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Podcast: "Stories Of Our Journeys" Interviews J.C. [ 1:06:00 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Liner Notes: 7th Son – The Soundtrack
Yesterday, I released 7th Son: The Soundtrack, nearly 30 minutes of classical music inspired by my 7th Son technothriller trilogy. If you haven’t already, you oughta take a listen.
The terrific music was composed by University of Rhode Island student Brandon Winrich, a talented young man who’s set his eyes on someday creating musical scores for films, TV shows and video games. If his 7th Son music is any indication, Brandon won’t have a problem finding work after graduation.
In addition to providing a recording of that evening’s performance, Brandon gave me some incredible liner notes, packed with comments and artistic insights about the creation of 7th Son: The Soundtrack, all written by him. He was keen to share his creative commentary with my audience. I was happy to oblige, and designed a downloadable PDF for you.
A link to these liner notes is below. If you’ve ever wanted a behind-the-scenes peek at a composer’s creative process, you should check it out.
–J.C.
Music: 7th Son – The Soundtrack
Early last month, I traveled from my Denver home to Rhode Island to meet Brandon Winrich, a music composition major at the University of Rhode Island. It was the conclusion of a remarkable artistic journey for him, and was a life-changing day for me — a day three years in the making.
In 2008, Brandon contacted me, asking for permission to compose orchestral music inspired by my 7th Son sci-fi thriller novel trilogy. As a lifelong fan of classical music, I was humbled and delighted … and I gave Brandon the green light without reservation.
The following year, Brandon composed and helped perform Movement 1: Descent, a 6:45 song inspired by the events in the first 7th Son novel. This was part of a project for his musical studies. In 2010, he paid similar homage to Deceit with another public performance. But this year, for his third and final 7th Son-inspired composition (and senior recital), Brandon emailed and asked if I might personally attend the live performance of movements 1 and 2 … and a first-ever performance of Movement 3: Destruction. The trilogy of songs would be played by 10 musicians, and conducted by a URI graduate.
I booked the flight that night.
The audio file at the end of this post is a recording of that live performance. Click play, and you’ll hear the work of a talented young man embarking on what can only be an incredibly successful artistic career. I am deeply touched and honored that anyone would be so inspired by my work to create something so compelling. I’m grateful Brandon allowed me to freely share this recording with you.
Here is a guide of the 7th Son Trilogy scenes Brandon re-created in this 25-minute performance. Note that movements — each named after 7th Son novels — are introduced by a long note played by horns … the very hmmmmm ”scene change” sound heard in the 7th Son podcast novels.
7th Son, Movement 1: Descent is comprised of 8 sections:
- “The president of the United States is dead. He was murdered in the morning sunlight by a four-year-old boy.”
- A Former Life
- Send in the Clones
- Descent / The Womb
- Contacting the Outside
- Following Alpha’s Trail / “I Comply” / Hacking the CDC
- Showdown at Folie à Deux
- “It’s Never Over”
7th Son, Movement 2: Deceit is comprised of 8 sections:
- John Alpha(s) and Special(k)
- Homecoming / To the Fallen
- Alert Status 1: Lockdown
- The Proto Womb
- Hack Back
- Prime Time
- Escape from Prophecy, Texas
- Wild Card / Tanker Chase / The Fifth Wheel
7th Son, Movement 3: Destruction is comprised of 12 sections:
- Killjoy
- 760 United Nations Plaza
- The Cavalry Arrives
- Catalyst
- A Fateful Ride
- Obsidian
- The Life and Times of Kilroy 2.0
- Return to the 7th Son Facility
- Commotion in the Common Room / The Madman’s March
- The Final Battle
- Aftermath
- Epilogue – 6 months later
Tomorrow, I’ll post a PDF of incredible liner notes, packed with comments and artistic insights written by Brandon himself. He was keen to share his creative commentary with you, and I am delighted to oblige.
Before I present the recording, I want to introduce you to the 10 musical performers of 7th Son: The Soundtrack. The musicians are URI students. The conductor is a URI alum. All are supremely talented.
- Geri Muller — Flute, Piccolo
- Theresa Procopio — Oboe, English Horn
- Brandon Winrich — Clarinet
- Charles Larson — Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
- Chelsea Anderson — Trumpet
- Erin Dawson & Michael Rayner — Trombone
- Benjamin Boisclair, Zachary Friedland & Christopher Vinciguerra — Percussion
- Stephen Grueb — Conductor
I hope you are as dazzled by this three-movement performance as I was. It’s further proof that 7th Son fans remain the greatest fans in the world.
–J.C.
