Monday News And New Aerosmith At Last

Happy Monday, Imaginarians! I'm still recovering from my kick ass football weekend. My Bears are 8-1 after thrashing the Titans where they live. 51 points, yo! And my Fighting Irish squeaked out a win in triple OT. Holy Guacamole, I am having a blast this football season.

I am also recovering from the emotional wringer on The Walking Dead. No spoilers, I promise, to my friends out there who have not watched the latest ep yet. I can't wait to talk about it with you, though. :)

Now on to some other great news. On Wednesday we have Mina Lobo's Resurrection Blogfest in which we get to bring back a post from the dead. I know the perfect one. We also have Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group. I missed last month because of some unfortunate problems so I am making up for it this month.

On Thursday, author Xavier Axelson visits the Imaginarium, bringing with him an excerpt from his first full length novel, Velvet. I cannot wait!

The bestest news for yours truly is that the new Aerosmith album, Music From Another Dimension drops tomorrow. It has been 11 long years since their last original album, Just Push Play hit the airwaves. I have been listening to my boys from Boston all weekend, amping up my excitement. I even got to listen to some of the new cuts already. Some of my particular faves right out of the gate are Street Jesus, What Could Have Been Love, Out Go The Lights and Luv XXX. Of course, a new album means a new tour, so sometime this summer I will be rockin' out to my guys live, singing every syllable at the top of my lungs and doing my Steven Tyler struts. 27 years, 15 studio albums, 5 live albums, 11 compilations (I have them all) 7 concerts and I am still in love. In love enough to get the famous Aerosmith wings tattooed somewhere on this old bod. I'm thinking about where I want it right now.

Have a listen and a looksee at What Could Have Been Love, the first video from their new album.


What do you think? Ever love a band enough to get a tat? Think I'm batshit crazy to do it? Looking forward to Mina's blogfest and the ISWG? Looking forward to Xavier's appearance? 

Genre Favorites Blogfest

I know, I'm late to the party, but I'm here at last so let's get this post a rollin' shall we? The awesome Alex J. Cavanaugh, Captain Ninja extraordinaire is having his Genre Favorites Blogfest today. We get to share our favorite type of Movie, Music, Books and a Guilty Pleasure from one category..Yay! There's nothing I love more than to talk about my fave subjects: Movies, Music and Books.

To see all the other incredibly cool peeps participating click right here.

My favorite genre for film is a toss up between sci fi and fantasy, but for rules' sake I'm going with fantasy and my all time is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Especially The Two Towers. I want to fight at Helms Deep and I would so kick Ork ass.

Favorite genre of Music...Hard Rock. I am an Aerosmith chick all the way, 27 years and counting. They are my longest relationship, LOL. I still dream about marrying Steven Tyler. I love that mind of his and so what if he looks like a dessicated chicken. I think Joe Perry is one of the best ax men ever. Here's a taste from one of my all time fave tunes from my boys. Hole in My Soul is one of the best misery love songs ever and appears here thanks to the work of Aerosmith fan layonlima at You Tube.



For Books is hands down, it's romance. Yes, ROMANCE. And all kinds too, from the erotic to the sweet. I read it and write it because well, the fictional stuff is so much more exciting than my own real one. And it gives me hope. Why I have no idea because I'm far too old for romance. One of my all time favorite is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Oh how I love me that giant Scot, Jamie Frasier.

And now for a Guilty Pleasure. I love those, don't you? My Guilty Pleasure genre is Country Music. Yes, you read that right. I have a recessive red neck gene that makes an appearance every now and again. Bet you didn't know I could Texas Two Step and line dance, did you? Well I can and I'm pretty good. Here's one of my faves to get my boots scootin', California Girls by Gretchen Wilson from her You Tube Vevo.



Hope you had fun reading my faves here. Have a great day and see you around the blogfest. :)

On Music And Writing... Author Jeffrey Beesler

I am very excited to be hosting author Jeffrey Beesler today. The Imaginarium is the latest stop on his great and powerful blog tour for his debut fantasy novel, Spell of Enchantment. Take it away, Jeffrey...

If you’ve known me for a while, you’re probably aware that I often speak about music on my blog. Heck, I’ve gotten to the point of punctuating my posts with a music video. For example, during a recent discussion on pronouns, I showcased Cyndi Lauper’s “She Bop”. In measuring the distance I’ve gone through my writing journey, I shared Matchbox Twenty’s “How Far We’ve Come”.

Tying my posts to music isn’t the only thing I do with the stuff, however. I always listen to music while I write. I suspect many writers do the same thing, too, especially since I’ve read about them doing so. There’s just something about music that helps bind the writer to the creative act. I’m not quite sure why it works, but it does.

Here’s where I stray from other writers, though. I hear of them requiring their music to not have words in it whatsoever. This may work for them, but I actually thrive on songs. I need the words. They are our tools after all, right? You’d be surprised how often I change the words too and create new lyrics a la Weird Al Yankovic. While part of me might do so out of being a goofball, I also think doing this helps me to take something apart and rearrange the pieces into something new.

Almost like playing with Legos, I think.

Lastly, I’m also getting to the point where I’m thinking about what songs mesh with my characters. The Kinks’ “Don’t Forget to Dance” is a prime example of this. I have a character in one of my stories whose plight fits almost perfectly in tandem with their song. Such synergy makes my heart sing. Is yours singing?

Bio: Jeffrey Beesler was born on May 2nd, 1978. In addition to self-publishing his debut novel, Spell of Entrapment, he has had a short fantasy story published in Abandoned Towers #4, The Broken Pipes of Drei City. He is a graduate of the Long Ridge Writers Group correspondence course, Breaking into Print. His book can be purchased here:
Amazon:

Barnes & Noble:

Smashwords:


Blurb:
When a knight, Sir Patrew of Trava, infiltrates sorceress Embekah Mare’s home, a magical backlash renders her unconscious. She awakens to discover a spell of entrapment binding them both inside the manor’s walls. Now forced to live with him after twenty years of solitude and exile, she must navigate her way through alternating feelings of distrust and attraction.

As the weeks pass with no end in sight of the hex, a shape-shifting spirit arrives inside the magical barrier’s walls to target Embekah specifically. When she seeks out Patrew’s help against this new threat, she uncovers a secret in his past that could very well destroy her future. With the help of her trusty toad Halscrad, Embekah must see through the deceit and find something long lost to her.
But not everything is as it seems. With lies all around her, Embekah finds the truth to be more elusive than the freedom right outside her manor. Can she survive long enough to figure out what’s real and what isn’t?

Favorite Movie Soundtracks

I'm in the mood for some good music this Monday because I re-watched Forrest Gump this weekend and it is one of my very favorite soundtracks of all time. I love all those rock-n-roll classics, the mood music...I could listen to those tracks all day long, I swear. "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Joy To The World" by Three Dog Night, "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd...I know all the words by heart and sing 'em out loud when no one's around because ears would be bleeding for sure. They do put me in a great mood, though. Especially when I'm driving. I tap out the beats on the wheel and it makes me a whole lot more pleasant in the car in heavy traffic. I tend to cuss out the other drivers who get on my last nerve.

Forrest also got me thinking about some other favorite soundtracks. Dirty Dancing is a soundtrack guaranteed to get me going and I own both the original 1987 album as well as the 20th anniversary compilation. I especially love "Cry To Me" by Solomon Burke, "Love Is Strange" by Mickey and Sylvia, "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes and "In The Still Of The Night" by The Five Satins. What a softie I am. :)

I am an 80's child and one of the penultimate 80's dance movies, aside from Dirty Dancing is Footloose. This 1984 soundtrack is one of my very favorite albums. Nothing gets me going like "Dancing In The Sheets" by Shalimar, the title song "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins and "Hurt So Good" by John Mellencamp. God, Kevin looks young on this cover, too. LOL

Now, lest you think I'm only about pop and rock, I do have my big dramatic soundtracks, the ones I listen to relax or to inspire me as I write. One favorite in this category is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. This one definitely inspires an epic battle or two as well as providing some haunting music to inspire those scenes of conflict and angst.

