Tag Archives: music

An Excerpt FromThree Words

A little bit from Three Words as promised.

rose in heart shape

 

“I’m so excited.” It was Tuesday evening and Tallie flung herself down beside Seth on Gaia’s big sofa. “A little bird just told me who’s playing at the Hare next Saturday.” Her eyes twinkled. “Pause for effect.”

“You do look more excited than normal,” Gaia commented, “which is a worry in itself.” She ignored the face Tallie pulled at her. “And as much fun as it would be not to ask you who but just to watch you try not to tell us, I will be kind and gracious and put you out of your misery. Who is it?”

“You’re fiendishly mean,” Tallie retorted, “But right of course. I’m nearly beside myself. It’s Underhill.”

Rob was grinning as Gaia, Ethan and Seth’s faces lit up. Serena was baffled.

“Really?” Gaia was elated. “Oh, I haven’t seen them in way too long,”

“Me neither,” Seth agreed. “Still the same guys?”

“As far as I know,” Tallie confirmed. “Well, Luke, Holly and Bryn for sure. Maybe Jonno, maybe April. Maybe both.”

Gaia rubbed her hands together. “That’s so great.”

Ethan nodded agreement, then noticed Serena’s puzzled look.

“They’re a band based in Cornwall,” he said. “Folky metally fusion.”

“Oh, but they’re so much more than that,” Tallie said pointedly, poking Gaia in the ribs with her elbow. “Aren’t they?” She grinned at Serena. “They’re the reason these two,” she gestured at Gaia and Ethan, “are together.”

Rob laughed and Seth was smiling. Gaia explained.

“Tallie and I were at uni together. She was the year above me but we were in the same flat. Luke was in her year, he’s the drummer. We were all good friends and Luke’s band got booked to play at the Summer Ball. Ethan and Seth came down and, well…” She took Ethan’s hand.

“The rest is history,” Tallie finished for her. “Oh, I can’t wait.”

Underhill did not disappoint. Serena had never seen a band quite like them. The energy seemed to crackle off the stage; most of their stuff was quite fast and heavy but the few ballads they played were hauntingly beautiful. the sound of the pipes seemed to reach right into her, touch her soul and the empty place beside it where her magic had once lived. She enjoyed chatting to them afterward when they came over to catch up with the others. Ethan noticed how Holly, who played the pipes and whistles, seemed to be watching Serena with interest. He moved to stand next to him.

“Picking something up, are you?” he asked quietly.

Holly grinned. “That could be taken in more than one way, but if you’re asking about magic, then yes.”

“I thought so.” Ethan was oddly pleased that he’d been right. After all, he’d picked it up about Holly, so he wasn’t sure why he doubted himself. Still… it sounded so farfetched. Holly wasn’t human, he was one of the fey, moving between the realm of magic and the human world as he chose. Despite his psychic gift, Ethan had been truly shocked when he’d realised how close true magic really was. He had never told anyone; Holly had asked him not to.

“I’m not sure what it is,” Holly went on, “But there’s something wild and mysterious there. I have no doubt you’ll find out.” He grinned impishly. “Didn’t take you long to find out about me, now did it?”

 

The Faeries’ Bazaar

“Have you ever seen it? The path, I mean? It changes and it moves, so it’s hard to find, even if you’re looking for it. Because you never really know what you’re looking for…”

In two weeks time, on the 16th September in fact, the path will lead to Thorncombe Village Hall where you’ll find The Faeries’ Bazaar.

It’s a mystical narrative of interlinking pieces that leads you through the Bazaar and introduces you to the various shopkeepers and characters to be found there. From the Apothecary to the Bookseller, the three sisters in the Sewing Room to Amily the street magician, each has a tale to weave around you.

angel faery

 

My older son Jed has composed a beautiful soundtrack that laces all the stories together. He plays as I read; he is the Troubador.

 

Younger son Zack, who is a most excellent chef, is the Innkeeper, while my husband Brian is our troubleshooter and all round good guy.

All proceeds from this performance will go to The Word Forest Organisation, carrying out amazing reforestation and educational work in Kenya. Check out what they do here: wordforest.org

So, if you’re local (or even if you’re not) please join us for an evening of music and storytelling.

For more details, contact me via my Facebook page:  IzzyRobertsonAuthor/events

Or you can book tickets here: wordforest.org/faeries-bazaar

Hope to see you there!

Truth Won’t Die – New Song For Halloween

Halloween GraveyardIt’s Halloween!! Also called Samhain and my favourite festival of the year, the night when the veil between realms is thinnest and magic feels close enough to touch. The night when anything is possible…

And to celebrate that and also the fact that it’s a year since my first title ‘When Joe Met Alice’ was published (now that was a magical day!) I am honoured and very proud to be party to the release of Truth Won’t Die, the song from the story.

