My only weapon was my pen
17 May
Done done done. Plaguebringer is done. Oh a sigh of relief– the hell with that, tears of relief! Okay, yes, I did take a large part of one month off to edit Wolfton but still, holy mother of god, why did I ever, ever think writing fantasy was a good idea? Four months of my life! For what?!
… well, actually, I am a little bit proud of myself. I won’t choke you all with the word count, but let’s just say it’s officially the hugest thing I’ve ever written. And while it’ll shrink considerably with edits, as everything I write inevitably does– well, not enough.
In celebration, I give you my Plaguebringer soundtrack, which has now dominated my last.fm for several months running, as you might imagine.
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Gold Lion“
Opening/closing credits sort of song. You know the type. - Camera Obscura – “French Navy“
For the ill-fated relationship of a certain sailor of our acquaintance. (Rufus, if you’re playing along at home.) - The Fratellis – “Look Out Sunshine“
For a certain prince who is all sunshine, but ends up pretty fucked. (Ronan– just putting names here for the people who’ve suffered through months of me talking about this crap. Ignore them, other people!) - Dark Materia – “The Worf Song“
… long story. There’s this cranky hippy-mystic guy– well anyhow. The Worf Song is awesome. (Ruarigh) - Hot Chip – “Hold On“
My only weapon was my pen, but I traded it for my hand. Not a smart move, but my move– does this say I’m a man? (Elanzah) - Franz Ferdinand – “Auf Achse“
For about the only relationship that is not ill-fated. Though as you might imagine from this song, it starts out rather badly. (Felix and/or Ilidh) - Kasabian – “Fire“
Because there’s always at least one character who is on fire. Figuratively speaking– well, no, there are people actually on fire in this book. But not her. (Cami) - Charlatans – “North Country Boy“
And there’s always one kid from the boondocks who falls in love with someone he shouldn’t. (Niall) - Rob Zombie – “Dragula“
Because if the grumpy hippy-mystic had a car, it’d definitely be Dragula. He’d also dig Rob Zombie. - Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Honeybear“
Aka the Ballad of Osgar and Cami. As close to a ballad as they’ll ever come, anyhow. - Franz Ferdinand – “Ulysses“
Come on doll and use me, I don’t need your sympathy//Then suddenly you know you’re never going home (Rufus) - The Smiths – “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want“
Like I say, being 16 sucks, doesn’t it, kid? (Ronan) - Louis XIV – “Finding Out True Love Is Blind”
Hey Carrot Juice, I wanna squeeze you every way until you bleed/and your vanilla friend, well she looks like something I need . (Osgar. Though this could also apply to Rufus or Cami, in truth. Or Elan. Book is full of, er, voracious types.) - Hot Chip – “Shake a Fist“
So you know how every fantasy novel needs a bad-ass swordsman? And the badass swordsman needs a theme song when he walks into the room? Yeah. (Elanzah) - Oasis – “Soldier On“
Sailor-boy sure gets a lot of song action, doesn’t he? Well he’s been with me the longest, so he’s allowed. (Rufus) - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – “Half-State“
We were close but we never made it home/We could see what we had and we let it go/Now it’s miles away and cast in stone/Now we’re miles away and casting stones//There’s a fire, there’s a fire on the road/It’s a cruel world that lets us go
Definitely the weirdest playlist for a book yet. Hell, I’m not even all that fond of some of that stuff. Obviously certain albums feature more heavily than others– I listened to so much Hot Chip and Yeah Yeah Yeahs– wow. But I’ve already talked about most of it at one time or another. Just thought it’d be a nice little way to cap off the evening, and the book, to put it all together like this. Props to John, who found some of them for me way back when it was just a weird idea in my brain.
I’m off for the next few days, and will be entertaining company from the frozen north for the rest of the week after. So I apologize in advance for my lack of keeping in touch. I will make amends as soon as normal service resumes.
(And by normal service, I mean me not writing anything. At all. Ever. Good god.)
—————-
Now playing: Hot Chip – Hold On
via FoxyTunes
Huzzah on Plaguebringer! : )
WOO!
I’m cheering right here with you. Wow, that book was intense. So happy you managed to make the Weekend of Doom work for you!
Say hi to the visitors from Canadialand for me!
Congrats on steering the ship to port. Always a tricky manoeuvre.
Interesting list. I’ve just started listening to the Charlatans again after a long lay off.
‘One to Another’ is one of the best songs ever.
Congrats on finishing! That is awesome. Now go have a nice vacation.
Nat, thank you!
Cory, the thought of that horrendous ending hanging over my head all week would’ve ruined it. It had to work! Thanks for all the cheerleading.
Mike, it’s a crap list, but the Charlatans are awesome. I agree with you about One to Another. That’s the first one I heard, up til 2am to get the good music on MTV once in like 1996. Been trying to see those bastards live for years now…
Thanks Jamie! I am about to head out the door and not look back
Way to go! HI5SQSTYLE! The great thing about taking time off is it restores your yearning for writing, which you often need after working on something for so long. Have fun!
I only know one of those songs – my music knowledge died in the mid 80s.
Congrats on finishing. Woot! Woot! Woot!
That’s awesome.
A big, full-throated, barbaric YAWP! Nice work.
Awesomeness!
Woo Hoo! Well done. I love Franz Ferdinand.
Love the title’ Looking forward to reading it!
I am, of course, way behind the class, but am doing the Happy Dance of Book Completion for you!