What You Said: Your Three Favorite Podcasts
Today, I posted on Twitter, Facebook and Google+:
Yo, I need YOUR help! I’m sniffing around for new things to listen to. What are your THREE FAVORITE podcasts? Hit me!
Here’s what you said. Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions!
On Twitter…
- ElanaRoth – Elana All of the How Stuff Works shows,
@neiltyson‘s Star Talk radio, and anything from Slate. - PeterKelly82 – 1) NPR: On The Media, 2) NPR: Planet Money, 3) NPR: Radiolab (I really like NPR)
- ONoesUDidnt – 1) Functional Nerds 2) P2RTransmission, 3) SFSignal, 4) anyone who happens to be interviewing
@pascallangdale at the time - Silvervale – The Gearheart, Disasterpiece Theatre, and Sigler (the list is longer, and you used to top it, but you’ve kinda pod faded
) … @TeeMonster and@PhilippaJane are also strong contributors. - rampantpanda – 3 favorite podcasts: I Should Be Writing, Writing Excuses, and HPPodcraft.com
- trekkie – SMODCast, Slice of SciFi, and Real time with bill maher
- griner – These probably got mentioned, but I’m a big fan of Film Sack, Giant Bombcast, History of Rome, RadioLab & This Is Only a Test
- HoppingFun – Was hoping to catch live show in LA, but must settle for podcasts:
@5TruthsAndALie - sophialoving – top 3 podcasts: age of persuasion, spark and q with
@jianghomeshi#proudcanuck - Tonamel – Right now, mine are probably
@theshaftpodcast@allsongs and@nerdist - elizasea – citizen radio, qn, Star Talk with
@neiltyson - Mark_D_Harris – Major Spoilers, Ihnatko Almanac, Macbreak Weekly.
- ZombieFarmer – anything and everything by darker porjects and we’re alive
-
sullybaby – Nerdist, Adam Carolla, Skeptics Guide to the Universe. Continue Reading…
ARGfest Keynote 2011: “Getting To Good”
I had the great honor of presenting the keynote speech at ARGfest 2011 (Aug. 18-21), a convention that celebrates transmedia storytelling and gaming. I was humbled by the transmedia community’s kindness and support.
During my presentation, I shared the important creative and business lessons I’ve learned during my 15 years a professional storyteller, and discussed a critical ingredient in becoming a creative professional — something I call “getting to good.”
Many thanks to Brandie Minchew (@OctoberDreaming on Twitter) and ARGN.com for providing the audio recording from the event. I hope you enjoy it.
–J.C.
Podcast: “Stories Of Our Journeys” Interviews J.C.
In March 2010, my friend Lorelle VanFossen contacted me about a new project she and Kym Huynh (of WordCast) were creating: Stories of Our Journeys, an interview series dedicated to sharing a meaningful moment in a lifetime — or a journey through that lifetime. Lorelle asked me if Kym could interview me for the program.
I was torn. Mere weeks prior, I’d learned that 7th Son’s sequels would not be published by St. Martin’s Press. I had announced I was leaving the Free podcast fiction space to pursue other creative opportunities. Was this the best time to chat about my writing career, and the professional decisions I’d made? I almost said no…
…and then remembered the deep respect I had for Lorelle, and that I absolutely trusted her. I agreed to the interview. It is now live, and included here in my podcast feed.
Now, months later, I remain delighted by this interview. Kym’s questions were thoughtful and thorough, and so were my answers. It was a perfectly-timed convergence of his curiosity, and my willingness to honestly share my experiences, both good and bad.
If there’s one interview of me you should hear — to get the full story of my creative drive, my love of storytelling, my decision to join and leave the Free podcast fiction community, the promise and pitfalls of mainstream publishing and more — this is it. I have never given such a forthright interview before this one, and doubt I ever will again.
I hope you find value and enjoyment in this recording, and earnestly encourage you to subscribe to Stories of Our Journeys.
–J.C.
Podcast: "Stories Of Our Journeys" Interviews J.C. [ 1:06:00 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadHow I Survived High School
Everyone I’ve ever spoken with says they had a lousy high school experience. I’ve never had a reason to disbelieve them. All I know is that my four years were likely much worse than most folks’ (due to nigh-countless tumultuous economic and emotional distresses that I’ll keep to myself), and that it’s a Christmas miracle I didn’t come out of the experience a stark-raving lunatic, a dropout, a criminal, or all of the above.
