Music and writing
November 27, 2011 at 3:37 pm | Posted in Dreamspinner Press, Equilibrium, tinsel and dust, Writing | Leave a commentTags: dreamspinner, equilibrium, music, tinsel and dust, writing
Music is very important to my writing process. I only write without music if I absolutely have to, which thankfully isn’t often. The music I listen to while writing has an impact on the mood of the story: a dark story has to have a soundtrack full of dark music, while a more lighthearted story can have a more lighthearted soundtrack. Each of my published stories has a soundtrack, either a mix of songs from different artists, or a single artist; for Equilibrium it was a mix of songs, for Reasonable Force it was Velvet Acid Christ, for Eyes Wide Shut and Rust Red: Galvanized it was Midnight Oil. For Tinsel and Dust, my upcoming Equilibrium sequel, it was the John Butler Trio. Music actually plays a larger role in Tinsel and Dust than it ever has before, in that the music of the John Butler Trio actually features in a scene.
Now, I’m not going to give away what that scene actually is, because that would be telling. 🙂 But what I will tell you is what songs I was thinking of when I wrote it. To me, they fit Michael and Ryan’s situation to a tee.
Both of these songs are off the album Sunrise Over Sea. The first is called Peaches and Cream:
For so long I’ve sung this sad ol’ song,
And it feels like my time is up.
For she came and landed in my arms,
And she filled my half empty cup.
Yes she filled my half empty cup.
There you are right in front of me,Â
A brand new day sunrise over sea.
No longer my cup half empty cause there you are…
and the second is called Seeing Angels:
Why do I deserve such a visit
From the one I thought I’d never meet.
Beyond my greatest expectations.
You exceeded everything.Â
Well here I amÂ
Take me for what you see
For I’m transparent in the light of you.Â
And look inside,
See that fire burning bright
The same one you rekindled inside meÂ
My mouth was dry
only you quenched my thirst
I thought I was last
You told me I was first.Â
So there you have it, two great songs for my boys. Tinsel and Dust should be released mid-December, I have a tentative release date of December 14th for it. That’s not set in stone at the moment, but if I learn any different I’ll be sure to let you all know.
Cheap books!
November 22, 2011 at 6:16 am | Posted in Dreamspinner Press, Promotion, Torquere Press | Leave a commentTags: cheap books, dreamspinner, torquere
Everyone loves a cheap book, don’t they? As someone who bought about 10 ebooks in one fell swoop yesterday, my answer is a definite yes to that.
If you’re like me and love cheap books, then you’re in luck, because both Dreamspinner Press and Torquere Press are having sales at the moment!
Dreamspinner says:
Dreamspinner Press Sale!
There are three ways you can save on purchases from Dreamspinner Press this month.
First, there’s a We Are Thankful Sale, 20% off everything on the web site through Nov. 30.
Secondly, DSP reached 1500 fans again on the Facebook page after FB ate the old one. To say thank you, there’s a code on the page for 15% off one order of any size over the next year. Go here to get the code for the discount.
Finally, every purchase between now and Nov. 30 enters people in a drawing for a Kindle Fire, to be drawn on Dec. 1.
So go forth and shop at DSP to save and win!
Torquere says:
Thanksgiving Sale!
It’s Thanksgiving and we’re going to give thanks all week long! Get 15% off
your purchases from now through the end of day Saturday the 26th. Just put
‘givet2011’ in the coupon code box any time you check out at Torquere Books
(www.torquerebooks.com) before next Saturday at midnight to get 15% off your
order.
Sale good now through Saturday November 26 at Midnight (est).
Give thanks with a book from Torquere Press today.
Equilibrium Christmas story
October 30, 2011 at 9:22 pm | Posted in Dreamspinner Press, Equilibrium, Short story | 2 CommentsTags: dreamspinner, equilibrium, snippets, tinsel and dust
I am back in New Zealand after my sojourn in the US, via a week in Hawaii for a conference. Hawaii was hot, it had excellent pineapple and outstanding bacon, and I spent a lot of money there. I’m delighted to be back home, mostly because of getting to sleep in my own bed and having more options for clothing than what fitted into my suitcase 7 weeks ago.
I bought some incredibly snazzy Doc Martens while I was away, I am ecstatic about those. But I didn’t really start this post to talk about all of my new swag. I started this post to talk about the weather. Sort of.
When I got home on Friday morning and did my laundry, all of my clothes had dried on the clothesline by that afternoon. Today, there was not a cloud in the sky, and I was quite unpleasantly warm and sweaty (oh, sorry, “glowing”) by the time I’d finished pulling up 7 weeks worth of weeds from my backyard. This is the time of year when I start avoiding going out into the sun for too long in the middle of the day, lest the pale, delicate flower that I am gets burned to a crisp in the ozone layer-depleted Southern Hemisphere sunshine.
All that means that summer’s coming. And in this hemisphere, it means that Christmas is coming too. About six weeks ago I mentioned that in December I will have a short story coming out from Dreamspinner entitled “Tinsel and Dust”; it’s a coda to Equilibrium, which picks up a couple of weeks after the novel ends and describes Michael and Ryan’s first Christmas together in Burreela. I don’t have a blurb for it yet, but now that we’re six weeks closer to release what I do have is an edited version, so I’m going to share a little bit of it with you now. I hope you enjoy it.
***
Michael first became aware of the warmth of Ryan at his back. He sighed, snuggling back into Ryan’s body and settling back down. But after a moment he realized that something felt wrong, or odd, not right; he rubbed at his eyes and blinked awake, to be confronted by huge blue eyes in a pale face just inches from his own in the before-dawn grayness of the room. He gasped and jerked back violently, elbowing Ryan hard in the ribs. Ryan grunted and curled in on himself, pulling away, but all Michael could do was put a hand on his chest so his hammering heart wouldn’t pound right out of it.
