Good news first: I wanted to invite everyone to check out my Author page on Facebook. I believe this link here should take you to the page. On my page, I am planning to share any news that may relate the Five Enchanted Roses, including tidbits that may come along about the other authors in this collection. For example, I just shared a post that Dorian recently re-posted about one of her other works, Cursed Beauty, and it intrigued me all the more about her tale Rosara and the Jungle King. I just found Cursed Beauty on Amazon Kindle for $.99. Check it out!
Now to sad tiding: The War of the Widget Dragon has ended in a grudging cease fire. After three weeks of fiddling and fussing, I have conceded temporary defeat. My original hope had been to share my iTunes playlist on my blog for Wither, but I simply cannot continue to waste time on what is, at present, a losing battle. The Widget Dragon has proved entirely too resourceful for me.
So, I will have to settle for a less streamlined and convenient method of sharing some of the music that helped me in the writing of this particular story. Each week, I am planning on sharing the lyrics to one song from my playlist with a couple of thoughts on why I like it. I won't be able to share a link to the actual song, at least not at present, but you might be able to listen it on Spotify, YouTube, or in your own music library. I hope to come up with a better method to allow you all to listen to this playlist, but this is the best I can offer at present. If anyone has had any experience with the Widget Dragon, I should be delighted to hear how you conquered said beastie. Or commiserate, if necessary. Take courage, dear one, you are not alone.
Moving on!
I am going to begin with one of the songs that has been with me from the very start, when The Neverway Chronicles still swam around in my brain barely even conceptualized. This song inspired the series as a whole, rather than Wither in particular, but it is the first song on my playlist, partly because of its significance, but mostly because I just like it so MUCH.
"Now or Never" by Josh Groban
I watched the morning dawn upon your skin
A splinter in the light
A splinter in the light
It caught and frayed the very heart of us
It's been hiding there inside for all this time
How a sure thing winds up just like this
Clockwork silence only knows
And it's no one's fault
There's no black and white
Only you and me
On this endless night
And as the hours run away
With another life
Oh, darling, can't you see
It's now or never?
It's now or never
Sweeping actions still at 3 AM
We're trying far too hard
The tattered thought balloons above our heads
Sinking in the weight of all we need to say
Why's and what if's have since long played out
Left us short on happy endings
And it's no one's fault
There's no black and white
Only you and me
On this endless night
And as the hours run away
With another life
Oh, darling, can't you see
It's now or never?
It's now or never
It's now or never
It's now or never
You know that there's so much more
And it's no one's fault
There's no black and white
Only you and me
On our final night
And as the hours run away
With another life
Oh, darling, can't you see
It's now or never?
It's now or never...
One of the reasons I enjoy this song so much is the sound of it, something I cannot capture in words. The melody is haunting yet hopeful. And, let's face it, Josh Groban has one of the nicest voices in all the world.
Another reason I like it is because some of the words in the song make me think of specific elements in the Neverway story world. "Happy ending" reminds me of the fairy tale themes. "Clockwork silence" hints at the subtle steam punk elements in this series. In Wither, the clockwork is extremely subtle, practically nonexistent, but it will be more pronounced in After and the succeeding stories.
The concept of time is another theme in this song that also plays a major role in my series. I am approaching each story with a different aspect of time in mind. In Wither, both Bet and the Beast of Briarstone Abbey face a looming deadline. They're dealing with time in the present, the anxiety of the here and now, and the toll this anxiety can take on one's life. It is why I chose the title Wither in the first place. After deals with the terror of the future, of the life that comes after death. Even the setting, the Neverway, hints at this relationship with time.
Even the lines "it's no one's fault, there's no black and white" make me think of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. What is this tale, if not a study in prejudice? At least in some small part?
This stanza here simply makes me think of the Beast of Briarstone Abbey:
It caught and frayed the very heart of us
It's been hiding there inside for all this time
How a sure thing winds up just like this
Clockwork silence only knows
Doesn't that just make you want to sniffle? I'm off to get a box of Kleenexes...and ice cream.
I shall have to go look this song up now! Sounds beautiful. I don't know anything about the widget dragon, but if you can find the song on youtube you should be able to embed the youtube player window in your post.
ReplyDeleteJanelle, I never even thought of that! I was so consumed with trying to get that dreadful playlist widget working...lol! I shall check it out.
DeleteI'm so impatient to read Wither now! I love how music can inspire a story (incidentally, I've been having trouble posting music widgets, too...hmm.)
ReplyDeleteAnd Josh Groban's voice is amazing. I don't think I've heard that particular song, though, so I'll have to look it up. :)
Hayden, I am so anxious to read your story as well. Summer sounds so far away. :)
DeleteMusic is precious to me. It is one of my favorite forms of worship. It also helps me do housework, which I am rather not prone to do...
Haha, here I feel like the whole year is slipping by far too fast and Summer looms ominously close. Though that's when I think about having my story finished and ready. When I think about reading everyone else's stories, yes, it seems much too far away. :)
Delete