Dane Cobain's Blog, page 22

Will Write for Money (and Beer)!

Hi, folks. Today, I’ve got a little bit of news to share. Now, as some of you may know, I’ve been spending more and more time taking on commissioned clients and offering up my skills as a writer for hire. I specialise in writing and editing blog articles about marketing and publishing and I’m already working with a half dozen clients.

Because of that, I’ve made the decision to switch down to a part-time contract at my day job, so that I can spend two days a week developing my freelance work. I’ve already had a chat with the bosses and they seem to be on board with me dropping down to four days a week in April and three days a week in May.

It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a while because it will allow me to more closely align my writing with what I do for a living. In fact, the two go hand-in-hand, and the work that I’ve been doing doesn’t actually feel like work, so that’s good. So if you need someone to write blogs or content about books, publishing or marketing, get in touch!

Of course, that means that everything else is a little slow in the meantime, and so you’re going to have to bear with me over the next couple of months while everything settles down. I’m basically working three jobs at the same time, so everything’s a little busy.

Thanks, as always, for your support. It means a lot to me that so many people are following me in my writing journey. If you’d like to receive further updates, be sure to sign up to my mailing list or to follow me on Facebook and Twitter. I’ll see you soon!

COVER REVEAL: Subject Verb Object: An Anthology of New Writing

Hi, folks! I’ve got something exciting for you today – it’s cover reveal time for Subject Verb Object, the latest project that I’m working on!

Subject Verb Object is an anthology of new writing with a twist – every contributor also provided a prompt, and each piece in the collection is based on a prompt provided by one of the other writers. Read on to find out a little bit more and to check out the shiny new cover!

 

Dane Cobain – Subject Verb Object

 

Twenty-one writers from both sides of the Atlantic come together in this genre-bending collection of new writing.

Meet Luís da Silva and get (thickly) settled. Visit Playa Del Carmen, get drunk in Cornwall or lose yourself in the Warren. Find out why Pete’s remote control keeps disappearing, how Gary’s cat found heaven and what lurks behind Jay’s mirror.

Subject Verb Object is a unique anthology of new writing from first-timers and award-winners. It’s a moveable feast that sweeps across time and space. A joint exploration in creativity. We hope you enjoy it.

 

Dane Cobain – Subject Verb Object

 

Subject Verb Object is set for release on Saturday April 8th 2017 and features contributions from:

Alex Kimmell
Amar Rana-Deshmukh
Chico Kidd
Chris Gower
Clive Whitelock
Dane Cobain
Dani Brown
Eileen Maksym
Heba El-Husseini
J. C. Miller
J. G. Clay
James Torrance
Michael-Israel Jarvis
Neil Denham
Oli Jacobs
Pam Elise Harris
S. L. Stacker
Saul P. Tiler
Sharon Anderson
Stevyn Colgan
Taylor Dawn

 

 

Thanks, as always, for reading, and be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter for further updates. You can also sign up to my mailing list to receive email updates every time a new book is released. I’ll see you soon!

No Electricity (Guitar Tab)

CAPO ON FIFTH

VERSE: E F#7 A E

CHORUS: E B A E, E B A (C D)

STRUCTURE

INTRO

VERSE ONE:

It’s cold outside, it’s dark outside, I’ve got no heat,

should’ve remembered to pay for electricity.

Well, I’ve got no high and I’ve got no soul, I’ve got my mind on alcohol,

so baby please, just let me sleep tonight.

INTERLUDE

VERSE TWO:

But I’m alive with tired eyes and tired mp3s,

I can’t describe the signs I prize with solid teeth.

Well, I’ve got no heat for stealing man, keep taking that Citalopram,

this thin disease that makes me sleep tonight.

CHORUS:

Let me tell you something about me, my friend,

I’m not the kind of guy to make enemies.

And if you want me to believe in you again,

just be the moron who adores me.

VERSE THREE:

She thinks the world is bought and sold with lemonade,

I think the worst of everyone who isn’t me.

One day, I found out that the future is unclaimed,

and that’s exactly why it scares me.

(pause)

CHORUS

OUTRO

As Long as the World Turns

As long as the world turns

the earth will hurt

like a spot that popped

and caused an earthquake

and the people you meet

will seem defeated

all cooped up in an office block

or driving quad bikes

up and down the hall

outside my apartment.

Charlie says

it’s magnets,

but I don’t think

I believe him.

You can almost hear newspapers

drinking themselves silly

while men in hats

drive Volkswagens

or wait angrily in line

to post their parcels,

and women in short skirts

brave the weather

like they have a point to prove

and I’m at home alone

and waiting for hell

to get bored of me.

Meanwhile

the old are getting younger

and someday soon

I will be numbered among them,

because life doesn’t belong

to the young any more,

and I’m not sure they’d want it

if you offered.

That’s just the way it goes;

if you kick a dog enough,

it’ll start to growl

at everyone.

My hands are shaking,

and my feet

want to lead me

anywhere.

As long a the world turns

evil men will shake it.

Bitter (Guitar Tab)

Verse: Am G x3 E7 Em

Chorus: Am C F Am, Am C G

Intro (picked)

Verse one:

Ohhhhhhhhh, if only they told me what it’s like just growin’ up,

you’ve got to see the world how it really is before you start to come undone.

You’ve got to play your game with training,

it’s the only way you’re going to change it,

you’ve got to beg your friends for help ’til they don’t love you anymore.

Anymore.

Verse two:

Soooooooo, I, who has nothing, think that nothing’s good enough for me,

it’s just an endless race for clarity and a burnt-out empathy,

you’ve got to run with all the horses with the fall-out from the forces,

you’ve got to beg your friends for love ’til they don’t want you anymore.

Anymore.

SOLO

Anymore x2.

