Quote by JustAnotherSapphic

I'm not at all into country. Tommy is kind of my exception though 'n while I did hear of the album, I'm gonna pass cause I feel like nobody could sing those songs the way Tommy could.

I'm listening to it and very impressed so far. Highlight of the first quarter or so is Dolly Parton's take on "Southern Accents". Nothing weird, just a solid ballad with a string section and country band behind her. But I just got to "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" covered by Lady A (formerly Lady Antebellum) and it sounds like they nail it. It's one of my favourite Petty songs. OTOH, Luke Combs, being part of the current generation of country artists who count guys like Petty among their influences, pretty much does "Running Down the Dream" as a straight version of Petty's original.

One thing it does point up is what an f-ing brilliant songwriter he was. I expect we'll be hearing his songs for the rest of eternity.

Paging JustAnotherSapphic. If you're at all into country, this might be of interest. It was recommended as a "road trip disc" by, of all places, Scientific American. Well, the editor of their daily newsletter anyhow.

https://store.tompetty.com/products/petty-country-a-country-music-celebration-of-tom-petty-cd

And I see Mike Campbell of The Heartbreakers guests on one track, so I guess this is official. Personally, I am intrigued by Rhiannon Giddens doing "Don't come around here no more". Her folk-bluegrass sound could do interesting things with that song, I think.

Goooooooooooooooooooood Morning!

Coffee is brewing, there's tea in the teapots. Water is boiled if you need something else. Cold drinks are waiting in the fridge.

Saying anything negative about Tom would just be...😎...petty. 🤣

Quote by verbal
Tom Petty seems to be pretty universally beloved. Fine with me. Did I tell you I saw once in concert. Lenny Kravitz opened.

Kravitz and Petty seems like a good bill. Different enough to keep things interesting but close enough that fans of one will probably like, or at least be okay with, the other.

Archie Caine is someone I am still trying to find information about. I only found him because another Floor Jansen/Nightwish fan recommended the video below.

From some googling, it appears that Archie is a British singer-songwriter with strong influences from prog, power, and symphonic metal. His only album is a concept album called Tommy And The Angels (2022) but he managed to get two veterans of the European metal scene to help with it. Damian Wilson has appeared with many bands and projects over the years as both lead and guest vocalist. Dianne van Giersbergen has fronted two bands (best known for her time in Xandria) and is currently releasing solo songs leading up to her debut solo album. This song features Dianne, who packs a magnificent operatic soprano. Per something I found on Reddit, Archie may now be fronting a band called Fairyland, replacing their late previous lead.

Got a book? Not having much luck with agents and big publishers? Not up to self-publishing? There's always the small presses. These are open to working directly with authors though may have submission periods, i.e. don't take submissions all the time. It's a real mixed bag from non-fiction to poetry to kids and YA. Have a look and see if any suit your work.

One that caught my eye is Annick Press. It's a small Canadian press focussed on children's books that is famous here for discovering and publishing the great children's author Robert Munsch. Would be a perfect market for, say, a collection of stories about cute animals having adventures.😉😊

» 21 Terrific Small Presses Open to Direct Submissions (authorspublish.com)

Quote by JustAnotherSapphic
like the person elsewhere who described him as the Applebees of music

😲

One wonders what music they like, though I know a lot of indie music fans tend to turn up their noses at anything even slightly mainstream. And fans in some niches, like metal and punk, can be like that, too, with music outside their niche (or even music inside it that doesn't meet their standard).

Well, I have one started and only need to cut 31 words. Gack. And I thought 100 words for a micro was hard.🙄

Tom Petty is just a terrible musician and ...😕... oh, who am I kidding, I love a lot of his music.

Good morning.

Hmmm. Lavazza seems to the coffee of choice in Northern Europe so we've got Perfetto in the coffee pot. Teas are Russian Caravan and English Breakfast. Hot water is one for other hot beverages. Cold drinks are all refreshed.

Currently attempting WriterGirl's 70 word challenge. Easier than wrestling with the story I have going.

Which leads me to a writing question. If you have a longer work going on and it stalls at a particular scene, do you skip that scene and come back to it later? Just thinking that might solve a problem I am having. I'm hung up on how to play a scene and starting to think I'll just jump over it and then it might come together once I have the next couple scenes in place.

I like the music and I'm a big George fan but can't say I'm really attracted to any of them. Great musicians but none of them are my type, I guess.

Quote by WriterGirl

Woohoo! Kis and Mr T swooping in first and setting the bar high! :worship:

Keep ‘em coming!

Oh crap, yes. You've really got something going here, eh.

Quote by WriterGirl

Hiya everybody!

I’m sponsoring a fun writing challenge. 1st place 500 coins ($50). Second place 375 coins ($37.50).

See link below.

https://www.storiesspace.com/forum/stories-space-writing-prompts-challenges/summer-24-hint-fiction-writing-challenge-for-lots-of-coins

I love this. Thanks you. Bows We are not worthy.😊

And good morning y'all. Coffee is some Ethiopian Yirgacheffe from Fire-Roasted. Teas are Original Earl Grey (has orange as well as bergamot) and Scottish Breakfast. Hot water is on for other hot bevvies. Cold drinks are looking good.

Cooler here finally. I even got out for a walk yesterday. Have not been writing. Got a hankering for a project I had in mind since buying my new laptop last year. It is now running on the open source Linux operating system with Windows still lurking if needed (what's called dual boot where you choose which to use on start up).

Quote by Molly
Rob Zombie has been my soundtrack this morning. Which says a lot considering it's only 8:45 AM.

Oh boy. I will keep my distance. 😋 I have only listened to some Laufey (vocal jazz) so far. Considered cranking some metal but decided I wasn't in that kind of mood yet.

