Merry Christmas Song

Merry Christmas! As my gift to you, here is one of my favorite holiday songs that I sang as a child.

Song for Anton

In my ongoing tradition to write a song for each one of my stories, here is my latest song for my latest story, AURASEER. The song is sung from my main character Sonya's point of view. She is empathic and her words here are for the prince of Riaznin, Anton Ozerov. I'll leave the rest to your imagination! :-) Also, the thumbnail image of me singing below cracks me up. I look like I'm in pain!

Update: For some reason this video doesn't view in Safe Mode on YouTube. Don't ask me why, there's nothing offensive in it! To disable Safe Mode, scroll down to the bottom of any page on YouTube and click on the "Safety" button, where you can change your preferences.

SONG FOR ANTON

I feel your pain before you cry,
I feel the wind before you sigh,
So breathe and believe in my heart,
You and me were meant to be from the start.

So don't leave me hanging by a thread,
Don't leave me caught on words unsaid,
Beyond the veil of rain is a blue sky,
where Love can dare to hope and never die.

I feel before stir before you rise,
I taste your lips before you close your eyes,
So don't be afraid when they are watching,
They are blind. They are wrong. They are not me.

So don't leave me hanging by a thread,
Don't leave me caught on words unsaid,
Beyond the veil of rain is a blue sky,
where Love can dare to hope and never die.

My fingers tremble before you're cold,
I feel your secrets before they're told,
So open the door and throw away the key,
Just trust in the truth of you and me.

Beyond the veil of rain is a blue sky,
Where Love can dare to hope and never die.

Storymakers & Vegas Recap & More

Here is my long overdue post recapping all my fantastic happenings as of late. I have been BUSY, to say the least! Right on the tail-end of my recovery from surgery, I went to LDStorymakers (which my agent, Josh Adams, also attended this year); the next weekend I performed in Las Vegas at my writing buddy Jessie Humphrie's book debut party/awards ceremony/concert extravaganza; and the next week I went on vacation with my extended family to Capitol Reef. Whew! Now that I'm back, I'm digging into the last stages of research for my epic new fantasy trilogy, which I should be able to begin drafting any day now. I tend to disappear off the planet once I start a new project, so here's catching up with me--through pictures--to tide the webiverse over until I resurface again.

LDSTORYMAKERS 2014

Sara B. Larson and I had such a wonderful time with our agent, Josh Adams, this weekend. We took him on a mini-tour of Salt Lake City and got to have fun going out to eat a few times around the conference.

Here we are on our "Agent-Author Relationship" panel, which I also moderated--both firsts for me.

Me, Sara, and our friend and roomie for the weekend, Jacqui Scott. BTW, my lovely friend, Erin Summerill, was the conference photographer and snapped these first four pics. Isn't she talented?!

All my roomies, including my fabulous CP, Ilima Todd, on the far right.

My first CP, Robin Hall. We were friends for three years before we even started writing in pursuit of publication, and we attended our first writers' conference together years ago. How time flies!

Las Vegas Weekend

Here I am, singing and chatting about writing and music. Believe it or not, this was my first time publicly singing and playing guitar. Thanks for having me,  Jessie!

Hanging with my glamorous friends, Sara B. Larson and Courtney Alameda, who I road-tripped with down to Vegas. Here we are across the street from the Inspire Theater, where Jessie held her event. Gotta love the wind in our hair for the added drama. This may be the last picture you see of me wearing high heels. Ouch!

The one-of-a-kind, Jessie Humphries. She epically thought out of the box for her book debut for KILLING RUBY ROSE, and as a result, she had an amazing weekend and not only became an overnight bestseller, but also greatly benefited the schools of her Las Vegas community.

And we may have had a little too much fun at this particular gas station on the drive back to Utah. I blame Erin Summerill, who drove back with us. ;-) She brings out the crazy in me!

Other Fun Things

A little glimpse into my vacation at Capitol Reef. This is just a smidgen of my extended family. My parents had ten kids, and now we're at 36 people and counting. I <3 them all.

