Waking Will Bel Canto

Have you ever heard a song that just...gripped you? I just discovered this song (and band) thanks to iTunes. This song reminds me of the sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucinations I used to have as a kid. Psych nerds will appreciate THIS LINK.  Lyrics posted below: 



The reptiles escaped, who said `booh'? 
Was it me, but who then was i? , what made them fear? 
It's dark and it's cold, and I feel so old
I'm going down
I'm going down to chase some reptiles
So autonomic, and you interupt my dream
You interrupt me, my old brainstem is talking
And you interrupt my dream, you interrupt me
The kites fly up high, I'm free, I run
But from heaven fall the bluebirds, they hit the ground
The sun warms my face, and I feel
It ain't the end for all the living,
It ain't no end for the living, no!
My intuition, and you interrupt my dream
You interrupt me, deep in here it is hidden
And you interrupt my dream, you interrupt me
You woke me up, I'm forgetting, and you interfere
You interrupt my dream
It's so autonomic...

Smexxxy Friday (Mouthwash)

I have an oral fixation, I think. Because every time I see this commercial, I am drawn to it in a sexual way...and I don't even like Listerine! I am fascinated by this man's mouth. I want to interact with it...play with it...explore it. I wonder if that makes me weird...

The Last of the Mohicans

Remember when this movie came out? All you '90s kids better raise your hands! *cheesy grin* You can watch this movie for free on Netflix. Anyway, I watched this film for additional "research/inspiration" for my novel. Although this story takes place in 1757 and mine in the 1690s, I took quite a bit from this movie. I wasn't aware until just recently that this movie was based on a book series from the 1820s. Pretty awesome. Too bad I can't say the same for the movie itself, LOL! 

I'm not going to lie, minions. This movie is meh. Just meh. Can we say WHITE WASHING please? I hate how whenever there's the "last" of some threatened ethnic group, it is always some white person. Or the white person becomes the main character in a story that SHOULD be about people of color. "The Last Samurai" was Tom Cruise. "The Last Mohican" was the "I WILL FIND YOU" dude. "The Last Airbender" was...well...you get my point.   

For those interested, the "I WILL FIND YOU" guy's name is Daniel Day Lewis, and he co-starred with Winona Ryder, in "The Crucible." However, the only character I really liked in "The Last of the Mohicans" was Magua. Keep in mind I'm a cannibal, so when Magua cuts out that one dude's heart and eats it, I was thinking: "Oh yeah...gnarly and sexy at once!"

Anyway, the movie was OK. Worth a watch if you're into Daniel Day Lewis, I guess. But I fell in love with the soundtrack. Gawd. I can't express how beautiful the music is! I found myself rewinding parts of the movie just so I could go back and listen to the track again. My favorite is "I Will Find You" performed by Clannad. The whole album is lush and gorgeous...so definitely check that out the next time you're trolling around on iTunes. 

Writing historical fiction SUCKS.

This a partial list of all the books I've read (not just skimmed, ladies and gentlemen, read from cover to cover) to research my novel. I will put these books in my bibliography. 


1. Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Colonial America by Dale Taylor
2. The Name of War: King Phillips War and the Origins of American Identity by Jill Lepore
3. Red, White, and Black (4th edition) by Gary B. Nash
4. Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook by Denise Alvarado
5. Creole Religions of the Caribbean by Olmos, Paravisini-Gerbert, and Murphy 
6. Freedom Just Around the Corner by Walter A. McDougall
7. The Spells Bible by Ann-Marie Gallagher 
8. Heritage of the World Civilizations (volume 2) by Kagan and Craig


Let's not forget the books I read just for "inspiration" : 
9. The Crucible by Arthur Miller
10. Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson (I named one of my characters "Nola" in tribute to Nalo Hopkinson!) 
11. 12. and 13. The Fear Street Saga Trilogy by R. L. Stine 


This list does not even cover the dozens of websites I've poured over in preparation. Before, during, and after the novel was completed I've done nothing but study King William's War, New England Native American Tribes, Puritan and Quaker religions, the Salem Witch Trials, and a host of other crap I can't think of at the moment. I eat, breathe, and sleep the 17th century. I want to be as historically/culturally accurate as I possible, which is why I've taken the time to do so much research. 


And THAT is why writing historical fiction is so sucky. It's tedious. On top of that, you can't just regurgitate all the facts you learn and smear them onto the pages and expect that to work. No, sir, you got to "set the scene" as a proper writer would. You gotta weave that shit in so it looks "organic" and "natural." And THAT is the hardest part for me. Yeah, I can spew tons of useless facts about the Puritans...but so what? How does that pull the reader into the time period? When someone reads my novel, I want them to feel like they are IN the 1690s! But it is so difficult to accomplish this without resorting to info-dumping!  


At times I feel like I am failing to capture the historical-ness of my story. All of my betas expressed SHOCK when I told them my characters were based on the real life historical figures who took part in the Salem Witch Trials. Am I just not getting the historical flavor in there strong enough? *headdesk* This is so hard. It really is. I'm not a history buff but I want people to take my book(s) seriously. Of course I embellish many things about the Salem Witch Trials...no one (to my knowledge) transformed into a werewolf and went on a massive killing spree. But yeah. I don't know.


*Sigh* Spare yourself the trouble and just stay away from writing historical fiction altogether. Over and out, minions. I think my brain is about to explode. 


VC

Smexxxy Friday

Voodoo Woman Koko Taylor

"A crawfish on my shoulder and he lookin' dead at you!" *grins* 
I was born in Memphis...so blues kinda runs in my blood. Koko Taylor is also a black woman from Memphis (w00t!) and since the main character of my novel is a Voodoo witch, I thought this would be a fun song to put on my blog. I've been listening to Koko Taylor a lot lately. She's fantastic. Enjoy! 

Cannibalistic Confessions

They're putting clown meat in bologna form??? What has the world come to???? How am I supposed to stick to my diet if supermarkets start doing stuff like this??? Look at that smiling roll of bologna. Don't you just want to stab it with a fork? 


Ugh! Lately I've been in a killing mood. *Sigh* There was this kid at the library who wouldn't shut the fuck up while I was editing. He ran up and down the aisles, pulling books off of the shelves while screaming his head off. This went on for like 15 minutes before the mother finally decided to get up off her fat ass and control her child! Gawd, I HATE that! I doubt anyone would have cared if I had acted on my homicidal impulse and just killed the brat. Or the irresponsible mother. 


Which brings me to the subject of this post. Children. Why do people have them? Like seriously, why? Children are noisy. Smelly. Stupid. And snack-sized. 


Even when I was a child, I hated other children. And now that I am 23, I doubt I'll reproduce. The world is over-populated with enough morons. Why add your inferior genetics into the cesspool? Half the people who have children shouldn't. It seems the more stupid you are, the more children you seem to reproduce. *sigh* What's a cannibal to do, y'all?