Hey there, Gil. Nice to see you.

Still a bit jet-lagged but seem to be getting closer to normal. Then again, I thought I was doing well on Thursday and then was lagged as hell yesterday.

Never had an MRI but I'm sure that day will come given my list of health conditions and family history. Haven't even had an x-ray in a while, though. Did need an ultrasound to confirm the hernia I had fixed last Fall before the doc could refer me.

There's some Tobermorey Grotto in the coffee pot. Teas are Assam and Wakoucha (Japanese red/black). Hot water is ready. Cold drink pitchers are washed and refilled so we are stocked up with iced tea and lemonade. And sodas are stocked up.

Ape was slinging pancakes this morning. Have some if you wish.

Heard this a day or two back and again today. It's David Gilmour, renowned as the guitarist and sometimes vocalist for Pink Floyd, on guitar and his daughter Romany on vocals. She's got a nice voice and while pursuing a music career could be a bit stressful when your Dad is "one of the greats", I kind of hope this isn't the last time we hear her (she did sing harmonies on another song from Gilmour's upcoming solo album).

Forgot to mention, it's a cover of a song originally done by a group called the Glitch Mob with a vocalist named Swan.

With the loss of Donald Sutherland, I thought of this one. He played "Hawkeye" Pierce in the original movie, even if Alan Alda is probably the actor most associated with the role due to the longevity of the TV series.

Quote by AnnaMayZing

One of my favourite summer drinks is Eiskaffee (Ice cream coffee). A chilled latte with a scoop of ice cream on top. It is often served with whipped cream on top of that, but that is too sickly for me. Unfortunately, in the UK, they have a habit of also putting flavoured syrup in it, so I avoid it here. Way, way, way too sweet! I often make Americano over ice, too. Delicious.

Not a coffee fan, but that Eiskaffee sounds interesting. I do like coffee flavoured desserts and that sort of thing and this might work for me.

Quote by AnnaMayZing
Listening to the new album by Eivør Pálsdóttir. Entitled 'Enn', it is an absolutely wonderful album. So atmospheric.

What a coincidence. I had it on today, too. It is terrific.

Sadly, I had cause to revisit this old favourite today. Canadian actor Donald Sutherland, who stars as Kate's father in the video, has passed away at 88.

Saw this in the weekly Author's Publish newsletter. Eight literary markets that are open to fiction over 5000 words (one even has a minimum of 3000). Thought might interest some on here.

https://authorspublish.com/8-literary-journals-open-to-longer-fiction/

Good morning!! Feeling a bit livelier today and attempting some writing. If this keeps going, my new piece (the already discussed sequel to Night Of The Wind) is headed for at least novella territory. Will probably be doing chapters, even. But we shall see.

In the meantime, here's some Private Reserve French Roast from Las Chicas. Teas are Assam and Irish Breakfast. Hot water is on for other goodies. Cold beverages are looking good.

How's things?

Slight warning about Paypal:

Apparently, my account is set to use my existing balance first. Which means that I quite unintentionally used my comp winnings to pay for my Uber home from the airport transport depot the other day. 😲🤣

You know, Laufey has become one of those artists that I just can't stop talking about. If "From the Start" was the lure, "Lovesick" set the hook. Still my favourite song of hers.

I first discovered Laufey on a tour of Iceland about a year ago. I was booking our visit to the Blue Lagoon spa (now closed due to the ongoing volcanic activity nearby) and they had an interview with her on their blog. Intrigued by what I read, I looked her up on social media right about the time she was heavily promoting this song. It remains one of my favourite from Bewitched.

And a solo performance of the song from Laufey herself.

"Bewitched" was the title track from Laufey's 2023 second album. Here, the song is reimagined by her fellow Icelander, classical pianist Vikingur Olafsson. Noted for performances of music from Bach right down to modern composers like Philip Glass, Olafsson's rendition creates a very beautiful piano setting of Laufey's song.

Quote by AnnaMayZing

From the current album by Xandria, The Wonders Still Awaiting, with lead vocals from Ambre Vourvahis, this is the most excellent, Universal.

I love Ambre. The band has a history of great female singers and Ambre has fit right in.

Listened to a pile of new songs that came out while I was on vacation this morning. A couple highlights follow.

The second single from the upcoming solo album by Dutch singer Simone Simons of the band Epica.

And the latest from Lake Street Dive, a terrific band that blends a number of musical styles (pop, r&b, jazz) to create a rather unique sound for this day and age.

Quote by Mendalla

1177: The Year Civilization Collapsed, Eric Cline

Finally got back to this one. See post above.

Also read Marc Morris' The Anglo-Saxons. Nice, readable history of how the Germanic tribes settled in and shaped the development of England, beginning with the Roman departure from Britain in 410 CE and ending with the Norman Conquest of 1066 CE. There were some interesting characters in that era. Would probably be a good read for Bernard Cornwell fans since Morris covers a lot of historical figures who ended up as characters in the novels and TV show of Cornwell's Anglo-Saxon series.

As usual, the genre fiction markets list is heavy on SF, fantasy, and horror. There's some other genres salted in there, though, if you look. The first on the list has already been posted by Verbal in another thread, which is a call for new writers of horror. Other options include Christian sf and fantasy, long-term relationships (with an interest in queer relationships, polycules, and other less conventional ones), and stories about the "suitors" (Quincey, Dr. Seward, and Arthur Holmwood) from Dracula. Have a look. Maybe your next publisher is on the list.

https://authorspublish.com/45-magazines-paying-for-genre-fiction/

Interesting one. Think I have come across them before in the Author's Publish blogs and certainly in my wheelhouse. However, having been gone half the month, I doubt I could get something ready by June 30. Will still look at their eligibility requirements, though, in case something comes to mind.