Favorite Book One Scenes

Sometimes I get asked what my favorite scene in Secret of the Songshell is.

It's hard to choose - any scenes that I didn't love didn't make the final draft of the book - but I would have to say that it's probably the climax. I actually had a rough draft of that scene written out when the whole book was still only in outline form.

Since that scene is chock full of spoilers, though, today I'm going to talk about another one of my favorite scenes - one that I actually re-read every so often just for my own personal enjoyment.

It's the part in Chapter 12 when it's Joel and Felicity's turn to watch their traveling campsite. It's a quiet scene in between some heavy action sequences where the reader gets a chance to know the characters a little better. It also contains one of my favorite lines in the whole book. I'm feeling generous today, so in case you haven't read it yet (gasp), I've included it in today's blog post...after the jump!

Bards & Brews

So Friday night was a blast! The following people rock:

- Tina from Jacobsen's Books
- Primrose and Tumbleweeds (seriously, try the spicy cole slaw)
- Tonya Macalino and everyone from NIWA
- Andy Bunch, author of Suffering Rancor
- Gary Reavis, author of The Telling
- Rory Miller, author of Meditations on Violence
- Gina Ochsner - The Russian Dream Book of Color and Flight
- Everyone who came out! Special thanks to those of you who bought a copy of Book One.

"You want to be a rock star, right?"

Be sure to check out the next installment of Bards & Brews, and the next one, and the next one, and the next one - in fact, check them all out! They happen every last Friday of each month. Did I mention the spicy cole slaw?

One-Two Punch

Here are a couple of fun things to do this week!

Thursday, May 30

Demure CD Release Party

w/Sawtell, Kings and Vagabonds, and Second Player Score

Alhambra Theater (formerly Mt. Tabor)

4811 SE Hawthorne Ave

8pm, 21+, No Cover*

Come and rock out with me and my band (Second Player Score) as we help our friends in Demure celebrate the release of their debut EP.

Friday, May 31

Bards & Brews

@ Primrose and Tumbleweeds

248 East Main Street

Hillsboro, OR

7-9pm, No Cover*

Then the following night, head on out to historic downtown Hillsboro where I and several other local authors will be reading from our books, signing autographs, and drinking delicious beer.

* Because there is no charge for awesomeness. Or attractiveness.**

** Bonus points if you know what movie that's from

Secret of the Songshell Factoids

- The part on page 2 when Joel notices the error on the Junior Prom poster was based on a real-life incident involving my son. He pointed out that a certain book cover with a picture of a calendar on it repeated the same day twice (unintentionally, I believe). This incident was actually the original inspiration for Joel's Sight power.

- The inspiration for Marshall's age (27) came from something called the 27 Club, which you can read more about here.

- Felicity got her scorpion tattoos as a tribute to her deceased parents, each of whom was a Scorpio. Originally, there were a few lines in the book that explained this, but I took them out because they didn't really fit.

- I didn't find this out until later, but there's a street called "Prism Valley Drive" in Indiana! Mahalo to my friends Jeff and Evelyn for taking this picture:

- Before I even solidified the concept for Songshell, I asked my kids: What is one thing you would like me to include in this book that I'm planning to write? My son said "powers," meaning magical or superhero-like abilities, and so that's where the whole wavecasting thing came from. My daughter said "a cute animal." Sammy the silvertail owes his existence to her.

Quick Tip For Fantasy Authors

You would think that, as a musician writing books about musicians, I would listen to music while I wrote. But to be honest, I tried doing that when I was first drafting Book One, and frankly, I found it to be quite distracting. My brain would start to gravitate toward the lyrics, the chord progressions, and whether or not the particular band I was listening to might possibly be coming through town.

However, as I was working on Book Two [ed. which is up to 26,000 words], I stumbled onto an awesome discovery: "Epic Music Mixes" on YouTube.*

I found that these marathon videos (some are eight hours long) were the perfect background soundtrack to my particular brand of writing. Go ahead - play one of them. After a few minutes, it'll become obvious that these things sound like an endless loop of music from a sci-fi/fantasy movie trailer. For me, they provide great atmosphere that inspires my writing without being distracting.

So for all you fantasy authors out there, try putting one of these on while you compose your masterpiece. It just might help you bring that movie in your head to life.

* I stumbled onto these as I was listening to The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary medley, which, itself, is an excellent epic music mix.

Pop Quiz

At the Load Local/3rd Birthday Party @ Jacobsen's Books yesterday, there were:

(a) Talented local authors
(b) Delicious desserts
(c) Cool people
(d) Awesome books
(e) Killer alligator-eel creatures
(f) Answers a through d
(g) All of the above

Answer after the jump. Thanks to Tina and Eric Jacobsen for throwing a great party!

Load Local

This coming Saturday, May 4th, I'll be at Jacobsen's Books in Hillsboro to help them celebrate both their 3rd birthday as well as the launch of the Load Local program.

Load Local is a new and unique way of buying books. And don't just take my word for it, read the press release:

"Looking to discover something new and intriguing? With over 30 titles in 9 different genres, Jacobsen’s will now offer top-selling local independent authors in a boutique-style experience. Many of these authors will be on hand for the launch at Jacobsen’s anniversary party.

Sponsored by NIWA (Northwest Independent Writers Association), Load Local allows readers the comfort of browsing the stacks, flipping through the paperback that catches their eye, while still enjoying the cost-savings of ebooks. Once they find that new literary treasure, they simply take the paperback to the counter and the ebook file is emailed to them upon check out. No more snapping discrete cover photos and trying to remember to buy it online later. Your reading dollars stay in the local community, supporting local authors and local business."

Couldn't have said it better myself. So if you're in the area, stop by between 4 and 7pm and check it out!

Jacobsen's Books & More

211 E Main St

Hillsboro, OR

503-681-8243