S.M. Carrière . com
Connect:
  • Home
  • About
  • Titles
    • Daughters Of Britain
    • Dear Father
    • Ethan Cadfael: The Battle Prince
    • Human
    • Skylark
    • The Dying God & Other Stories
    • The Seraphimè Saga >
      • The Summer Bird (v.1)
      • The Winter Wolf (v.2)
    • Your Very Own Adventures >
      • Skara Braens
      • Sky Road Walker
    • WIP Updates
  • Art
  • Other Projects
    • Editing Services
    • Charity Efforts >
      • Gàrradh nan Leannan
      • Have a Heart Campaign
    • Journal
    • Martial Arts
    • Silver Stag Entertainment
    • The Adventures of Grimglum the Nord
    • SMC Awkwardly Plays
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Art Prints
  • Contact

Music and Me

9/3/2018

0 Comments

 
Good morning, Readers!
Picture
This has nothing to do with today's post, I just really love this image by deviantart.com user NTGreen. Click the image to see more of their awesome work.
Those of you who know me, know that music has an enormous effect on me.  It really doesn't matter the genre of the music, if it's good, it'll transport me somewhere else, and set my imagination on fire.

A lot of the time, the music I listen to will help set the mood for something I'm writing, or inform a character or scene.  I can't help it.  Music translates to images in my head, which I turn into writing.  I thought that today, I might go through some songs with you, and explain how they relate to my writing or characters, or even the scenes they evoke.

This is by no means a comprehensive list.  Not all of my books or my characters will be included.  We'd be here for the rest of my life if I even attempted it.  So, it's just a few of my more recent works, only one of which, I now realise, is actually published.

I'm going to start with the published book.  Specifically, the protagonist of that book.

Aleksandar Svetoslav - Human

Aleksandar actually has two songs, neither of them particularly happy (surprise).
I love this particular cover of Paint it Black. This song is basically Aleksandar's background mood.  As a young man, he was saved by the man who would become the Tsar of Bulgaria, Theodore Svetoslav.  In the time between his rescue, and Theodore's ascension to the Bulgarian throne, Aleksandar falls in love.  His devotion to Theodore is complete.

Theodore's adoration is... less so (for the record, Aleksandar's pureness, even after he is turned, grates on Theodore, who is both enthralled and irritated by it).

Their love affair, spanning hundreds of years, is rocky to say the least, but Aleksandar never strays.

It ends abruptly, when Theodore is assassinated by another vampire clan.

The loss very nearly destroys Aleksandar, and the only reason he has not cast himself on a bonfire is a promise he made to the man he loved—to keep their clan safe.  For hundreds of years, there is no colour in Aleksandar's world.

Then he meets Alicia.

​The second song that instantly makes me think of Aleksandar is this:
This song is both melancholic and intense.  I feel like this is Aleksandar after he meets Alicia... before everything goes to shit.  It speaks to me of Aleksandar's crushing loneliness, the spark of life Alicia injects into that dark world, and how desperately Aleksandar clings to that, however subtly (from the lyrics "Help me make the most of freedom, and of pleasure.").

Alicia becomes the only good thing as Aleksandar's world crumbles around him.  The lyrics evoke the most literal images in my head of Aleksander and his character.  While Paint it Black is Aleksandar's mood before the events of the book take off, this song is the most accurate representation of the Aleksandar we meet in Human.

Dark Wolf - Outworlder, Avalon Book One

Dark wolf is the protagonist of my current work in progress.  It's currently called Outworlder, but the title will likely change.  Dark Wolf is one of the two last remaining pure-blood Fomori in existence.  The other is her twin brother, Storm Crow.

Dark Wolf is a tough warrior, who has spent most of her life at war, and witnessed a great deal of grief.  She's stubborn, brilliant, aloof, and has a temper.

I don't want to give too much away about this, since it isn't published (or quite finished).  But I can tell you that this song describes her completely:

Commander Skye and the Tahorah - Skylark

This song doesn't describe any one character from the as-yet unpublished Skylark.  But it is emblematic of the bond between Commander Bennejin Skye and the Tahorah of the alien invaders (Tahorah means queen, more or less).

I think this song is a masterpiece, by the way, but what connects this masterpiece to Skye and the Tahorah.  The melody is light, and so, so endearingly sweet.  The brass section intensifies and ennobles the piece, mimicking what the love Skye has for the Tahorah does to the commander.  And then the key change and crescendo of the music... the whole score is sheer brilliance.

When I listen to it, all I can see is Skye and the Tahorah, standing in front of a window provides a sweeping view of space, holding each other.

I love the song and the image it evokes so, so, so damned much.

And that's some small insight into my brain, and how deeply music affects my imagination.  What about you?  What songs remind you of your favourite characters or literary moments.  Sound off in the comments below.

Now I have to go write more.

Ciao!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    S.M. Carrière, a Celtic Studies enthusiast, writes fiction.  And this blog.

    Archives

    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

    Categories

    All
    Book Reviews
    Events
    Gaming
    Human
    Life
    Rants
    Reading
    Seraphimè Saga
    Seraphimè Saga
    Skylark
    Television
    Training
    Travels
    Writing
    YouTube

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly