Life Updates

     Well, in all this time, it is a logical assumption that I have been doing things. (Or, at least, if I haven't been doing things, that I've successfully wasted a whole year.) 

Life in General

    To start, as I mentioned in my last post, my family moved this summer. They are now living down South, and I still abide in the lands of the North. I'm in a music school at present for a dual degree in Music Performance and Music Education (my primary instruments are voice and piano). I got another new sibling this past summer, and he's very cute and very fat. Pressured by location, I am back to the Novus Ordo grind and in the choir. I live with my best friend and writing confidante, and we have gotten a lot of nonsense and very little writing done thus far with this arrangement. On the side, I teach music, work a pretty effortless desk job, and help direct a high school musical theater group. Those are really the biggest things that are going on at the moment. 

Writing

    As far as writing goes, I was somewhat productive up until the school year started. The Second Brother is now finished and under critique from beta readers, and the sequel(s) have been started with some headway. I decided to trash My Land, My Heart (the idea was very trite), and my opera's present plot, In Greater Hands, and my Giselle retelling are also prospectively on the chopping block. I wrote some draft ideas for He Travels the Fastest, and I may be writing it in earnest as the next main project. I came up with another archive novel idea (which I will probably expound on in another Meet the Books! at some point). 

    Probably the biggest thing that happened as far as writing goes was a redraft, though. My writer friends on Camp NaNo may remember that I have a coauthored novel project which has never been talked about on this blog (mainly to respect my coauthor's privacy). Now, however, Grim has her own blog, and I plan to introduce the story via Meet the Books! sometime very soon. In a nutshell, the story was dull, medieval fantasy of a rather cliche type and has been - um - remodeled, shall we say? Very, very remodeled... Anyhow, more on that later.

Reading

It would take all night for me to cover the reading of a year, so I will just touch on some honorable mentions:

The Journal of Hildegard of Bingen, interpreted by Barbara Lachman

• You must read it!
• Don't read my translation because it was terrible. The lady was intent on making St. Hildegard out as some proto-feminist or female priest or something. Her footnotes were beyond weird. Do yourself a favor and find a better version. 
• Overall, even with the terrible commentary, it was quite a fascinating look into life in a twelfth-century abbey. St. Hildegard was quite an inspiring woman, too - scientist, singer, composer, doctor, abbess, and mystic, and writer of the first musical, to boot. 

Awake, Not Woke: A Christian Response to the Cult of Progressive Ideology by Noelle Mering

• This fabulous book takes the reader through a careful reconstruction of the processes leading to common political thought today in America. She then proceeds to look at each aspect of the philosophy through a Christian lens, with frequent recourse to the Bible, Catechism, writings of the saints and other great Christian authors. Certainly worth reading.

Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph by Jan Swafford

• Okay, guys, you need to know about Beethoven. For better or worse, intentionally or not, this guy created the musical world we live in now. (The musical nerd side of me wants to promote it more, but I think I'd probably better stop before I get carried away.)
• The one huge problem I had with this book was the anti-Catholicism of it all. The author showed rather painfully that she had no competent understanding of Christianity at all. She was quite biased when mentioning anything about the Church, and very strangely positive about every conflicting philosophy except traditional Catholicism. I find this a very high failing when dealing with a composer like Beethoven, who had a complicated and influential relationship with Catholicism. You'd think she would put a little more time and thought into that aspect of the book at least for Beethoven's sake. 

A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt

• To be perfectly honest, I was actually a bit disappointed by the play. It was not as good as the movie (*gasp*), and the author had a very strange way of looking at St. Thomas's philosophy that didn't really show up in the original movie version. 
• All the same, beautiful verse, splendid play. Definitely go watch the Paul Scofield movie. 

Music

    Well, All's Fair got two new songs added to it that it really didn't need and doesn't have a place for. I also wrote a quite useless, cheery little WWI style song and a fantasy for oboe and piano (the fantasy was for a composer's competition which I did not win but had a lot of fun with... the WWI song still has no purpose). I sang on the radio over the summer and got to perform at the reopening of a certain old theater building here, so that was cool. I also got somewhat addicted to TwoSetViolin for a period. 

    As far as music goes, I'm quickly gaining a persona as someone who collects and learns really random instruments. I've sung and played piano for a while now, but I now also play organ, banjo, and ukulele. I dabble in recorder and bagpipes. I plan to take up violin or cello for my strings class this semester and drop the recorder as soon as my wind exams are over. If anyone has need of a dying cat meme track, I would be happy to pick up my recorder for a little bit longer.

Well, that's really about it. How about all of you? What has life held for you this past year? How are the writing projects? Reading? And my musical buddies? (Does anybody else name their instruments...???) 

Meet the Books! - My Land, My Heart

Belle is back! *resounding 80's theme song plays throughout area quite voluminously* Yeah! Ahem. Anyways. Now that Camp NaNoWriMo is done, I am back to blog again (what? Camp ended months ago! I know, I know, but I just finished that project that I was working on in Camp, so Camp just ended for me!). Which is a relief, I can tell you (as much as I complain about never having anything to post, I wouldn't trade this thing in for a bag of gold). But. Now that I'm back, I face the same dilemma. What to post. So - I am going to use one of my classic don't-know-what-to-post-yet tricks and do a link-up. So, without further ado, the next Meet the Books! feature. (Btw, for anyone who doesn't know, Meet the Books! is a link-up instigated by me to introduce WIPs on your blog - anyone can join, and the only rules are to answer the questions, and link back here so that I can see... you can also take the picture if you want to.)

What is the genre?

Drama. Easily Drama. However, there will be a fair amount of action going on in the story's main body as well, so it could maybe qualify as an Action/Adventure.

