Drunken Owls and Other Delights

As I've been mentioning hither and yon, I've got a new ebook out! And yes, it seems to be doing absolutely zip right now, as expected. I've been thinking about that the last few days for a few reasons.

One, I am absolutely terrible at self-promotion. I don't know what to do other than slather the news of it being out there on social media. I could spend a bit of money on advertising but that's money that I don't really have ready to wager on an avenue that may or may not provide results. I definitely would not make TikTok or YouTube videos because I'd be absolutely terrible at it. So what can I do? Put it out there and hope for the best. Try different avenues as I can. Just because it's out there and not selling doesn't necessarily mean it's a failure, especially if I'm not aiming for it to be a success. These are stories I want to tell and share, that's it. And I'd like to think that some of these novels of mine are worth checking out.

Two, and this ties in with that last bit, is that I shouldn't have to adjust my story in order to fit a specific sales pitch or style, because that's not the kind of writer I am. So perhaps what I need to do is find my own unique way to attract attention to them. It may work or it may not. And I'm not going to completely give up on the story, even if it's not a success. They're still out there, and just because they've been out there for a while doesn't necessarily mean that they've been glanced over and found wanting. I just haven't found the proper avenue to share them with, is all. Right now they're just...out there, along with all the other thousands of books being released.

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Another thing I've been thinking about lately is that next year will be the tenth anniversary of my first published novel A Division of Souls being released. This gives me about a year to plan and prepare for something to celebrate that. I was thinking that it's high time I did an edit and revision of the novel, as I'm sure there are a few things that could be fixed to make it even better. A new cover as well, perhaps for all three in the Bridgetown Trilogy. Which made me think: what if I came up with a special project for them? A multimedia thing, perhaps an ongoing celebration on my blog and elsewhere, sharing outtakes, in-canon stories and other things.

More to come on this as I sketch it out a bit more...

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It's that time of year again in which I suddenly decide I want to resurrect a story that's been in and out of my trunk for decades, the Belief in Fate / Decline and Fall novel. It's not that the story has never worked properly, it's that I've either been too emotionally close to the events that inspired it, or that I couldn't find the proper voices for it. I think I might have finally found a solution for it, however. We shall see.

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Theadia is progressing slowly but successfully, and I am quite happy about this. I just need to give myself more time to focus on it!

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That's my weekend update. How's your weekend been?

So to follow up with the rest of the year, a list of songs from 1988 that may or may not have popped up on compilations (some of these did make it to the end-of-year comp--the title of which is used in the subject line here, from Wire's "A Public Place") but were very much a part of my life then.

