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My biggest dream was to be an entertainer. I’d done some singing, played a couple instruments… At other times I toyed with the idea of being a writer. I wrote a few short stories about family in school and even wrote a couple of sentences for a novel but stalled when it came to description. I’ve never been a fan of that, either as a reader or writer. But, really, what did I have to write about?
After I met my father for the first time in my adult life (I may or may not met him when I was 3), and put together all the differing stories, I finally had a plot. So I started writing. Book 3 got me an agent and a publishing deal with a publisher that soon went out of business. Still, it got attention – I’d hit it toward the end of the chicklit boom and the beginning of the Indie publishing boom.
But, really, my best book, and my best seller for some years is Letters on Balboa Island. I wrote it for my dad and for me. He loved it. He told me, “Keep writing. You must fulfill your destiny.”
I love music. So when the publishing industry went wacko, I turned most of my attention towards music. But, now, I keep hearing those words of my father. And when he died 5 years ago now, I heard the song “Beyond the Sea.” I recently uploaded a YouTube short in honor of that. So how could I not combine music and writing? 🙂
So, here I am, listening to music that my father loved and opening the manuscript I’m working on. Jaclyn is its working title. I think he will love it. I just have to finish it. My mother is also the inspiration for this book. So what better day than Mother’s Day to open the manuscript?
Sinatra, Vegas, Martinis, yes, I do believe they will all be there.
For today’s video and music pairing, I chose “Tequila, Take Me Home,” a song I wrote during my very first FAWM in 2018. We were living in Florida and I was missing California. Now we’re back in Florida and, of course, I’m always missing California. So I put together a video with clips of both California and Florida beaches. I love them both!
There’s a woman so sure
She thought she was the cure
Until the day her world exploded
Who or what was overlooked
As she questioned the why
When she raised her fist to the sky
Her favorite month
The one of her birth
No longer had any meaning
All around her raised the flag
So she doesn’t even dare
To speak of it here, there or anywhere
The seventh month of the year
Shows up without fear
As the people march up and down
To celebrate their freedom in the whole damn town
But for her it’s not the same
She couldn’t know him or her last name
The decades come and go
Whether she likes it yes or no
Will she be climbing this time
The stairway without rhyme
Celebrating the moon’s phase
For 31 days
What once was a test of endurance
With no emotional assurance
Singing “Good bye July”
For all those getting high
Let’s all raise a glass
And to celebrate at last
The biggest adventure at sea
The story of me
Sitting on my lanai sipping my morning coffee as first light peeks over the inlet on its journey from the eastern sea
Divine office fills my ears and memories fill my thoughts
Not long ago I sat on another east facing lanai, sipping coffee, admiring the morning light on the pond
As bicyclers pedalled by and dog walkers waved acknowledging my bathrobe clad presence
I thought I preferred the privacy I have now
But I miss the silent awareness of then somehow
Time passes offering distance and lessons
On the juxtaposition of wanting more and letting it all just be
I know, I know, it’s NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month), but so far, I’ve only written 2 poems. I’m so having a blast pairing my songs and musician friend songs with video on YouTube.
Here’s my latest: the one I’m calling the “3 Drinks Later Cruise.” Actually, I wrote the first version during my first FAWM (February Album Writing Month) in 2018 and revised it during last year’s 50/90.
So… here it is. If you enjoy, please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. And I always appreciate your likes here. Thank you so much – you’re the best!
And then there are the #Shorts – check these 2 out – “No Men in Las Vegas” (clip from the full length audio reading of my novella Raining Men) and “Cruising the Colorado River in Laughlin” with musician @WolfKier on YouTube and his “Down By the Ferry Dock” song.
I just had to do another video for “She’s Not That Good” on YouTube. Maybe because I was scrolling through my videos and saw this one of the Mariachi Band playing Jazz in the Piazza on the Crown Princess sailing the Mexican Riviera.
But this time I used the video editor in Logic Pro, meaning, I pasted the video I already had into Logic Pro on 1 track, which separated the video and sound into 2 tracks, and then ecorded my audio recording of a book excerpt on another. This way, I could match the video with the sound. It was so much fun!
And now here’s the result:
About “She’s Not That Good”
Meet Brandi Redwine from my latest release “She’s Not That Good”
Failing to launch an adult career, haunted by thoughts of never being good enough, Brandi Redwine searches for something she is good at. After chasing music and the exboyfriend in Nashville, she returns to San Francisco feeling like a loser.
Her best friend steps in and recommends her for an opportunity to compete for a job onboard a cruise ship. Her high school sweetheart is also on board, and his girlfriend is competing for the same job.
Will her entire future rest on a final performance, or will she finally realize she is good enough when she pursues what’s really in her heart?
Available now on Kindle
Chapter 1 Audio Excerpt
Chapter 4 Audio Excerpt
Chapter 7 Audio Excerpt