My final choice for today comes from a little known Tom Selleck, Bess Armstrong film called High Road To China. It is one of my most favorite romances of all time. I have worn out two VHS copies and a DVD watching this one. As well as scratched up the original album and lost a CD listening to the soundtrack. This one inspired my current WIP, a pilot story set along the Old Silk Road. I don't admit to this film very often because well, I think of this movie as my comforting favorite. I watch it whenever I am depressed, nervous, upset. It is my cure all, I guess. I never saw this in the theater, I found it in the video store completely by accident. How incredible is that?

What are some of your favorite movie soundtracks?

Summer of '79

In honor of my favorite film this summer, Super 8, I am taking a trip in the Way Back Machine to the Summer of '79...

Being 9 years old...Riding around on Henry Stormin's gold Harley Fat Boy, that big engine purring right through me.

Rolling up to the Toot & Tell 'Em Drive In to get an ice cold bottle of Pepsi. There was nothing like those big glass bottles, the condensation dripping on my fingers as that cold liquid slid down my throat.

4th of July fireworks on the golf course courtesy of the Pana, Illinois Volunteer Fire Department

Hanging out on the dock of Uncle Max's lake cabin and being told that the catfish would eat my toes if I dangled my feet in the water.

Eating ice cream from the Dairy Queen in the back of cousin Charles' 1970 El Camino, 8 track blaring Led Zeppelin, The Knack, Thin Lizzy, T-Rex and Ted Nugent and Donna Summer when Deena was with us.

Here are some of my favorite songs from back then...

Don't Bring Me Down by ELO


Hot Stuff by Donna Summer


My Sharona by the Knack


Mississippi Queen by Mountain

Top Ten Songs of All Time Music Blog Hop-Melissa's List

My friend, Alex J. Cavanaugh, got me hooked into participating in this wicked cool blog hop featuring our top ten songs of all time. Now, I could never just pick ten songs as the best. That's just way too difficult because I am such a music lover. So I decided to go with ten songs that have very special meaning to me. I flipped through my memory banks and here they are in no particular order of importance, just 10 songs from the soundtrack of my life. I've included the links for You Tube for these tunes since I couldn't figure out how to get them to play here.

10. Cry to Me by Solomon Burke This is my fantasy dance song with Patrick Swayze and it's no coincidence that it's the love scene song in Dirty Dancing. Oh, how I miss that man.

9. Chip Away The Stone by Aerosmith This was the song that kicked off my 26 year love affair with the boys from Boston. I was 15, it was summer and I was helping out at a car wash fundraiser when this song came on. I have never looked back. Aerosmith will be playing at my funeral.

8. Ripple by The Grateful Dead There are no words on how important this song is to me. It helped me through the suicide of a friend.

7. Living After Midnight by Judas Priest My first introduction to metal right here and I start going crazy whenever I hear the opening beats.

6. I Love Rock N Roll by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts I heard this and was blown away. I was 11 and this was the first time I'd ever heard a woman rockin' it out on the guitar. Joan is still my girl and the volume goes up when this song comes on.

5. Hurt So Good by John Mellencamp Whenever this song comes on, I think of a certain black-haired cowboy and a night to remember. Sexy and naughty...

4. Killing Me Softly by Roberta Flack Never has a song defined the way that moment feels when someone else perfectly tunes in to your pain. I love both the original and The Fugees version.

3. Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett Ah the memories here...An ode to my favorite drink on planet Earth and to some, er, high times. ;)

2. Lili S'en Fout by Toufic Farroukh feat. Yasmine Hamdam Total seduction set to music and I love it. Yeah there are more than a few naughty memories attached to this one. ;)

1. Qingauiit by Tudjaat This is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. I was listening to it the first time I ever saw the sunrise over the Cascade mountains. It was one of the most incredible sights, day and night held the sky at the same time.

Scroll down for a complete list of participants and check out all the great music. Feel free to share your fave tunes in the comments. I'd love a listen.