Glistering: B's Blog

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Goodbye 2013 . . .

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone has a great 2014. Looking back, it was a difficult year in a lot ways from a personal perspective, but a wonderful one too. And many of you are the reason! Thank you so much for your encouragement, friendship, and support. And I'm so pumped up about it being the Year of the Horse! I hope this is a good omen for my series and especially for The Glister Journals #2 which will be released this year.

A quick look back--I had a lot of things happen this year but here's a few highlights:

The most exciting event was winning the literary category for the 2013 IndieReader Discovery Awards. The winners were announced by Hugh Howey at BEA, but unfortunately I couldn't be there. It was very exciting anyway!

Bronze had a great Book Blast and Tour with great giveaways for the Kindle edition release in October. I enjoyed it immensely and made some truly wonderful new friends. I can't wait to do it again for the release of The Glister Journals #2! Highlights of the tour, including reviews, author and character interviews, and guest posts can be found on The Glister Journals website.

To kick off the tour, I announced the Bronze Soundtrack puzzle. There is a song that accompanies every chapter of Bronze. The songs will be revealed in the countdown to TGJ #2's release. The Bronze Soundtrack Contest will be open to entries in 2014 before the release of Volume 2.

There were a lot of interviews: with Goodreads' The Young Adult Book Club, with Aside From Writing, and several during the Bronze tour.

I featured a few albums: Strangeland by Keane, El Camino by The Black Keys, the Haunt EP from Bastille, In A Tidal Wave of Mystery by Capital Cities, and Last of the Great Pretenders by Matt Nathanson.

And read quite a few books, though not as many as I would have liked and far less than most of you, I'm sure. There were a few I didn't finish, for one reason or another, but the ones I did finish and enjoy were:

I'll be posting features/reviews for most if not all these in the coming year and working at getting all reviews and features organized. :)

Coming next: A look ahead for 2014 and January soundtrack clue (by the weekend...promise!)

Coming soon: A "No Strings Attached" January blog hop and giveaway!

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

More Glister Journals info and excerpts at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com

The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Retro Thursday: 4/05

By request: April 2005

(A week late due to gremlins!)

George W. Bush was president of the United States

Paul Martin was prime minister of Canada

John Howard was prime minister of Australia

Elizabeth was queen of England (in case you were wondering.)

Singles from a few of the album releases:

Rob Thomas: "This Is How A Heart Breaks" from ...Something to Be

Better than Ezra: "Juicy" from Before the Robots

Hahaha...this video's so goofy. :)

Mariah Carey: "We Belong Together" from The Emancipation of Mimi

I'm not a huge Mariah fan - though I acknowledge her incredible voice - and I'm not at all a fan of these kinds of videos but oh my goodness...Wentworth Miller!

The New York Times Best Seller List--Fiction

April 17, 2005

1. THE DA VINCI CODE, by Dan Brown.

2. REVENGE OF THE SITH, by Matthew Stover.

3. YA-YAS IN BLOOM, by Rebecca Wells.

4. HONEYMOON, by James Patterson and Howard Roughan.

5. SATURDAY, by Ian McEwan.

6. THE RISING, by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.

7. THE BROKER, by John Grisham.

8. WITH NO ONE AS WITNESS, by Elizabeth George.

9. IMPOSSIBLE, by Danielle Steel.

10. THE SERPENT ON THE CROWN, by Elizabeth Peters.

Video Games

Lego Star Wars

Jade Empire

I never did finish this game. I should do that....

Movies

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Love this movie.

Kung Fu Hustle

Also a favorite. :)

The average price of gas:

California--$2.47

New York--$2.23

Hawaii--$2.47

Texas--$2.07

Nebraska--$2.21

UK--£1.32-1.42 litre

On the Charts

Apparently Elvis Presley broke the record for the most UK number one singles in 2005. Elvis had 4 songs in the top ten in the UK in April alone. How did he do that exactly? More to the point, who got all the money?

#3 in the UK the week of April 17th, Ciara featuring Missy Elliot. This one's for Jo.