Last of all, I want to announce that my agency, Adams Literary, has a newly revamped website, which also sports a fancy author's page for yours truly. Check it out!

Vegas Performance & Conference Panel

Inspire Theater in Las Vegas

I have some very exciting upcoming events to announce! First of all, my fantastic agent, Josh Adams, is coming to Utah for LDStorymakers (April 24-26), a large annual writers' conference, and I've been asked to be on a panel with him and my agent sister and friend, Sara B. Larson. Our topic is the author-agent relationship. If you're coming to Storymakers, I hope to see you there! (Registration closes April 20th, so hurry!)

The next weekend I will be in Las Vegas for my friend Jessie Humphrie's mega two-day book launch/literacy awareness event. (Her book, Killing Ruby Rose, is debuting.) She's asked me to take part in the Saturday night (May 3rd) ceremony/concert, which will take place at the new Inspire Theater. I'll be one of a handful of musicians/authors who will be performing a couple songs and speaking a little about how music influences our writing. I'm absolutely thrilled to be involved in this event and have had my guitar attached to my hip for the last few weeks in preparation for my little moment in the limelight.

Many other exciting things are happening that weekend in Vegas in conjunction with Jessie's book launch, so be sure to stay up on reading her blog for all the latest details. And here's her blog post mentioning me and my upcoming performance. *cues giddy freakout*

Dreamers

I don't have much time to play guitar these days, so I have this little tradition to keep the music alive in me: I write a song for every story I write. This one's for The Carousel Graveyard. The waltzy, carousel-like tune popped into my head in the middle of the night last August. I couldn't fall back asleep, so I got up and recorded a voice memo on my phone of me humming in a groggy voice. Then a few days ago, I found that memo and decided to put words and guitar to it and finish the song. I played it for my fifteen-year-old daughter yesterday, and with wrinkled brows she said, "Wait, this is a love song." (She hasn't read my story yet, but it does have "graveyard" in the title, lol.) "I know, this is just a happy moment," I replied. Next time I'll have to write a creepy song, but until then, let's all feel the sweet innocence of young love. :-)

DREAMERS

Holding your hand in the moonlight
Waves dance, stars bright
Waltzing in time inside your dreams
Hearts beat, it seems

I’m falling in love
Falling in love
With you
With you, with you, with you

Stepping through sand by the black sea
Night birds calling
Lips touching lips, breathing your name
Feeling the same

We’re falling in love
Falling in love
It’s true
True, true, true

And you say we’re spinning
‘Round the carousel
And I say we’re drifting
in the spell

Sea breezes swirling through your hair
Soft sighs, no cares
Wandering dreamers, we’re soul bound
Time lost, we’re found

We’re falling in love
Falling in love
It’s true
It's true, it's true, it's true
True, true, true
True, true, true

Out of Tune

Out of Tune is a fabulous new adult novel written by Michelle Argyle, a very talented author and a dear friend of mine. This book holds a special place in my heart. Michelle told me the story idea before she ever set pen to paper (or hands to keys), and I was lucky enough to read an early draft.

Michelle always writes cleanly and beautifully, but this book blew me away. It's my absolute favorite piece of her writing. I was so drawn in to this story of Maggie, a young woman trying to find her place in the world--whether that's in or out of the shadow of her famous country star parents, whether it's singing with her own out-of-tune voice or writing lyrics for others, or whether it's in the arms of her best friend (and of-and-on-again boyfriend) or her new voice teacher.

I play guitar and sing, and I was amazed at how authentically Michelle captured the feel and art and detailed intricacy of these things. And I'm a huge fan of romance, and this book definitely had me swooning. I'm so proud of Michelle and this story and can't wait for it to be released on December 3rd so everyone else can join in the fun of reading it, too!

On a very cool and special note, Michelle surprised me with copy of the book the other day, and she dedicated it to me! It was a totally surreal moment that made me cry. Thank you, Michelle!

So, without further gushing (because I could do that forever), here's more about Out of Tune, including an awesome book trailer below.


