The Songs of My Life.

Anyone who knows me knows that music moves me. At my writing group the other night, we asked the question, “What is your theme song, the song that plays everytime you walk into a room?” Although we came up with the question, no one had an answer. We decided to table it for future discussion. Just for fun.

Typical of me, I’ve been obsessed with this. What is my theme song? Not the one that I wish would play. But the one that is played. In other words, the song that I think represents me in some way. It is a tough, tough question. If you don’t believe me, try to answer it for yourself.

I finally stumbled on it. My theme song is ON by BTS. It’s a rousing anthem about taking the pain that life can bring and fighting, only to rise again.

Check it out.

This led me to think, what song leads the soundtrack of my life at this moment in my life? That question wasn’t nearly as challenging. I recognize that time is passing so it’s important to focus on the things that bring you joy and nourish you. The song, For Youth, laments a little about the passage of time, but also acknowledges that the most precious thing is enduring love.

What are the songs on the soundtrack of YOUR life?

How do you define bold?

Today is national Cook Something Bold Day. The charge is clear from the title. We need to take a leap and cook something bold!

But what exactly is bold? Well, it all depends on your style.

Some think bold food is food made of wacky, unusual, or expensive ingredients. I’m not a fan of this idea. First, food is expensive enough. Did you know saffron—real saffron—can cost upward of $5,000 a pound? Or that white truffles are around $4,000 per pound? I daresay a meal with both ingredients would be bold. I might even say extreme. The most expensive thing I buy (not including the chicken salad at Whole Foods—don’t ask) are crab legs. And I buy those MAYBE once a year.

I have a friend who thinks Kebabs are bold food because they are a Middle Eastern food and that is a part of the world she is unfamiliar with.

I think bold food is spicy. Not burn out your taste buds spicy, but I do like a nice kick with good flavor. Tonight, I’m making Korean BBQ lettuce wraps. I’ve never made it before, but you can find find the recipe I’m using here. The gochujang (red chili paste) guarantees its going to be hot!

If you try it, let me know and we can compare notes. I’m going to leave out the bourbon, but you don’t have to. I may also substitute ground beef for the flank steak. We’ll see.

How do YOU define bold food?

A Nacho Conundrum. What to do?

I just found out that THIS SUNDAY is National Nachos Day. And I do not know how to process this information.

I’ve been craving Nachos for months now. I’ve resisted because I’ve been trying to eat cleaner, healthier and well, you can’t make good nachos healthy. You just can’t. It’s one of the laws of the universe, like gravity.

So I’m going to have them this weekend. The question on the table is, do I make or buy them? If I buy them, they’d have to make it from the restaurant to my house because I’m not yet eating in restaurants. They could get very soggy. I’m also not guaranteed to get exactly what I want in the ratio that I want. What if they add too much refried beans and not enough sour cream? I’d be devastated.

If I make them, it will cost me more to get all the ingredients than it would to buy them. It would also take a good amount of time from NaNoWriMo writing time. BUT-I would be assured to get what I’m craving and in the right proportions. Ground beef. Jalapenos. Sour cream. Cheese. Avocado. Salsa. Chopped onions. Chopped tomatoes.

What will I do? Damn. I have three days to decide.

It’s the Most Anxiety-producing Time of the Year

I’m When I was a kid, Fall was tough only because it was the start of school. After the first day, it got better. But now, it seems the entire season is a challenge. Is it for you, too?

To make things worse, I've decided to once again take on the masochistic journey called National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). This is a bad idea on so many levels!

• First and foremost, I can't let it get in the way of the release of Waiting on the Son, my newest, completed novel. This is not as simple as it sounds. Worth it, of course, but by no means easy. I'm also working on a new holiday short-story for you.

• November inches me closer to the end of the semester when I'm the most busy with grading and advising students.

• NaNoWriMo is during November, which of course makes Thanksgiving prep and celebrations quite challenging. It's not easy to write 1667 words a day, every day, when I'm also trying to bake bread, decorate cakes, and roast a turkey.

And yet, I love NaNoWriMo. I can commune and commiserate with my colleagues who are doing the same thing while simultaneously giving myself over to my creative energies. In fact, it's required.