I credit two things that saved me back then — and even at the time, I knew they were saving me:
- My best friend, Aaron
- Storytelling
Aaron and I were thick as thieves back in the day. We were very mischievous, but rarely unlawful — while we were both dealing with serious shit at home, our parents had raised us right enough, and had armed us with mostly-functioning moral compasses. We did, however, fuck off in school, were far smarter than we ever let on, coasted (and slept) through classes, and very likely exasperated every teacher we had.
We weren’t bad kids, but we were remarkably bad students.
I spent much of those years feeling psychically bruised, due to my personal misfortunes. I had few friends, and fewer still with whom I hung out after school. I worked a lot after school, sometimes helping keep the lights on at home, and didn’t have a car. It was a lonesome, lonesome time, and I’m glad much of it is gone from my mind.
But I can easily recall my adventures with my friend Aaron, and my love for storytelling. To escape from my lousy circumstances, I sank nearly everything I was into writing, drawing and coloring comic books. My heroes weren’t Superman or Wolverine. They were Aaron and me.
Inside those poorly-drawn panels, we could be anyone we wanted to be … and we were. Aaron and I slayed school bullies, traveled to the Amazon, got laid, were wrongfully arrested (but we busted out of jail!), traveled to the past and the future, died, came back to life, and — in the “final issue” of the series, which I never completed — led a cadre of student warriors in defeating an alien invasion.
This was absolute escapism, my therapeutic way of coping with what I rightly perceived to be a fundamentally rotten and unreliable world. I had enough sense at the time to know this, and took quiet comfort in it, penciling page after page, probably hoping that things would get better someday — maybe as good as they were in the stories I was writing and drawing. They always had happy endings.
I unearthed these comics after my recent cross-country move from South Florida to Denver. I thumbed through them, smiling at memories of making these things in World Civilization, Biology and many other classes. I can’t remember a single lesson from those cinderblock classrooms, yet I reckon I was learning anyway. I was teaching myself how to tell stories, and showing my affection for my best friend the best way I knew how.
Aaron and I keep in touch, though it’s far too long since we spoke last. Things are great for both of us. We can’t complain, and yet we do, because that’s what being friends for 20 years is all about.
Here are the covers of those comics — I’m the blondie named “Chris,” Aaron’s the better-looking longhair. (Not that any of my characters were much in the looks department … I was, and remain, a lackluster artist.) There’s nods to my favorite stories here: Back to the Future, the Bill and Ted and Indiana Jones movies , even V (represented by the spray-paint graffiti). They were a helluva lot of fun to create, and a hoot to read many years later.
You’re looking at what saved me back then. I, more than anyone, am grateful this story has a happy ending.
–J.C.
My New Car Stereo, or Arthur C. Clarke Was Right
This Friday, I’m packing a few boxes into my beloved beige Corolla named Jesse Quick, firing up my TomTom GPS, and leaving South Florida for good. The destination for this round-faced man? My new home near Denver.
Yes, I’m driving. And yes, I name all my cars after female superheroes.
I love epic solo road trips like this one. They give me plenty of quiet time to process the gobs of stuff in my head — process some baggage, brainstorm creative and entrepreneurial ideas, the works. But I love my tunes and podcasts, and my 8-year-old car stereo has been giving up the ghost for the past two years.
My drives were filled with First World problems. The detachable faceplate took great glee in spontaneously detaching. When it was attached, the connectors to the radio proper would misalign, often resulting in me jabbing buttons to no effect, or watching the digital display flash like a discotheque strobe. Sometimes the only way to get things working again was to play the lone CD I own, a Conway Twitty greatest hits album. (Anyone who doesn’t love Conway’s Hello Darlin’ has no heart.) Finally, the auxiliary cable that snaked through the dashboard — which connected to my iPod’s headphone jack — was falling apart from the inside, resulting in audio playing through the right speakers only.
Like I said, First World problems. But I love my tunes and podcasts. I used the road trip to rationalize an upgrade.
Solemnly determined to Never Again be foiled by the degrading guts of auxiliary cables (for all cables’ guts degrade after daily wear and tear), I decided to look for a replacement that used Bluetooth technology to wirelessly stream the audio from my iPhone to the stereo. It had been nearly a decade since I’d done research on stereos, so I expected this tech would be well out of my $200 budget.
Not so. I browsed a local Best Buy store, talked to a few very helpful and pateint employees on site, and zeroed in on the Sony MEX-BT2800. Bluetooth built-in. $159. For another $50 and a 30-minute wait, I could have it installed right there, they said. After a few days of hemming and hawing, I pulled the trigger this morning.
I spent most of the day driving around the area, running errands and giving the radio a workout.