What is the title? The time period?

The title is My Land, My Heart (I'll explain that oddity later). As for the time period, it is mid-1800s, but in the same made-up world as the rest of my stories.

How is it written (point of view, MC, etc.)?

It's quite predictably in my favorite writing mode - third person limited, with a couple alternating POVs. The MC is kind-of Selena Veritore - speaking of whom...

Who are the characters?

Maid Selena Veritore is the youngest daughter (aged 17) of a most prominent lord in the Nistrian court (about a generation or so before the Nistrian court seen in The Pain of a Memory). Rather exceptionally quiet of nature, few really know her well, even in her own family, for she keeps to herself quite thoroughly, though for no particular reason other than preference. She has for a long time been enamored of another younger, foreign nobleman of the court, Anselm (whose last name I have re-made a million times because I can never remember it).

Sir Ronan Something-or-Other is yet another character that I cannot remember the last name of. You guys all can probably tell by now that this is very recently thought-up story (it's been around for just barely a year now), for I know very few of my character's full names by heart (I only remembered Selena's because it always annoyed me). He is Selena's best friend, and probably the only person in the story who really knows her well. He is a gentleman and musician in the court, but has the status more of a nobleman because of his popularity there. He is really the main character, and most of the book is in his POV (don't ask why I put Selena first. Perhaps it is because she is the only character whose last name I can remember).

Lord Anselm (whose last name is absent...) is a half-Tresintan, half-Nistrian courtier in the Nistrian court who has an unusual quiet about him... not unlike Selena. He is a very cold man, and most people do not know him at all - the only people he is seen to often speak with are Selena's father, an older courtier called Hernand, and

Veren... whose last name also has been mysteriously burnt up by my brain pyromaniacs, a much younger courtier, closer to Selena's age. He is perhaps slightly stuck on Selena - it's hard for Ronan to tell due to Veren's rather patronizing manners, and Selena never pays attention. Veren is a slightly unsure person, and so often seems patronizing to many people, though his intentions are generally good. Young, and fair of face, but bashful, he rather annoys Ronan, who quite sincerely dislikes a fop (though Veren really isn't one). He is also supposedly stuck - this with more measure of truth in his actions - on Selena's older sister, Beliña. Many of the other courtiers rather ignore him because he is young and slightly awkward.

Selena's family consists of her three older sisters, Odeza, Delita, and Beliña, her father, a courtier, and her mother, Damara.

Lord Dorion Hernand isn't too well-known to either Ronan or Selena, except as a friend and colleague of both Anselm and Veren. He is a respectable, and likeable, though grim, old man, and is one of the most trusted courtiers despite his unfamiliarity with the Veritores personally.

And that about covers it so far!

What does the plot consist of?

Three main things:

1. Selena's rocky and distant relationship with Anselm
2. The ever-nearing rumor and threat of war with Belestine
3. Ronan's own family breaking apart

And all of these are fused together through Ronan/Selena.
What is the setting?
The setting, as I said above, is my made-up country, Nistria, about twenty years or so before Anwynne comes there in her book.
What gave you the idea?
Well... at least for the title, my misinterpretation of the lyrics to a Josh Groban song, lol. The real words were 'around my heart,' but I thought that it was 'my land, my heart.' And the other lyrics to the song were the inspiration for the plot, so I thought it fitting that the song's final lyrics (or what I thought they were) would be the story's title.
Who are the favorite characters so far?
Well... This is actually my only story that nobody has read so far. So nobody has any favorite characters. Except me. But telling who my favorite character is would possibly give something away, so I shan't. :)
What is the favorite scene so far?
Same case as above - only scene that's been read by anybody is the original prototype scene, which has since been edited.

Any themes of music for this work?
Selena and Anselm (because it's no spoiler that they are married, though the affection is on Selena's side) have a romantic theme - specifically Il Divo's verison of Can't Help Falling In Love. Other than that, not really. Though Ronan's character was originally inspired by the Toreador Song in the opera Carmen, weirdly enough.
Any drawings?
Nah. This story's pretty new - it doesn't merit any pictures yet. :)
Any snippets?
I know I've been really, really bad about snippets in the last few Meet the Books! features, but, unfortunately, I must disappoint again. This time, though, I have a legitimate reason rather than just a stupid lost notebook or procrastination. The story in question only consists of the beginning and three ahead scenes, all of which but the former contain rather large spoilers, and the former of which needs revised greatly. So... I will have to apologize yet again, it seems.

Strong point in story?

Probably the lack of dependence in plot. Sad to say, I'm not that great at original plots - most of my plots just turn out as a vector for characters or allegory, and not really good plots in and of themselves. This one, however, is different, in that the biggest main plot is quite independent of the characters.

Weak point in story?

The lack of writing. As this book is mostly a channeling for when I am irritated or depressed, I don't write in it terribly often - just in weathered moods. So there is very little of it.

What are your plans for them?

Not much. Maybe it'll get published eventually if I polish it up - as for now, I just kinda use it to scribble out frustration with stuff.

Any particular writing habits for it?

Just keeping to the same notebook, really. Other than that, not much.



If it were made into a movie, what would be your ideal cast for it?
Well, were he still about, Leslie Howard would be a good Veren. And Harrison Ford would do well as Hernand at his present age. Joan Fontaine would be a good Selena, and Errol Flynn would've been a good Ronan. Robert Taylor would be good as Anselm, though with lighter hair.
That wraps it up! What did you think? Are you planning on joining the link-up? Would you read My Land, My Heart if it were published someday? (By the by, I apologize for all the wildflower/lavender pictures - for some reason, lavenders are just this story's thing, and my Pinterest board is bespattered with them.)