I'm going to take the plunge. I have an idea burning in my head and heart which will be the first book in a new series. Now that I say it aloud, I'm getting excited to start. Yay, Nano!

Catch ya later. I need to make a plan.

When It Rains, It...Well, you know the rest

I’m wondering, if like me, things come to you in clumps. Long periods without too much going on then SLAM! You are up to your eyeballs in things to do. That’s where I am right now.

The biggest wallop was midterm grades. Yes, I generally know when they are due but I nearly always underestimate how much time I need to do them, and how much stress they cause me. Fortunately, they don’t make me as agitated as final grades but the reason is the same. I do not want to make a mistake. I want to give my students a fair and accurate accounting of their progress. For me, that means quadruple checking not only my tally, but the gradebook itself.

In the middle of my arduous midterm process, I was reminded that I agreed to do a workshop on culturally competent practices and motivational interviewing. Although the workshop isn’t until later this year, I am working with a partner and that means getting ready now (and not doing my usual job of procrastination).

And my picture window finally failed. Completely. It has been difficult to open and shut for a good while. It was framed in wood and about 70 years old. My partner and I had to clear out the living room to make space for the installers. That process showed us in the bright light of day how terrible our floors looked so we took on the additional task of waxing. We are only now finishing putting all the furniture back in place.

Wait, there’s more.

Because this is midterm time, it is also time for students to register for next semester’s classes. Today, I have meetings from 10am to 6pm. Tomorrow, it’s 8am to 5pm. When do I prep for next week’s classes, you ask? Good question.

I’m tired, but I’m not complaining. I know I’m fortunate to have a job I like that supports my writing and keeps my partner and me fed and clothed and sheltered. The truth of the matter is I’d be BORED out of my mind if I had any less to do.

Apparently, I like the pouring rain.

Risk or Treat

Halloween is becoming a cultural hornet’s nest and should be retired.

Yeah, I said it. But let me explain.

At this point, most people know the origins of Halloween. Briefly (and insofar as I understand) it originated with the ancient festival of Samhain. Celtic peoples believed that ghosts returned to earth on October 31. Folks would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward them off.

Over the years, it morphed into the celebration we have today. Children dress up as whatever they want, trick or treat for candy, and carve pumpkins (among other rituals). Adults do the same, except substitute parties for trick or treating.

Sounds great, right? But it isn’t.

Along with little ones excited to get a jack o’lantern filled with candy, the streets Halloween night are filled with teenagers and young adults, carrying pillow cases to collect treats. Many of all ages don’t even bother to dress up. My observation and experience is that it changes the tenor of the evening, and not for the better. Across the country, crime spikes on Halloween. Numerous sources have reported this, such as the NY Post and Eyewitness News. A quick google search of “Halloween violence” will give you pages of articles documenting shootings, property damage, robberies, and hate crimes. For these reasons, many parents are unwilling to allow their children to go trick or treating. Trunk or treating and other adaptations have emerged.

Trunk or treating is where adults are invited to decorate the trunks of their cars Halloween style. Kids walk from car to car collecting candy. Shopping malls have gotten in on it as (in my opinion) a marketing activity where kids, accompanied by parents, go from store to store collecting candy.

Don’t get me wrong. The IDEA of Halloween is wonderful. It is supposed to be exciting and visually entertaining. You can’t beat the vibrant colors and characters and, of course, the candy. And the movies. More importantly, I have many fond memories of taking my nieces and nephews out and then coming home to sort out candy, drinking hot chocolate. Oh, the giggles.

But would I take them out today? No. Not on a bet. This formerly meaningful night has deteriorated into a tense, crime riddled candy grab. Might there be an unintended and unfortunate lesson in taking that risk? Does the potential (but diminished) fun outweigh the risk?

I don’t think so. I also don’t think there would be momentum to discontinue Halloween unless something horrific happens. I hope it doesn’t. I hope everything I’ve said is wrong.

Be safe.

Titles I Wish I Could Use

I often come up with titles that, once I give some thought, I realize I should probably not use them.

The original titles for two books in my Living After Midnight series are great examples.

Slippery in the Middle

Fruit on the Bottom

Okay, I may still use Slippery. I love that title! But I’m well aware of the problems with Fruit on the bottom.