#7 in the UK the week of April 24th, Nine Inch Nails (a family favorite). This one's for Mae.

Backstreet Boys released the single Incomplete which debuted at #1 in Australia (their first #1 hit there.)

Would you like to suggest a date for Retro Thursday? Just leave me a comment here or on Facebook or Twitter

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

More Glister Journals info and excerpts at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com

The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Cataclysmic Music Review: Bastille, Capital Cities, Matt Nathanson

I am long overdue for a music feature, so I'd like to share a few albums with you: Haunt (EP) by Bastille, In A Tidal Wave of Mystery by Capital Cities, and Last of the Great Pretenders by Matt Nathanson. It's a long time since I first heard these bands and many months since I bought the albums, but I originally heard them around the same time and the three radio-play songs have a similar theme. It must be a sign. Let's start with one you probably all know by now from Bastille.

So . . . you know how some songs you have to listen to a few times (sometimes many times) before you realize how good they are and then you really like it? That didn't happen with this song. I LOVED it the first time I heard it and had to find out who it was. Once I found out, I checked out my local record store but nobody there had heard of them (or Capitol Cities for that matter.) I finally found the EP (four songs) at Amoeba in San Francisco as well as the other two albums. Yay Amoeba! Boo Rasputin.

Now, if you are in England or Europe, you're probably thinking, "Silly person in America. Bastille has been around for quite a while." Yes it has, but whenever I mention them to people I know they say, "Who?" Even my daughter recognized the name of the group but couldn't name any songs. So forgive me if I state the obvious here. Bastille are fantastic. Pompeii is one of those songs I catch myself singing all the time. While Dan Smith (lead singer, songwriter) has a distinctive sound and style of his own, the band most closely reminds me of Coldplay (in a good way) especially on the track Overjoyed.

The full double album, All This Bad Blood (25 tracks), is out now which I ordered but haven't received yet, so I may do another feature on it.

The second band, Capital Cities from Los Angeles, released their debut album in June of this year. So it surprised me greatly to find out that the song Safe and Sound actually debuted in 2011. Considering I listen to alternative radio stations in the Bay Area, I'm amazed I hadn't heard it before. What's up with that? Anyway, I've already used this video once way back in April, but I'll use it again gladly!

Their second single, Kangaroo Court, is much less impressive to me. The Casio VL Tone (yes, we had one) is slightly nostalgic but ultimately annoying and the song has little more substance than that. In fact, a lot of the patches are evocative of the seventies and early eighties and most of the tracks on the album sound neo-disco (plus heavy use of vocaloid, of which I'm not really a fan). The tracks are great for working out or dancing to, but I get tired of the relentless poppiness. That's not to say I don't like them, but . . . small doses. I prefer Tell Me How To Live, it sounds like a mixture of The Bee Gees and Barry White (which is funny because they did a cover of Stayin' Alive). And I really love Chasing You (except for the unnecessary addition of the F word.) Unfortunately there are no official videos for those songs. Here's a static video of Tell Me How To Live.

Last of the Great Pretenders is Matt Nathanson's tenth album and is full of great songs, though with most including profanity or very provocative lyrics, they are definitely on the adult side. The track I heard first and, like Pompeii, loved it the first time I heard it, is Mission Bells. It's a mix of melancholy lyrics, a smooth shuffly rhythm, and a killer hooky chorus. The video is brilliant too, playing on the lyric, "At the end of a Hitchcock movie, a little dark and a lot confusing." It's done like a black and white Alfred Hitchcock style movie, with great San Francisco locations and representations of some of Hitchcock's best known movies. I counted four I'm sure about, but I'm also sure there are more. I'll list the ones I found at the end of this post. If you found more I'd love to know. And no, I didn't cheat!

So there you have it: a volcanic eruption, a vague, unnamed apocalyptic event, and a mysterious death. It's a little creepy how happy these songs make me.

The Hitchcock movies I recognize in the Mission Bells video: Psycho, Vertigo, The Birds, Rear Window. There are a couple of others I'm not sure of. Do you see any others?