“Fu—udge, Jack, what are you doing?” he whispered fiercely. He looked at the clock. “It’s five in the morning!” They’d only been asleep for a few hours.
Jack smiled at him, not seeming to notice his mood. “Santa’s been!” he said, and ran out of the room.
Michael stared after him, then slammed his head back on the pillow. “Unbelievable.”
“Ow,” Ryan said from behind him, his voice muffled by the pillow. “Rudest awakening ever.”
“Sorry,” Michael said over his shoulder. “He scared the shit out of me.”
“What did he want?”
“Didn’t you hear? Santa’s been!”
Ryan groaned. “Christ almighty.” He rolled onto his stomach, shoving his face further into the pillow. “Santa wants to go back to sleep. There aren’t enough Tim Tams in the world to make up for this.”
Michael reached back and patted Ryan on the backside. “Don’t get too comfortable, Saint Nick. If I have to get up, so do you. That’s the deal.”
Ryan groaned again and put the pillow over his head.
***
Dreamspinner sale at ARe and Equilibrium sequel
September 16, 2011 at 12:13 pm | Posted in Dreamspinner Press, Equilibrium, Promotion, Short story | Leave a commentTags: dreamspinner, equilibrium, promotion, sales
From September 15-30, All Romance ebooks are offering a 25% rebate on all Dreamspinner titles. The rebate comes in the form of ebook bucks, ARe’s in-store currency, which get credited to the customer’s account. If you click on the banner above you’ll get to all Dreamspinner’s titles; if you want to pick up a copy of Equilibrium, you can go here. 🙂
Speaking of Equilibrium, I’m pleased to announce that I’ve sold a short story that’s a mini-sequel to Equilibrium. It’s a Burreela-based Christmas story called Tinsel and Dust, and it will be out in December, just in time for Christmas. 🙂
Equilibrium giveaway at the Romance Studio
August 28, 2011 at 8:36 am | Posted in Dreamspinner Press, Equilibrium, Promotion | 2 CommentsTags: contests, dreamspinner, equilibrium, promotion
I’ve got some posts up at The Romance Studio talking about Equilibrium, and anyone who comments to one of those posts will go into a draw to win a copy of the book. The posts are here and here, and I hope to see you there!
The Romance Studio’s End of Summer Bash
August 25, 2011 at 8:37 pm | Posted in Dreamspinner Press, Promotion, Torquere Press | Leave a commentTags: chats, dreamspinner, giveaways, promotion, torquere
This weekend I’ll be joining a whole bevy of fabulous authors at The Romance Studio’s End of Summer Bash. I’ll be giving away a copy of Equilibrium, and a copy of Eyes Wide Shut in anticipation of the releast of Rust Red: Galvanized. Hopefully I’ll see some of you there!
Puppies, cover art and more reviews for Equilibrium
August 10, 2011 at 10:33 pm | Posted in Dreamspinner Press, Equilibrium, Novel, Reviews | 2 CommentsTags: cover art, dreamspinner, equilibrium, real life, reviews
At the end of this week I’m going to have quite a lot of work to do, because I’ve got publisher edits on a novella due and I’m also trying to write something new in time for a deadline of September 1st. So of course I’m procrastinating like my life depends on it. I do have a cover art questionnaire open even as I speak, but I keep getting distracted by pictures of the West Australian outback and lovely panoramic photos of Perth. But if I don’t write down anything about these photos I’m looking at on the questionnaire, then I won’t get them on my cover, will I? No. No, I will not.
But mostly I’m thinking about getting a puppy. An opportunity has presented itself, and while it’s the absolute worst time for me to be getting a pet I am seriously considering it. Because I am the least practical person in the world when it comes to tiny, supercute little puppies. And I haven’t had a dog in a long time and I’m finally starting to miss it.
Anyway. I’ll make that tomorrow’s problem.
Today’s problem, which is not a problem at all, is that Equilibrium has gotten a lovely review on Amazon. Greek Reader gave it 5 stars and said:
I liked this one a lot. Both main characters and those surrounding them are described in well-rounded and lively detail. Michael has flaws and issues, some of which he’ll always struggle against, but he tries not to wallow and ultimately won’t be defined by them. Ryan has led an easier and more charmed life, but he has a streak of realism that allows him to understand Michael and to stand by him.
It’s a rather quiet and tender love affair, as they often are in real life, but never boring. Highly recommended.
So that’s got me all warm and fuzzy today! Puppies and a good review = a pretty good day, really.
Equilibrium review
August 1, 2011 at 10:17 pm | Posted in Dreamspinner Press, Equilibrium, Reviews | Leave a commentTags: dreamspinner, equilibrium, reviews
In its first non-Goodreads review, Raine from Reviews by Jessewave gave Equilibrium 3.75 stars out of 5. In her very fair and balanced review, she describes Equilibrium as having “Great Australian background detail with a real sense of place”, and says:
This book displays a very good breadth of view in beautifully recreating an unusual environment filled with details of different social lives. For me the main hero wasn’t appealing enough to lift the book onto another level. However there is a lot here that is enjoyable and other readers had none of my particular problems with Michael.
Yeah, she didn’t like Michael very much, but that’s totally OK! Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, and I am fully aware of the potentially unlikeable aspects of Michael’s personality, so it’s no surprise to me to find that someone doesn’t like him. She loved Ryan, which is great because I love Ryan too; in fact, my favourite Goodreads review describes Ryan as a “superfine outback cowboy”, which just makes me laugh like a lunatic every time I think about it.
So, yes. Reviews! They never get old, and I appreciate every single one I get.
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Meredith Shayne 