The Usual February Blues

In the greater scheme of things, February is clean-up time. Saddled with both fresh starts and fading glory, the second month is inexplicably stuffed full of many major events. 

First comes Groundhog Day which applies only to Pennsylvania but for whom many other folks rely. 

Next comes the Super Bowl, the biggest bowl ever to be filled! This year, however, the vaunted champions did not capture the trifecta. Never fear, I fully expect the team to return to the big game next season, perhaps facing the same opponent.

After the big game comes the little one's birthday, although she is not so little now, all grown up and on her own in an exciting career. 

Then we have the Day of Presidents, formerly Mr. Lincoln's birthday. Rather than celebrate the two most important presidents, Lincoln and Washington, Congress swept all the top politicians into a single day. Thus, such chief executives as Millard Fillmore and William Henry Harrison (president for only eight days) get equal billing with the heavy hitters, like Mr. Taft and Mr. McKinley.

It is a slow slog into March and hopes of Spring Break after that, but we need those two weeks to rest and prepare for what we've all been waiting for. And what is that, you may be wondering?

The completion of the first full draft of the final volume in my FLU SEASON Saga (formerly a trilogy and two sequels), THE GRANDSONS (a.k.a. Book 6).

Now I shall read and revise, as is my usual routine, ready or not. THE GRANDSONS is a long story, a novel within a novel, but I trust the story will be sufficiently engaging to keep the pages turning as you experience the post-apocalyptic landscape though a host of Western tropes and outlaw vibes, futuristic cities, religious fervor, territorial conquests, nuclear disaster and impending doom for everyone! Yes, an uplifting epic for everyone!

Here is an excerpt from the first chapter:

A crowd gathers to see who this figure might be, as none have come from the east for years – none worth addressing, at the least. Stragglers with tales of flameless fire and putrid illness. A wave of death. Fleeing criminals hoping for a break. The rare lost tax man or some ignorant seeker of opportunity, random scalawags and bold outlaws. A gunslinger or two. A foolish family hoping to survive.

Dark in road-rough garb, the figure glares from beneath the rim of the felt hat at the townsfolk gathered: passersby, the curious, morning shoppers, businessmen going to offices. Another cow town, the stranger seems to acknowledge with a disappointed shift of chin. They’re harmless, and unarmed, the dark figure notes.

The figure, looking more to be a woman in man’s clothing as the people examine, lays her hand upon the grip of one of two pistols set upon her hips, ready to use it.

“Skinner Canyon?” asks the stranger in mild tone.

“Yes, ma’am,” says an older man, wiping his moist brow, beady eyes set in a permanent squint. “This’s the place.” He gives her a long look, not approving. “What’s yer bidness in town?”

Townsfolk can see the two pieces of cargo lain in the cart. There is a crudely constructed wooden box, looking like pine, large enough and in the shape to hold a laid-out man. The wood is well-smudged with dirt, grimy like it was dragged up from the earth. A coffin, they presume, nailed tightly shut. Who could be inside? 

The trend these days when querying agents and publishers is to construct what is called a Mood Board or Vision Board using snippets of images, perhaps brief text, to help entice would-be investors in the story. I get it. Like a Pinterest posting, which I did long ago. Here is one I threw together last night. It should give you a good feel for the story.

More details next time. I'll give away some of the plot but with no spoilers. You will recognize some characters from Book 5: THE GRANDDAUGHTER and some of the setting from that novel. This novel, however, moves far from that town into truly sci-fi territory without (I hope) getting too sci-fi techy or relying too much on familiar tropes of a post-apocalyptic world (zombies, etc.). I have an overall positive view of the future, but one which turns away from the technology that kills us all in most sci-fi movies. The ending here may not be "happy" in a Mary Sue sense, but will be satisfying.

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(C) Copyright 2010-2025 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog. Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.

What An Amazing February! More music & updates!

What a month! The shortest month is always full of so many events I can hardly keep up. First was the Day of the Groundhog (not the horror film), in which I simultaneously began the process of moving to a new 'writing studio' (at which I shall also eat, wash, sleep, and collect mail). Next came my child's birthday, which is no longer a big deal now that she's well into adulthood. Then, be still my quickly  anticipating heart, the Kansas City Chiefs, my hometown team since I was a little boy (I watched Super Bowl I live on TV), played in and won the Super Bowl, which was their second in a row and third victory in four visits in five years, an incredible feat! That after a 50-year absence from the final contest. 