I fully understand that what I’m about to describe isn’t breaking news for car nerds or tech-heads. But for me, it’s been a day of living the famous Arthur C. Clarke quote: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” This shit is miraculous:
- Indeed, the music plays on my iPhone and transmits wirelessly to my stereo. Not a cable in sight.
- I’m not an audiophile, but I honestly cannot tell a difference between the quality of this wireless Bluetooth connection and the wired solution in my last stereo.
- In fact, the sound quality piping though my 8-year-old speakers is better than my old Kenwood, but that’s probably a testament to the Sony’s newfangled sound-making innards more than the Bluetooth.
- I can wirelessly skip tracks on my iPhone, forward and reverse, using the stereo’s buttons. I can pause too.
- I can switch to music-free “phone mode,” activate the hands-free feature using the stereo’s built-in microphone, and vocally tell my iPhone to play specific artists and playlists. I then switch back to “Bluetooth audio” mode and listen to the accessed music.
- Using “phone mode,” I can do voice-activated dialing too.
- If I get a call while the phone’s wirelessly connected to the stereo, I can answer and disconnect calls with a tap of the radio’s volume knob. The music fades out, and I hear the caller’s voice through my car’s speakers. I’m told the radio’s mic works great. The music fades back in when the call’s done.
- I can also pipe the TomTom GPS’ voice through my speakers (thanks to the GPS’ own Bluetooth technology), but this eliminates my ability to listen to music via the iPhone. (Only one device can pipe audio to the radio at a time, my only minor gripe.)
- If I have an audio player that doesn’t have Bluetooth, I can always connect it via a front-facing minijack aux port.
- The stereo also has some nice equalizer presets, for fiddle-free — and to me, impressive — results. Lady Gaga never sounded so good.
Plus a CD player, FM/AM (which sports a whiz-bang feature that shows what song’s playing on the radio) and a crapload of other probably-standard-fare features that delight this old schooler.
Abracadabra, all for $159. (Or for $119, currently at Amazon.) For the kind of driver I happen to be — I reckon my audio quality demands are average or a teensy smidgen above that — on a less-than-average budget, it’s a steal. Incredible value here.
And no wires, man. Hallelujah.
Come Friday, the world beyond South Florida won’t be ready for Jesse Quick and the round-faced man behind her wheel.
I got magic in my car, see.
–J.C.
Be The Adventure You Dream
Zellie Blake, a generous and beautiful woman — a fellow writer and dreamer — died two days ago. She was 27 years old.
Zellie was a tireless champion of my work. She once said I was an inspiration for her own writing career goals, but she will always be an inspiration for me. Her friends say that throughout her treatment, Zellie never lost her sense of humor or optimistic verve. She wrote often, and well.
Her personal mantra was, “Be the adventure you dream.” I am hard-pressed to think of a more inspiring and empowering personal philosophy.
Perhaps most inspiring: she never lost the tenacity that is required of a Writer.
Writers write, and then they try to find homes for what they write. In Zellie’s case, she was questing for a literary agent up until the very end. From her blog:
I’ve got just a few more queries pending. I haven’t gotten so much as a partial request … (but) this book is NOT going to be thrown in the ocean.
Hell yes, sister. Hell yes.
Zellie was surrounded by wonderful people throughout her life and recent treatment. I know this because Zellie blogged about these people. (Her friend Orin created a magnificent beadwork bracelet for Zellie that read Fuck Cancer, which absolutely rocks.) I also know these people are wonderful because they’ve contacted me via Facebook and email. Zellie was my biggest fan, they said … and they were Zellie’s biggest fans. A few weeks ago, her friend Callie asked if could I help lift Zellie’s spirits.
A Japanese story says that if you fold 1,000 cranes, you are granted one wish. Callie had a wish … and a deep belief in the power of positive thought. I autographed the pink origami crane that arrived two days later. It was one of 1,000 Callie and many other friends personally folded — and one of more than 1,500, counting the ones Zellie’s loving boyfriend had crafted too. Callie’s efforts were heroic: she even snagged autographs from the puppeteers from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Zellie was delighted by the amazing work of her friends.
That was six days ago. And now she’s gone.
But here’s the brilliant thing about being a Writer. Zellie’s not gone. Zellie’s friends helped get her novel Lightning Spliced into print. They’ve released it through the print-on-demand publisher Lulu, and are donating all proceeds to the American Cancer Society.
You can meet Zellie in a way, within the pages of her book. You can discover what fueled her creative drive, and unearth what kind of stories she was put on this world to tell. She forever lives, breathes and dreams in Lightning Spliced. She will always be alive, thanks to her words and your imagination.