Twenty-year-old Maggie Roads’ parents are legendary in the country music world. She wants nothing more than to follow in their footsteps, but the limelight isn’t reserved for singers who can’t carry a tune, let alone keep a rhythm.

When her parents tell her they’re getting divorced, Maggie decides it’s time to leave home and take her future into her own hands. Moving in with Cole, her best friend and sometimes boyfriend, might not be the best of ideas, but she’s got to start somewhere. Their off-and-on romance gets even more complicated when Maggie crushes on her new voice teacher, Nathan, who unlocks her stunning potential. A sensational music career of her own is finally within reach, but Maggie might need more than perfect pitch to find what she’s really looking for.

Official Release Date: December 3, 2013
Available Formats: all eBook formats and Print
Available Where: Everywhere online books are sold, as well as ordering from bookstores
Publisher: MDA Books
Official Book Page with Links: http://michelledargyle.com/books-2/out-of-tune/

Make Me Believe

Here's a song I wrote back around Christmastime. It's from Isidora's point of view (my main character from The Lovely Invisible). I finished the lyrics a few weeks ago and finally got around to recording it today. And, my, oh, my, did it end up being quite the project! I recorded several versions while my daughter was in preschool, only to discover my camera was making annoying clicking sounds as it recorded (lame, as I just got it a few months ago). So I tried a different camera, but the battery died and I couldn't find the charger. I resorted to using my iPhone, even though the video quality isn't the best. I also bribed my four-year-old with a trip to the dollar store if she promised to keep quiet in the other room while I attempted one more recording. So this isn't perfect, but I'm calling it good enough after the crazy day I've had!

The lyrics are below. :-)

MAKE ME BELIEVE

The darkness is closing in and
I don’t know a foe from a friend
Why can’t they see me for me?

My life was meant for chances
Not caught on false romances
My heart wants so much space to grow

I turn to you
To dreams
To face what I can’t see
To love
To peace
To hope
in you and me
Make me believe

So many look to me and
I don’t know what they see
Is what I have enough to give?

The ones I love are fading
Nothing I do is saving
My fear is ending up alone

I turn to you
To dreams
To face what I can’t see
To love
To peace
To hope
in you and me
Make me believe

The fragile earth is shaking
My marble strength is breaking
No choice is right, but I must choose
The dark night makes me falter
I lie across an altar
Give me one reason left to dream
Make me believe, believe, believe in you and me
Make me believe

Falling

Yesterday I watched/listened to a song about Guinevere on YouTube. It was awesome, but that Guinevere wasn't my Guinevere, you know? And I got it into my head that I could write my own song about her. I love to sing and play guitar, but I've only written one song...and that was back in my high school days. So I started messing around and came up with a melody that I liked, but no words. Then in the middle of the night I woke up and the first line popped into my head, and then the next line. I thought, I'm just going to write these down so I don't forget, and then I'll go back to sleep. But the words kept coming. I finally gave into the muse and finished the song. Here it is! Please forgive the buzzing strings and the occasional off-chord. I haven't played guitar in a while. :-) The lyrics are below the video.

Take my hand
Take me for what I am
Knowing what I've done
Knowing the road I've walked on

Starlit leaves
Rowans and willow trees
Pain that can cut so deep
Love that can fill me, haunt me

I'm waking, I'm shaking
I'm bleeding, I'm breathing
I'm falling

Come kneel down
Take off your golden crown
Weave yourself into me
Before I fade

I'm moonstruck, I'm flying
I'm unveiled, I'm dying
I'm wide-eyed, I'm yearning
I'm spinning, I'm burning
I'm falling

Turning and turning and turning around
Head underwater but feet on the ground
Tethering, surfacing, lost but I'm found with you
Never believing that I could be free
Hoping for someone who'd understand me
Waiting to sail on an uncharted sea, alone if must be

And I know, and I see
Your weakness beside me
But I feel who you are
Your stronger than your scars

Uncloak me, eclipse me
And hold me, forgive me
And we'll cross a new sea
And we'll last and we'll dream
We're falling

Take my hand
Take me for what I am
Knowing what I've done
Knowing the road I've walked on