My goodness, I never meant to go this long without posting. I'll try to get back on track! I've been writing, writing, writing, but I've also been reading much more than I have for quite some time. I will be adding occasional mini-reviews of books I can recommend as well as my occasional music reviews.
First off, Glister Journals news. My original plan was to release the Kindle version of Bronze this summer but, as it hasn't been promoted or marketed much before, I want to really get it out there this time before the second book in The Glister Journals series is released. So the plan now is to do a book tour in October with the help of I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, one of my favorite book bloggers who also does tours (her button can be found in the sidebar). I'm feeling mighty blessed right now.(Edited--plans have changed slightly)
Details to follow!
Road Trip
I was able to take a little trip north again this summer to visit my dear family. It was a mostly uneventful trip and I enjoyed my time there immensely, but came back with a major observation: next time, I need to figure in extra travel time to explore! Other observations:
1. I've never seen Mt. Shasta so snow-less, even in the middle of summer. There are places I'd like to explore in the area, mines and caves and falls and such. :)
2. On the way up on my second day of driving, I found myself quite a bit ahead of schedule and decided to drive through Olympia, Washington, just to see what was there. It's the capital after all. What I saw was charming (if there's a seedy side of town, don't disillusion me!), the section of town I saw reminding me strongly of downtown Santa Cruz, and the capital building shining in the distance across water which must have been Capital Lake. Clever name. I though of parking to walk around and take pictures, but I was expected by a certain time by family. I determined to make a stop on the way home instead.
Unfortunately, on the trip back, although I was watching for off ramps as I drew near I never actually saw one and was way beyond the city by the time I realized I had passed it. So, sorry, no pictures this time. :(
3. I'd also love to explore the Peninsula, but I figure that will require at least a day of its own.
4. There are a wealth of national and state parks begging to be explored. I was determined to at least visit the Peach Arch Park, (Canada and us being such great pals and all) but guess what. Still no passport.
5. Did you know that Linn County was the grass seed capital of the world? Neither did I, but apparently they're very proud of it.
6. There is a town called Battle Ground in Washington. Surely this deserves some writerly investigation. Apparently "The city is ironically named for the absence of a battle." The reasons behind this lead me to number
7. There are a lot of tribes in Washington. It would be interesting to plan a trip around visiting reservations or at least the visitor centers and doing some first person research. Just because.
I was able to get some writing done while there, though not as much as I would have liked. I even had a substitute editor.
After a nice restful week I started home, but soon ran into thick smoke. It began soon after I'd left Roseburg, Oregon and mile after mile it continued.
I stopped for gas and asked the attendant about it. He said that he'd just heard over the radio that there were at least seven separate wild fires burning through Oregon and northern California. Sure enough the smoke continued well into California and I guess there have been many more since then. A bad fire year. :(
If you have any recommendations for western Washington trips or have a trip blog entry you can link to, I'd love to see it. It's a region I'll be passing through at least once a year.
Music
I have quite a few albums I plan to share with you soon, including the ones I listened to on this trip, but I'd like to cover one that I had on my trip last summer but never got around to highlighting. It's too good to not mention.
El Camino by The Black Keys is my second favorite album of 2011 (the first being Chevelle's Hats Off To The Bull). The first time I heard them was through the song "Tighten Up" in 2010 and I loved it, but didn't hear anything more until "Howlin For You" which I included in last year's road trip post.
Curious about their beginnings, I looked into their background a little to find that Dan Auerbach (vocals/guitar) and Patrick Carney (drums) had known each other since they were eight or nine and became friends in high school "though they were part of different crowds—Auerbach was captain of the high school soccer team, while Carney was a social outcast." (Wikipedia reference. A more interesting and possibly more reliable biography is here) I couldn't help LOVING that! If you've read Bronze, you know why.
I love this whole album, but my favorite is most definitely Little Black Submarines, the album version (NOT the radio version which is shorter and ruins the build-up).
I love blues based rock (though not so much straight up blues) and The Black Keys have a raw edgy sound that I adore. I listened again to the whole album trying to decide which other track to pull out for you, but seriously, I love this whole album. Great road trip music too! "Money Maker" is probably my other favorite but I couldn't find a video, so I'll leave you with the other hit off the album.
Note: All original text and materials by or commissioned by B. B. Shepherd are copyright 2012-2013 to China Blue Publishing.
Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze
More Glister Journals info and chapters at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com
The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com
