I wanted Halloween Music. I came across this List.
I love it. When I had searched for the same sort of thing on Movies…Well I found I was disappointed in the list. Scary movies most of these are not…at least not to me. Boyfriend says I am desensitized.
He might be right. I was reading horror books back in elementary school – like real ones. Steven King and the like. My parents did not limit what I read. (I was reading College level by time I hit 4th grade.)
I remember being scared by some really well written stories.
And My imagination is far richer than most movies.
So, I end up being disappointed by the movies because they can not live up to the full richness of the stories in my head. I get people who get mad at me when I say that I am not a video person…because the shows rarely are worth the time I have to spend away from my books.
And I have no way to explain that without sounding strange. I love music. I love books. Movies and television however often disappoints.
Old radio programs and Theater shows are amazing however…
It’s close to midnight and something evil’s lurkin’ in the dark Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes, You’re paralyzed
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night And no one’s gonna save you from the beast about to strike You know it’s thriller, thriller night You’re fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight Yeah Ooh
You hear the door slam and realize there’s nowhere left to run You feel the cold hand and wonder if you’ll ever see the sun You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination, girl But all the while you hear a creature creepin’ up behind You’re outta time
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night There ain’t no second chance against the thing with the forty eyes, girl Thriller, ooh, thriller night You’re fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight
Night creatures call And the dead start to walk in their masquerade There’s no escaping the jaws of the alien this time (they’re open wide) This is the end of your life, ooh
They’re out to get you, there’s demons closing in on every side (ooh) They will possess you unless you change that number on your dial Now is the time for you and I to cuddle close together, yeah All through the night I’ll save you from the terror on the screen, I’ll make you see
That this is thriller, thriller night ‘Cause I can thrill you more than any ghoul could ever dare try Thriller, ooh, thriller night So let me hold you tight and share a killer, thriller, chiller Thriller here tonight
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night Girl, I can thrill you more than any ghoul could ever dare try Thriller, ooh, thriller night So let me hold you tight and share a killer, thriller (ow)
I’m gonna thrill you tonight
[Vincent Price:] Darkness falls across the land The midnight hour is close at hand Creatures crawl in search of blood To terrorize y’all’s neighborhood (I’m gonna thrill you tonight) And whomsoever shall be found Without the soul for getting down Must stand and face the hounds of hell And rot inside a corpse’s shell
[Vincent Price:] The foulest stench is in the air The funk of forty thousand years (Thriller night, thriller) And grisly ghouls from every tomb Are closing in to seal your doom And though you fight to stay alive Your body starts to shiver (I’m gonna thrill you tonight) For no mere mortal can resist The evil of the thriller
[Into maniacal laugh, in deep echo]
My 2 Cents –
Continuing the theme from last week…It’s Halloween Time Y’all. Celebrate the dark and spooky with me.
Spooky, scary skeletons Send shivers down your spine Shrieking skulls will shock your soul Seal your doom tonight
Spooky, scary skeletons Speak with such a screech You’ll shake and shudder in surprise When you hear these zombies shriek
We’re sorry skeletons, you’re so misunderstood You only want to socialize, but I don’t think we should
‘Cause spooky, scary skeletons Shout startling, shrilly screams They’ll sneak from their sarcophagus And just won’t leave you be
Spirits supernatural are shy what’s all the fuss? But bags of bones seem so unsafe, it’s semi-serious
Spooky, scary skeletons Are silly all the same They’ll smile and scrabble slowly by And drive you so insane
Sticks and stones will break your bones They seldom let you snooze Spooky, scary skeletons Will wake you with a boo!
My 2 Cents –
Okay, I know this is a silly song. But it suits this time of year. I really am in the fall mood. And considering my kid blew my phone up while I was out of contact with a text chain containing one text for each word of the lyrics to this…I really had no choice…dance with me?
This weekend I was easily able to make that goal and then some.
My daily goal? 250 word count and a poem. It doesn’t sound like a lot… but I don’t often make it. Between the publication process and life being what it is… I stay busy.
I had no Internet and no computer and no access to the phone where I have been. So I was just able to draw and write.
I got a new kids book written, several poems, and Serena got quite a bit of her new story for the spring fae corps Anthology done. (It’s about half way written now). I was only gone for a weekend.
