off to New York for three weeks which will include the Romance Writers of America National conference.  I've never been to New York for more than a change of airports and can't wait.  I'll get to meet my editor and catch up with some of my US peeps (hopefully this will be true of RT too, the peeps bit anyway, as my editor isn't going).

Then in August it's the Romance Writers of Australia conference in my home town of Melbourne.  After that, I will officially be out of day job leave until Christmas.  One year I really must figure out how to build in some other trips.

I really love conferences. I love fan girl moments when you see (or, even better, meet) the authors who write the books you love, the talking to other writers and readers and the joy of being surrounded by people who love books and stories as much as I do and who don't think you're weird for having stories in your head.  Plus I always learn something new and cool and have fun doing it.

Anyone going to any of these? Or anywhere else exciting? (if you're going to Tuscany don't tell me.  I really, really want to go to Tuscany).

The Urban Fantasy Alphabet

See now, this is what happens when Mel gets tired and her brain goes a bit strange….

The Urban Fantasy Alphabet

A is for Alpha (or Angel or Awesome)

B is for Blood, Banshees and things that go Bump in the night

C is for Coyote, Crosses and Curses

D is for Demon and Death and Deadly

E is for Evil and Elemental

F is for Fog and Fae and Fear

G is for Grave (or Ghost or Gargoyles)

H is for Heroine (kickass)

I is for Intrepid, Intimate and the occasional piece of Idiocy

J is for Justice and Just in time

K is for Killing bad things

L is for Love (or Lucifer or Lust or Leather)

M is for Magic and Mayhem

N is for Night and Need

O is for Oh no, not again (or Ouija Boards and Ogres)

P is for Pirate (well not really but that would be cool!…um, Psychic and Pixies and Packs)

Q is for Quiet (be very, very, we're hunting bad guys)

R is for Revenge (or Reapers or Runes)

S is for  Shadows, Sleuths and Slayers

T is for Terror, Toughness and Totally Hot Heroes

U is for Undead, Urban and Unstoppable

V is for Vampire

W is for Werewolf (or Were anything) and Weapons (the more, the merrier)

X is for Xylophone (made of ribs!!)

Y is for You know you want to read it!

Z is for  Zombies

And now back to writing something hopefully slightly more sensible!