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

More Glister Journals info and excerpts at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com

The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com

Sunday, December 1, 2013

December Update and Soundtrack Clue

Congratulations to Sarah, the winner of my November "Thank You" giveaway. I have e-mailed you and contacted you via Twitter. I have other book giveaways planned soon and another cash giveaway later on for the second Glister Journals title and cover reveal. That is planned for the first part of 2014. It will probably mark the official opening of the soundtrack puzzle entries too, so stay in touch!

On to the new soundtrack clue for those who are reading or have already read the book. Remember, those of you working on the puzzle now have a head start. You're more likely to get correct answers and have a better chance of winning!

CLUE #6 Two bands/artists are repeated once.

In other words, out of 31 songs, 27 are by different bands/artists, and 2 bands/artists have 2 each.

Hopefully that helps with any question of whether an artist is repeated and how many times!

If you'd like to see a certain type of clue or have any questions about the soundtrack at all, please feel free to ask. I'm sure there are plenty I haven't thought of yet. I will answer anything reasonable that does not completely give away the answers!

Would you like some music? I thought you might! This is Hadouken!, a British band I first found on MySpace YEARS ago (you remember MySpace don't you?) Anyway, this is great. I bought Hadouken's first album (imported!) and now realize I have some catching up to do. Their sound has only improved (mellowed a little perhaps, but in a good way. Parental advisory on some songs). I love the video too. Enjoy!

AWESOME remix can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vaddnA7l9U

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Thankful

I've been working on several posts that I just don't seem to be able to finish, so they are going to wait. Today I will just be thankful. In no particular order:

I'm thankful for good health. I could take better care of myself, as I used to, but I can't complain. The minor things I can live with or try to improve through diet and exercise. And sleep. As much sleep as possible.

I'm thankful for family. I'm very close to my children and they are very close to and supportive of each other. I am immeasurably thankful for that. And I am very thankful for my friends too!

I'm thankful for a wonderful book blog tour this fall. I'm especially thankful for the wonderful people I met and hope to stay in touch with, and all the people who have shown interest in Bronze and The Glister Journals. Thank you!

I'm thankful for my job. My five-day-a-week daytime job that pays the bills and allows us to eat. I hope to be able to write full-time one day, but I will keep writing anyways. It has become a huge and necessary part of my life.

I'm thankful for fond memories. I focus on these. I have a lot of bad ones too--the kind that can keep you awake at night--but I choose to not think about those. I'll let them be buried in my subconscious and only pull them out and look at them if they can be useful.

I'm thankful that I live in a country that still allows freedom of faith. I sometimes wonder how much longer those freedoms will exist, but they're there at the moment. I think. I'll believe in my God anyway, come what may.

I'm thankful for my ridiculously silly and cute cat, Buu. He's such a sweet companion...except when he thinks I've forgotten his dinner or that I'm ignoring him. He complains loudly in the first case and "tags" me with claws out in the second!

I'm thankful that I'm just as excited about my book series, The Glister Journals, as I was when I started it. Even if it's taking me FOREVER to finish the second book. It WILL get finished! And I'm also thankful for all the other story ideas I can tackle when the series is done. I can't wait!

I'm thankful for music. Pure and simple.

What are YOU thankful for?

And, according to my tradition, here is some Switchfoot for you. Happy Thanksgiving!

Posts coming soon:

A Cataclysmic Music Review

Bronze Soundtrack Update (December)

Retro Thursday

Chabot Space and Science Center

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

More Glister Journals info and excerpts at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com

The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Retro Thursday: 2/83

I usually concentrate on new music, but I thought it would be fun to look back to a specific time and see what was going on. So once a month I'm going to do a short retrospective: movies, books, odds and ends, just about anything I can find. And of course, music. I'm choosing the first one but would love to get requests.

February 1983 was an important time for me but I wasn't very aware of what was going on in the world, so I thought it would be a good place to start....

