Leta Blake's Blog, page 102
December 4, 2012
28 Days of Holiday Music: Day 2: All I Ever Get For Christmas Is Blue
From Wikipedia:
Snow Angels is the ninth studio album, and second Christmas album, by Over the Rhine, released independently in 2006. The album was released by Great Speckled Dog on October 2, 2007.
Also from Wikipedia:
Snow Angels was released ten years after the group’s first Christmas disc, 1996′s The Darkest Night of the Year. While Darkest Night was largely composed of interpretations of traditional Christmas songs, Snow Angels was almost entirely original material. The only non-original track in the album is a lounge-inspired take on “Jingle Bells” that debuted during the 2004 Christmas tour.
Day Two
And a bonus good, fresh holiday song from this album:
December 3, 2012
28 Days of Holiday Music: Day One: Hard Candy Christmas
December is a tough month for me in terms of blogging. I’m a mom who works outside of the home and writes books on the side, so I’m spread pretty thin during a regular month. Throw Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year into the mix, and I’m a goner. So, I was thinking about my blog for the month and considered taking a break for December, but decided instead that I do still want to share holiday joy with my readers.
What do I love? Music! What else do I love? Christmas and holiday music! The hubby is a bit of a scrooge when it comes to holiday music, but I’m a huge fan of it. I love both old standards and I especially love seeking out new holiday songs. So, for the next, uh, 28 days (eep! I’m late!) I’m gonna share one holiday song a day here! Hooray! Fa-la-la-la-la!
Day One
“Hard Candy Christmas” is a song written by composer/lyricist Carol Hall for the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
Also from Wikipedia a bit of trivia:
The Venture Bros. released a version of the song in 2005 as performed by Henchmen nos. 21 and 24 and The Monarch.
The reason for the above trivia is BECAUSE THIS SONG IS AWESOME! THE END!
November 29, 2012
Fanwork Friday: The World Spins Madly On
There are different kinds of fans in this world, obviously. This is a fanwork (more like gorgeous, heartstopping, fanart) by someone who clearly deeply loves The Weepies. Or, at the very least, this song by The Weepies.
To quote the artist, Ryan Woodward, from his site:
I think what I’m reacting to in his creation, and which rings true to me with fanworks in general, is that he has left behind a commercial venue for his work, turning instead to the ‘realm of individual interpration’. So much of fanwork is about taking what was once commercial and appropriating it for oneself in an individual way, putting one’s own experiences and interpretations onto it.
I doubt that this artist would necessarily see his piece as a fanwork, but I do. And since this is my blog, let’s say it is. Whatever your thoughts on whether it qualifies as a fanwork, it is beautiful. Do watch it.
November 28, 2012
Breaking the Rules with Flair: The Women of #Serenity (#Firefly)
Breaking the Rules with Flair: The Women of #Serenity (#Firefly).
Lovely little write up about the women of Firefly over at Darker Temptations. I’m such a sucker for all things Firefly. It will never not be a shame what happened with that show. Loved it so much.
November 23, 2012
Fanwork Friday: Eneada
Eneada has done fanart in many fandoms in the past, but I think she’s hit a new height with her recent work in Teen Wolf.
Possibly one of my favorite Teen Wolf fanarts so far. A BAMF Stiles Stilinski. What I wouldn’t pay to see this play out onscreen.
A Game of Thrones/Teen Wolf crossover art piece? Only fandom will bring about this kind of wonderful.
The colors here are wonderful and I enjoy the story the picture tells. Burn it down.
If you enjoy Eneada’s work, you can find more at Deviant Art. I’m not sure if she sells her stuff, but it can’t hurt to ask!
November 21, 2012
Dark Heroes: The Doctor
Misa makes a good argument for The Doctor being viewed as a Dark Hero. I’d never really considered it from that perspective before.
November 20, 2012
November 19, 2012
I <3 My WIP (Though It Kicks My Ass)
I don’t blog about my writing very often, mainly because I don’t feel that I have anything helpful to contribute to the blogosphere on the subject. Part of the reason for that is I’ve been stuck in Work In Progress limbo for quite some time and it’s a kind of hell all its own. I end up in this space from time to time–multiple WIPs in the pipeline with no clear ending in sight for any of them. It’s during these stages when blogs on writing usually bring me down. I mean, all of these authors who seem to crank out work after work all blog with authority about just how I, too, can improve my output if I only do something specific like outline better, have a notebook that details everything about my characters before I set down the first word, write linearly, set aside a specific time every day (despite my day job and my motherhood responsibilities) to write, and basically become a totally different person/writer.
Let’s add a layer of blue over this whole story, why don’t we?
The fact is, I’m the writer that I am. I can outline, make index cards, create Pinterest inspiration boards, do character-building exercises out the wazoo (and I will) but I think that I’m always going to find that I write in layers, more like an oil painter, and not in any type of linear fashion. I need to find a way to be okay with that. For example, I’m on the ninth draft of one of my WIPs and on this pass-through I saw gaps I’d never noticed before, easy places that I could drop in a paragraph, or change a conversation in order to strengthen the character’s motivations or the emotional impact for the reader. I suppose other writers see those places and write them in from the beginning, but that is apparently not how I work. Again, I need to be okay with that.
Be okay with being a tattooed skeleton wearing a flower crown, okay?
Awhile back, CB Wentworth made a post listing all that she loved about her current WIP. She said:
The practice is meant to revitalize creativity for the project, while also helping to keep the focus on what is working in the story. Essentially, the Love List is a collection of everything a writer loves about a WIP, whether it be characters, setting, the writing process, or anything that gives a reason to keep writing! This is the ultimate individual motivator that will give your muse a supreme kick in the butt!
In an effort to appreciate the writer that I am and not beat myself up about the writer I wish I could be, let’s do this!
Things I Love About My WIP
1. Our Pinterest Inspiration Board! So many great and inspirational pictures!
2. The fairy tale world we’ve created. It is beautiful and hopefully readers will find it as imaginatively engaging as we have writing it.
3. Despite their initial reluctance to be forthcoming with me, I’m loving the characters. They’ve been slow to open up, necessitating more reworkings than almost anything I’ve ever written, but now that they’ve deigned to give me a better idea of who they are, I’m growing to love them a lot.
4. I love the ending. I admit to wondering if the end will be satisfactory to some because it leaves the HEA for the epilogue, but I think that it will be a nice change of pace and, most importantly, works for these characters.
5. I love some of the character building exercises that I’ve found while trying to needle these characters into talking to me. I believe they will come in handy in the future.
6. I love how hard this work has been. Even though in some ways I wish it was easy, I do feel a great deal of satisfaction whenI locate a problem in the story and then find a way to fix it. It’s like that wonderful snap of a puzzle piece fitting into place, and the general satisfaction that comes from that.
7. I’ve enjoyed how hard I’ve had to think. Usually, characters are very open with me, but there were many scenes in this WIP where I had to sit for a long time with the characters and say, “Okay, I’m listening. Tell me how this event made you feel. What are you going to say here?” It was a slow thing, but it definitely took me through some of the paces that I often manage to skip simply by having outspoken/loud characters to begin with.
8. I look forward to having it done. When it’s behind me, I think I’ll look on it with a lot of love and fondness.
What about you all? Are there any things you love particularly about your current Work In Progress? Let me know in the comments!
November 17, 2012
November 16, 2012
Fanwork Friday: koala145179
Need I say anything at all? Fantastic work. See koala145179′s stuff at Deviant Art. See you next Fanwork Friday where I post about fanart, fanfiction, fan tea blends, fancreations galore! 
Fans are inspired and inspiring!
