Tag Archives: music

Gothic Novel Prompts

Everyone got a written prompt and a pictorial prompt (see the charts below).

We rolled a 6-sided die twice, counting first across, then down on the chart of Kathleen Jenning’s fairy tale art chart. Then we rolled a 20-sided dice for a sampling from Kathleen Jennings’ “Girls Running from Houses” prompts.

Use them together to make something. It doesn’t REALLY have to be a novel! >.>

Christa Carmen
6-sided die roll X2, 3 across, 6 down: Locked Book
20-side die roll: 4

“The house has been infested by libraries and moths. The girl, like the false bride, dances alone.”

Zig Zag Claybourne/Clarence Young

6-sided die roll X2, 3 across, 2 down:
20-side die roll: 6

“She discovers that the house collects trapdoors. But in addition, there is a legend of a brooding mannequin, who digs holes in the lawn and who slams doors.”


Dr. Kathleen Jennings

6-sided die roll X2, 5 across, 3 down:
20-side die roll: 8

“It’s all happening inevitably, just as she dreamed. One girl runs from the house; another arrives on a Tuesday, seeking peace and quiet.”

Jessica P. Wick
6-sided die roll X2, 4 across, 6 down:
20-side die roll: 15

“The girl was long ago contrary, and she will become sarcastic. She is goose-eyed; she is what the house dreaded.”


Mike Allen

6-sided die roll X2, 2 across, 3 down:
20-side die roll: 2

“In a thunderstorm, the girl is escaping the house. But the house longs.”


Kenesha Williams

6-sided die roll X2, 6 across, 2 down:
20-side die roll: 20

“The girl was recently restless, and she will become peculiarly gifted. An ancient tree curses fate in the garden.”

Juliette Wade
6-sided die roll X2, 2 across, 4 down:
20-side die roll: 5

“The house is beloved of death, and the housekeeper is lark-hearted, and the girl is star-tongued.”


Rob Cameron/Cameron Roberson

6sided die roll X2, 5 across, 1 (stays):
20
-side die roll: 14

“When she flees the house, she will wear the mark of the house. The girl, unlike the house, is hound-swift.”

Dr. Lisa L. Hannett
6-sided die roll X2, 4 across, 2 down:
20-side die roll: 16

The house labours to discover whether the girl is amenable. The girl was recently morbid, yet she will become stubborn. The feared translucent lady, who leaves ice on the counterpane, turns out to be the groundskeeper.

For You, The Chat
6-sided die roll X2, 5 across, 4 down:
20-side die roll: 18

“In the sickroom, the girl sings to herself. Even so, a beetle undulates in flashes of lightning. When the girl arrives, the house is beset by spiderwebs. Just before she leaves, it will be afflicted with mirrors.”

KATHLEEN JENNING’S ART CHART: FOUND ON REDBUBBLE!

Kathleen Jennings’ fairy tale art chart!
“Girls Running from Houses,” developed by Kathleen Jennings

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Orange & Bee Salon!

I was asked to be at a guest at the Orange Salon, hosted by editors Carina and Nike at theorangebee.substack.com, a fairy tale journal. They will be hosting salons for paying subscribers, and this was their first!

We did a Q&A and a reading, and then I ran a short “Infernal Salon” with our Negocios Infernales cards, “the Deck of Destiny.” Nike asked me as a sweet favor to sing them all a song on my way out, so I wrote a song based on my card draw. It’s a VERY simple melody, and I probably don’t stay on key, but I recorded it for posterity, and shall link to it below.

I do write songs occasionally in case any of you reading this don’t know that yet. You can find most of them here: https://brimstonerhine.bandcamp.com. My first two attempts at music-making are EPs: Alecto! Alecto! (retellings of women in myth), and The Headless Bride (monstrous women and sea chanteys). And then I made one album: Corbeau Blanc, Corbeau Noir (each song written for the backers who backed my EPs at a high level, so it’s kind of a hodgepodge.)

If I make another, it’ll be Ballads from a Distant Star, my collaborative sci-fi musical concept album. And then, who knows? Maybe the 6-episode musical podcast The Devil and Lady Midnight

Here were the cards I drew! Below are the lyrics and the very fast, quick, and rough recording LOL.