In February 1983:

Toto - Africa #1 US February 1-5. I loved this song, but can't for the life of me think of another song by them. Can you?

Ronald Reagan was president of the United States

Margaret Thatcher was prime minister of the United Kingdom

Pierre Trudeau was prime minister of Canada

Malcom Fraser was prime minister of Australia

Elizabeth II was queen . . . of course

Men At Work - Down Under #1 US February 5-12. LOL. Definitely one of my favorite songs. Let's not get into an argument of Vegemite vs. Marmite though.

Gas per gallon cost an average of:

.88 in California

.95 in Texas

.93 in Illinois

.96 in Florida

.99 in New York

£1.76 England

Kajagoogoo - Too Shy #1 UK February 13

Musical Youth - Pass the Dutchie #1 Canada, January 22-February 5. (I'd never heard of this one...interesting.)

NEW YORK TIMES Sunday Book review (February 20) (Look how much Sci-Fi there is!)

“Mistral’s Daughter,” by Judith Krantz.

“Master of the Game,” by Sidney Sheldon.

“Space,” by James A. Michener.

“2010: Odyssey Two,” by Arthur C. Clarke.

“The Valley of Horses,” by Jean M. Auel.

“Foundation’s Edge,” by Isaac Asimov.

“Floating Dragon,” by Peter Straub.

“Life, the Universe and Everything,” by Douglas Adams.

“E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Storybook,” by William Kotzwinkle.

“Ellis Island,” by Fred Mustard Stewart.

Laura Branigan - Gloria #1 Australia, February 7-March 21

Michael Jackson - Billie Jean #1 US (seven weeks) & UK.

February 26 – Michael Jackson's Thriller album hits #1 on the US charts, the first of thirty-seven (non-consecutive) weeks it would spend there on its way to becoming the biggest-selling album of all time.

I couldn't find any movies worth referencing except The Pirates of Penzance which my whole family absolutely loves. Yes, we're very weird. It is a fairly faithful production of the Gilbert and Sullivan light opera (Premier in 1879). It stars Kevin Kline as the Pirate King and he's just amazing. Linda Ronstadt is Mabel. Such a fun but completely goofy movie. "With Catlike Tread" is my favorite part of the movie.

Do you remember February 1983? What is one of your favorite months and years? Leave me a message somewhere. Let me retro it!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

This is like the extra at the end of the credits: I just found this and it's awesome. :)

The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

The Bronze Soundtrack and Contest

More Glister info and excerpts at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com

Friday, November 1, 2013

November Glister Journals Giveaway and Soundtrack Clue

Congratulations to the winner of the Bronze Blog Tour giveaway and to Maureen, the winner of my Spooktacular giveaway.

There's a new giveaway! My way of saying thank you to those of you interested in The Glister Journals series and who are following here, there, and everywhere. This month I'm including another $25 Amazon gift card to help with your holiday shopping! And a paperback copy of Bronze, of course!

Do you know about the Bronze Soundtrack? It's a puzzle to solve with songs to uncover, and if the book were a movie, it would be the best soundtrack ever! (Well, I think so anyway.) The first clues can be found on the Bronze Soundtrack page of the series' website. Clues will be added every month until the contest officially opens--just to help you get a head start. The contest will close a month before the second Glister Journals book comes out. Thirty-one days before the release will be a video countdown of the chapters' songs. Sound like fun? I hope so!

I began planning and writing the series in November of 2008, so Bronze is actually set in the 2008/2009 school year. Clue #5: All Bronze soundtrack songs were released 2009 or before.

Of course there are prizes! The grand prize is starting off at $50 and will be increased--25% of book sales from now until the end of the contest will be added plus The Glister Journals #1 and #2, hardbound, signed, and personalized, and more. Other prizes will include signed copies of both Glister Journals books and fun Bronze swag. There might be ponies. Watch for updates!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Reviews for The Glister Journals: Bronze

More Glister Journals info and excerpts at the book's website here: theglisterjournals.com

The Glister Journals: Bronze can be purchased through any bookseller, or purchase now at Amazon.com