Maybe I need to plan on writing retreats. Serena needs to start putting some work in on her books. Next year this is an option for me.
But being out of contact is anxiety inducing for me. This is a wonderful thing for my writing but it is not a good thing for me personally. It is something I will have to think about.
Mayday, mayday, the ship is slowly sinking They think I’m crazy but they don’t know the feeling They’re all around me circling like vultures They wanna break me and wash away my colors Wash away my colors Take me high and I’ll sing Oh, you make everything okay, okay, okay (okay, okay, okay) We are one and the same Oh, you take all of the pain away, away, away (away, away, away) Save me if I become my demons I cannot stop this sickness taking over It takes control and drags me into nowhere I need your help, I can’t fight this forever I know you’re watching, I can feel you out there Take me high and I’ll sing Oh, you make everything okay, okay, okay (okay, okay, okay) We are one and the same Oh, you take all of the pain away, away, away (away, away, away) Save me if I become my demons Take me over the walls below Fly forever, don’t let me go I need a savior to heal my pain When I become my worst enemy The enemy Take me high and I’ll sing You make everything okay We are one and the same You take all of the pain away Take me high and I’ll sing Oh, you make everything okay, okay, okay (okay, okay, okay) We are one and the same Oh, you take all of the pain away, away, away (away, away, away) Save me if I become my demons Take me high and I’ll sing Oh, you make everything (my demons) okay, okay, okay (okay, okay, okay, my demons) We are one and the same Oh, you take all of the pain (my demons) away, away, away (away, away, away, my demons) Save me if I become my demons
My 2 Cents –
My demons here lately are loud…and I end up feeling like I am constantly at war. Whilst I war within I might seem strange and distant…I am not, and I apologize if it seems that way. This is just how I fight this war.
[Verse 1] Crawl out of the hole you’re in Who you are is not who you’ve been Now’s the time to sink or swim Will you fight the tide or get lost within? And I know you’re feeling low Feel like you’ve lost control But the darkness that you know It’s not your home and you’re not alone
[Chorus] And all you’ve wanted Was just so much more This world has taken a hold Don’t let ’em get your soul The silence, you feel it Cold as a winter storm This world has taken a hold Don’t let ’em get your soul
[Verse 2] Iron bars are hell to break Tell me now, do you know what’s at stake? Your whole life in a blank stare haze You walk around like the end of days And I know you’re feeling low Feel like you’ve lost control But the darkness that you know It’s not your home and you’re not alone
[Chorus] And all you’ve wanted Was just so much more This world has taken a hold Don’t let ’em get your soul The silence, you feel it Cold as a winter storm This world has taken a hold Don’t let ’em get your soul
[Bridge] I’m callin’ out to you Can you hear me? They can’t break you down Let you hit the ground I promise you it won’t be long (Won’t be long) You’re feeling overwhelmed here Drowned by the pain and the fear The sun will come with the dawn
[Chorus] All you’ve wanted Was just so much more This world has taken a hold Don’t let ’em get your soul The silence, you feel it Cold as a winter storm This world has taken a hold Don’t let ’em get your soul Get your soul
My 2 Cents –
The problem with times when my poetry flows more…my emotions feel closer to the surface. I have been writing a lot of poetry for the last few days…and it means that my music is a wee bit melancholy. This is the most positive thing I could find in what I have been listening to. As my music tastes are all over the place…I try to use music here that I can actually have something to say about – or that is a feel good piece. This is a bit of both. Remember you are important whether you feel it or not.
Okay…I get recommended writing tools at least once a day…sometimes once an hour. Most of them are bloody expensive.
I can’t afford to pay out for quite a few of them. Oh believe me…I have paid for some, and for services…(Including some editors that I plan to recommend on another post)
This one is entirely about the programs I use.
We will start with the ones I was willing to pay for.
Canva – I pay for the premium features. The reason is because of the amount of use this opens up. I use it for marketing, poetry images, blog images, cover design, and quite a few other fun little things. This is not an expensive cost but it is a monthly cost. I pay $13 a month.
