Cover Art Struggles

Man, this one's been tough to find. But I think I have one that will work. It's not ideal, but I'm not in a position to pay for cover art yet, so I'll have to make do with what I can find.

I like it; it's evocative, it's got the night and the water and the city, so it will work. I'll have to cut it down to the right size, of course. But once that's done, I can get this book up and published. The title is Spoiled Ballot, the fifth Cameron Vail mystery. Let's see how it goes.

A to Z Blogging Challenge

I wanted to do this before, but always forgot to sign up. This time, I remembered.

So, the A to Z Blogging Challenge is simple: During the Month of April, I'm going to blog every weekday and Saturday, with topics all related to a theme. And each topic will be starting with a different letter of the alphabet.

There's a sign-up list for this at this site for those who are interested in joining up. Candidly, I'm hoping that I'll get more blog traffic from people who are sharing this challenge, and maybe get some new readers out of the deal.

So, what's my theme? Writing, obviously, but more specifically, the World of Meterra. Okay, it's more like a small region than a world, but it counts. My theme is going to be both writing-based and gaming-based, since Meterra is more than just a setting for my writing, it's my homebrew gaming setting for D&D. I'm going to blog about twenty-six features, creatures or characters from Meterra, alphabetical from A to Z. My Sunday blogging, if I continue it, can be on anything; Sundays aren't part of the challenge.

I'm looking forward to this challenge; I've been wanting to do it for a while. And it will motivate me to get another Meterra book written, which is important, too. I've got two of them so far: Arrival and The Devil's Playground. I plan to write quite a few more, and I do have a couple started but in limbo. Time to dust them off and get back to work.

So, this should be a fun month of blogging, and I hope to see more of you in the future.

Looking for a Cover Picture...

Sometimes a great (and royalty-free) picture will pop up, perfectly matching the book cover I have in mind. Unfortunately, this isn't one of those times. Finding a decent picture to fit the newest Cameron Vail mystery isn't easy. I'm not extremely picky, but I want something that evokes the murder scene. I might have to come up with a different idea; I'm limited to what I can grab without having the pay royalties, so there are only a few sites I can get them from.

I'll have to think about it; I've still got another week before the end of the month. In the meantime, I'm sure something will turn up.

Happy 80th Birthday, Mom!

80 years young, and still loving life. I love you, Mom. Thanks for being you.

Our Own Miracle

Well, it's been a bit of an emotional roller coaster for the Sprigg family this past weekend. It was great that our friends completed their move, arriving on Thursday after a three-day trip across Eastern Canada to get here. We met them in Summerside before their lawyer appointment, and brought their son and their dogs home with us since they were staying the night before getting their house on Friday.

When we got home, we had the cat shut up in the laundry room with his food, water, litter box, bed, etc. But he didn't feel like staying in there, and snuck out while I was doing laundry. Things were fine for a little bit, but the new dogs don't know our cat, and there was some growling involved between Kevin and the husky.

And then the pit bull got involved. Apparently, she's really good at dealing with squirrels. But Kevin isn't a squirrel. That didn't stop Ellie, who grabbed him by the neck and started shaking him. My wife was freaking out, thinking we were about to watch a cat die. Ashton and I jumped in to try to pull the dog's jaws apart, but pit bulls are strong, and Kevin wasn't going down without a fight. We both ended up with serious scratches from the frantic cat until we finally got her mouth open and out came the cat, shaken and terrified, but alive.

After that, Kevin ended up in the basement with all his stuff, although he mostly just hid under the stairs and didn't move all night. Can't blame him, really. In the morning, he wasn't there; he was hiding in the back corner of the basement. We left him there until our friends left to go get their new house; Kevin eventually came back up on his own, and we found him up in our bedroom in the evening, sitting in the windowsill. He was much more affectionate with us than before, allowing us to pet him more or less freely.

Saturday was good as well, and Kevin seemed to be coping with the trauma. We joked that he was down to eight lives, because we really thought Ellie was going to kill him. But he was doing fine.

Then Sunday happened. He went to the back door, and I gladly let him out, thinking he was feeling well enough to go outside. But he didn't come back all day. He wasn't there at night, either; I went out looking for him several times during the day, and called him repeatedly before finally going to bed late. No sign of him.

In the morning, no change. Dannielle and I both read up on cats' behavior, and we learned that when cats sense their imminent death, they will go and hide to prevent a predator from killing them while they are weak, preferring to die peacefully. That's great, but it didn't do our emotional stability any good. We realized that Kevin had gone off to die quietly somewhere, probably on the property. But it's twenty acres, ten of it woods; there was no way we were going to find him if he was hiding. And the thought of finding his body in six months was not at all pleasant.

