Hello readers!
Hopefully you’re well and winding down for the year. “Let’s touch base after the holiday” emails are in full effect.
This year was very special. I had come back to writing after decades and did not tread lightly into creative spaces, I leapt. I heard so many stories of lurking and nervousness about being out there, of people wondering how their work would be perceived… I guess I’d spent so long unable to tap into that creative part of my brain that there was no way I’d let anything get in the way of the expression.
We’re going into the third year of a pandemic and I can’t help but feel there’s no real after, only a different tomorrow much like the day before. I’m thinking about when my son will grow out of his masks and need new ones.
Life goes on, as it must. People are still getting married, still quitting jobs, moving, and partying. We have to find some way forward. In that spirit, I’m looking ahead to what’s next. Here’s what I’m excited about for the new year…
Upcoming Projects
Serial fiction! I am working on a story called “Ithaka” about a detective who awakens a centuries-old planetary conflict during a murder investigation. This will be real world-building and I’m very excited about where it’ll go.
I also have a short story in the works tentatively titled “The Tell”. I’m going to practice infusing tension into a scene. Let’s see how it goes.
On My Playlists
I’ll be listening to a variety of music. I heard the song “Water No Get Enemy” by Fela Kuti at a cocktail bar and started a Pandora station. Please try it. If you like Afrobeat, traditional African music, high life, and jazz, this station provides a great sampling of the continent’s eclectic stylings. There’s artists I know from my childhood like Cardinal Rex Lawson and King Sunny Ade to Mulatu Astatke, whose influence is far and wide.
I might also get into Mac Miller, who I hadn’t followed until very recently. He passed in 2018 at the age of 26 and one of his songs, “Dang!” came up on another of my Pandora stations. Discovering Mac Miller actually traces back to chill wave, a musical style I can only describe as a dreamscape. My brother suggested I listen to Trevor Something and I found so much music through that artist. I wanted something fun instead of all the cerebral music I listened to as a teen. Six degrees of musical strings and I’m on the verge of mourning a rap artist I never knew. I’ll tell that story once it materializes.
Thanks for joining me and following my work through these last months. It’s been cathartic and fulfilling to be here. The FLARE will return January 17th. In the meantime, please go back to see some of my short fiction and poetry. I’m planning to rest up but keep writing. I hope to be better when I return.
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Hi there, great format, I love the music, I started including a playlist in my posts that somehow revolve around the post theme.
I just created a station on Spotify based on the song. Road music today!