Category: music

• June 24, 2024

  Don’t be afraid to be an amateur

  One of my favorite quotes is by G. K. Chesterton, as are MANY of my favorite quotes. The one I’m thinking of right now basically says: “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.” Obviously, this doesn’t apply to literally every situation. The math behind constructing a bridge is NOT worth doing…
• April 24, 2024

  Sing, even if it’s off key. It brings hope.

  I firmly believe that music is the cry and the call of the heart. I really love a beautiful song called “Simple Song” by Better than Ezra. It starts like this: Floating off adrift through outer space High above the ruins of a suicidal race When somewhere from below there came a song. And suddenly…
• November 28, 2023

  Tuesday Tunes: “Real World,” Matchbox 20

  Back in 2007 or 2008, when I was writing the first draft of “The Crimson League: The Fight for Hope,” I was sitting outside a classroom on campus at the University of Alabama with my iPod Mini. (Oh, those were the days!) “Real World” by Matchbox 20 came on. I realized INSTANTLY that it was…
• October 31, 2023

  Tuesday Tunes: “Keep Holding On” by Avril Lavigne

  This song was written for and featured in the film version of Christopher Paolini’s “Eragon.” I never saw the movie. I read the book, and liked the story, but I’ll be honest–I thought it was so poorly written that I couldn’t bring myself to continue the series. Despite all that, I have ALWAYS loved this…
• October 24, 2023

  Tuesday Tunes: “Heaven” by Better Than Ezra and “The Crimson League: The Fight for Hope”

  For a couple of years now, I have realized that Better Than Ezra’s “Heaven” is a perfect fit for a particular climactic kind of scene at the end of book one of my Herezoth trilogy: “The Crimson League: The Fight for Hope.” Without spoilers, the chapter is titled “The Price of Victory” You can listen…
• July 21, 2022

  Soundtrack to fiction

  I don’t know how common this is among writers, but I imagine I’m not alone in linking music to my characters, to their relationships, and to particular scenes in my fantasy trilogy I’m hoping to re-release in a second edition next year. There are so many different associations. When I was in grad school studying…