I may have written the lyrics but the song as a whole was written and performed, mixed and Jedmastered by my son Jed. He took my words and a couple of suggestions that I made as to the direction that Joe would have taken them in, and has come up with a song that is just perfectly in tune with the story. (Yes, pun intended, sorry Jed!).

It has taken him hours of painstaking work. I don’t think most of us realise, when we listen to a song, just how much time, care and attention to detail goes into the creation of it. From the development of the melody and the guitar riffs, the keyboards and additional effects, the vocal line and accompanying harmonies, and of course the bass line and the drums that are the glue which holds it all together; each is created separately but written to fit into a perfect whole.

Then the recording; Jed put the drum track down using a keyboard and some specialist sequencing software then recorded keyboards, bass, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, lead vocals and lastly backing vocals, each in separate tracks layering on top of the drums. He played and sang all the tracks himself, a pretty impressive achievement, and mixed and mastered it afterwards. I’d like to say a huge thank you to him for all his work, and also thank his friend George Hunt for acting as studio engineer when Jed was doing the vocals.

So below is the link to Soundcloud; enjoy Truth Won’t Die. And as you light your candle this Samhain let it feed your inner flame and open up the magic inside.

A Song From When Joe Met Alice

When Joe Met Alice coverI can hardly believe that it’s almost a year since my first short e-book ‘When Joe Met Alice’ was published and appeared on digital shelves in virtual bookstores across the web. I still remember the sheer excitement of seeing the story I had written out there in the public domain; thrilling and scary at the same time. But it certainly spurred me on and the characters for other tales have been kind enough to wander into my head and say hi. They’ve kept me busy and have resulted in one novel that will be coming out early next year and another that is still a work in progress. Magic Oxygen have also published my second short e-book ‘Catching Up With the Past’. All in all, a fairly eventful twelve months on the literary front.

So, how to celebrate? Well, I am lucky to have a creative family and both my sons are very into music; playing, writing and listening. I was talking to Jed (older son, 16) about song writing and asked if he’d ever consider writing music for an existing set of lyrics. When he said yes, I asked him if he would write something for the lyrics at the end of ‘When Joe Met Alice’ and he agreed.

He’s been working away at it for some time now; writing the music, then sequencing the drum track and recording the keyboards, bass, rhythm and lead guitars and vocals (all of which he played/sang himself). Called Truth Won’t Die, it’s almost finished and you will be able to listen to it from a link here a little closer to Halloween. I’m as excited about this as I was when the story came out.

So watch this space, and perhaps if you’re wondering why Halloween is relevant, you might like to pop over to the Magic Oxygen shop to get your copy of “When Joe Met Alice”. And while you’re there, check out the other fantastic titles they have.

A Dilemma

Jars of sweetsIt’s been a busy month with one thing and another and last week, as I completed a piece of work for Magic Oxygen (exciting stuff; more information soon), I found myself with a bit of a lull. Just as I was planning to start a) re-drafting the novel I wrote earlier this year and b) finishing a novelette that has been waiting patiently for some attention, what happens?

Two new characters walk into my head and quietly but insistently make themselves at home. I watch as their story begins to take shape, fragments and scenes and information pouring through my conscious. They are difficult to ignore, try as I might, and within a few hours they have been joined by two more characters, some locations and a soundtrack.

They are intriguing and despite my (admittedly rather half hearted) attempts to send them to the back of the queue I am driven to make some notes – a little background information, some scenes, scraps of conversation, . A vague timeline presents itself. So here is my dilemma – do I start writing their story now and make the others wait? Or do I keep making notes and hatching a plan whilst finishing what has already been waiting too long, and brave the challenge of National Novel Writing Month again this November? Hmmm…

As dilemmas go, it’s a pretty pleasant one. A bit like standing in the sweet shop when you’re nine, thinking ‘Pear drops or toffees? Chocolate or jelly beans?’ Such a tough decision! Perhaps the only way to solve it is to indulge in a nice cup of tea and some contemplation under the apple tree…

Music and magic

Fairy glen

Christine Westerback

Gar tuht river, ger te rheged.

Having been listening to the most extraordinary and magical album Imaginaerum by the Finnish band Nightwish, courtesy of my son Jed, I was wondering what this phrase meant and where it came from. Jed kindly investigated and found some debate online; the closest he could get (and by far the loveliest) was that if it is Old Cumbric it means go to the river, you’ll come to a fairyland.

How beautiful.

There are places along any river where we passersby are called for some reason to stop and look. For no apparent reason honey flows through our veins, or hearts flutter, or perhaps goose bumps rise. There is nothing overt, nothing obvious, yet we are caught unexpectedly by a glimmer, a promise of something beyond what we see, the feeling that actually all is not just as it appears and that the real truth is hiding just out of sight.

I’ve said before that to me, magic is not complicated or theatrical. It’s the occurrence of the unexpected, the acceptance that just because we can’t rationalise and explain things it doesn’t mean that they’re not real. If we stay open to it, with a little luck magic will reach out and touch us.