Our New Year Awaits (And a Bit of Music Sees the Light)

I hope everyone had a happy Christmas, and a safe and festive New Year's. 2009 will certainly be written into the history books as a year of worldwide tumult and instability. I suspect that many of you had years like mine - full of as many downs as ups. I'm not the type to trot all my confessions out for public viewing, so I won't go into too many details. Suffice it to say, I would venture a guess that we're pretty much all in the same boat.

It's with a mixture of hope and anxiety that I look forward to 2010. Just a few days in, and nothing seems different; but I still look into the future with the same upward gaze that we use to watch the sun rise.

I started this blog just about a year ago, and at the time I was focused on getting my manuscript published. I submitted it, and it was rejected, and I was okay with that. It needed work. It hasn't gotten enough of it. The past several months have been a desert of creativity, as far as the novel went. I fell victim to a crippling bout of selective writer's block, one that seemed only to affect the Heroes... manuscript. After several chapters, which were read and reviewed here - and by my friends in the North County Writers of Speculative Fiction - I came to a screeching halt.

I call that a serious down.

However, during that time I've written several things - some pieces, some openings, a few chapters, and two short stories. I posted both "A Chilling Wind" and "Melbourn's Storm" here, and submitted both to my writer's group. The response for both was quite positive, though both are vastly different (and Melbourn is one of the protagonists from Heroes...). Following advice from some of my writerly friends, I decided to submit both of them to L. Ron Hubbard's "Writers of the Future" contest.

"A Chilling Wind" went in just before the end-of-December deadline for the quarter. I plan to submit "Melbourn's Storm" during the next quarter. Receiving positive feedback for both from the readers and writers who visit here...I call that a serious up.

With that, I have to digress a moment and describe one of the absolute high points of my year. In October, I received a message from one of my Twitter friends. He said he had read "A Chilling Wind" and was motivated to do some work of his own - because of that story. Early in November, I received an email from the same gentleman which contained a piece of music.

The writer - my online friend - is Brian Travers, the monster horn player and one of the founders of reggae giants UB40. Brian and his writing partner, Martin Meredith, composed a major-minor nocturne for my short story - which still hasn't seen publication.

Brian and I have discussed art, writing, and music a few times, and we are both rock-solid believers in "Art for Art's Sake." When he described feeling inspired to write a piece of music for it, I was filled with a surge of ego and a sense of humility at the same time. I've thanked Brian, but I've never known exactly how to demonstrate it.

This is it. According to his email, this is a version that would probably be tweaked and edited sometime down the line. It is a nocturne, and reflects the sounds of the sky and the city after the last line is read.

In a year of both ups and downs, this was one of my strongest ups - and now I feel comfortable sharing it with you. Feel free to listen. Music unheard is as big a loss as words unread.

If you're on Twitter and you like it, you should let Brian know; he is @btub40. I suspect he enjoys feedback almost as much as I do.

Thank you, all. Thank you, Brian. Thank you, Martin. I'll let you know how it all turns out. Oh, one last thing: I'm back to rewriting Heroes... again. Just wanted you to know.

If you haven't, read "A Chilling Wind."

EDIT:

To hear "Major Minor Nocturne (A Chilling Wind) by Brian Travers & Martin Meredith, please use the player at the top left of this page. I have tried, tried, and tried some more, but simply can't get any audio player to embed and play in this post. Sorry for the technical difficulties.

Just a Few Things I'm Thankful For...

I'm going to keep this simple. In the United States, it's an often-overdone custom that we spend the Thanksgiving holiday being thankful for things and people close to us.

Though I often sneer at such remedial sentimentality, I am of a mindset this year to participate. I pledge to you that I shall not engage in mawkish silliness, or purposeful heartstring-tugging. No, I'll keep it simple, keep it honest, and keep it short. That last, to those of you who read this regularly, know that will be a blessing in and of itself.

I'm thankful to my family, my loved ones, my friends - both in real-life, and here. I see no reason to say more. They know how I feel. I'm thankful that I've had a chance to know, and like or love other friends and family who have passed on.

I'm thankful for the members of my writers' group, who have given me praise when I deserved it, and smacked me around when I needed it. I'm thankful for those of you who have done the same here and on the Annex.

I'm thankful for the faculty and students of Southwestern College, who continue to stand up to a a dishonest, shameless administration. I'm also thankful for their parents who have joined the fight, the members of the public who are standing up to be heard, and for political movers-and-shakers who are disgusted with that whole lot on the Board, and in the President's office.

I'm thankful we live in a country that is, despite the best interest of certain conservative special-interest groups, is beginning to tolerate those that are different; is starting to respect those with intelligence and education; and is attempting to regain its respected place on the world's stage.

I'm thankful that we live in a country where I can say these things whenever I want, and outside of a few psychotic right-wing nut jobs, no one gets angry at me for saying it.

I'm thankful we live in a world full of miracles, where we can communicate with each other across long distances, and read each others' silly thoughts and ideas.

Thank you. Thank you, all of you.