CHORUS SOLO

Anymore x8, ending on Dm

Fonts

Comic Sans

tried to hang itself

from the beams

of an empty outhouse.

Wingdings

wins things

from within,

but it has no friends

because no one

understands it.

Arial is bold.

I feel the need

to underline that.

Calibri is easy

but aligns to the right

like a Nazi

synthesier.

Museo Sans Serif

shot the sheriff,

and Helvetica

shot the deputy.

Courier knew

Courier New

and Courier New

needs a new

courier.

BAMF!

Palatino Linotype

typed lines I know

for the books I laid

in layout.

Impact

made an impact,

and then it packed it in

gladly

all italicised.

Bebas Kai

is like a lighthouse.

So am I,

with a little light

in my eye.

A little font with no name

to be baptised again.

Strike that through

and start it anew;

a new Word order

to be exported.

I’d better bring back

Courier New’s

new courier.

Never Go Back (Guitar Tab)

INTRO/VERSE: E G E, E G E A A

INTERLUDE: E G A B, E G E x2

STRUCTURE/LYRICS

INTRO

VERSE ONE:

Waking up from a dream, I’m barely tired,

never seen this face before, this face that I admire.

I see the sky, I see the clouds, I think the whole world’s upside down and I’ll

never go back where I came from, never go back where I came from.

INTERLUDE

VERSE TWO:

Falling in to my cave, I know I’m a liar,

you’re singing yourself to sleep and my mouth is on fire.

I see him burning in the spring, he gave away his wedding ring and I’ll

never go back where I came from, never go back where I came from.

INTERLUDE

SOLO

INTERLUDE

OUTRO

MOTIVATE ME!

It’s so damn cold

I’ve got cramps in my hand

and my face

feels like

an ice-cream cone.

We’ve got a couple dozen

frozen little snowflakes

in the same little room

we usually use,

a bit like church

without the worship

and if it sends us to hell,

at least they’ll have

the heating on.

Oh no,

it’s Mr. Motivator;

Mr. Mo

knows the snow

froze bones.

He’s got me jogging

on the spot

and now they call me

Mr. Fahrenheit,

I’m so not cold

anymore.

And if you only have one road,

no one’s forcing you to walk it;

you can get yourself a map

and kick back and relax

or you can plan out a path

and hit the road again.

Squirrels V.S. birds

bombarding the bird-feeder;

you can watch ’em

through the window,

or you could go

into the snow

to beat or join ‘em.

Be advised,

this is a metaphor;

if you stroke squirrels

or herd birds

you might take a claw

to the eyeball.

Instead,

watch the squirrels

with a pen in your hand;

your goals must be SMART

before you start ‘em.

YES!

LET’S DO THIS!

OMG

I’M SO MOTIVATED!

I think it’s finally time

to get a haircut!

Nice Outside

Hey everyone,

it’s nice outside!

I mean,

you’ll want to wear

a jumper,

but I can actually feel

the serotonin.

It’s good for you,

especially when

you feel hungover

after spoken word night,

although actually

the coffee helped

and my liver

might even

forgive me.

You could almost

break out

the barbecue;

almost,

but we’re not there

yet.

Still,

Spring has sprung

for an hour

or two,

and it’s whispering

sweet nothings

in my ear canal.

Problem is,

now spring has spring

I need to spring

a new surprise,

but my hands

are on fire

and they no longer

obey me.

Guess I’ll go sit inside

in front of a computer screen.

Comfort Me (Guitar Tab)

VERSE: Am, G

CHORUS ONE: Dm, Am

CHORUS TWO: C, G (Am to end)

Verse One:

Don’t you love me anymore?

Don’t you need me like you did before?

I guess it might be time to leave you well alone, lonely.

And after all you’ve done, my love for you has grown.

Chorus One:

Oh, I need you like you needed me so long ago.

I beg to be released, but I still feel the same as we both used to do.

You got over me, while I was blissfully wasting time with you.

And I don’t think it’s right, I’ve lost my will to fight, I blame it all on me.

Verse Two:

Can you see where I’m coming from?

When you told me, you dropped an atom bomb.

Chorus Two:

I’m trying to get over it,

I’m happy if you are.

I’m trying to control it,

but your words of wisdom comfort me, and I’m left unsure of who I’m supposed to be.

Verse Three:

Tainted with despair, I’m left to grieve alone.

I always saw your arms as being like my home.

Chorus Two:

I’m trying to get over it,

I’m happy if you are.

I’m trying to control it,

but your words of wisdom comfort me, and I’m left unsure of who I’m supposed to be.

It doesn’t feel so great. (Repeat)

Beautiful Stranger (Guitar Tab)

CAPO ON SECOND FRET

Verse: C, C/B, Dm

Interlude/Chorus: D, C, C/B, Am

Verse One:

I saw this girl walking down the hall,

and I stopped to look at her.

Long hair to her shoulders,

thought that I’d seen her before.

As I walked along the corridor,

she turned to look at me.

And from the moment that our eyes met,

well, my heart’s never been free.

Verse Two:

On a cold and rainy day,

wearing someone else’s coat.

While the skies outside were grey,

the room she was in would glow.

Beneath the grey inside her eyes,

and the rain outside her skin,

there lies a heart of solid gold,

that I’ll try so hard to win.

Chorus:

Beautiful stranger, come to take me away from here.

If my heart was stronger, then I’d ask you to be mine,

but I’d rather sit and stare than to find out that you don’t like me.

If only you would care to walk over in a minute of your time.

Interlude

Chorus:

Beautiful stranger, come to take me away from here.

If my heart was stronger, then I’d ask you to be mine,

but I’d rather sit and stare than to find out that you don’t like me.

If only you would care to walk over in a minute of your time.