Your imagination — and generosity — will ensure Zellie’s story isn’t merely told, but experienced … which is the greatest honor any Writer can acheive.
If you have the means, please support cancer research and the release of Zellie’s book by buying a print or ebook edition of Lightning Spliced. If you insist on sampling the book before you buy, there are free audio and PDF excerpts available for your enjoyment.
For years, Zellie provided me with her unwavering support. And through her life and death, she also gave me a far greater gift — soul-stirring inspiration.
To Zell: Thank you.
And to you, reading this: Be the adventure you dream.
–J.C.
The Unstoppable Might Of Fandom
I’m home from a very brief, but delightful, Dragon*Con. In years past, I classified my Dragon*Con adventures as Fun Business Trips: “fun” because I was there to have some, and “business” because I was there to share expertise and shamelessly shill my fiction projects. This time, I attended with my awesome sister and rolled blessedly shill-free.
It brought a fresh, positive perspective to the experience. It permitted me to enjoy the convention as a fan. It also reminded me of the unstoppable might of fandom — the incredible love people have for the things that resonate with them, and the great lengths they go to display that love and share it with others.
As I stood in line for Dragon*Con tickets, I spoke at length with a woman who wore a Firefly browncoat. She spent $450 on that coat a few years back. She attends about a dozen sci-fi conventions a year, and is such a fan of one sci-fi show actor (whose name escapes me), she’s traveling to England in a few months to see him perform in a play. She did this a few years ago, and watched him perform in the same play three times. Her personal love and passion for Firefly — a TV show that didn’t last a full season — knew no bounds.
While in that very line, I reconnected with Clair High, a friend and former podcaster whom I’d met at the convention a few years back. We chatted about his life, his wife, and a wonderful West Coast charity bike ride he discovered a few years ago. He described memories of his introduction to AIDS/LifeCycle — which raises money and awareness for AIDS treatment and a cure — that were so vivid, I felt as if I were right there with him, feeling the awe and admiration he had for these cyclists when he first saw them. Clair wanted to become a part of that cause, and did. He has personally raised more than $10,000 for the cure, and is now an avid cyclist. That serendipitous encounter changed his life.
I attended a panel featuring Larry Hagman, Barbara Eden and Bill Daily, regular cast members of the classic show I Dream Of Jeannie. They were absolutely brilliant — funny, handsome and beautiful, and humbled by the love they felt in that packed ballroom. Hundreds of fans attended. Hundreds of fans attended a panel about a show that hadn’t been in first-run release in 40 years. One attendee, several years younger than me, shared memories of she and her mother (who later died of cancer) watching Jeannie reruns on Nick At Nite. “It’s my favorite show,” she told the cast. “I love you.”
Bestselling novelist and podcaster Scott Sigler hosted a solo panel for his fans, which I also attended. This room was also packed. I was very proud of my friend. I was equally proud of the loyalty and love he and his work has inspired.
I like Star Trek, and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see a panel-meets-performance of “Gowron & Martok,” in which actors Robert O’Reilly (who played the recurring Klingon character Gowron) and J. G. Hertzler (who played his rival Martok) donned the costume and heavy makeup of their Star Trek: The Next Generation alien characters to take questions from the audience … in character. This was genius. Part well-oiled performance, part improv, the actors were supremely funny, knew their crowd and displayed an absolutely genuine appreciation for their fans. Several folks in the audience wore their own homemade Klingon costumes. I was amazed: the still-thriving subculture of Trek fandom permits these two actors to travel the country and make a living from it.
I also attended the Parsec Awards, for which Scott Sigler and I co-presented awards for two categories. During the event, my podcast-exclusive novella Personal Effects: Sword of Blood won the award for Best Novella. My four-year Parsec losing streak — which I fully expected to remain intact by the ceremony’s end — was over. I’m extremely grateful to the Parsec organizers and judges for believing Sword of Blood was worthy of the honor, but am even more grateful to the Parsec audience, whose applause reminded me again of the epic, amazing power of fandom.
Finally, the might of fandom was best represented for me personally by several meaningful one-on-one conversations with fans of my fiction, and especially by my sister Melissa. About a month ago, she told me she was getting a 7th Son-themed tattoo. I’m envious of my sis’ willingness to ink her skin — I’m not sure I could ever get a tat, though I desperately want one (of what, I have no clue) — but tried to talk her out of this 7th Son tattoo business. She wouldn’t listen.
I saw the tattoo in person this weekend. It’s the mantra of my “mad hacker” character Kilroy2.0′s faithful followers: I COMPLY.
I nearly cried, because there it was, again. The unstoppable might of love, and fandom.
–J.C.