We got through the day today, talking about getting another cat soon. As usual, the dogs wanted to go outside after it got dark, and I opened the door. On the way out, I told Dexter to go find Kevin; I don't know why I said it, but I did. A few minutes later, Dexter was barking, which isn't at all unusual for a beagle. I opened the door to let him in or tell him to be quiet, and I saw him run over to the side porch. For some reason I went around to the back door and looked outside...and there was Kevin, sitting up on the porch rail like he always does when he wants in.

I couldn't believe it; I grabbed him and brought him inside, and there was much rejoicing. Tanner even tore his attention away from his video games long enough to hug the cat. He was hungry, but he's alive and looks to be doing well. And now he's rubbing against my leg like he's hungry again. So, I'm going to go feed him a bit, and say another prayer of thanks that we didn't lose a family member this weekend.

Prepping Another Book

Okay, so I've gone over the reviewed copy of the latest Cameron Vail mystery, Spoiled Ballot. There are still a couple of things I'm looking at fixing up and clarifying before I publish it, but it's looking pretty good. I still need to find a cover for it, too. For the mystery books, covers are usually easier to figure out since I can just use a stock photo. So, I'm going to look for one tonight. Here's hoping I find a good one.

Not a lot more to say tonight, though. It's been a long day, and I'm looking forward to sleep. So, I'll make this yet another short post.

Fore! (1986)

Finally! I got this album for my sixteenth birthday, and I already knew I was going to love it, because it's Huey Lewis and the News. And I wasn't disappointed. At least, I wasn't disappointed in the first side. The second side...at the time, I wasn't really thrilled with it, but later on I began to appreciate what they were doing with the second half of the album: They were doing what they wanted to do, not what was necessarily commercially expected. And why not? They had a massive record three years earlier that was still hovering around on the charts, they'd been featured in the biggest movie of the previous year, and they were filling their swimming pools with dollar bills. So, why not make the music you want to make?

The album sold very well, over three million copies, and reaching #1 on the US Billboard Album chart for one week on October 18th, their second-straight #1 album (and, sadly, their last). The album charted five top-10 singles, and reached #1 on Canada, Japan and New Zealand as well. It reached triple Platinum status, selling over 3,000,000 copies, which would be a phenomenal achievement for any band, but was less than half of what Sports sold. Ah, well. It's still a great album, so let's take a closer look at it.

The opening track is Jacob's Ladder, which was the third single off the album. Released on Jan 6, 1987, it would become the band's final #1 single in March. Originally written by Bruce Hornsby for his own band, he didn't like how it was sounding and gave it to Huey, who was producing Bruce's album at the time. The News made it work. Unlike the prior two albums, this one doesn't have a fade-in; it just pounces on the opening chords with plenty of keyboards. The lyrics are interesting, where the singer is brushing off TV evangelists and working through his issues in life one day at a time. It's a powerful song, and definitely earned its #1 spot.

Up next is Stuck With You, the first single off the album. The video was another weird one with Huey and the Boys; they were good at those. Huey is at a cocktail party where he is clearly fixated on being with one person while everyone else keeps trying to get his attention and make meaningless small talk. He finally gets the girl alone and invites her to go for a ride on his yacht. She accepts, and we then see the pair in a small rowboat named 'My Ott'. And then things get silly. The song has a bit of a slow jam feel to it, and again the keyboards are carrying the main riff. Sean Hopper doing yeoman's work on this album. Oh, and this one shot straight to #1 on the Billboard charts, their second straight #1 single after The Power of Love. It stayed there for three weeks, becoming their longest-lasting #1 (Power of Love was only #1 for two weeks).

Next is Whole Lotta Lovin'. This one starts out with an acapella accompaniment while Huey sings the opening lines. Then we get into a sweet jam that has an old-time rock/R&B feel. The guitars get more of the spotlight on this one, with Chris Hayes and Johnny Colla jamming hard. But Huey gets the solo with the harmonica, going full-on blues with it. Great, fun song that was never released as a single, but sounds great live.

The fourth song on the first side is Doing It All For My Baby, which is definitely a slow jam. This was the last single off the album, released in June of 1987. It didn't top the charts, but it did reach #6, becoming the band's eleventh Top 10 single. Off three albums. Not a bad track record. This track also includes the Tower of Power horn section, who mingle with Sean's keyboards to give the song a big-band feel as well. A fun song and a fun video, as always. Lots of vocal harmonies on this one as well.

Closing out side one is Hip to Be Square. This is a great hard-rocking song that was the second single off the album, topping out at #3 on the Hot 100 chart (but #1 on the Rock chart). It's got a pounding rhythm and a fantastic sax solo from the amazing Johnny Colla. The song just blasts, and it became an anthem for 'squares' when it came out. The song is also famous for its backing vocalists: Eight members of the San Francisco 49ers, including Dwight Clark, Ronnie Lott, and Joe Montana. And yes, they're in the video, too.