Master PDF – This was a one time cost. It has come down since I bought it. It was closer to 100 when I bought it. It’s now $70. I can use this to make the full covers, sign contracts, adjust a pdf in whatever way I need to. This is the most comprehensive editor I have found. There is a few features I would like it to have and I used to have a pdf compiler program that did those but I don’t have it currently…might look for one.
Google Drive – I pay for the largest google drive so I can have some file access and backup ability. This is not a need. It is a personal preference. I have lost files too often.
One Drive/One Note – okay those who have followed me for awhile know I had to switch my writing on my phone from Evernote to One Note. This was a difficult decision prompted by Evernote choosing to go with a forced AI…I was uncomfortable with it and tried to opt out. The response I got was …sad to say the least. So I pay for One drive to make One note usable. It costs me $8 monthly.
That is it. The paid list.
Now for the freeware.
LibreOffice – This program does everything Microsoft office does and then some. And it does not cost anything.
Sigil – Epubs are the filetype that publishing require. Libre office will export to epub. But you have to fix the file. It only requires a couple of minor fixes – but it needs done if you expect to use the created epub.
And Lastly – this one is a tool I use for Communication.
Discord – It allows me to easily transfer files to the authors and be able to announce upcoming events and such. It makes things easier for me. Fae Corps Publishing’s Discord even has channels for writing games and such to try and help the writers. There is places for feedback and general help, and prompts. All conveniently in one place.
This of course is not all my tools. But it is the main ones. and it gives you a start.
No matter how much I do. No matter what I list as my accomplishments.
I refuse to listen. So I have been in defiance doing art and writing.
Though I see it as flawed…my view of my art and writing always says that there is no reason why anyone would like it…
I have purposely not been allowing my inner voice the ability to take control.
It is an actual fight.
Tonight I am winning.
The art above was done tonight.
Echoes is now 65/70 poems
Serena’s Gathered Bones is at 13/70 poems
Kingdoms of sin got another 500 words tonight.
There is a story started for Fae Corps publishing’s Spring anthology.
And I did another digital landscape.
I have still got work that needs done. Things that are sitting on my desk with a needs attention tag on them…but tonight I was in the wrong headspace for editing and for making sure that things looked their best. Tonight I did my best to create.
Because when you are feeling like you are not enough – MAKE MORE! so I did.
And if it is flawed…well some of the best loved things are flawed. that does not make them loved any less.
So Jenny Elliott – Friend, Intern, all around I cannot live without her in my life type person…asked me what the list was for the anthology publication. (The To-do List that is)
I told her it is the same for each book…and I sat and thought about what that means for the anthologies, for my books, and for each book I work with.
I need a front and rear cover to work with.
I need a clean formatted and edited manuscript to work with.
I need a blurb, and an author list.
I need a Release date.
I often am the designer for the covers my company publishes. That makes having them easier. There are a couple of authors that provide their own covers but most just go with the ones I make.
The authors often just send me the written stories. I put in the formatting and edit it as I go. Many of them have the writing edited before I see it, but not all. Formatting is putting in order – Title page, a copyright page, Contents, Chapters, About the Author, About the Publisher.
Some authors write their blurbs, some expect me to write it. Either way, It is not as difficult as writing the entire story. The author list is an obvious thing…
The release date is based on how many others I have in the calendar at a time. The limitation is mostly me. I can only do so many of these at a time.
Okay I have the manuscript…now what? I use Draft2digital, Amazon, Google Play Books all for Ebooks. D2d has the best expanded Distribution. Amazon has the best reach in general. Google….well…why not? I do Not Like D2d’s Print. So for print I use Amazon and Barnes and Nobles press.
Then I have to deal with Marketing. I try to do the same type of images for every book. Do I always manage it? No, not really. I have way too much going on…and often this is where I drop balls. Ideally, I want for each book to do a cover reveal image set. I want to do 3 teaser images. I also want to share an about the author image for each book. Now the last one can be made once and often reshared for multiple books. An Author does not often change their bio. Mine has changed perhaps once a year. Mostly because I have changed where I am focused. Some authors never need to change theirs. I also like to occasionally do “Coming Soon” images…for example….
It’s simple and really only gives the link and the cover. This gives people the urge to go check it out. Then once you have them…spread those images everywhere.
Pattimouse 