Then their celebratory parade which followed was forever marred by tragedy when two youths who should never have had handguns decided to settle their personal dispute in a crowded place. The month continued with more moving (great exercise, all this lifting of heavy boxes of heavy books) and more writing/revising/ editing on the latest works-in-progress (more below). Lastly, comes my annual visit to doctors and receptionists to prove I am still, for now, alive.

Nothing I write next can possibly beat the month I've had so far.

In my previous blog post I spoke of how music had inspired me. In fact, I have used music to inspire my writing far more than any writing has inspired my music. As a music student I looked for texts I could set to music but did not apply them to many songs. My own music tended to be purely instrumental, although I did manage a fair setting of *Coleridge's long poem "Kubla Khan", using four singers, a woodwind quintet, piano, and a gong. Another text setting of a poem eventually lost its text when I couldn't find a singer but did find a violinist willing to play it (with piano accompaniment) for my senior composition recital.

It may be no secret that I listen to music constantly while writing and revising - anytime I'm working on a novel. I choose music which fits the story, often that which fits a particular scene, and play it over and over as I see the story in my mind and try my best to describe what happens. I've never really paused to think about how that works. It's both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing to be able to see a story unfold like a movie playing in my head. It's a curse when I can't shut it off to sleep or do other things I need to do.

In my more recent novels I've included lists of the music I listened to while writing the novel, believing that readers may also enjoy it. I suppose my music listening began with my first published book, AFTER ILIUM (2012). Began, I mean, in the sense of selecting particular music to aid my writing. For After Ilium, which is the sordid tale of a young college graduate who meets an older woman on a tour of the ruins of Troy (also known as Ilium), I listened to the CD of Secret Garden's Songs from a Secret Garden (1996), which to me provided the ideal soundtrack if the story were to be made into a movie. The sweeping, often soaring melodies, and intimate, vaguely exotic harmonies fit the setting of the story perfectly.

Another example is my MFA thesis-turned-complicated novel A BEAUTIFUL CHILL (2014). This story, what I deem an anti-romance, involves the up-and-down relationship between the new professor on campus and a self-absorbed art student. She is from Iceland, so I immediately listened to Icelandic music, or music which could be Icelandic in feeling. Yes, Bjork. Yes, Sigur Ros. But other music as well, like Miriam Stockley's album Miriam (1999), which features evocative music that put me right there in the scenes of ancient Iceland (part of the subplot). And music from other Scandinavian musicians which created the spiritual space for me to create in.

For a science fiction novel (actually a trilogy) like THE DREAM LAND, which is partly set on another world via an interdimensional portal, I struggled to find the right music. In fact, I struggled finding the best way to start the story which had boiled in me for years. It wasn't until I happened to purchase a cassette of Enya's album The Celts (1987) that I could proceed. The music was for a documentary about the Celts, but for me, well, I saw the mighty Zetin warriors on the wild moors of Tebbicousimankale in what would be the opening scene. Other music I came across which might not have seemed to fit, actually did. I found that film music works especially well: no lyrics to get into my head and all the drama I need for the scene. Video game music also works the same way. The soundtrack for Silent Running (a 1972 film about a lone gardener on a spacecraft) composed by Peter Schickele was a major influence on the writing of the first novel. I did see the movie but it was many years prior to me rediscovering the music and using it to inspire my writing. Also, the music of The Moody Blues, especially the albums Seventh Sojourn (1972) and Octave (1978), provided several cultural references (e.g., interdimensional travel, etc.) which I used to support two teen nerds becoming rulers on another planet.

You get the idea. The music is not simply a lovely background for my hobby but a key that unlocks and opens the mind. For me, it is necessary and I can rarely write new material without the right music. Yes, when I'm far enough along in a new manuscript I may write without listening to music if I have to; probably the music, having heard it previously, remains in my head. To this end, I maintain a large library of CDs and digital (MP3) tracks in every style, genre, mood, and instrumentation. I recently, in my moving, carried five boxes of CDs from one place to the next. I have as much more music thankfully on portable hard drives, flash drives, and on my computer itself. I will never run out and continually add more.

UPDATE

I finished my pandemic/family saga trilogy FLU SEASON (click for the series page) and immediately started in on a fourth book, which I dub a sequel to the trilogy. 

FLU SEASON 4: THE BOOK OF DAD is complete and undergoing revision at the moment. I expect it to be available by summer. Revision was delayed because I immediately began a fifth book in the series, following the grown daughter of the Book 4 protagonist. It is about half-way at present. I know how it will end but I set it aside to revise Book 4 and get it ready for publication. I look for Book 5 to be available in December 2024. 

