Category Archives: Thought of the Week

Once-weekly posts on whatever nonsense crosses my mind.

Thought of the Week: The Seventh Magpie

I’d like to take step back from my normal ramblings this week to dedicate a post to a newly published author whose work I’ve already come to admire, if through nothing other than the snippets of text and gorgeous illustrations she’s been sharing on Facebook and her website recently. I speak of course of Nancy Chase, whose debut novel The Seventh Magpie was launched to much fanfare yesterday. Nancy is holding a launch party all week on Facebook; I recommend you stop by for the chance to win artwork, signed copies, and more!

This is the description of the book:

“Princess Catrin is just a child when her mother vanishes, leaving her a cryptic legacy: a priceless magical book and the warning that if Catrin ever loses it, she’ll surely die. But she is a young woman on the brink of a whole new life when, in a moment of defiance, she forgets that warning and triggers a catastrophe that shatters all her hopes. 

Stricken with grief and seeking a way to correct her terrible mistake, Catrin risks everything on a dangerous bargain. Too late, she realizes just how much more she has to lose.

With advice from a half-mad witch and help from companions she meets along the way, Catrin embarks on a desperate quest to defeat seven riddling Magpies—magical tricksters who can shapeshift into anything or anyone—and win back her book or face losing everything she holds dear.

With each step the stakes get higher, and there are secrets she still doesn’t suspect. How much is Catrin willing to sacrifice to finally unmask the Seventh Magpie?”

Doesn’t it just sound fantastic? Recently Nancy also shared the heartbreaking true story that inspired The Seventh Magpie; I recommend visiting her website to read it (it nearly had me in tears).

Needless to say, I’ve already ordered my copy through Amazon (click here to buy), and I can’t wait to lose myself in Nancy’s beautifully illustrated world of loss, despair and hope. I recommend you purchase a copy yourself, and leave a review if you do; as I said last week, your support is sometimes all we indie authors have!

Well done, Nancy!

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Featured image taken from https://www.facebook.com/NancyChaseAuthor/photos/pb.1422328291363211.-2207520000.1424099680./1556201544642551/?type=1&theater.

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Thought of the Week: Supporting Independent Artists

I’d like to introduce you to a favorite music genre of mine: doom metal. If you haven’t heard of it, don’t worry—it’s not the sort of music that’s likely to show up on the Billboard Top 100 any time soon. You have to hunt for it, though not too far—there’s a lot to be found. The incredibly dedicated website doom-metal.com has nearly 2,000 bands listed that classify as doom metal of some kind.

Doom metal itself has its roots in the late seventies/early eighties, and is defined by Wikipedia as:

… an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much “thicker” or “heavier” sound than other metal genres.

Doom metal can be split into a variety of sub-genres (sub-sub-genres?), including (again according to doom-metal.com) atmospheric doom, death doom, epic doom, funeral doom, sludge doom and stoner doom. Many of these have overlapping elements, and I wouldn’t blame the uninitiated for failing to understand how funeral doom can have death metal elements, yet not be classified as ‘death doom’. In fact, to the untrained ear most doom metal would likely sound similar: heavy guitars, thumping bass, and comparatively slow tempos.

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Thought of the Week: Fame and Humanity

A thing happened last week that did something for me I’ve not been able to achieve myself for a lifetime. It rekindled my faith in my own abilities, in a way; it made me rethink what it means to achieve success, and how one goes about it. It made me think twice about myself and my craft.

I was spoken to by a famous person.

In case you forgot (or didn’t read—shame on you!), last week I posted a review of the book Her: A Memoir by Christa Parravani. In it, I described how I was heartbroken and torn by her story, and that I was likely to worry about her and her family for some time. I wrote these words for you, my readers, and like I often do, I shared my heart.

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