Here are some of my other ideas in the recycle pile:

Cheese Squirting Out

Chicken Noodle Loop

Desire, Deceit, and Destruction

What’s the worst title you ever thought of? Or have ever seen on a book?

Welcome to Solange DewBerry, Guest Author!

It’s my pleasure to welcome Solange to Living After Midnight. We’re in the same writing/critique group, so I’ve read a great deal of her work and I am here to tell you—she rocks.

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Thanks, Trevann, for the invitation to guest blog today.

So… I have a Fairy Godmother addiction and I’m not ashamed to admit it. There. I said it and I’m not taking it back.

In fact, I’m especially partial to well-meaning, slightly dotty, dear old things who misplace their magic wands in their lingerie drawers, and whose eyes sparkle every now and then when they’re on the verge of concocting the Perfect Romance for one of their charges and can’t quite contain their excitement (or their charms).

As my favorite Fairy Godmother has said countless times, ‘please allow me to introduce myself.’ I write as Solange DewBerry, and I’ve been at this for more than fifteen years. I first dreamed of writing romantic fiction when I was a tweenie and read my first bodice ripper. Literally, they ripped bodices back in those early days of romance writing. Now I know better, given that most corsets at the time were made from buckram and whalebone, and whoever deigned to do the ripping would end up with bloody hands. But I ramble on, a bit like my Fairy Godmother.

As an adult, I started writing straight up contemporary romance, but quickly grew bored retelling the same old story dressed up in new clothes. I needed something new. Not westerns, not regency, not medieval or the myriad of romantic genres. I’ve never been one for shifter drama, and for a while it seemed as if everyone was writing about vampires. Nope, not for me. Then there was urban fantasy. I like to read it but not write it. Aliens looking for human women to fill their harems, nuh-uh. Demons—well, not exactly my thing, but more on that in a moment. Evil pixies… maybe someday. Then one day, it was as if a magical being whispered in my ear: ‘what about us Fairy Godmothers, Dear Girl, don’t we deserve our turn?’ And thus Mrs. Florence Electra McGillicuddy, Order of Cinderella, Level 6, Emeritus, was, for lack of a better term, born.

To best describe her, I’d say Mrs. McG (as she likes to be called) is a cross between Mrs. Doubtfire, Aunt Bea, and Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, with maybe a bit of Amelia Peabody thrown in. She wears floral frocks with lace collars, half-moon glasses, and sensible shoes with sup hose. And when she goes calling, be it next door or to the next state, she always wears a hat with a bit of netting, and white gloves. She prides herself on her PHEAs—her Particularly Happily Ever Afters.

To her dismay, Mrs. McG, was after several hundred years and many thousand successfully executed romances, summarily retired from FaGoMA, the Fairy Godmother Guild, for being rather too radical and rambunctious for the normally staid association. As a consolation prize, they gifted her an old Queen Anne Mansion, hoping to keep her tucked out of the way and out of trouble. But retirement can’t keep the Old Girl Down, and she is now Proprietress of One-Nineteen Chestnut Street, a home for Deserving Young Women of Reduced Means (when speaking she tends to Emphasize some words more than others)…a renegade to the end. Which of course means she can now concentrate on creating PHEAs for her boarders, whether they want her to or not, and without the pesky oversight of The Guild.

I’ve published several short stories featuring Mrs. McG over the past three years and have perhaps a half dozen full-length manuscripts of her matchmaking tales which I hope to introduce to the world. The first of these is now available on Amazon: Dream a Little Dream of Me at One-Nineteen Chestnut Street (for Kindle. Here is the paperback link).

Dream a Little Dream Of Me.

This is the story of Poppy Jones, an orphan without family, struggling to make it in the big city. She’s a photographer who is searching for an elusive fountain in one of the city’s many parks. Poppy isn’t sure it’s real or if she might have once dreamt it. Poppy knows nothing about her own history. Her foster mother always had promised to tell her, but died before she revealed Poppy’s secret. Now, her foster mother left Poppy the worn-out house that sheltered innumerable children over the years. Poppy is cleaning it out to sell it but comes across more than one hidden surprise as she does.