Pearl in the shell, foam on the sea
Way-oh, the song goes
How it has been, and how it must be
Way-oh, and round she goes, round she goes, the world-oh

Rose on the thorn, moon in the sky
Way-oh, the song goes
All things are born, and all things must die
Way-oh, and round she goes, round she goes, the world-oh

Kings for their crowns, dragons for gold
Way-oh, the song goes
Crows for their black, snow for its cold
Way-oh, and round she goes, round she goes, the world-oh

Rise up and dance, rise up and sing
Way-oh, the song goes
Harvest in fall what’s planted in spring
Way-oh, and round she goes, round she goes, the world-oh

Now is the dusk, now is the dark
Way-oh, the song goes
Now is the winter, teeth of a shark
Way-oh, and round she goes, round she goes, the world-oh

Put down your work, come out and play
Way-oh, the song goes
Live in the light while still it is day
Way-oh, and round she goes, round she goes, the world-oh




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The Best Thing That Happened to Me This Morning

I will tell you something darling that happened first thing this morning. I’m in the bathroom, “performing my morning ablutions,” and Carlos comes to stand outside the door with music blasting.

He gets up earlier than I do, often to watch an hour of Contagious Laughter on Reddit and laugh his butt off. Like Beatrice he “hath often dreamt of unhappiness, and waked (him)self with laughing.”

But this morning he was watching a little video by the composer of the Baldur’s Gate 3 soundtrack: specifically, the really big Disney-villain-esque song during the Devil’s combat in Act III, House of Hope, called “Raphael’s Final Act.”

So many interesting things about the composition, not least of all the fine tradition of Sprechstimme, or speaking the tones in a song rather than singing them (my musician friend Mary told me, when the subject of singing devils came up in our collaboration a few months ago, that, in opera, the Devil never sings, because music is too beautiful, and he is always ugly; when his parts come, he only chants), and all kinds of other tidbits, but…

BUT! What you really have to know is this: it was 7:30 in the morning; I had just rolled out of bed; my eyes were still crusted over like a newborn puppy’s; and this song was full-out OPERA-EPIC, and playing at full blast.

And Carlos was standing outside the bathroom door, holding his laptop aloft in the air, trembling with the warm aliveness coffee, and playing the Devil’s song for me, because he thought I needed to hear it.

It was totally our “Say Anything” boombox moment, Carlos in the role of John Cusack.

Speaking of Carlos, this is happening this July:

My beloved shall is going to be one of this year’s GUESTS OF HONOR at CONvergence!!! They posted it on their Instragram today, so I wanted to share it with you. Let us know if you’ll be attending! It’s in Minneapolis! I can’t wait!

I’ve never been to a CONvergence before, but I’ve been in love with it ever since they had Amal El-Mohtar as GoH, and she glowed about the experience afterwards. It was her first time as GoH, and she said it really set the bar.

(And speaking of AMALFACE! She’s one of the Guests of Honor at READERCON this year! AAUGH I AM SO HAPPY! AAAAUGH JULY! IT IS SO FULL OF CONS AND FRIENDS! Which means… SO MANY FANCY DRESSES! We have bought fancy new luggage. Just today. Yes, yes. All our other luggage fell to pieces last year.)

Since Carlos and I are doing double-duty cons this year, both SFF writing cons AND gaming cons, I decided to give myself a break and not try to do programming at Convergence. My job, as I see it, is to follow Carlos around in FANCY FLOUNCY FUN FESTIVAL CLOTHES, and take ALL THE PICS of him being ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT. What a load off.

But that reminds me: must fill out panel stuff for GenCon. Origins is coming up fast. Aaugh, wait, Cooney. Just pay attention to your novel deadline: WHICH IS TOMORROW. (But my editor’s giving me the weekend to do a bit of a spit polish on it, and read it out loud to Carlos and my mama, so that I can at least get some of the typos ironed out. But I’m TRYING to finish by tomorrow so I can TAKE THE WEEKEND to do that!)

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