Will there be more books in this series? I don't know. If a compelling plot presents itself I may pursue it. Otherwise, I try to end every book as though the reader could stop there and be satisfied. But we shall see.

*See the error on the score? Samuel Coleridge Taylor is a music composer; Samuel Taylor Coleridge is the famous poet.

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(C) Copyright 2010-2024 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog. Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.

Got Love? Or a mere semblance of its captivating illusion?

Here we are in the month of Love. Beats me why it was chosen in the middle of winter--perhaps for snuggling purposes, who knows?--but that's another blog entry. As it is, we must deal with the reality of the situation. (Coincidentally, on my Facebook page I've posting excerpts from the three books of THE DREAM LAND trilogy which relate to the proverbial "reality of the situation.") February, like it or not, is notorious for the amorous fling or memories of past flings.

To this "romantic" end, I wish to announce the pending publication of my so-called love story. No, not that Erich Segal melodrama. Not that Tristan and Isolde myth. Not even that Romeo and Juliet saga. MY love story! I'm sure there are others, but here I wish to present a new, more realistic kind of love story. The kind that may happen more often than not. Still, it has several criteria which may be found in the more traditional love stories, but also a few elements which are particularly contemporary, features more common in our post-post-modernist world.

1. Two people. (Yes, it is possible for one person to be a love story, as narcissists do exist--and they do tend to enjoy reading about themselves.)

2. They meet. (This may be a pleasant encounter or a rough or dispassionate crossing of paths.)

3. A relationship ensues. (Again, the nature of the relationship may be pleasant for both--in which case there is no story--or pleasant for only one of the two, or for neither of them; nevertheless they are locked into a relationship by distinction of knowing each other and being in the same place at the same time.)

4. Because of the relationship, other things happen. (These may, of course, be either pleasant or not so pleasant, as the situation may dictate. In a dramatic sense, there should be conflicts, and in typical fashion such conflicts help to develop the relationship into a stronger, more compatible association or, conversely, into a more destructive, possibly co-dependent desperation.)

5. Because of the other things that happen, the relationship arrives at a threshold or conclusion beyond which everything must change irrevocably: to continue in a new light or to be slammed back into the abyss of unrequited desire. (These two choices offer the most interesting reading experiences, however, they do not tend to represent relationships occurring in the real world of Earthling lovers.)

Which brings us to the reality of the situation. We like when things work out, when the two people find something in each other that will link them forever as friends or lovers or spouses--or simply co-dependents. It's a kind of symmetry which human perception rallies around. Balance is restored. The sunset awaits. The bedsheets are turned back. Lips press together. And the credits roll. On to the sequel....

Or not. Sometimes, try as they might, things do not work out. The relationship falters. Obstacles cannot be overcome. Or sometimes, someone is not in the right place at the right time, or someone fails to act or acts in the wrong way, makes the wrong choice, takes the misguided option, and everything explodes--or, just as often, implodes into atoms.

As a reader, that is your choice: 1) the ideal dramatic arc, or... 2) an approximation of reality.

Chocolates, flowers, jewelry, fancy dinners, violins, lingerie, candles, stuffed animal toys, paper hearts and/or heart transplants, power tools, major appliances, cleaning supplies, musical instruments, mp3 downloads and mix CDs, a well-cropped photograph, or even the softest, fluffiest itty bitty bunny wabbit--nothing has been proven to be the ultimate can't-fail elixir of love in the mundane world of cruel reality. You win some, you lose some. And some you just hope for the best or you hope it will end sooner rather than later. I do not embrace cynicism; I AM cynicism! (Sorry for the hyperbole. Just in case you are of a romantic mindset, here are some ideas for Valentine Day.)

Now go off and court thy love-object with earnestness complete! For thee and thou have a rendezvous with destiny! I wish thee the best of luck, which ever it may be!


Meanwhile, for those who may be interested, I shall be welcoming to the book-reading world my latest novel, A BEAUTIFUL CHILL, which has a long and notorious history (see future blog post). After all, it does deal with rather frank issues in an awkward relationship which perhaps was never meant to be. Can these two different people--opposites that attract one wild weekend--find a way to get along, or a reason to stay together? Can they make it work, or will they succumb to the reality of their situation and let Fate decide for them?

More on this new novel next time!



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(C) Copyright 2010-2014 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog. Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.