Enter Hank Klein. Hank is a gymnast who competed in the Olympics and won Silver. He’s come back to the city, where his ailing mother lives. She’s asked him to look into a twenty-year old mystery: one of her students was murdered, and her toddler daughter went missing. Hank is trying to puzzle his way through that, and to put together a future for himself, when he quite literally runs into Poppy and breaks her camera lens. Not only that, but he swears Poppy is the woman who has been showing up in his dreams. He is immediately taken with her.

Romance, a few laughs, a couple of charms, and some sexy times ensue. The good times end when the Demon shows up and ruins everything. He not only demands Poppy turn the old house over to him, but he wants Poppy as well, and hints at a few peculiarities in Poppy’s family tree. Not only that, but Mrs. McG discovers Poppy is protected with layer upon layer of tattered but very powerful protective charms. The question becomes, are they protecting Poppy, or protecting the world from her?

Please join Poppy and Hank, along with Mrs. McG doing her well-meaning best to find romance for her favorite border, but it seems all her well-established charms are going haywire around ‘The Dear Girl.’

And if you love it, please leave me a fabulous review on Amazon.

Here are other titles by Solange, all available on Amazon. Mrs. McG makes a guest appearance in a few of them:

The Conrad Brothers:

You’re the One for Me: Berry Samuels, writing romance novels under the nom de plume Solange DewBerry, meets Maurice ‘Moe’ Conrad, contractor and all around great guy. Berry has this peculiar ability to bring her written characters into the world, including her first published hero and heroine, rancher Brad and fashion model Trista, as well as Privateer Captain Conrad and the sultry Svetlana. Unfortunately, Trista takes a liking to Moe instead of her love interest. Moe hasn’t a clue what to do when this gorgeous, larger than life blond goes after him. Berry brings the whole crew to life to get things straightened out.

Waitress in a Doughnut Shop: Jenny Ellsworth works in a coffeeshop. It’s the only life she’s ever wanted and things are great, except for one thing. Or perhaps two. The man she loves from afar: architect Joey Conrad. Joey can’t seem to say no, or break up with his annoying girlfriend until one foggy day. And then Jenny’s childhood best friend, Karma, comes to town. Or does she? Jenny can’t remember her at all. Everyone who knows about Berry’s secret ability swears Karma is one of her characters, but she swears that’s not so. There’s a mystery here even writer Berry can’t figure out, but she’s determined that Joey and Jenny will get their Happily Ever After.

Meetings in Moonlight: Ana is an ethereal beauty in Berry’s romance novel-in-progress. The writing isn’t going well. For some reason, all the words Berry write somehow get changed overnight, and not for the better. Middle brother Pete Conrad read the drafts and doesn’t care that Ana’s not real. He’s in love with her, and will do anything to be with her, including jumping into Berry’s computer so they can be together. After all, Ana’s love interest is a total bore and all wrong for her. Berry’s abilities to bring her characters into the world don’t include actually making them human. Will Berry spend the rest of her life writing scenes for the two of them? How in the world can true love prevail?

First We Kiss: Rhea Hansen-Chalmbers is tiptoeing through life and her work in her mother’s law practice, trying to maintain emotional neutrality. It’s imperative she do so, for terrible things happen when the applecart is upset—like knives flying through the air, or every dish in her cupboard dancing a conga-line before smashing themselves on the floor. Or hurting those she loves. Woodworker Paul Conrad, recovering from a car crash, has loved Rhea from afar, not knowing why she suddenly dropped him as a friend all those years ago. He’s about to find out. He’s asked Berry to stay out of the way of his romance but she can’t seem to help herself. When Paul discovers Rhea’s secret, will he run, or will he stay?

No One Else Will Do: Priya Kumar is doing her best to run the family Laundromat/bar, trying to stay out of sight of the man who loves her, lest he discover her secret. He wouldn’t be the first man to run when he learns she can read minds, and she doesn’t think she could bear to have it happen again. There’s also the fact her younger brother is determined to undermine the family business. Contractor and musician Sammy Conrad, youngest of the Conrad brothers, has loved Priya from afar from the first time he brought his lucky red drawers into her establishment. Is he brave enough to love her and save her from her fate?

Queer Quick Reads-Free!

Sometimes, all you need is a good book!