Morrissey, "Will Never Marry"
A b-side from his "Everyday is Like Sunday" single, and one of my favorites of his. At the time that was part of my mindset--"thanks, but I'll accept what I am for now," for good or ill.
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, "The Mercy Seat"
Probably his biggest-known song of the time...very dark and creepy, and a shout-out to The Night of the Hunter, a movie I'd end up seeing a few years later in college.
Jane's Addiction, "Jane Says"
Can you believe Nothing's Shocking was one of the radio station albums as well? Not my favorite track on the album, but the biggest and most well-known one.
Front 242, "Headhunter"
Oh man, I LOVED this song when it came out! It got very heavy play on WAMH at the time. Front by Front is still my favorite album of theirs. A lot of you will probably also remember the b-side to this single, "Welcome to Paradise"--yup, that "Hey poor! You don't have to be poor anymore! Jesus is here!" song. Which got equally heavy airplay. :)
The Primitives, "Crash"
Lovely is such a fun early Britpop album, well worth picking up. Distinctly remember pogoing to this song in a crowd at UMass with h58 and Nathane while waiting for a show to start.
The Godfathers, "Birth School Work Death"
Eric G. got me into this band big big time. Great angry rock from guys in mafia suits who look like they'd send someone out to kick the crap out of you (or do it themselves). Saw these guys at UMass with h58 with Living Colour opening...great show, that.
The Timelords, "Doctorin' the Tardis"
To this day I can't hear Gary Glitter's "Rock & Roll" or the Dr Who theme without thinking of this song, and one that got a lot of play on WAMH.
Camouflage, "The Great Commandment"
I remember there were a few alt.techno bands out there at the time that were kinda-sorta Depeche Mode clones, but this band managed to shake that. Didn't get too much play, but Voices & Images is a great album. I remember Nathane and I raving about it during a TFB session once.
Ministry, "Stigmata"
The Land of Rape and Honey got a lot of play on my walkman, partly because I thought it would freak the rest of my family out. This and "Flashback" (check the Platoon samples in that one!) got heavy play on WAMH.
REM, "Orange Crush"
As said, huge REM fan at the time, and Green just kicked my ass...one of the few albums where I love every single track on it. I distinctly remember the ad copy for the album: "There are two things you should do on November 8, 1988: 1)Vote 2)Buy Green." :)
Pixies, "Gigantic"
Surfer Rosa is still an awesome album, and this was the song that got me into them. And they were (sort of) local!
Living Colour, "Cult of Personality"
Yeah, Vivid came out of nowhere and surprised everyone with its fierceness and not backing down on what it had to say. Saw these guys rip it up with the Godfathers, and they blew me away.
Sonic Youth, "Within You Without You"
The track from Sgt Pepper Knew My Father that I always tell everyone about...was never a big SY fan, though I kinda enjoyed that year's Daydream Nation, but this song is by far my favorite of theirs. One hell of a cover.
The Feelies, "Away"
Only Life was their 'comeback' album and though it wasn't as quirky as their earlier output, it definitely had that REM-influenced jangle going on. Great album to relax to.
U2, "All I Want Is You"
Rattle & Hum may have been an overblown ego-stroker of a movie, but it holds up surprisingly well, and there's some great songs on the album. This was the ending credits theme/last song on the album and my favorite track. The ending scene of Belief in Fate had my character DJing at his own senior prom (which I actually did with h58), and this song plays as he watches his classmates leave the dance floor one by one until he's alone. Sure, a bit dramatic, but it worked.
Blue Clocks Green, "Hemingway"
Voted both most liked and most hated song at the end of the '88-'89 school year on WAMH, and definitely a song indicative of college radio at the time. Definitely a fun song to sing along to, despite the lyrics. ;)
Elvis Hitler, "Green Haze"
Yes, "Purple Haze" vs the Green Acres theme, punk style. Hard to find this one nowadays, but another great song of the day, simply due to its silliness. You can hear the cheap beer in this one.
Moev, "Crucify Me"
A song I nearly forgot about until I started listening to my old radio tapes again, and immediately downloaded from eMusic. These guys were sort of like Front 242 without the German/Austrian cold industrial feel, and this one got a lot of college radio play.
The Go-Betweens, "Was There Anything I Could Do?"
16 Lovers Lane is a beautiful album, one I listened to quite a bit the start of my senior year. I wrote a rather odd lyric based on this song. Never recorded it, thankfully. The other track from this album, "Streets of Your Town", was played by WMDK every morning when I was getting ready for school, and always has that smalltown feel sound to me.
That Petrol Emotion, "Cellophane"
No one seems to remember this band, sadly! I saw them live with Voice of the Beehive at UMass with Kris and h58, and bought a teeshirt from them. One of those bands that never really got airplay, but got a lot of word of mouth at the time, and that's how I got into them.
The Wonder Stuff, "Give Give Give Me More More More"
One of the first albums I picked up from Tower Records in Boston, when my sister and I were scoping out Emerson (the other was Dead Can Dance's Within the Realm of a Dying Sun). The Eight-Legged Groove Machine is well worth picking up.
Laibach, "Across the Universe"
I would be remiss if I didn't mention this Slovenian band's brilliant take on the Beatles' (almost) entire Let It Be album, which included this beautiful track, as well as a sinister version of "Get Back" as well.
Danielle Dax, "Big Hollow Man"
You know that whole 80s sexy punk girl thing that guys found hot? Yeah, I was totally drawn into that, with Danielle and Patricia Morrison from Sisters of Mercy. I like DD because she's just so off-kilter yet catchy!
Ultra Vivid Scene, "The Mercy Seat"
Easiest song to play bass to, and a great track. At this point I was gobbling up anything from the 4AD label, and this one was included. I had no idea until just now that Moby is in the video.
The Fall, "Big New Prinz"
I'd heard of the Fall before (and knew their cover of "Victoria"), but this was from the first album I bought from them. Interesting, if weird, stuff.


This of course is just a shortlist, as I know there was more I could have added. These, however, are the ones that stuck with me.