Flipping to side two, we start out with I Know What I Like, which was the fourth single released from the album. It was the weakest performer of the five singles, only reaching #9 on the Hot 100. How disappointing that only four of the singles made it to #6, right? Anyway, I was surprised to find out that this track also has football players backing up the band. It's a straight-forward rocking tune, though not as hard as Hip to Be Square. Chris Hayes gets the solo on this one, rocking out with a smooth but driving guitar solo that just fits. I can't describe it any other way.

Next is I Never Walk Alone. Once again, we're getting some strong keyboards in this one; Sean Hopper is a lot more prominent throughout this album than the earlier ones. I like it. He even gets the solo on this one. Anyway, this one is another rocking tune that has a great message of sticking together with friends to get through life. Too bad it never got released as a single; I think it would have done quite well.

Okay, now we're getting into the part of the album that had me scratching my head as to why this music was on an album by the world's greatest band. First, it's Forest for the Trees. It's not a bad song, it just didn't seem to fit the rest of the album. I didn't mind it, it just didn't feel like Huey Lewis to me.

The next one, though, really drove me nuts. Naturally is acapella all the way through. I suppose it's reminiscent of and a tribute to the barber shop quartets of the 1940s and early 1950s, but I was never into that music. It's not the only acapella song they do, but it was the first one I ever heard. It was weird. But, at the time I wasn't familiar with the band's background or their musical influences. Now it makes more sense to me.

The closing track is Simple as That. The Tower of Power returns (but no football players this time). In fact, they wrote this one for Huey and the band. I wish I'd known that at the time. It's a song about getting older and reaching the golden years. I totally didn't get this song when I was sixteen. At 52, it makes a lot more sense. And I appreciate it a lot more. It's a slower song, and of course the horns are a big part of it. As I mentioned at the top of the post, this is the sort of music the band wanted to play, regardless of its commercial appeal. And I respect and admire that.

So, overall, what do I think? I loved (most of) this album when I first got it. I love it even more now that I understand it better. It's not up to the level of Sports (very few albums are), but it's definitely their second-best album, and the sales numbers bear that out. It was the band's creative zenith, where they mixed the commercial with the personal to best effect. And after this, they would do exactly what they wanted to do, and the critics be damned.

An Anniversary Post

I know, I know...it was supposed to be a Huey Lewis post. But today is a very, very important day, and no, I didn't forget about it. Sixteen years ago today, I met the love of my life. It's been a bit of a roller coaster and a cross-country move, but it's been wonderful. I am so, so grateful to Dannielle for not jumping out of the car at the gas station on that St. Patrick's Day in 2007.

She doesn't like it when I talk about her; she's rather shy. So, I'll keep it short again tonight, but I wanted to mark the occasion and leave a reminder of what a great date we had. Here's the big song from the movie we saw that day, Music and Lyrics, starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore: "Way Back Into Love"

Friends and Family

Well, the invasion is proceeding according to plan...our friends from Ontario, Mike and Vicki, just arrived today to close on their new house. They bought a place less than ten minutes away, so we'll be seeing a lot more of them. It's good to have like-minded people around, especially in these days of uncertainty. They don't have the room we have, so they'll be getting us to raise pigs and chickens for them. Which is totally fine. When we moved here, it took us five days and a longer route; they made it in three. They're exhausted, and they don't get the house until tomorrow, so they're sleeping here tonight. And this is one crowded house right now.

Some random thoughts that came to me today:

First, Garrett has some impressive pain tolerance for a ten-year-old. I say this because tonight, he just informed us that he had a loose tooth...then pulled it out himself with his fingers. I couldn't have done that at any age. But, he did it. This is the same kid who, when he went to the dentist's office for the first time ever today, flat-out refused to sit in the chair and even let her look at it. Autism is interesting.

Second, I often wonder what the world would look like without income taxes. Sure, I'd have to find another line of work, but still. Doing tax returns all day is not fun. But imagine what it would be like to not have to fork over money to the government every time you got paid. How much better would our economic situation look if we kept more of our money? Sure, people will argue that we need the government to do a bunch of stuff, but let's be honest; they really don't do much at all. Certainly not enough to justify the insane amount of money they collect from us. And, as we are finding out, most of it ends up in corrupt pockets anyway.

What else? I checked the score of the Montreal Canadiens game tonight, and I was excited to see they had scored three goals in the first period. Then I realized that by the end of the first period they were losing, 7-3. They gave up seven goals in one period. For the rest of the game, they tied the Panthers, 2-2. But still. That's just wrong. It looked like a first-quarter football score.

I'm still working on the manuscript for the next Cameron Vail mystery; I'm about halfway through the review copy, so I'm hoping to have it done by the end of the weekend. Tomorrow, I plan to do my review of the next Huey Lewis album, so I'll see you all then.

New Book Came Back

My reader has finished the latest Cameron Vail book, so I'm going to spend a couple of evenings going over it and seeing how it worked out. I'm also prepping a paperback version of the first Cameron Vail mystery, Final Exam. So, this is a short entry for tonight, but an important one. I'll be back tomorrow with more good stuff.