Happiness Happens

August is Happiness Happens Month. You may be saying, “That is just corny.” I thought so too. But now, I know the truth of the adage.

Toby, aka Tobalicious, aka Little Man, aka Little Stinker.

August has always been challenging for me. First of all, it’s muggy and HOT. Today the heat index was 105. It also is the month where although I am not yet back to work, I am WORKING to prepare for going back to work.

Despite these very serious downsides, I usually find a spot of joy at least once during the month. So far this month, I was sitting in the backyard wishing for a cool breeze and all of a sudden Toby, my Italian Greyhound mix, jump onto my lap and flopped down, laid his head on my arm and fell asleep. Even though his furry little body made me even hotter, it was joyous. I also saw a video of J-Hope’s performance at Lollapalooza and as badass as he was, watching him made me so happy.

Was I expecting to be happy in a month when the heat is stifling? No. But…It happened, and it was awesome.

I suppose the moral to the story is be open to the possibility of happiness so that when it happens, you recognize it and appreciate it.

Besides my puppy and J-Hope, lots of things make me happy. Chocolate chip cookies. Writing. Music in general. BTS and Prince in specific. New makeup. Books about organizing. The ocean. I’m going to make sure to experience all of the above in this sweltering month. And I’ll be ready when more happiness happens.

Take a second and answer my poll: What makes you happy? I’ll share the results at the end of the month.

The Soundtrack of My Writing

Everything I write evokes a mood, and that mood requires songs. There are also certain songs that elicit a feeling about a character, or perfectly describe the relationship the characters have with each other.

Sometimes, I listen to music when i write. At other times, my writing compels me to listen to music. For instance, if I’m stuck, I’ll listen to a song that I think represents what my character is going through and gain inspiration.

The playlist for my upcoming release, Waiting on the Son, is a little bit of all of those things. Waiting for the Sun, a song by The Doors, speaks to the feeling of being on the precipice of something wonderful. Drive by Incubus talks about the fear of taking charge of one’s life—an ongoing glitch in Cheyenne’s psyche. Stay Alive is Zander’s plea to Cheyenne as he embarks on his quest.

I invite you to check out the Waiting on the Son playlist. Let me know what you think!

Combining Imagination with Mythology

Writing is hard.

But it’s a bit easier, in my opinion, when you write about what you like. I like music. I like fantasy creatures. Sure, there is a special place in my heart for sexy vampires, confident Weres, witches and wizards. As a teen, I fell in love with so many of them and immersed myself in their stories. But as I grew up, I wanted more.

Writing is a way of creating the world as I want it to be. All of my stories are connected to Unakite City. In this fictional urban setting, creatures live side by side with humans, “among them but unknown to them”, as one of my characters bellows (repeatedly). There are the usual urban fantasy cast of characters, but also less common creatures. The star, Cheyenne, is an incubus. His best friend is a huldra and his accountant is a dragon. And now there is Malik.

Malik is a character who is introduced in Waiting on the Son, the soon-to-be-released, long awaited sequel to House of the Rising Son. He is based on the caladrius that appears in Roman mythology. According to the legend, this small bird is often referred to as a harbinger of either hopelessness or hope. The caladrius can sense if you are going to live or die. He also has the power to heal you. For this reason, they often served royalty.

Malik was initially formed on one of my trips to the casino. (Don’t get it twisted. I mostly play the nickel slot machines and listen to the live music. But I digress.) I was sitting in the corridor between buildings eating a strawberry ice cream cone, when I noticed an interesting man. He was wearing a t-shirt and khaki green pants and moving from one person to another. Naturally, he came over to me and we immediately began a conversation about books. Every few minutes, he would politely excuse himself and scurry to another unsuspecting person. Then he’d come back to continue our conversation. I thought, What a cool guy.

My interaction with this fascinating man became the bones of the character. To build around these bones, I added the basics of the the legend and then using my creativity and knowledge of the story, Malik became his own bird. For example, he isn’t small. Most of the time he appears as human, but he can take the form of a bird at will. He can heal, but at a cost. He’s also a scout and can find just about anything you need.

Sometime soon I’ll talk about the huldra. This mythological creature turned into one of the most beloved characters, according to my readers. I won’t give away everything, of course. I want you to read the book and fall in love with Chey and the gang.