Musings in the Dark: 2017

12/01/2017

Publication Announcement!!!

Dark Dilettantes!!

FINALLY!

I am pleased to announce that my fourth book, Tainted, is now ready for purchase at MCP's Shopify store.  This book has been a labor of love for over four years.  It has a beautiful new cover, created by the ultra-talented JVNX.

Tainted tells the story of glam rocker Kemme Thornton, a woman who has everything most women dream of: beauty, talent, fame, fortune and notoriety...and she has everything a woman really needs: a family that supports her in everything she wants to do.  She has it all, but it isn't enough.

Kemme is in love with being in love and believes she's found it in Keith Marshall, a shy, geeky engineer.  Keith wants to marry Kemme and give her the perfect life she thinks she wants.  This perfection hides a nasty, insidious secret that Kemme soon uncovers.  Said secret forces her to see herself through Keith's eyes, but will she like what she sees or will it destroy her?


You can purchase Tainted for the low price of $2.99.  Thank you for your support!!!



10/08/2017

The Expat Diaries; Volume III: Indonesia

So I’ve been in Indonesia for two whole months.  My shipment still hasn’t arrived (Saudi service sucks), so I’m not 100% where I need to be in terms of my headspace.  But I’m doing all right.  I like my job and I live five minutes away from it in a nice house.  I’ve never worked near my job, so to be able to hop in the car and be at work in under five is every damn thing.

8/20/2017

Update

Well I’ve relocated back to the Far East; Indonesia to be specific.  Life has been crazy these past few weeks.  Moving as an expat can be ridiculously stressful.  You don’t feel at home until your shipment arrives (if you have one).  I’ve accepted it as part of my existence as an expatriate that I will always have a shipment every time I move.  It’s really hard to call one’s residence a home when it’s devoid of personality.  Fortunately, my shipment should arrive in about four weeks.

The city where I live has no stop signs or traffic lights in the suburban areas.  Therefore, traffic is utterly ridiculous.  There are these random guys who will go out and direct traffic with the expectation that you’ll grease their palms when they allow you out into the street.  A trip that should theoretically take 10 minutes takes up to 45 most days.

3/18/2017

Update

Dilettantes,

I am so sorry that it has been almost three months since I last posted anything.  This year has been hectic and I've been so swamped with work and other related things that I've been unable to do hardly anything that I enjoy.

I have some news, of course.  First of all, I've accepted a job in Indonesia and will be moving there this summer.  I am so excited to be moving on from KSA, as I've had enough of this place.  Bali will be the first place I visit as soon as I get a break, trust.  It is my sincere hope that with all of the experience I've gained in Shanghai and Riyadh that I can put down some roots in Indonesia.  I hate moving.

Secondly, I've resumed work on Tainted.  It's been four years (I found this unbelievable, but computer dates don't lie) and I've finally figured out what the novel needed.  Funny how that works, but my Muse is never, ever wrong.  Having said all that, I plan to publish Tainted sometime this fall.  It's got a kick-ass new cover, courtesy of the talented and gifted JVNX.

The only real drawback I face is the fact that it takes a me year to get settled in a new job in a new country.  Of course, this takes time away from my writing, which is one of the reasons I want to get Tainted published before I settle into my new life.  This will most likely push back work on Nightingales episodes 2 & 3.  Oh well, what can you do?

I will make a concerted effort not to let this much time go by before I write another post.  There's so much that's been going on in all directions that it's been hard to focus.  However, now that I know where I'm going, things will calm down a bit.  I hope, anyway.

Talk to you soon.  ~A




1/02/2017

Prince's Legacy, #1

#1: Parade


My favorite album by His Purple Majesty.   Parade is the soundtrack to Prince’s second film, Under the Cherry Moon.  The movie was nowhere near as good as Purple Rain, but it didn’t have to be.  I love Parade because it has a European feel to it, as UTCM was set in France.  From start to finish, the album is a classic fusion of pop, jazz and soul with some definitive French undertones.  It is different from any of his previous albums, and along with the theme change, Prince himself changed.  He went from his trademark curls and ruffles to a sleek slickback and feminine-tailored suits.  Yet he remained beautiful and ethereal.